Embedding Web UIs in your Eclipse application

Embedding Web UI Components
EclipseCon 2011

Boris Bokowski

© 2010 IBM Corporation

Motivation
http://vimeo.com/21166223

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© 2011 IBM Corp., licensed under EPL, v1.0 unless otherwise marked

Your Cross-Platform Choices

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suggestion: bring these closer together

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Web and Desktop User Interfaces

Web and desktop are similar
– Both have basic widgets like push buttons, entry fields
– Tab folders, menus (menu bars, drop down, pop up)
– Many more examples …

Web and desktop are different
– Web content scrolls, banner on every page
– Web has built-in navigation model
– Desktop content is packed (banner a “waste of space”)
– Many more examples …

Observation
– Can’t just cram desktop UI into web browser (or vice versa)
• Want “appropriate” web experience
• Want “appropriate” desktop experience
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Idea: Share components, not applications

Run web components on the desktop
– Use the SWT Browser control
• Backed by IE, Mozilla, or Safari
• Improved API for Java™-JavaScript interop in 3.5
– Use web technology (AJAX, Flash, Silverlight, …)
– Provide first class interoperability with Eclipse

 Implement single source components that work on
the web, Eclipse (and elsewhere…)

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SWT Browser widget

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What you get

new Browser(parent, SWT.NONE)

new Browser(parent, SWT.MOZILLA)

new Browser(parent, SWT.WEBKIT) @since 3.7

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Setup

Browser b = ...;
b.setURL("http://www.foo.com");
"Begins loading a URL. The loading of its content
occurs asynchronously."

Alternative: b.setText("<html>…</html>");

New in 3.6:
b.setURL(String url, String postData,
String[] headers);

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Exercise 1
Create plug-in project
Add SWT dependency
main, mainloop
Create browser
shell.setSize(600, 400)
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Example: Google Maps

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Google Maps API

(from http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/introduction.html,
Apache 2.0, see http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/faq/#license)

<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://maps.google.com/maps?file=api&v=2"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">

function init() {

if (GBrowserIsCompatible()) {

var map = new GMap2(document.getElementById("map_canvas"));

map.setCenter(new GLatLng(37.4419, -122.1419), 13);

map.setUIToDefault();

}

}

</script>

<body onload="init()"> <div id="map_canvas"></div> </body>
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Exercise 2
Copy "Hello World" code from
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/introduction.html

Preferences: Java > Editor > Typing
"Escape text when pasting into string"
Use browser.setText("…")

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Java to JavaScript

 public Object browser.evaluate(String
script)

 The supported mappings are:
– JavaScript null or undefined -> null
– JavaScript number -> java.lang.Double
– JavaScript string -> java.lang.String
– JavaScript boolean -> java.lang.Boolean
– JavaScript array whose elements are all of supported
types -> java.lang.Object[]

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Exercise 3
Add buttons "Zoom In", "Zoom Out"
window.map instead of var map
browser.evaluate(
"window.map.zoomIn();");

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JavaScript to Java

Install function at JavaScript window level:
new BrowserFunction(browser, "hello") {
public Object function(Object[] args)
{
// ...
}
};
Call BrowserFunction from JavaScript:
alert(window.hello("42", 42));
Same rules for mapping from JavaScript to Java apply

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Exercise 4
new Text(shell, SWT.BORDER |
SWT.READ_ONLY);
use static field for Text

Maps > Event > Event Arguments

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Exercise 4'
Work some more on JavaScript side
Get address from Google…
http://code.google.com/apis/ajax/playground
Maps > Service > Geocoding Reverse

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Advanced Topics

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Initialization

browser.addProgressListener(new ProgressListener() {
public void completed(ProgressEvent event) {
// execute JavaScript code here
}
public void changed(ProgressEvent event) {
// or here
}
});

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Other useful API

 Cookies
– Browser.getCookie
– Browser.setCookie
– Browser.clearSessions
 Simple authentication
– Browser.addAuthenticationListener
 Intercepting link clicks
– Browser.addLocationListener
– Browser.addOpenWindowListener
 Safe close (vetoable)
– Browser.close

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Some limitations

 Trying 0

 Trying 1

 Trying 2

 Trying 3

 Trying 4
e.g. recursive calls between JavaScript and Java
 Trying 5

 Trying 6

 Trying 7

 Trying 8

 Trying 9

 Trying 10

 Trying 11

 Trying 12

 Trying 13

 Trying 14

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Debugging

 Sorry, no JavaScript debugger
 Use Firebug / Firefox (or other browser debugger)
 May be able to use Firebug Light in SWT Browser

 Make small steps
 Test on all browsers
 Log to a useful place (Java side?)
 Last resort: insert print statements or alerts

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Case Studies

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Case Study: Jazz Work Item Editor

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Jazz Work Item Editor: Integration Examples

Passing login information into the widget to achieve
single sign-on
Editor lifecycle and save actions
Confirmations, warnings, and errors in standard dialog
(as opposed to JavaScript alerts)
Drag and drop from web UI to view
Adopt workbench preferences (e.g. colors)

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Jazz Work Item Editor : Lessons learned

80% integration with 20% effort possible
– Editor lifecycle (dirty bit, File > Save, title in tab)
– Intercept links to not leave the page
– Authentication (single sign on)
– Use standard dialogs

Service injection idea useful even web only
– Addresses consistency issues across web UI

Gaps remain between web and desktop version
– No shared model and change propagation
• Item changes not updated to web UI

Footprint an issue: ~ 3MB per browser instance
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PDE site.xml editor (e4 0.9)

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OpenSocial Gadgets

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Eclipse Application Services (“Twenty Things”)

 Editor lifecycle  Long-running operations
 Receiving input  Progress reporting
 Producing selection  Error handling
 Standard dialogs  Navigation model
 Persisting UI state  Resource management
 Logging  Status line
 Interface to help system  Drag and drop
 Menu contributions  Undo/Redo
 Authentication  Accessing preferences
 Authorization

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32 IBM Confidential © 2009 IBM Corporation

Exercise 5 (at home?)
Pick an “Eclipse Application Service”
Implement an Eclipse View or Editor based
on a Web UI, connecting to Eclipse using
one of the “20 things”

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Web gadgets could use “20 things” too

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Other approaches

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Alternative Approach: RAP

RAP is a community driven Eclipse open source
project
RCP app running on a server
Widgets virtualized to the web browser
– Think XWindows for SWT
– SWT widget is replaced by a facade, forwarded to web
control

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The Promise

 Single sourcing
– Write once, run both desktop and/or web
– Quickly re-deploy existing desktop oriented app to the web

 Continue to write in Java
– Keep your existing code base
– Continue to use same libraries
– Same tools (JDT)
– Leverage skill set

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The Problems

 Desktop and web metaphors differ
– Toolbars, page metaphor, navigation, wizards, pop ups
– Easy to achieve ‘unnatural’ web UIs

 Difficult to leverage native web advantages
– Model is server based with extremely thin client

 Some Eclipse platform APIs are desktop centric
– Make assumptions about locality of data, responsiveness

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SWT Browser Edition

 Program to existing SWT API
– Perhaps subset
 Cross-compile to “native” web
– e.g. GWT compiler for JavaScript as target
– custom cross-compilation to ActionScript
 Using a “port” of SWT to web UI technology
– Dojo (incomplete, experimental)
– Flex (working, usable)

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The Promise

 Single sourcing
– Write once, run both desktop and/or web
– Reuse existing desktop oriented component in web application

 Continue to write in Java
– Keep your existing code base
– Continue to use same libraries
– Same tools (JDT)
– Leverage skill set

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The Problems

 Story does not address client/server split
– No existing UI components that could be reused
– "Big ball of mud" problem

 Footprint issues
– SWT itself is of substantial size already
– Desktop code ususally has lots of dependencies because it can

 Exceptions (where SWT BE makes sense):
– StyledText widget
– Reuse of draw2d / GEF graphical editors interesting

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In Closing…

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Be Aware of Trade-offs

 Web look and feel potentially different
 Form-based UIs a good candidate, since already
different looking
 Simple widgets have native L&F
– buttons, text fields, combos
 More advanced widgets don’t
– tables, trees

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Conclusion

 No silver bullet for reuse of desktop code on web

 There is opportunity for reuse of web UI code
– In embedded browser
• write once HTML, CSS, JavaScript code
• with some trade offs
– Using Eclipse Application Services
• for consistency, proper integration

 OpenSocial Gadgets
– Existing spec, existing gadgets
– Opens up Eclipse

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Recommendations
1. Existing Desktop Apps
• You are likely using the Eclipse application framework
already
• Moving to e4 application services may make sense
(simplification)

2. Existing Desktop, Transition to Web
• No compelling solution for reusing desktop code in web
context
• Port components to web
Easy wins: form-based UIs

3. Targeting the Web
• Modify to use services
• Results in better consistency
43 • Option to embed in desktop environment

Comments?
Questions?


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 Copyright © IBM Corp., 2007-2010. All rights reserved. This presentation and the source code in
it are made available under the EPL, v1.0 unless otherwise marked.
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