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Weekly reports for thesis DPPXVII

pre

weeks (1.2 - 12.2.10)

  • getting to know Saros
    • Eclipse and Plug-in background (reviewed)
    • the videos, theses from C.Jacob, M.Rintsch and S.Ziller
    • Code view
      • event flow
      • understanding code rules and conventions
      • applied patterns
    • Threading
    • Jupiter and synchronization

  • background to whiteboards
    • checking existing whitboards (Groupboard, Coccinella, ReLaTe + see beyond)
    • drawing, writing and mindmaps
    • how to implement a whiteboard
      • understanding Xpairtise and SWT example whiteboard
      • SVG

  • how to integrate it
    • Saros' activity structure
    • whiteboard implementation structure

  • knowledge (overview)
    • Test-first and test-driven development
    • UX-Design, prototyping and iterative programming/testing

week (15.2 - 19.2.10)

  • SVG as proper internal representation
    • informing about libraries Batik and SVG Salamander
    • read documentation of Batik and its uses (i.e. GMF)
    • writing code snippets
      • finishing a pencil whiteboard as Eclipse View using Batik (no Saros yet)

  • first plan for diploma timetable

weekly reports

week 1 (4 days) (22.02.-26.02)

Activities

  • Release manager
  • prepare presentation
  • understanding Batik and SVG
  • how far is standardization respective SVG + XMPP
  • general planning of the thesis

Literature

Problems

  • ill (wisdom tooth)

week 2 (actually 2 days, however, a lot of work at home) (01.03.-05.03)

Activities

  • understanding Batik
    • proper usage of UpdateManager and SVGGraphics2D
    • distinguish between different possibilities to draw
      • create DOM elements our own
      • usage of SVGGraphicsD2
      • usage of SVGShape
    • batiks basic features: zoom, scroll and rotate
      • integration
  • add a vertical SWT Toolbar to snippet
  • fixing bug #2958625
    • learn about Saros invitation structure
  • fixing user feedback when peer cancels
    • Eclipse Jobs usage

Literature

  • Batik documentation
  • SWT documentation
  • finally after asking to many questions Eclipse Jobs API

Problems

  • ill, much worse (wisdom tooth)
  • fighting with SWT layouts

week 3 (5 days) (08.03.-12.03)

Activities

  • add Tools structure to snippet
    • support of batik's built-in zoom and pan
  • Performance testing with batik
    • Usage of SVGGraphics2D, SVGShape or manual creation of XML Elements
    • Reason for AWT-Event-Queue delay (too many straight lines while using the pencil)
      • try out to draw pencil on Graphics object first, to XML on mouse release only
  • Shared XML Editing (SXE) as most supported SVG + XMPP approach
    • protoXEP only; but experimentally used by the IMs Gajim, Psi and Miranda (obsolete)
    • search mailing lists to follow the acutal state of standardization and known issues
      • jabber Standards, proto-xep, Shared Editing and Gajim develop

Literature

week 4 (3 days) (15.03.-19.03)

Activities

  • add IActivity and Saros manager infrastructure for distributed whiteboarding
    • distributed editing works!
  • contact initiators of Shared XML Editing protoXEP
    • Joonas Govenius is not working on it anymore
      • in his opinion SXE might be a little bit too verbose
    • no response from Peter Saint-Andre yet
    • current implementations like psi and gajim differ somehow
  • try to contact psi's and gajim's developers list (no response yet)
  • how to synchronize SWT scrollbars with batik

Literature

  • batik, SWT and Saros documentation

Problems

  • wisdom tooth extraction
  • surprised how verbose it is to add an IActivity
  • it does not seem to be easily possible to uncouple the whiteboard from Saros

weeks 5-9 (22.03.-21.04)

  • virus, probably mononucleosis

weeks 9-10 (6 days) (22.04.-30.04)

  • reintroduction to my work, catching up with current state of Saros
  • Responses for SXE
    • Psi uses an outdated version (no jingle for session negotiation)
      • no time/interest to improve this
      • that's why incompatible with Gajim which uses latest version
    • found a new contact who tries to improve SXE and who would be interested to try check compatibility
      • spare responses
  • SXE not complete for our purpose yet (selection, blocking etc. messages)
  • trying to fix batik rendering problems, especially while resizing
    • even the simplest whiteboard has these problems. Response from batik mailing list: these are SWT Swing integration issues and they cannot help
    • entering deep to batik rendering leads only to underlaying rendering engines:
      • with Direct3D rendering cheesy and doubled painting occures, unusable
      • with openGL the picture shakes verically while resizing
      • in both cases batik rendering might get stucked while resizing, workarounds lead to ugly rendering/flickering and perform very bad
    • no response yet form the gef-batik project

  • start work on networklayer to change Socks5 as first choice and add IBB fallback
    • studying Hennings smackx extension (good work! wink

Problems

  • still not completely recovered

weeks 11 (6 days) (02.05.-07.05)

  • GEF (Graphical Editing Framework)
    • reintroducing myself to GEF (used to work with it)
    • creating a simple whiteboard view, figure based, however, rectangular selection of freeform shapes
      • GEF is the better solution, offers command stack, properties management, selection, doesn't have the problems of SWT integration. Batik offers a lot but difficult to use within eclipse (a bit hacky).
    • Main problem: proper free-hand drawing
      • introducing to Eclipse Sketch project (free-hand drawing pattern regocnition)
      • published 28.04. only, would be a nice extension for any whiteboard for programmers

  • Batik
    • contacted Gerrit who used to work with GEF and batik and created the SVG composition eclipse plugin
      • http://developer.berlios.de/projects/svgcompost
        • batik rendering on graphical contexts (using GMF adapter), above transparent rectangular GEF figures (bounds)
        • no freeform shapes, no drawing, a littly bit buggy
      • advises to use GEF for batik because of GEF's editing modell
        • Problem: DOM API is unhandy as modell in MVC pattern
    • in the first moment SVG and batik is deferred
      • if time, investigating to use DOM as GEFs modell representation
      • waiting for answers for SXE improvement

  • ECF
    • I got familiar with the container and provider concept, some tutorial
    • offers a kind of multi-IM integrated in eclipse
    • views extendible by additional features
    • XMPP support (without jingle)
    • it wouldn't take too much effort to write own providers for jingle, SOCKS5 and IBB
    • However, XMPPConnection in Saros has more than 80 references, needs more investigation to estimate the effort if we ever want to switch to ECF

  • networt refactoring
    • introducing to Saros network layer
    • adapting SOCKS5 and IBB to Transport-Conneciton concept
    • helping Henning to find deadlock cause in IBB

Literature

  • ECF documentation, GEF documentation and tutorials, smacks API

weeks 12 (3 days) (10.05.-14.05)

  • debugging and refactoring the network layer
    • improve smacks API changes (what is missing?)
    • transport hierarchy
    • getting SOCKS5 to work with IBB fallback
    • study synchronization and take care of properly releasing resources
    • improving mediated SOCKS5 connections if server only allows unidirectional connections
      • wrapping two unidirectional connections in a bidirectional one if necessary

Literature

  • smacks documentation, OpenFire documentation
  • XEP 65 SOCKS5
  • XEP 47 IBB

Problems

  • ejabberd, saros-con.imp.fu-berlin.de, was configured wrong
  • getting to know the APIs and network layer
    • i.e. how to configure OpenFire or smacks properly

weeks 13 (5 days) (17.05.-21.05)

  • refactoring Networklayer
  • testing and fixing SOCKS5
  • updating preference page to new network layer implementation
    • deeper understanding of SOCKS5 mechanics and distinguishing necessary preferences
    • applying preferences on reconnect
    • change DataTransferManager to enable "force file transfer by chat"

Problems

  • understanding static SMACK behavior
  • deeper understanding of SOCKS5 mechanics lead to some doubled work

weeks 14 (5 days) (24.05.-28.05)

  • finishing to implement preference page and preference mechanics
  • some more refactoring and renaming in the network layer to avoid confusion
  • removing unused classes and obsolete methods
  • change to always try to establish a direct SOCKS5 connection
    • establishing a connection from both side and discard one (if not needed for wrapping)
  • testing
  • find problems when using IBB
    • dispose bytestreams in DISCONNECTING state
  • studying proper locking of observer editor (Bug 2971277)
    • drag and drop
      • solution: SWT filter
    • copy and paste
      • possible solutions:
        • deactivate these commands (does not work, get reset)
        • disable the editor (does not work, gets reset)
      • writing to eclipse platform mailing list, responses are pending

Problems

  • reimplementing done work because of late understanding of the best practice respective SMACK
  • editor preferences get reset without obvious reason
  • we are locking the editor just by intercepting keys

Literature

  • SWT, eclipse documentation and newsletter

weeks 15 (5 days) (31.05.-04.06)

  • more work and tests with the network layer
    • added simultaneous connection establishment from both sides to quickly achieve a working (direct) connection although establishing from one side only wouldn't work
    • completing documentation and debug output
  • GEF
    • solution for continuous freehand drawing
      • studying Sketch API again
        • no option for us: painting on GC would get painted over by concurrent edits
      • writing to GEF newsletter
        • no response
      • Studying GEFs code there results a proper solution: usage of feedback layer
        • hacking existing code lead to a working result
        • a proper implementation consists of adding specialized tool, edit policy, request and command classes for continuous drawing
          • we might distribute this to GEF and Sketch afterward to achieve better compatibility
    • testing for concurrency
      • concurrent creation of new figures seems to work without graphical problems
      • pending: concurrent modifications and consideration of proper lock-mechanisms

Literature

  • learning more about Java concurrency for proper simultaneous connection establishment
  • GEF code and API
  • GEF newsletter
  • Sketch API code

weeks 16 (6 days) (07.06.-12.06)

  • improving network layer again
    • catching exceptions if one connection establishment does not work, the other one can be used
    • testing and trying to find out reasons for Ubuntu invitation delay and missing direct SOCKS5 connections
  • considering model representation (this and next week):
    • preliminary: stay SVG conform, for saving, loading sake and to develop a protocol for distributed XML editing
    • Using prebuilt library classes and generate DOM only for saving
      • SWT and draw2d
        • hide concrete shape in drawing method, platform dependent (no independent XML editing protocol)
      • AWT shapes
        • platform independent representation and easier than DOM
        • batik could be used to generate SVG from AWT shapes
          • unfortunately AWT shapes do not maintain hierarchies
        • however, transforming shapes to SVG and back didn't result very efficient
      • custom implementation
        • still the SVG has to be mapped and generated
          • just to export to SVG, GMF and batik could be used, no loading
        • reinventing the wheel
    • Using DOM
      • platform independent representation
        • model might kept independent form concrete DOM implementation
      • mapping
        • searching a working SVG DTD
        • using JAXB to generate JAVA classes
        • very verbose, less flexible than plain DOM
        • shared SVG editing only instead of shared XML editing
      • plain DOM
        • any XML will do it
        • flexible
        • best standardization approach might be to use DOM Level 2 Event Model
      • generate infrastructure using model-based software engineering
        • details:
          • generating a Ecore Model from SVG DTD
          • using openArchitectureWare to generate infrastructure
          • only editor and mapping between draw2d figures has to be implemented
        • all advantages of plain DOM
        • reduces the effort to implement the verbose GEF infrastructure
        • easier to stay SVG compatible (hierarchy is given by Ecore Model)

Literature

  • JAXB
  • JAXP
  • DOM
  • EMF

Problems

  • Understanding complex DOM API
  • finding an error free SVG DTD

weeks 17 (5 days) (14.06.-18.06)

  • considering model representation (continue)
  • creating working GEF prototype without distribution
    • postponing concrete model representation
      • still need to know more about DOM, XML-Java Mapping and code generation, especially the DOM Event Model
      • model prototype to evaluate different approaches:
        • wrapping the DOM in Java beans using property supports and listeners
    • implementing GEF infrastructure, copy, paste, undo and redo
      • not yet working completely
    • adding rectangle tool
    • implementing freehand drawing tool, edit policy, commands
    • presenting current state

Literature

  • GEF

weeks 18 (3 days) (21.06.-23.06)

  • Fixing GEF editor and implementing left over work
    • copy, paste, undo and redo works as well as zoom
  • start to add collaborative working feature to model
    • consider event flow

Problems

  • using GEF editor infrastructure in ViewPart
    • i.e. static zoom combo box, retarget actions, toolbar and selection issues

weeks 19 (3 days) (30.06.-02.07)

  • GEF editor
    • fixing pencil tool feedback with zoom and scroll,
    • documenting, restructuring

  • fixing network bugs:
    • 3023491
    • 3020135
    • 3023695
    • 3023576
    • Stacktrace when establishing SOCKS5 bytestream connection

Problems

  • 2 days sick, furthermore flatemate moved out from one day to another, had to buy new fritch and washer

weeks 20 (6 days) (04.07.-09.07)

  • GEF Editor
    • finish collaborative work model prototype
    • adding ellipse tool, default sizes on drag'n'drop, pencil drop added (for convenience)
    • cleaning whiteboard project
      • removing tryouts and unused libraries like batik

  • Testing
    • fixing several small issues when working distributed
      • cycling events
      • doubled creation
      • fix for getElementById() issues
    • reducing the amount of events fired

  • Studying DOM Level 2 event model
    • a proper collaborative XML editing framework and communication protocol should be based on this event model
      • offers standard naming for DOM mutation
      • also selection and focus events
      • preferable to SXE approach

Literature

  • DOM API

Problems

  • Several DOM API issues like getElementById() in Java that doesn't always work like expected
  • interaction between undo, model and commands i.e. delete, undo, redo (mixed up order, pending) that doesn't allow using GEF API classes

Comments

 
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Topic revision: r7 - 12 Jul 2010, MichaelJurke - This page was cached on 01 Feb 2025 - 06:59.

Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Informatik