Jalama Alpha Release - XUL + Java + Mozilla WebClient for Win/Linux/MacOSX

The Jalama project (http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org) is pleased to  
announce its first developer-review release (0.1alpha1), which uses the  
Jalama framework (written in Java) to provide the "back-end"  
functionality for a simple XUL wizard, embedded in a Java frame using  
Mozilla WebClient. The wizard guides the user through the steps  
necessary to create a simple EML document (compliant with the EML 2.0.0  
schema - see http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/software/eml/)

The long-term goal of the Jalama project is to create a flexible, easy  
to use system for generating user interfaces from arbitrary XML Schema,  
for the purpose of data entry on desktop and handheld platforms. This  
release does not perform any dynamic UI generation, but rather is  
intended primarily for proof-of-concept and testing of the display  
architecture, and code is by no means mature.  However, we hope that  
its distribution may help others who are interested, by providing  
working examples of the contributions discussed below.

The XUL chrome is displayed using Mozilla WebClient (see  
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/blackwood/webclient/index.html),  
working with the Mozilla Gecko Rendering Engine (GRE), embedded inside  
a Java frame. This architecture prompted the following custom  
development efforts:

1) We have ported an initial version of WebClient to run on the Mac OS  
X operating system, by using the CocoaComponent API for embedding Gecko  
in a Java frame.  Note that only a subset of the webclient API has been  
implemented at this stage.

2) The wizard code is written in Mozilla XUL (see  
http://www.mozilla.org/xpfe/), and communicates with the underlying  
Java application via a custom XPCOM object that provides a JavaScript  
-> XPCOM -> jni bridge.  The calls from JavaScript to Java are  
currently modeled on client server calls of the form  
"doPost(command_name, params)', with an associated return value in the  
form of name=value pairs. In this manner, the external Java classes are  
responsible for interpreting the doPost requests, without the need for  
custom XPCOM components to be written for each type of call.

Source tarballs are available on the Jalama website, along with a  
simple coding example for WebClient on Mac OS X  
(http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org/software/index.html).

Products resulting from this project are released as open source, and  
further collaborations, suggestions and contributions are welcome.

The following is a copy of the announcement sent to various ecological  
mailing lists:

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
-----------------------
ANNOUNCEMENT TO ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY:
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
-----------------------

The Jalama project (http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org) is pleased to  
announce its first software release (0.1alpha1) for review by  
data-managers and developers.  This release is a proof-of-concept in  
creating user-interfaces that are described in a declarative XML syntax  
(XUL) and rendered from within a Java desktop or handheld application  
(such as future versions of Morpho).

This alpha release displays a simple XUL wizard, which guides the user  
through the steps necessary to create a simple EML dataset document  
(intended to be compliant with the EML 2.0.0 schema - see  
http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/software/eml/).  As such, it may be  
useful to data managers for creation of simple EML documents, but we  
would reiterate that this is an alpha release, and there will be issues  
and bugs that have not yet been addressed.

Binaries are available for Windows 2000/XP, Mac OS X 10.2.x and Linux  
(RedHat 7.2 to 9.0) - see the software download page  
(http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org/software/index.html),  which also  
contains a downloadable compressed archive of the source files.

We would welcome any input or suggestions (email jalama-dev at  
ecoinformatics.org), most notably:

1) Installation issues for the various target operating systems
2) Compatibility with (i.e. the the ability to run on) the various  
target operating systems
3) Validity of output EML (which may be checked using the online  
validation service at  
http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/emlparser/index.html). If reporting  
non-valid EML documents, please provide a copy of the EML output if  
possible.
4) Feedback on usability of various widgets (such as lists, or radio  
button choices. Note there are known issues with radio buttons not  
displaying the "selected" mode, although they still function correctly)

* Please consult the README file for a list of known issues before  
reporting bugs *

The long-term goal of the Jalama project is to create a flexible, easy  
to use system for developing metadata and data entry forms for use in  
lab and field environments for ecology. The system will use a  
metadata-driven approach to form generation, and software products from  
the project will target both desktop and handheld computer.  These  
applications will simultaneously enable researchers to provide critical  
structured metadata in order for their work to participate in a  
distributed "Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity"  
(http://knb.ecoinformatics.org).

The Jalama Project (pronounced "hah-LAH-mah") is managed through the  
Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa  
Barbara.  It is a collaboration between the National Center for  
Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS - http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu)  
and the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans  
(PISCO - http://www.piscoweb.org).  However, products resulting from  
this project are released as open source, and further collaborations  
and contributions are welcome.

-------------------------------------------
Matthew Brooke
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
735 State Street, Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA  93101-3351
Phone:  805-892-2503
FAX: 805-892-2510
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu



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