[Sugar-devel] Music Blocks v3.0 is released.

[James Cameron]

On Wed, Mar 04, 2020 at 07:25:58AM -0500, Walter Bender wrote:
> 
> On Tue, Mar 3, 2020 at 8:52 PM Walter Bender <[1]walter.bender at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>     Sugar yes. The new version of Browse should work nicely.
>     Sugarizer, no. Lionel has said it is too large.
> 
>     On Tue, Mar 3, 2020 at 7:53 PM James Cameron <[2]quozl at laptop.org> wrote:
> 
>         Are there any plans to add Music Blocks to Sugarizer or Sugar?
> 
> At James: What is the recommended approach to embedding inside Browse these
> days?

It depends on what browser features the application needs.  If those
features are contained within WebKit2.WebView, then not much is
needed.  List the features; e.g. touch events, mouse clicks, keyboard
events, back and forward button, reload, etc.

HelpActivity and JupyterLabs both instantiate a WebKit2.WebView.

WikipediaActivity does a sideways import of Browse.

Sugar Web activities have a WebKit2.WebView instantiated for them by
Sugar when exec is /usr/bin/sugar-web-activity.

> In the past, I simply modified the HOME_PAGE_GCONF_KEY to use a copy
> of musicblocks included in the bundle.

The port from GConf to Gio.Settings brought with it a design
inadequacy, that configuration keys needed to be defined in a schema
before the program ran, and GNOME project envisaged this would be most
commonly handled by running glib-compile-schemas at package install.

Sugar activity bundles don't have that available to them.

There was a way around it; define a schema at runtime, but that meant
the URL is stored inside the activity root directory.  Details are in
_get_local_settings in browser.py.

> Do you recommend removing some unrelated Browse functionality, such
> as the search bar?

It is best to offer only user interface elements that are meaningful
to use of the application.

> Do you think it is worth modifying Browse itself to make it easier
> to do this sort of embedding?

That depends on what user interface elements are needed, and that
depends on what browser features are needed.

The choice will be somewhere on this spectrum;

* use a WebKit2.WebView with no significant user interface elements,

* use a WebKit2.WebView with a few user interface elements,

* use the WebActivity and disabled a few user interface elements,

* use the WebActivity with a change to default page,

* start the WebActivity.

> 
> regards.
> 
> -walter
> 
>         On Tue, Mar 03, 2020 at 07:33:46PM -0500, Walter Bender wrote:
>         > The release reflects the contributions made during Google Code-in
>         2019-2020. It
>         > is being designated as a major release since there are numerous
>         changes to the
>         > user experience (e.g., Widget UX) and many underlying structural
>         changes (e.g.,
>         > the new Block API and storage mechanism) that impact developers. An
>         overhaul of
>         > the graphics update mechanism has lead to a major reduction in CPU
>         usage. As
>         > far as I know, there is only one "incompatibility" with previous
>         versions; it
>         > is in regard to synchronization: there are some projects that worked
>         previously
>         > that may now require the use of either the Sync block or the No-clock
>         block.
>         > (Details are outlined in the release notes.)
>         >
>         > A tip of the hat to some of the GCI participants who worked so hard
>         to make
>         > this release possible: Bottersnike, AndreaGon, Pidddgy and
>         Nepaltechguy2. They
>         > not only contributed code, but also insights into the design and
>         > implementation. Also, thanks to the community members who provided
>         them with
>         > code reviews and feedback (notably @eohomegrownapps, @fakela, and
>         @pikurasa).
>         > It is also important to acknowledge some of our users, Teddy Dildine
>         and Henry
>         > Rico, who have been inspiring much of the recent developments and bug
>         fixes.
>         > Look for some of their work on the Planet. Karin Kinoshita at Gakken
>         has also
>         > done testing and translation work.
>         >
>         > [1] [1][3]https://github.com/sugarlabs/musicblocks/releases/tag/v3.0
>         >
>         > -walter
>         >
>         > --
>         > Walter Bender
>         > Sugar Labs
>         > [2][4]http://www.sugarlabs.org
>         > [3]
>         >
>         > References:
>         >
>         > [1] [5]https://github.com/sugarlabs/musicblocks/releases/tag/v3.0
>         > [2] [6]http://www.sugarlabs.org/
>         > [3] [7]http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> 
>         > _______________________________________________
>         > Sugar-devel mailing list
>         > [8]Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
>         > [9]http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
> 
>         --
>         James Cameron
>         [10]http://quozl.netrek.org/
>         _______________________________________________
>         Sugar-devel mailing list
>         [11]Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
>         [12]http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
> 
>     --
>     Walter Bender
>     Sugar Labs
>     [13]http://www.sugarlabs.org
>     [14]
> 
> --
> Walter Bender
> Sugar Labs
> [15]http://www.sugarlabs.org
> [16]
> 
> References:
> 
> [1] mailto:walter.bender at gmail.com
> [2] mailto:quozl at laptop.org
> [3] https://github.com/sugarlabs/musicblocks/releases/tag/v3.0
> [4] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [5] https://github.com/sugarlabs/musicblocks/releases/tag/v3.0
> [6] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [7] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [8] mailto:Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
> [9] http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
> [10] http://quozl.netrek.org/
> [11] mailto:Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
> [12] http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
> [13] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [14] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [15] http://www.sugarlabs.org/
> [16] http://www.sugarlabs.org/

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.netrek.org/