Re: Advice needed on developing app for linux

From: Graeme Hinchliffe (email_at_NOSPAM-linkovitch.me.uk)
Date: 08/12/04 

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 16:18:04 +0100

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 14:34:58 +0000, Elp wrote:

> Hi Graeme,
>
> Graeme Hinchliffe wrote:
>> More a question than an answer... but I looked at the screenshot, and
>> read what you have written, and it seems that you are making an app
>> that emulates a desktop environment? If so, why? what does it give
>> you that just running these apps on your windows/linux desktop
>> doesn't?
>>
>> As you say, under linux I can play Flash, watch video and run a
>> variety of apps, so why would I need your app to run them within it?
>
> Well, what you can not see on the screenshot is that everything is remote.
> Actually, the goal of this application is to provide a tool for students in
> embedded systems to do experiments on real and expensive hardware
> (microcontrollers, FPGA...) from their home without the need to come to the
> university lab. They install our app on their computer connected to the
> internet, book a time slot on our system and then they can then see all the
> electronic components, wire them, see the output of the oscilloscope,
> multimeter.. use the specialized software needed to configure all the
> electronic instruments, see helpful lecture videos explaining them how to do
> the experiments...
>
> All that is real, not simulated but they can do all their experiment on any
> computer connected to the internet without the need to have all this
> expensive (and bulky) hardware and software setup at home. These are at the
> university and and they are accessed remotely. Furthermore, our software
> allows our students to do experiment anytime even at 3 in the morning if
> they wish.
>
> Can you see better now why i need to embedd all those components within a
> single application? The other important point is that it has to be easy to
> use and we of course also need to monitor and restrict the use of the system
> (because, once again, they are using real hardware located at the
> university). That's why i can't just give them a Flash file, a remote
> desktop application, a web page, a bunch of video files and tell them:
> launch everything and see what you can do with it. All has to be contained
> within an intuitive and complete application.

Yes I thought there would have to be more to it than just a desktop. But
I still fail to see the advantage. If you can run rdesktop to the remote
machine running your component setup control software why would you need
more than just that? You can give them all the links they would need on
the desktop to the various apps, the same applies with X, as it is
designed to run accross a network.

>From what you have said it sounds like the most complex part is the
component setup and testing parts (which sounds like great fun :) ), but
the rest sound like the sort of things that the OS is deigned to handle
itself or other applications at least, so why overcomplicate your software
trying to embed all these other apps that probably every person has
installed localy when all they actualy need is access to the electronics
control software you have written.

If it is the security aspect of having such resources open to the world
then a VPN could most likley provide the remote student with the access to
the University network that they need to access the resources they need to
view, and could be used to tunnel the communications for the electronics
software also.

Graeme Hinchliffe

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