Applications Messaging Standard

[Tony Linde]

Hi John,

 > whatever solution we choose should be platform and
 > language neutral.

agreed.

 > Unfortunately, there's no way
 > for Python, Perl and everyone else to use it.

I'd be surprised if there weren't libraries for getting the windows 
registry info - not sure what java does so don't know about that.

 > Our current thinking is that we pass the "hub"'s info to the app, and
 > the app makes the initial connection.  Are you suggesting that the app
 > should write out its information, and the "hub" is then invoked to read
 > it and connect to the app?    Hmmm, I don't think I've made this any
 > clearer - I'm going to get a strong coffee.

Maybe I tried to suggest too much. All I was suggesting was that 
associating a mime type with an application seems to be applicable to 
all platforms and might be a way for any app to find out where the hub 
is and how to get it started. The messaging protocol then takes over. 
Maybe we never actually use the mime type on any files.

T.

John Taylor wrote:
> 
> On 15 Feb 2007, at 10:54, Tony Linde wrote:
> 
>> The obvious answer to this in the windows environment is the registry: 
>> the
>> hub writes its info there when installed and everyone knows where to look
>> for it. If we're looking at more than one hub app then a new one 
>> installed
>> on a client machine overwrites the info left by the previously installed
>> one. In the linux arena, which I believe lacks any such central 
>> organising
>> entity, we could use the previous suggestion of a file left in an obvious
>> place.
> 
> Hi Tony,
> The info we're talking about could well be a bit more dynamic than 
> this...it could change on each start up of the "hub", rather than just 
> on installation.  I guess we could still use the Windows registry for 
> this, but it seems a bit heavyweight.   Also,  I suspect an important 
> consideration is that whatever solution we choose should be platform and 
> language neutral.  As it happens, in Java there is a preferences API for 
> persisting (you guessed it) user preferences.  Under Windows this API 
> actually sticks things in the registry (I don't know where it goes on 
> other platforms) so using this API would seem to fit the bill as it 
> hides way the platform-specific details.  Unfortunately, there's no way 
> for Python, Perl and everyone else to use it.
> 
>>
>> Another option, which I *think* might work in both environments is to 
>> create
>> a new mime type with the hub app 'registered' (whatever that means in 
>> linux)
>> as the handler for that mime type. Plastic apps store their 
>> information in
>> files of that type and then look for the app which handles that mime type
>> and throw their config files at it (if it is running or invokes it 
>> first if
>> not). Would that work?
> 
> Our current thinking is that we pass the "hub"'s info to the app, and 
> the app makes the initial connection.  Are you suggesting that the app 
> should write out its information, and the "hub" is then invoked to read 
> it and connect to the app?    Hmmm, I don't think I've made this any 
> clearer - I'm going to get a strong coffee.
> 
> J
> 
>