Desktop Web Machines - New Spin on 30 year old Spreadsheet Technology

[chrisglasier]

The approach was triggered by the idea of using animation to move data into a fixed focus line rather than move the cursor to multiple data locations. Names and values that make up headings and data in spreadsheets are simply laid down as associated lists in adjacent sliding holders in an HTML5 web page. Housed in a NWJS  "all Web technology" window on the desktop the page with its moving parts transforms into an authentic GUI machine, a novel 21st Century addition to both personal computing and World Wide Web. 

The machines create JSON objects for their owners and collaborators to work on; each object has machine, type and category ids, a label for human recognition, key/value pairs for aspects needed for various tasks and links to associated subsidiary objects. Machine owners store their own stringified objects in text files in locations of their choice.

After parsing the plain text, each name and value to be displayed is made a hyperlink which passes machine and slider id to a universal function. When called the function moves vertical sliders to align the selections and adjusts the hierarchy of selections in a horizontal navigation slider along the top. Animation is needed not just to move data but also acknowledge machine reaction and changes to display. 

The first two of the row of four vertical sliders house lists of object labels derived from the link arrays; the third lists the plain or computed values of the last selected object (with value key names as floating text). A fourth holds a list of multimedia options that extends the potential of GUI machines way beyond the scope of spreadsheets.

For example, an animated 3D model can be generated in a NWJS viewer window that has links to machine, selected object and a JavaScript library like Threejs.  Selections in the viewer change the machine display and vice versa. Several windows can show different multimedia views of the same object. The machine can also handle an unlimited number of different objects from different sources in a way that avoids coding conflicts.

The machines offer an alternative way of working to that served by spreadsheets. They enable individuals to contribute to and participate in a world wide web of unique JSON objects whether stored locally or online for sharing privately or publicly.

Once created, access to an object and selected aspects can be passed to other individuals for different purposes. A JSON object can represent anything however big or small provided it has ids, label and at least one aspect to be worked on; an object without links represents the smallest consideration of interest so that the web of objects replicates the world at work with all Web technology. It opens new opportunities for innovation generally, and in automation, recycling, compound search and consensual advertising in particular. 

I post this hoping for members' feedback on this challenging open source project. 

[pqt]

Is there a git repo for this or are you just looking for feedback and nothing more?

[chrisglasier]

@Mur

I think the sticking point is not coding but whether this scheme is a viable alternative to applications based on paperwork processes.

[DevTech]

Is there a git repo for this or are you just looking for feedback and nothing more?

It is a reasonable question given that the idea was described as an open source project.

A GitHub project will also have a wiki which might help to expand and make sense of the first post here which is close to incoherent.

 

[chrisglasier]

Authentic innovation is notorious for being initially considered incomprehensible. If any such innovation is lucky enough to gain traction, reactions progress from  "it will never catch on" to "it was obvious anyway".  I want to see if I can make my explanation less incoherent and find the traction needed. Having laid out the basic idea in text a screenshot may help.

 

I am sure it is obvious to anyone here that the html, css and javascript needed to animate its sliding panels and generate its hypertext from JSON is pretty straightforward. However what may not be obvious is that what can be displayed and worked on because of the arrangement and animation would otherwise involve much human effort navigating and interpreting data from widespread cells in many large sheets. More than this using the NWJS (node webkit) windows mean individuals' desktop machines become part of the World Wide Web much like individuals' phones are part of telecommunication. 

To me open source includes ideas about new ways of working thereby creating greater demand for open source code modules to automate them. Hence my request for feedback.