Jumping right into the Code

For the start I created a simple HTML-based test user interface. It shows the avatar scene on a web page without any fancy stuff, just the data. Using the test interface, I can check what exactly happens between client core and display.

(This is not the final display. There are other showcases for the final display with all the animation, transparency and eye candy.)

The client has a 2 tier architecture. There is the back-end, which has all the data structures and does the protocol processing. And there is the front-end, which does all the display, animations and user interaction.

The image shows 3 columns. The left column has controls where I can enter/leave web pages by entering their URLs. It also has an input area to request data from the back-end. The center column is a very simple display of the avatar scene. It shows 3 avatars: The same avatars which are shown by weblin (in the lower part of the image). They are compatible! I can chat and move, and even put my avatar to sleep. Everything is still very raw. The right column shows the communication between back-end and front-end.

All this is written in HTML. I could write it in C++ or Java, but it would take much longer. The first real display will be in Flash. This shows the flexibility of our 2 tier architecture. Anyone can write a display module like I did in a few days. Maybe someone contributes a specialized displays for power-chatters once we publish the API.