Firefox OS/Stingray/Hybrid Widget Approach

Hybrid Widget Approach

Hybrid Widget Approach means homescreen has more power and responsibilities. A homescreen app may manage and host widgets in itself no longer needing system app's support, unlike 2-layered widget approach. All apps opened by homescreen app are still managed and hosted by system app.

Limitations

• Users cannot have multiple instances of the same widget with different configurations (need new API support)
• A widget cannot open new screen, excepting using mozApps.getSelf().launch()

Prerequisite

The homescreen app of hybrid widget approach may depends on the following bugs. We need all of permission bugs fixed to have a privileged homescreen app. We will create a certified homescreen app when they are not ready.

permission bugs

• bug 899994 mozApp.mgmt: query installed app list, listen app install/uninstall events, use "app://" protocol, etc.
• no bug embed-apps: assign iframe mozApp attribute to grant permissions.
• bug 819882 open-remote-window: window.open(url, "remote");

wallpaper

• bug 900551 Settings API -- for getting wallpaper image
• bug 917416 Let Homescreen App draw the wallpaper

other gecko bugs

• bug 879475 nested OOP iframe
• bug 989198 hardware key button events

Item List

Homescreen Base

• utilities like spatial navigation, selection border: to support keyboard only navigating function (e.g. TV remote controller).
• applications: a helper to wrap functions of mozApps.mgmt like query app list, get icon blob, etc.
• app list: render app icons to let users launch apps or choose widgets.

Widget Editor

• layout editor: We need to calculate the position of widget slots for customizing widget position. In TV, we have only fixed slots and no widgets can cross two slots. But we may have widgets crossing icon slots in phone. The crossing depends on the preferred widget size and we don't have that information, yet. So, we may have a crossing widget with fixed size, like bug 980935 and bug 980936.
• widget editor: It is a UI for user to customize their widgets. In TV, we may have a dedicated UI for user to customize the position of widgets. In phone, we may use long press to move the widget which means widget editor handles the positing of moved widgets and icons and layout editor handles the calculation of the final result.
• persistence module: It is for saving the editing result.

Widget Manager

• widget life-cycle management

Build System

• pack and build correct homescreen
• change default homescreen

Sample Widgets

• 2048 widget: it already existed in 2-layered approach: 2048 widget

Others

Class Definition Style

All class definitions should use the following convention:

 /* global BrowserConfigHelper, WidgetWindow, Applications */
 'use strict';
 
 (function(exports) {
 
   var WidgetFactory = function() {
   };
 
   WidgetFactory.prototype = {
     createWidget: function(args) {
       var manifestURL = args.widgetOrigin + '/manifest.webapp';
       var appInfo = Applications.getByManifestURL(manifestURL);
       if (!appInfo.manifest) {
         return;
       }
       
       var appURL = args.widgetOrigin + (args.widgetEntryPoint ?
         appInfo.manifest.entry_points[args.widgetEntryPoint].launch_path :
         appInfo.manifest.launch_path);
       
       var config = new BrowserConfigHelper(appURL, manifestURL);
       
       var widgetOverlay =
         document.getElementsByClassName('widget-overlay')[0];
       var app = new WidgetWindow(config, widgetOverlay);
       // XXX: Separate styles.
       app.setStyle(args);
       this.publish('launchwidget', app.instanceID);
       
       return app;
     },
     
     publish: function wf_publish(event, detail) {
       var evt = document.createEvent('CustomEvent');
       evt.initCustomEvent(event, true, false, detail);
       window.dispatchEvent(evt);
     }
   };
   
   exports.WidgetFactory = WidgetFactory;
 }(window));