OpenmokoFramework

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Note: This is the (ongoing) description of the new framework architecture. See OpenmokoOldFramework for the framework architecture of 2007.1 and 2007.2

Contents

Purposes

  • Give people the infrastructure to create solid and exciting software products based on the Openmoko platform
  • Support competing UIs while collaborating on developing services
  • Encourage framework users (e.g. application developers) to also contribute to the framework

Requirements

  • Make it simple
  • Concentrate on core services
  • Be programming language agnostic
  • Be UI toolkit agnostic
  • Try to reuse existing technologies as much as possible, but not at the cost of a bad API

How to achieve that technically

  • Chose Dbus as the collaboration line. Below dbus, we can work together. Above dbus, we can differentiate.
  • Expose features through dbus APIs implemented by UI-agnostic and language-agnostic services (daemons).
  • Optimize for Openmoko devices, but support multiple architectures and purposes through plugin interfaces and suitable hardware abstraction mechanisms.
  • Be not afraid of reinventing the wheel for a wheel-barrow if all the existing wheels are made for sports cars.

Mandatory Readings

What this is NOT about

This initiative does not cover low level services such as

  • Bootloader, Kernel, or System Init.

This initiative does not cover high level services such as

  • X-Window-System, Window Manager, UI Toolkits,
  • Application Launchers, Applications, or Fancy UIs.

Architectural Overview

frontside

Software Components

We differenciate between low-level and high-level services -- dbus will be used to communicate horizontally and vertically.

Low-Level Services

Device Control

This is about peripheral control, i.e. managing power for individual subsystems such as

  • GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as
  • Backlight brightness and power,
  • turning LEDs on and off, etc.

It's also about access to

  • charging, suspend/resume,
  • accellerometers, and buttons.

It will send notifications about the user's activity so that listeners have a chance to

  • change to powersaving modes, or
  • lock the device.

Audio

The low level audio service relies on a working alsa device driver. On top of that, there are two components:

  1. gstreamer
  2. pulseaudio

Gstreamer is to be used for all kinds of event sounds where a) multiple audio formats need to be supported and b) a latency of about one second is acceptable. This goes for e.g. ring tones, welcome tones, plug indication.

Pulseaudio is to be used for event sounds, where low-latency is necessary, e.g. touch click sounds and UI event acknowledge sounds. Pulseaudio is our general all-purpose mixer. Gstreamer will use the pulseaudio sink to feed audio through.

GSM

The low level GSM services expect a modem complying to GSM 07.07, GSM 07.05, and assorted GSM specifications, talking an AT-protocol over a serial line. If GSM 07.10 is supported, we use the multiplexing daemon

to export virtual serial lines over -- again -- AT-protocol can be spoken.

Bluetooth

TBD

We base on the official Linux Bluetooth subsystem here, which is BlueZ.

GPS

TBD

We base on Gypsy here.

Network (LL)

Wifi USB Options: Networkmanager or Intel Connection Manager

High Level

Usage

  • coordinating application I/O requirements (think reference counting for I/O requirements)
  • might use fd.o policy API

Events

  • signaling events via I/O (ringing, blinking, vibrating)
  • might use fd.o notification API

PIM

  • intelligent storage database
  • GSoC2008

Context

  • Intelligent context API, integrating location as one -- among other -- sources

TBD Reference Geoclue

Telephony

  • Voice
  • Data

Preferences

  • settings database

Network

  • high level networking queries

Implementation

Completion Status

Low Level

  • device control: 50%
  • audio: 80%
  • GSM: 80%
  • Bluetooth: 80%
  • GPS: 80%
  • Network: 50%

High Level

  • Usage: 0%
  • Event: 0%
  • Preferences: 0%
  • Context: 0%
  • Telephony: 50%
  • Networking: 0%
  • PIM: 0%

The role of Python

Where we write new code, we will use Python to implement the dbus services. The reason for that being the rapid prototyping nature of Python and the emphasis on the Dbus APIs. Using Python, the turnaround times to experiment with APIs are incredibly faster than for using a compiled language such as C or C++.

Once the APIs have been used by application programmers, we can start profiling and possibly reimplement some of the services with daemons written in Vala, if necessary. We might as well succeed in improving performance by using Pyrex/Cython/Ctypes to keep the benefits of Python.

Team & Roadmap

Team

Roadmap

Milestone 1:

Milestone 2:

Milestone 3:

Personal tools

Note: This is the (ongoing) description of the new framework architecture. See OpenmokoOldFramework for the framework architecture of 2007.1 and 2007.2

Purposes

  • Give people the infrastructure to create solid and exciting software products based on the Openmoko platform
  • Support competing UIs while collaborating on developing services
  • Encourage framework users (e.g. application developers) to also contribute to the framework

Requirements

  • Make it simple
  • Concentrate on core services
  • Be programming language agnostic
  • Be UI toolkit agnostic
  • Try to reuse existing technologies as much as possible, but not at the cost of a bad API

How to achieve that technically

  • Chose Dbus as the collaboration line. Below dbus, we can work together. Above dbus, we can differentiate.
  • Expose features through dbus APIs implemented by UI-agnostic and language-agnostic services (daemons).
  • Optimize for Openmoko devices, but support multiple architectures and purposes through plugin interfaces and suitable hardware abstraction mechanisms.
  • Be not afraid of reinventing the wheel for a wheel-barrow if all the existing wheels are made for sports cars.

Mandatory Readings

What this is NOT about

This initiative does not cover low level services such as

  • Bootloader, Kernel, or System Init.

This initiative does not cover high level services such as

  • X-Window-System, Window Manager, UI Toolkits,
  • Application Launchers, Applications, or Fancy UIs.

Architectural Overview

frontside

Software Components

We differenciate between low-level and high-level services -- dbus will be used to communicate horizontally and vertically.

Low-Level Services

Device Control

This is about peripheral control, i.e. managing power for individual subsystems such as

  • GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as
  • Backlight brightness and power,
  • turning LEDs on and off, etc.

It's also about access to

  • charging, suspend/resume,
  • accellerometers, and buttons.

It will send notifications about the user's activity so that listeners have a chance to

  • change to powersaving modes, or
  • lock the device.

Audio

The low level audio service relies on a working alsa device driver. On top of that, there are two components:

  1. gstreamer
  2. pulseaudio

Gstreamer is to be used for all kinds of event sounds where a) multiple audio formats need to be supported and b) a latency of about one second is acceptable. This goes for e.g. ring tones, welcome tones, plug indication.

Pulseaudio is to be used for event sounds, where low-latency is necessary, e.g. touch click sounds and UI event acknowledge sounds. Pulseaudio is our general all-purpose mixer. Gstreamer will use the pulseaudio sink to feed audio through.

GSM

The low level GSM services expect a modem complying to GSM 07.07, GSM 07.05, and assorted GSM specifications, talking an AT-protocol over a serial line. If GSM 07.10 is supported, we use the multiplexing daemon

to export virtual serial lines over -- again -- AT-protocol can be spoken.

Bluetooth

TBD

We base on the official Linux Bluetooth subsystem here, which is BlueZ.

GPS

TBD

We base on Gypsy here.

Network (LL)

Wifi USB Options: Networkmanager or Intel Connection Manager

High Level

Usage

  • coordinating application I/O requirements (think reference counting for I/O requirements)
  • might use fd.o policy API

Events

  • signaling events via I/O (ringing, blinking, vibrating)
  • might use fd.o notification API

PIM

  • intelligent storage database
  • GSoC2008

Context

  • Intelligent context API, integrating location as one -- among other -- sources

TBD Reference Geoclue

Telephony

  • Voice
  • Data

Preferences

  • settings database

Network

  • high level networking queries

Implementation

Completion Status

Low Level

  • device control: 50%
  • audio: 80%
  • GSM: 80%
  • Bluetooth: 80%
  • GPS: 80%
  • Network: 50%

High Level

  • Usage: 0%
  • Event: 0%
  • Preferences: 0%
  • Context: 0%
  • Telephony: 50%
  • Networking: 0%
  • PIM: 0%

The role of Python

Where we write new code, we will use Python to implement the dbus services. The reason for that being the rapid prototyping nature of Python and the emphasis on the Dbus APIs. Using Python, the turnaround times to experiment with APIs are incredibly faster than for using a compiled language such as C or C++.

Once the APIs have been used by application programmers, we can start profiling and possibly reimplement some of the services with daemons written in Vala, if necessary. We might as well succeed in improving performance by using Pyrex/Cython/Ctypes to keep the benefits of Python.

Team & Roadmap

Team

Roadmap

Milestone 1:

Milestone 2:

Milestone 3: