Developers invite - Create a client for FlexRAID!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 21/04/2008 21:30:55

I have decided to focus on the core functionality of FlexRAID and not spend much time (if possible) on the client(s).

There is a backlog of cool functionalities coming to FlexRAID, and it would be beneficial to all if I could focus on them.
I also have two remaining editions of FlexRAID to bring to life.

The possibility of me calling on third parities to develop the client applications was present from the first day I started coding FlexRAID.
Consequently, I have made interfacing with the FlexRAID host service a child's play.

If you can send text and read text over TCP/IP, you can write a client for FlexRAID.
Your client can be written in any programming language.

I am opening up the source code for the DOS and Shell clients I created.
Those clients were a quick and dirty work since they were not my real focus.
However, their source code should provide a quick view on how easy it is to create a FlexRAID client.

If you are a Java developer, you can use the source code as starting point and improve on it.

The source code is available through subversion at: http://download.openegg.org/flexraidcmdclient1

To access the repository from Eclipse, you might want to install:

http://subclipse.tigris.org/

To access the repository from Windows, you might want to install:

http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/

To access the repository from Mac OS X, you might want to install:

http://scplugin.tigris.org/

For more information about subversion, please visit their official website:

http://subversion.tigris.org/

If you have any questions about the software, there's a great subversion
forum site here:

http://www.svnforum.org/

Placeholder for further detail...

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 22/04/2008 10:06:57

Desired features in clients:

[*] Easy configuration through a GUI (no more command config files)
[*] History of previously run tasks
[*] Being able to graphically browse the host filesystem to select paths
[*] Being able to manage multiple hosts and multiple RAIDs from a centralized place
[*] Task scheduling
[*] E-mail/page alerts (event notification)
[*] ...

Interesting. I will take a look.

I suppose he didn't take a hard look eh?

Hey.
So I'm trying to browse the http://download.openegg.org/flexraidcmdclient1 repo and it is requesting username:password credentials. These seem not to be provided in the forum, however. Not even a readonly account...

I'm interested in seeing what type of interesting work there is to do. Parts in which I'm interested include improvements to the WebUI, and Linux installer, getting the FlexRaidView working in Linux, and improving the documentation.

Thanks

barbog wrote:Hey.
So I'm trying to browse the http://download.openegg.org/flexraidcmdclient1 repo and it is requesting username:password credentials. These seem not to be provided in the forum, however. Not even a readonly account...

I'm interested in seeing what type of interesting work there is to do. Parts in which I'm interested include improvements to the WebUI, and Linux installer, getting the FlexRaidView working in Linux, and improving the documentation.

Thanks

Do you do Java? How is your Javascript?
If you are interested in the WebUI, I can set you up with an account.

FlexRAID-View for Linux will essentially be based off FUSE.
There are a number of clean ups I need to make to FlexRAID-View for it to be FUSE compatible; however, I can't make those changes yet until the Windows version if fully stable (don't want to chase two rabbits).

While I haven't done Java in a year or so, I used to teach it. Ditto with Javascript, but more rusty. My day job nowadays is primarily C# and SQL...

I'm interested in the WebUI and really anything that will make this system more intuitive and easier to use. This exactly the type of system I'd love to see as a standard Ubuntu repository item. Regarding FlexRAID-View, I can understand your desire to keep it on the straight and narrow until stable.
If you want help with the documentation, also let me know. I enjoy organizing things. As such, I think that it would be really useful to distill much of of the information from the forum and place it in the FlexRAID wiki.

barbog wrote:While I haven't done Java in a year or so, I used to teach it. Ditto with Javascript, but more rusty. My day job nowadays is primarily C# and SQL...

I'm interested in the WebUI and really anything that will make this system more intuitive and easier to use. This exactly the type of system I'd love to see as a standard Ubuntu repository item. Regarding FlexRAID-View, I can understand your desire to keep it on the straight and narrow until stable.
If you want help with the documentation, also let me know. I enjoy organizing things. As such, I think that it would be really useful to distill much of of the information from the forum and place it in the FlexRAID wiki.

Not sure of how much catching up you want to do with your Java, but you will need to know Spring and Struts2 very well.
On the JavaScript side, the WebUI uses Yahoo's YUI, Dojo, and some custom libraries.

A tray application for managing the View and/or the RAID could be a cool addition.
You could do that in C#.

What are you thoughts?

barbog wrote:While I haven't done Java in a year or so, I used to teach it. Ditto with Javascript, but more rusty. My day job nowadays is primarily C# and SQL...

I'm interested in the WebUI and really anything that will make this system more intuitive and easier to use.

You can take alook at the GUI that I started, that is also Mono .Net 2 Compatible for C#.
With the Java & Script knowledge, it would allow you to decrypt the calls the current WebUI makes and bring the c# GUI upto the latest Betas Spec quite easily.
Let me know if you want to join the Codeplex site.

barbog wrote:If you want help with the documentation, also let me know. I enjoy organizing things. As such, I think that it would be really useful to distill much of of the information from the forum and place it in the FlexRAID wiki.

The Wiki that I used to keep upto date at the beginning of the year needs a refresher for all the new features that the latest Betas are describing.
It also needs the FAQ brnging upto date - Used to do this from the items being asked on a weekly basis, but have other things distracting me at the moment.
You should be able to just join that wiki pages and start to edit them easily.

@ Brahim:
I don't mind doing some catch up. I'm still comfortable with Java -- it is mostly the 3rd party libraries I'd have to read up on. That said, I'm happy picking up any tech I've not really dealt with. It may take a bit before there is significant productivity, but I don't think that there is any rush. Alternately, it seems that the tray management application could be a pretty handy addition to Smurf-IV's client, or a similar app.

@Smurf-IV:
Yes, I've taken a quick look at the GUI. I would be pleased to be join that on the Codeplex site. Did you put it together with MonoDevelop, Eclipse, Visual Studio or something else? I would likely be using MonoDevelop.
As for the Wiki, I'll take a look into the forum it and see what I can amalgamate into Wiki entries. There are only a few thousand forum posts, I'm sure. ^_^ How much work could it be? <grin>

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 26/10/2010 07:19:30

barbog wrote:
Yes, I've taken a quick look at the GUI. I would be pleased to be join that on the Codeplex site. Did you put it together with MonoDevelop, Eclipse, Visual Studio or something else? I would likely be using MonoDevelop.

I used Visual Studio 2005 to do most of the work,
And then occasionaly would use MonoDevelop to import the solution and vcproj files to make sure they would still build.
I think the last version I tested was 1.1.6 (i.e. Definetley didn't do the email stuff from *Nix distro's !)

As I am slowing wrapping up with FlexRAID Live!, the next phase of development will be on the client interface.

I am still going back and forth on what the proper client technology should be.
A desktop client is nice and lightweight but not easily portable.
A web client is portable but is not lightweight.

Actually, let me start a poll on this.

Greetings,
I like where your product is going, I've considered writing a piece like it with some extended features for enterprise use (for instance making use of available unused workstation space to enhance the pool of space available to the virtual disk set). I am a MS partner and have a class 3 cert and would be very interested in helping with the client and documentation to assist people with using your product. Please contact me if you are interested as I am ready for an extra project right now and can spare some time to do the work. Unfortunately, I was not able to pull down the samples or code..(it is apprently now password protected) please advise at your soonest

Cheers

Mark

Is access to the CLI java source still available? Like the previous posters, I noticed it's password protected currently.

Thanks.

xnoodle wrote:Is access to the CLI java source still available? Like the previous posters, I noticed it's password protected currently.

Thanks.

I made the repository public.
You should now be able to access it.