Any chance of a nodebox web-plugin to see nodebox scripts in action online?
Posted by Tom De Smedt on Feb 14, 2007
Well, you can export scripts as a Quicktime movie. Those you can put on a website.
If you mean interactive things (like Flash) in a browser, there are some difficult issues to consider. I've been discussing the subject with Frederik today.
We would be able to export to Flash but without the interaction (that would mean something scary like programming a NodeBox/Python to Flash/Javascript converter). So you would end up with a Flash animation you can't manipulate... which is the same as a movie.
NodeBox's technology would theoretically allow us to create an interactive version that works in a Safari browser on Mac computers. However, NodeBox users would quickly become frustrated because PC users couldn't see their online work. So then the whole cross-platform issue would come up again. Right now we're focussing on the Mac-only version because it allows us to develop faster.
A "NodeBox player" like a Flash player is also a no-go. Flash is being developed by a giant company, the Flash player is standard on most computers, etc. About 98% of browsers are Flash enabled. NodeBox is just two people and the effort of building a NodeBox player wouldn't add up... NodeBox is now up to 600 downloads a month, once that number is multiplied by 10 I promise we'll build a NodeBox player!
An online interactive version would also mean running Python scripts in a browser, so on a user's home computer. Python easily provides you the tools to delete all the files on a hard drive. And we don't want to wrap Python in a sandbox that disables any Python creativity. NodeBox is about total creativity, total freedom, all the tools within reach.
For now, try to think of NodeBox as a heavy-duty development application instead of a lightweight web presentation tool.
We definitely have plans to look into like an "export to application". This would include components like an output window, programmable buttons and sliders, programmable and interactive input windows, and more delicious secrets (see "Gravital"). A server version that administrators could install and have users drag sliders in a web browser and that produces SVG output is another trail of thought we're looking into.
I hope this answers your question! Right now Frederik is working on node-based interfaces and I'm working on Core Image and graphing algorithms. This is what we'll mainly be doing for a month or two or three... at least when we're not fixing bugs.
Posted by Tom De Smedt on Feb 14, 2007
Well, you can export scripts as a Quicktime movie. Those you can put on a website.
If you mean interactive things (like Flash) in a browser, there are some difficult issues to consider. I've been discussing the subject with Frederik today.
We would be able to export to Flash but without the interaction (that would mean something scary like programming a NodeBox/Python to Flash/Javascript converter). So you would end up with a Flash animation you can't manipulate... which is the same as a movie.
NodeBox's technology would theoretically allow us to create an interactive version that works in a Safari browser on Mac computers. However, NodeBox users would quickly become frustrated because PC users couldn't see their online work. So then the whole cross-platform issue would come up again. Right now we're focussing on the Mac-only version because it allows us to develop faster.
A "NodeBox player" like a Flash player is also a no-go. Flash is being developed by a giant company, the Flash player is standard on most computers, etc. About 98% of browsers are Flash enabled. NodeBox is just two people and the effort of building a NodeBox player wouldn't add up... NodeBox is now up to 600 downloads a month, once that number is multiplied by 10 I promise we'll build a NodeBox player!
An online interactive version would also mean running Python scripts in a browser, so on a user's home computer. Python easily provides you the tools to delete all the files on a hard drive. And we don't want to wrap Python in a sandbox that disables any Python creativity. NodeBox is about total creativity, total freedom, all the tools within reach.
For now, try to think of NodeBox as a heavy-duty development application instead of a lightweight web presentation tool.
We definitely have plans to look into like an "export to application". This would include components like an output window, programmable buttons and sliders, programmable and interactive input windows, and more delicious secrets (see "Gravital"). A server version that administrators could install and have users drag sliders in a web browser and that produces SVG output is another trail of thought we're looking into.
I hope this answers your question! Right now Frederik is working on node-based interfaces and I'm working on Core Image and graphing algorithms. This is what we'll mainly be doing for a month or two or three... at least when we're not fixing bugs.