Truly rich web application: text editing online. (now - without a browser!)

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/odf_www_an_odf_wiki

by tx • 18 years ago

4 2 18 years ago

blogs.sun.com

bootload• 18 years ago

"... It is showing OpenOffice.org used as a WYSIWYG editor for documents stored on a webserver ..."

It has been possible for quite a while. Matt Sergeant was doing this back in 2000 with AxKit and an OpenOffice module. The OO files are in XML format. The AxKit OO module allowed you to convert the text to a page using the OO markup to indicate the Web markup. The workflow was something like:

- motivation to write

- fire up OpenOffice

- write stuff

- load url

- AxKit converts OO file to markup so you can read it

- etc...

Ultimately the idea didn't work. You simply don't need to fire up a binary application to create a marked-up page. The conversion of the OO file to another format is an extra step. Blogger proved that users would tolerate a simple text editor as a Web-app. I think the main reason I stopped using my tool (a hack wrapped around OpenOffice::OODoc ~ http://search.cpan.org/dist/OpenOffice-OODoc ) was I realised I could get away without firing up OO and simply use text with templates.

I ended up taking the bicycle out instead of the 4 Wheel drive.

Kilimanjaro• 18 years ago

Awesome!

Of course stone-age wikies are a pain in the ass but now most of them are wysiwyg and really easy on the noob, who is the long tail of blogs and wikies.

Truly rich web application: text editing online. (now - without a browser!)

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