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Trip -
The Tellme Launcher is my baby. I created it for
VTP 1.0. The version that is available in the last daily build of 1.0
unfortunately is quite broken when used with current versions of Skype. I have
checked in a fix already, and the binary I have built myself at home works
fine. So, to keep the Tellme Launcher functionality, at one level, just requires
a rebuild of the plugin. The plugin was implemented using Java 1.4,
and with more recent Eclipse cores, it would be better raised to 1.5 level. I
have a version running on Eclipse Callisto (3.2) just fine.
As for whether the Tellme Studio service will
continue now that Tellme is part of Microsoft -- I have asked that question of
contacts I still have there, and the answer is "no change has been
contemplated". Who knows how long that will continue? I don't see it changing
very soon, though. Tellme devoted almost zero resources to Studio over the past
3-4 years, and it just keeps working. The last changes made to Studio were made
by me during the last few months before I retired. Tellme continues to run its
VXML platform, and I see no reason why they would change that, and so long as
the platform runs, Studio kind of comes along free.
So, I think continuing to include the launcher
functionality is viable. I will be happy to continue working with it, if you
like. Have you got any notions for enhancements/features that the launcher
should have? There are two things that I can think of: 1) Getting Linux
and Mac OS versions of the launcher created. Right now it only runs on Windows.
2) During the past year, Skype has itself put some effort into creating its own
blessed interface code to connect Java applications to the Skype client. It
might be well worth exploring using those facilities instead of the homegrown
ones I did. I can see potential difficulties with IP issues with that code
inside the Eclipse Foundation. I am not sure that Skype was real "clean" in its
licensing of that code.
Your idea of bucking the VXML editor up to the WTP
sounds like a very good thought, and will take those editors out of the VTP
resources' hair, and leave the functionality to the end user. Do you think you
can do that successfully?
-- Mike
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 3:33
PM
Subject: Re: [vtp-dev] Upcoming Release
of 2.0
Mike -
Ive been
thinking about those very things for some time now. Ill try to break
down my thoughts on the features that will likely survive. Of the
features provided in the VTP 1.0 release, here are the ones I believe
will/should survive:
- Grammar Authoring Constructing grammar files is an
integral part of voice application development. I dont believe our
project could be considered complete without it. To that end, a GRXML
editor will be included in the 2.0 release in one form or another.
However, I have concerns with continuing to have a dependency on the
WTP. I see two options here, first we recreate the editors with like
functionality using some other xml editor core or try to promote the xml
editor core higher up the stack than the WTP (many other projects have their
own cores for this very reason). Our second option is to continue with
our requirement on the WTP (only for the xml editors, which is overkill I
think) but we will need to perform some maintenance to provide compatibility
with the latest edition of the WTP.
- TellMe Launcher I would love to have this
functionality survive our transition into 2.0. To that end, does
anyone have the inside scoop on whether this service will continue to be
available under Microsofts flag? Also, the OpenMethods boys dont
have the expertise to truly maintain this section of the code base.
Anyone want to volunteer as the defacto maintainer of
this?
As for the rest of the VTP 1.0 feature set, the
2.0 release offers at least comparable, if not enhanced, functionality.
It is true that the 2.0 release will supplant the current code base in
many areas. I believe this will significantly lower the bar of entry for
users who are not of the developer persuasion, and provide capabilities that
are just not maintainable when the ultimate output of the tooling is raw VXML.
Developing multi-voice or multi-language applications can be very time
consuming. If these details can be managed by our tool transparently to
the user while both developing the application and during its eventual
deployment, Im all for it.
My ultimate hope for this project is that
it will provide all the features necessary to develop an application from its
inception to its grave. Many development tools take a get close enough,
and let the programmer finish it approach to application design. We
have the expertise and the capabilities as a group to not just get close
enough, but take that next step and create a truly user friendly development
environment for authoring voice applications.
Ive also been
considering what to do with the VXML editors that are currently in the VTP
1.0. As a developer, I just hate to throw perfectly good code away.
As you said in your email, there are still many projects and/or cases
where a programmer wants to be close to the metal. What do you think
about a cross project contribution? I suggest offering the VXML editors
up to the WTP as an additional language specific editor set. In this
way, the developers who are just creating a web application that happens to
use VXML instead of HTML still have that capability. It would also be
more in line with the path being taken by the WTP development
model.
Thoughts?
Trip Gilman
**thread truncated for
brevity**
On 9/12/07 12:27 AM, "Mike Greenawalt"
<mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It is great to
begin seeing the eclipse.org/vtp website change to reflect the advent of a
VTP release based on openVXML. I see a lot of work has been
done.
As a contributor to VTP 1.0, I have been very interested in
understanding how the openVXML-based VTP would relate to the original VTP.
It's beginning to be clear that this version will completely supplant the
previous version. Is that correct? Will there remain any overt support for
creating and editing VXML and grammar files? Application
launching?
I have used VTP 1.0 for several small projects, and find it
tremendously useful still. Is there any sense in which its capabilities will
survive? There are many, many voice application projects that can still be
well-serviced by the capabilities that were in VTP 1.0.
--
Mike
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