User definable packages?

[TiddlyTweeter]

This is just a thought, since you asked for ideas.

My fantasy here is you provide an Android "wrapper" but facilitate an author being able to wrap into it a specific TW such that the wrapper and TW content appear as one app for download ...

It strikes me Android apps that do well are for dedicated purpose. One app type I can think of is e-books. Do you download the system that you have to manually download for or just "Great Expectations" if that is what you want to read? Hope this clear.

Just thoughts

[Wattaged]

Hi @TiddlyTweeter - it's an interesting topic (to us). I got quite excited thinking about the relationship between a framework aTW app, editions, plugins and content, especially if the app ever made it to the playstore. I think I've calmed down a bit now but have a look at the Brainstorming issue that I set up. I'd be interested in your opinions.
I'm new to github - I thought it was another kind of forum but it's not. I'm going to shift my more speculative imaginings back to GGs I think.

[BurningTreeC]

Hi @TiddlyTweeter, @Wattaged,

My fantasy here is you provide an Android "wrapper" but facilitate an author being able to wrap into it a specific TW such that the wrapper and TW content appear as one app for download ...

that sounds very interesting! my first priority was (and still is) to provide an app that makes as many tiddlywiki features as possible work within itself (providing wiki-android communication), and that provides a "bundled" feeling like tiddlydesktop, where we have a wiki-list, and quick access to open wikies and the ability to switch between them

I've already taken that approach and I've done some refactoring of the code which will be online the next days, if you're interested I'll leave a screencast somewhere that shows the current state

To your idea: I think I'm not able to create a framework for downloading app-addons right now, but it can be something for the future. What we could do is making "open with aTW" work for html files and test if the file is a tiddlywiki. If yes, we can open it and (I believe it's possible) add it to the wiki list without further user-interaction. But no promise, I'm a lonesome codewarrior atm 😢

It strikes me Android apps that do well are for dedicated purpose. One app type I can think of is e-books. Do you download the system that you have to manually download for or just "Great Expectations" if that is what you want to read? Hope this clear.

It's not that clear to me what you intend. Do you mean a tiddlywiki app dedicated to a special purpose? So in the end we would have many different apps?

aTW uses the single-file approach and I'm not thinking about making it work with a nodejs base or whatever. it seems to be a big overkill for such small devices, not that they couldn't do it, but it's cumbersome. What I'm trying to say is that every single tiddlywiki file is something different, has a different use, different intention, different content. That's how it feels for me. What they have in common is that they're tiddly wikies. The app bundles those different scratchpads, notebooks, applications, readers. Not more, not less. I think that's good

What would be cool is if people could put their small-screen-optimised wikies somewhere, where we make something like an android-installer that does nothing else than save the wiki file and create the connections in aTW, and open it if the user wants to do so, could be something to think about when we're done with all the basic coding stuff (given it works 😁)

[BurningTreeC]

... forget about what I said about nodejs, it doesn't matter in that context :)

[TiddlyTweeter]

@BurningTreeC To clarify with an example... I run a group that studies the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Most of them have Androids. They have asked me to give them an easy way to read it and bookmark it on phone so they continue analysing it through the day. The issue is they are not technically minded. For it to be workable I need to provide a "package" that will install both the "Reader" and the text.

I'm not expecting you to solve this problem. But did want you to be aware of it.

[Jermolene]

Just to add that TiddlyDesktop is in fact structured along the lines you suggest:

• The core of TiddlyDesktop is an extended browser-like environment for running TiddlyWiki applications. The extensions include the ability to host a wiki in a special iframe that permits saving.
• By default TiddlyDesktop ships with a TiddlyWiki application that displays a list of wikis and permits them to be opened in separate windows

It is entirely possible to replace the latter component with a different, perhaps more specialised application. So, you could replace it with a wiki that presents Great Expectations, and then you'd have made a desktop application for the book.

[BurningTreeC]

@TiddlyTweeter , @Jermolene

replying to Jeremy's post, the same should be possible here

replying to how to distribute such content @TiddlyTweeter mentions ... aTW now knows how to open files from file browsers, you tap a html file and it asks if you want to open it with aTW or other installed apps that can handle the file. it would be possible to open a different filetype, say "filename.atw", and do something special with it, like setting it to the starting page of the application.

the (default) starting page of aTW is going to use the TiddlyDesktop design, it will be a place where wikies can be managed/started

[TiddlyTweeter]

@Jermolene & @BurningTreeC a couple of points ...

I am a big fan of TiddlyDesktop. Its excellent for making TW easier to get going.

I have two issues regarding making its addressing of its wiki and configuration portable (TiddlyWiki/TiddlyDesktop#153 (comment) & TiddlyWiki/TiddlyDesktop#144 (comment)). Solving those would let me rewrap the package portably so I could give a click-n-go system with the TD plus wiki I could give folk via one download.

I very much like the idea of an Android approximation of TD. It gives a congruous look and feel between platforms.