v4.2014 (Luda)
- Zebra rich set of UI components: http://www.zebkit.org/samples/index.html
- Zebra UI engine simple samples: http://www.zebkit.org/samples/uiengine.samples.html
- Zebra UI documentation http://www.zebkit.org/documentation
Send claims to: [email protected]
Michael Deal, http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/canvas/texteffects/
Zebra is JavaScript library that implements graceful and easy to use OOP concept together with rich set of UI components, decoupled UI engine, IO and other packages. The UI components are developed based on HTML5 Canvas element. This approach differs from traditional WEB UI, where user interface is built around HTML DOM and than "colored" with CSS. Zebra UI components are implemented from scratch as a number of widgets rendered on HTML Canvas.
- Zebra easy OOP concept JavaScript: classes, interfaces, overriding, overloading, constructors, packaging, anonymous class, access to super class methods, mixing, etc
- Zebra UI Engine that can be used as powerful basis for:
- Pixel by pixel UI components rendering controlling
- Simple and flexible events (keyboard, mouse, etc) manipulation, advanced event technique to develop composite UI components
- Layouting UI components using number of predefined layout managers
- Easy developing of own layout managers
- Full control of UI components rendering
- Play video in Zebra UI panel
- Flash-free, pure web native clipboard paste and copy supporting
- Font metrics calculation
- Layered UI architecture
- and many other ...
- Zebra rich UI Components set developed basing on Zebra UI Engine:
- More than 30 various UI components
- Look and feel customization
- Complex UI components: Grid, Tree, Tabs, Combo, Designer, Scroll, Menu, etc
- Thanks to easy OOP concept and proper design: expendable and fully customizable UI components
- Simple data model description
- HTML DOM as part of Zebra UI
- and many other ...
- JSON as Zebra UI form descriptive language
- JSON as Zebra UI look and feel configuration
- Zebra IO
- GET/POST/etc Ajax requests
- XML-RPC, JSON-RPC Service communication
- binary data handling
- Mobile devices support
- Touch screen support
- Inertial scrolling
- Virtual keyboard input
To write the first application no zebra stuff on you PC has to be downloaded and deployed (you need only this readme file :). Let's start writing simple Zebra HTML following traditional style:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src='http://repo.zebkit.org/latest/zebra.min.js'
type='text/javascript'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
zebra.ready(function() {
// import classes and variables from "ui" and "layout" packages in local space
eval(zebra.Import("ui", "layout"));
// create Canvas
var root = (new zCanvas()).root;
// define layout
root.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
// add button to center
root.add(CENTER, new Button("Ok"));
...
});
</script>
</head>
<body></body>
</html>We can write the application following more graceful manner using JSON-like style:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src='http://repo.zebkit.org/latest/zebra.min.js'
type='text/javascript'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
zebra.ready(function() {
// import classes and variables from "ui" and "layout" packages in local space
eval(zebra.Import("ui", "layout"));
// create Canvas using JSON like style
(new zCanvas()).root.properties({
layout: new BorderLayout(),
kids : {
CENTER: new TextField("", true),
TOP : (new BoldLabel("Sample application")).properties({
padding : 8
}),
BOTTOM: new Button("Ok")
}
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body></body>
</html>JSON can be interpreted as Zebra UI form definition language. For instance, use UI definition shown below and store it in "myform.json" file located in the same place where HTML is hosted:
{
"padding": 8,
"layout" : { "$zebra.layout.BorderLayout":[ 4] },
"kids" : {
"CENTER": { "$zebra.ui.TextField": ["", true] },
"BOTTOM": { "$zebra.ui.Panel": [],
"layout": { "$zebra.layout.FlowLayout": [] },
"kids" : [
{ "$zebra.ui.Button": "Clear" }
]
}
}
}Load the JSON UI form definition as it is illustrated below:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src='http://repo.zebkit.org/latest/zebra.min.js'
type='text/javascript'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
zebra.ready(function() {
// load UI form from JSON file
var root = (new zebra.ui.zCanvas()).root;
root.load("myform.json");
// find by class "Button" component and register button
// event handler to clear text field content by button click
root.find("//zebra.ui.Button").bind(function() {
root.find("//zebra.ui.TextField").setValue("");
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body></body>
</html>Zebra support browser native clipboard. The implementation doesn't require any Flash or other plug-in installed. It is pure WEB based solution !
By implementing special "zebra.ui.CopyCutPaste" interface a Zebra UI component can start participating in clipboard data exchange. For instance:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src='http://repo.zebkit.org/latest/zebra.min.js'
type='text/javascript'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
zebra.ready(function() {
eval(zebra.Import("ui", "layout"));
// define our own UI component class that wants to handle clipboard events
// the components inherits multi lines label component (MLabel)
var MyComponent = zebra.Class(MLabel, CopyCutPaste, [
// override "canHaveFocus" method to make your component focusable
function canHaveFocus() { return true; },
// returns what you want to put in clipboard
function copy() {
this.setColor("#FF3311");
return this.getValue();
},
// this method is called when paste event has happened for this
// component
function paste(s) {
this.setColor("#000000");
this.setValue(s);
},
// use border as an indication the component has focus
function focused() {
this.$super() // call super
this.setBorder(this.hasFocus() ? new Border("red", 2,3) : borders.plain);
}
]);
// create UI application with our clipboard handler UI component
(new zCanvas()).root.properties({
background: "#EEEEEE",
layout: new BorderLayout(8,8), padding:8,
kids : {
TOP : new BoldLabel("Copy/Paste in box below"),
CENTER: new MyComponent("Copy me in clipboard").properties({border:borders.plain, padding:8})
}
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body></body>
</html>Default values of UI components properties can be controlled by JSON configuration. You can define an own JSON configuration to override default Zebra configurations (that is stored in "zebra.json"). For instance, imagine we need to define new background and font for "zebra.ui.Button" component. It can be done by providing the following JSON configuration file:
{
"Button" : {
"font" : { "$Font": ["Arial", "bold", 18 ] },
"background": "#DDDDEF"
}
}As soon as the file will be added in configuration chain, every new instantiated Button component will get the new font and background properties values.
The module provides handy manner to interact with remote services.
// get, post data
var gdata = zebra.io.GET(url),
pdata = zebra.io.POST(url, "request");
// async GET/POST
zebra.io.GET(url, function(request) {
if (request.status == 200) {
// handle result
request.responseText
}
else {
// handle error
}
...
})// XML-RPC server
var s = new zebra.io.XRPC(url, [ "method1", "method2", "method3" ]);
// call remote methods
s.method1(p1, p2);
var res = s.method2(p2);
// async remote method call
s.method1(p1, p2, function(res) {
...
});// JSON-RPC server
var s = new zebra.io.JRPC(url, [ "method1", "method2", "method3" ]);
// call remote methods
s.method1(p1, p2);
var res = s.method2(p2);
// async remote method call
s.method1(p1, p2, function(res) {
...
});// JSON-RPC remote method execution
var res = zebra.io.JRPC.invoke(url, "method1")(param1, param2);
// Async JSON-RPC remote method execution
zebra.io.JRPC.invoke(url, "method1")(param1, param2, function(res) {
....
});Zebra doesn't require extra installation or configuration steps.
Zebra package:
zebra-home
|
+--- [lib] # zebra source code
+--- [apidoc] # the latest zebra API documentation
+--- [samples] # various zebra snippets and general UI set demo
+--- startup.py # small HTTP Web server
+--- index.html # index WEB page to see main samples and demosZebra include "samples" folder that keeps various Zebra UI snippets. A desired sample can be run by opening appropriate HTML with a browser. Some sample cannot be opened as file (because of security restrictions browsers can have), In this case they have to be opened through a web server. Zebra includes small, simple but buggy Python web server that can be used for demo purposes.
To see snippets and demo it is preferable to start embedded Python HTTP web server. To do it following the instruction below: * Open terminal * Go to zebra home directory * Run small python HTTP server on your PC:
$ python startup.pyThan you can:
- Run list of links to various samples and demos following http://127.0.0.1:8080/ URL
- Run main Rich UI engine demo following http://127.0.0.1:8080/samples/richui.demo.html URL
- Run UI engine samples following http://127.0.0.1:8080/samples/uiengine.samples.html URL
- Find many other snippets in "samples" folder
Zebra source code is split into bunch of JS files you can find in "lib/zebra" folder. Also there is number of JSON configuration and resources files that are required in runtime. To build or update generated Zebra packages, scripts, docs and so on run the following command:
$ ruby ./bin/lithium.rb buildThe following JS files are generated:
zebra-home
|
+-- [lib]
| |
| [zebra]
| +- *.js # zebra JS source files
| +- *.json # configuration files
| +- *.png|pxm # binary resources
|
+-- zebra.png # zebra (Runtime) UI elements icons
+-- zebra.json # zebra (Runtime) JSON configuration
+-- zebra.js # Zebra (Runtime) JS code
+-- zebra.min.js # minified (Runtime) Zebra JS code
+-- zebra.runtime.zip # all you need in runtimeUse artifacts packaged in "zebra.runtime.zip" file if you need to keep zebra on your web site. Unpack it in you web folder and include "zebra.min.js" in your HTML page.
Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
- WEB : http://www.zebkit.org
- e-mail : [email protected]
- linkedin: http://nl.linkedin.com/pub/andrei-vishneuski/14/525/34b/