Full HTML for

Basic foilset Overview of Tango 2

Given by Marek Podgorny at Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting on June 14 99. Foils prepared July 6 99
Outside Index Summary of Material

Tango 1 Compared to Tango 2
Tango 2 Features including
  • Roles
  • Pre defined Sessions

Table of Contents for full HTML of Overview of Tango 2

 Denote Foils where HTML is sufficient
1 TANGO Interactive 2.0
2 Deficiencies of TANGO 1
3 Deficiencies of TANGO 1, cont.
4 TANGO 2 core enhancements I
5 TANGO 2 core enhancements II
6 TANGO 2 core enhancements III
7 TANGO 2 core enhancements IV
8 TANGO 2 core enhancements V
9 TANGO 2 application support
10 Concept of "roles"
11 SM Predefined Sessions
12 Role-specific application set
13 Role-specific startup URLs
14 Other SM configuration options

Outside Index Summary of Material

HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 1 TANGO Interactive 2.0

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
General Review
by Marek Podgorny
NPAC, Syracuse University & WebWisdom.com
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 2 Deficiencies of TANGO 1

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
No flexible security and authentication
Incomplete support for firewall operation
Awkward GUI ("alien interface")
No runtime server switching
No support for user's identity (Cybercrowd)
No support for "roles"
No real support for communities
Rudimentary support for asynchronous collaboration
  • No persistent document storage
  • No mail gateway
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 3 Deficiencies of TANGO 1, cont.

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Session ownership and floor control mix-up
  • Application protocol independence was not consequently expanded to floor control
Limited configurability of Session Manager
Incomplete API for JavaScript applications
System tied to Netscape browser only
  • No support for Internet Explorer
  • Performance problems on UNIX
Very limited support for system administration
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 4 TANGO 2 core enhancements I

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Brand new Graphical User Interface
  • Implements new cyberspace navigation paradigm
  • Conforms to prevailing, intuitive "look and feel"
  • Improves ergonomy and saves screen space
  • Less agile, though....
Authentication and security
  • Server-based user authentication, secret key based, strength better than UNIX but still not in Kerberos league
  • Support for a variety of repositories: LDAP, RDBMS, local encrypted files, HTTP-based files
  • Licensing (eliminates rogue servers )
  • Secure Sockets used for server-client communication
Firewall support: SOCKS4 supported for client-server link
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 5 TANGO 2 core enhancements II

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Standards-compliant personal identity module
  • Independent of storage, PIM metadata comply with IMS standards
  • This is critical for future interoperability
User data include "roles"
  • Interpretation of "role" attribute is left to the system. Enables privilege and contents access control
Integrated e-mail and support for data persistence
  • Internal mail system got a gateway to "sendmail"
  • All internal messages may be copied to external mail accounts
  • "Communities" supported by listserv interface (v. 2.1)
  • Application modules can use e-mail to store application data
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 6 TANGO 2 core enhancements III

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
"Awareness" package
  • Dynamic directory service implemented to track users and communities
    • "Voluntary" participation, multilevel status definition, privacy protection
  • Dynamic collaboratory server selection and migration
    • Based on server status tracking via directory service
Session recording capability
  • Integration with the LecCorder package
Enhanced session management and security
  • All permissions can be set per application session in addition to global settings
  • Role-based privileges
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 7 TANGO 2 core enhancements IV

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Interface configuration support
  • Pre-defined, fixed, auto-started application sessions
  • Flexible (system administrator configurable) multi-frame layout
    • Support for placing selected application modules in one multi-frame window
    • improved interface ergonomy; implementation of domain specific interfaces
  • Hidden-frames support
  • Absolute placement of floating application windows with a customizable window manager
  • "Branding" support
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 8 TANGO 2 core enhancements V

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Support for Internet Explorer (v.2.1)
  • Implemented and operational for Java applets and "local" applications
  • Designed and prototyped for JavaScript applications
  • Insufficient testing, unknown robustness
"Out-of-the-browser" implementation (v.2.1)
  • Important for UNIX platforms
  • Designed, prototyped and sparsely tested. Design implements a model analogous to "LiveConnect" for AppletViewer
  • Significant performance and robustness gains.
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 9 TANGO 2 application support

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Support for shared dynamic HTML
Support for shared DOM
  • Forms-based applications such as "workbenches"
Integration with Courseware Management Database System
Enhanced user feedback modules
Voting/Testing tools
Scientific Visualization package
Active Shared Objects technology
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 10 Concept of "roles"

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Each user in a community is assigned a role
  • The role is completely arbitrary
    • professor, student, uncle Matt, top_secret_clearance, chair
  • Roles can only be used with secure servers
  • Session Manager can be configured to alter some behaviors based on the role
    • Predefined session
    • Role-specific application set
    • Role-specific application startup URLs
    • Role-specific operational privileges
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 11 SM Predefined Sessions

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Predefined sessions are sessions that are automatically started when a user with a certain role (e.g. professor) logs to the system.
  • Predefined session requires section 'predefined' in the conf file:
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 12 Role-specific application set

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Sometimes it is desirable to block the ability to start some type of applications for certain type of users
The configuration file allows for adding the 'show' parameter in the 'App' section specifying who is able to use this type of application.
  • [App 37]
  • show=professor, support
Now only "professor" and "support" roles may start the application 37. Other users can have this application opened remotely on their machines.
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 13 Role-specific startup URLs

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Each applet has a 'url' parameter specifying the starting page for given type of application. This parameter can be overridden by a role specific URL pointing to another location.
All users with a role ? professor start application using 'url' parameter. When a user with professor role starts the same type of application, 'professor url' will be used instead.
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared July 6 99

Foil 14 Other SM configuration options

From Overview of Tango 2 Tutorials at ACM Java Grande Meeting -- June 14 99. *
Full HTML Index
Role-specific operational privileges
  • Once the session is started only certain roles will be able to invoke session commands (e.g. only professor can close the session)
Server-specific application sets
  • in the situation when configuration file describes more than one server, each server can have a list of applications associated with it.
  • Such list is a subset of all applications defined in the configuration file. The application set depends on the currently used server.
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