Tango - A Java/WWW-Based Internet Collaborative Software System

Project Summary:

TANGO is an integration platform which enables building Web-based collaborative environments. The system provides the means of fast integration of Web- and non-Web-applications into a multi-user collaborative environment. The main functionality provided by the system consists of session management, communication between collaborating applications, user authentication and authorization and event logging. Our application of this Java/WWW-based collaborative framework is focused on military command and control, Internet distance education and remote collaboration. Tango home page: http://www.npac.syr.edu/tango.

Technology Used in this project:

• Client-server archietcture and seamlessly integrated into the World Wide Web
• Key server and client components are written in Java for multi-threaded Java collaboative server management, session control and a Web user interface.
• Netscape Navigator 3.0 as client collaboration interface and working environment
• Netscape plugin as part of system compoents on clients
• Use of Oracle and JDBC for user authentication and authorization
• Netscape LiveConnect for inter-applet communications
• Simple APIs in Java applet, C and Java to port any application from single-user mode into master-slave or multi-user environment
• Available on multiple platforms - SGI, SUN and PC
• Current Tango applications include:
  • Line-based and image-based on-line chat
  • Whiteboard
  • Audio Conferencing
  • Collaborative Netscape Navigator
  • Collaborative Weather Viewer
  • Teaching demos from physics and math (Hopfield and Cross-Product)
  • Collaborative Visible Human
  • Multiple-Choice Exam Tool
  • Collaborative Web Search
  • Collaborative Tetris Game
  • WebWisdom (a Collaborative Presentation Framework)

Sample pictures

1. System architecture with two collaborting Tango clients
   

2. Tango client user inteface for session control and management

   

3. Tango client 1 using chat, whiteboard and vector cross product demo

   

4. Tango client 2 collaborting with the client 1 using chat and whiteboard