= Bowline http://github.com/maccman/bowline = DESCRIPTION Ruby, HTML and JS desktop application framework. = FEATURES * MVC * Uses Webkit * View in HTML/JavaScript * Binding between HTML & Ruby * Cross platform (OSX & Ubuntu) - Windows soon = INTRODUCTION If you've ever wished creating a desktop application was as simple as creating a Rails website you'll be interested in Bowline. Bowline is a Ruby GUI framework. You can design and build your applications in an agile way, deploying them cross platform. Bowline lets you take your existing skills and apply them to the desktop. You can write apps in HTML/JavaScript/Ruby without having to worry about different platforms or a complex GUI API. Compared to existing Ruby desktop frameworks, such as Shoes, Bowline's strengths are its adherence to MVC and use of HTML/JavaScript. We think that, although Ruby is a great language for the backend, the view should be written in languages designed for that purpose, HTML and JavaScript. Bowline also takes inspiration from Flex through its binders. Bowline will bind up Ruby and HTML - letting you concentrate on the more interesting things. = CONTACT info@eribium.org http://eribium.org http://twitter.com/maccman = COMMUNITY http://groups.google.com/group/bowline-dev = REQUIREMENTS - Mac OSX >=10.5 or Ubuntu - Ruby 1.9 (32 bit atm) - Bowline gem If you're on Ubuntu, you'll need to run: apt-get install libwebkit-dev The other required libraries, such as bowline-desktop, are downloaded later by Bowline - you don't need to worry about these. Unfortunately, if you're using Ruby C extensions, you'll need to have Ruby compiled in 32 bit mode (which isn't the default on Snow Leopard). This will be fixed shortly. = INSTALLATION Install the gem: >> sudo gem install bowline = USAGE See the Twitter example at the end of this document, or browse the completed version here: http://github.com/maccman/bowline-twitter = GENERATING Using the bowline-gen binary (installed with Bowline) you can generate the following things: app binder helper migration model window Run 'bowline-gen --help' for more information. = COMMANDS App console: >> script/console Run application: >> bowline-bundle >> script/run Build package for distribution: >> script/build = BINDERS Binders are the core of Bowline. They're a model abstraction for the view which you can bind HTML to. Binders in turn are associated with a Model. When the model gets changed, the binder makes sure that the HTML stays in sync. You can create a binder like this: >> bowline-gen binder users Which will generate code a bit like this: class UsersBinder < Bowline::Binders::Base end Now, in the view you can bind HTML to this collection, by using the following javascript: $('#users').bowlineChain('UsersBinder'); You should probably become familiar with Chain.js (which bowline uses for binding): http://wiki.github.com/raid-ox/chain.js/ Suffice to say, the HTML looks a bit like this: <div id="users"> <div class="item"> <span class="name"></span> <span class="email"></span> <a href="#" class="destroy">Delete</a> </div> </div> = METHODS IN BINDERS You can call both class and instance methods of the binders. Following on from the above example with 'users', you could call a class method called 'admins' on the users binder like so: $('#users').invoke('admins') It's the same syntax for invoking instance methods, just called on one of the individual users: $('#users div:first').invoke('instance_meth', 'arg1') = HELPERS Helpers are similar to helpers in Rails - they're helper methods for the view which don't need a full blown binder to cater for. You can call helpers with JavaScript like so: $.bowline.helper('name', 'arg1', ['arg2']) = MODELS Bowline supports ActiveRecord and the Sqlite3 database. The packaging for distributing databases is still in development though. You can use the SuperModel gem (http://github.com/maccman/supermodel) for models held in memory. = WINDOWS Bowline lets you control your application's windows. The API is under Bowline::Desktop::Window. There's a generator for creating new windows; they live under app/windows. Every window lives under the MainWindow class. If the MainWindow is closed, the app exits. = BOWLINE-DESKTOP Bowline-desktop is an abstraction upon wxWidgets for Bowline. It gives your app access to numerous APIs & system features, such as the Clipboard, Dock, Speakers and Windows. The binary is built in C++, and statically linked with Ruby 1.9 and wxWidgets so it has no local dependencies. Compiling it isn't a requirement to use Bowline, but if you want to extend or contribute to Bowline-desktop, you can find it here: http://github.com/maccman/bowline-desktop = DISTRIBUTING Once your app is ready for a release, you should run the following command to make sure all the gems required have been vendorised: bowline-bundle Then, run: ./script/build You can only build distributions for your local platform at the moment, but we're planning to extend this. = THEMES The Cappuccino Aristo theme has been specially customized for Bowline, you can see examples of it in the Twitter client, and find it here: http://github.com/maccman/aristo = EXAMPLES Usage for a collection (of users): class Users < Bowline::Binders::Base bind User # These are class methods # i.e. methods that appear on # users, rather an user class << self def admins # This just replaces all the listed # users with just admins self.items = User.admins.all end end # Singleton methods, get added # to individual users. # # self.element is the jQuery element # for that user, so calling highlight # on it is equivalent to: # $(user).highlight() # # self.item is the user object, in this case # an ActiveRecord instance # # self.page gives you access to the dom, e.g: # self.page.alert('hello world').call def destroy self.item.destroy self.element.remove end end end <html> <head> <script src="javascripts/jquery.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="javascripts/jquery.chain.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="javascripts/jquery.bowline.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="javascripts/application.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"> jQuery(function($){ $.bowline.ready(function(){ // Bind the element users to UserBinder var users = $('#users').bowlineChain('UsersBinder', function(){ var self = $(this); self.find('.destroy').click(function(){ self.invoke('destroy'); return false; }) }); $('#showAdmins').click(function(){ users.invoke('admins'); return false; }); // Populate with all the users users.invoke('index'); // Invoke a helper var time = $.bowline.helper('current_time'); }); }); </script> </head> <body> <div id="users"> <div class="item"> <span class="name"></span> <span class="email"></span> <a href="#" class="destroy">Delete</a> </div> </div> <a href="#" id="showAdmins">Show admins</a> </body> </html> = Building a basic Twitter client Install the gem: >> sudo gem install bowline Run the app/binder generators: >> bowline-gen app bowline_twitter >> cd bowline_twitter >> bowline-gen binder tweets Copy tweets_binder.rb from examples to app/binders/tweets_binder.rb Copy tweet.rb from examples to app/models/tweet.rb Add your Twitter credentials to config/application.yml - in this simple example they're not dynamic. Copy twitter.html from examples to public/index.html Install the Twitter gem: >> sudo gem install twitter Add the Twitter gem to Gemfile: gem "twitter" Bundle gems: >> bowline-bundle run: >> script/run That's it. You can see a snazzed up version here: http://github.com/maccman/bowline-twitter