[Opensim-dev] Thoughts on Scripting

[Diva Canto]

Hi Mike,

OpenSim has a rudimentary application model, or even two: the one I'm 
most familiar with are the region modules, and I think there's another 
module system. They allow you to develop applications for the OpenSim 
API. Developing for this API achieves everything you talk about -- or, 
ahem, it will, once a few rough edges are taken care of.

There's practically no documentation about this API, and about 
application development with OpenSim, so at this point almost no one 
knows about it. This is because both the API and the module systems are 
still changing. You have to download the code and bravely browse through 
it. In any case, the module system(s) in OpenSim is still not as 
sophisticated as, say, a Tomcat webapp (there are no resources, for 
example), but it is the beginning of what you are looking for.

Crista


Mike Deem wrote:
> I've got a few thoughts about scripting and I would like your feedback.
>
> But first, a bit of an introduction. I'm a professional software 
> developer with years of experience working on all kinds of distributed 
> applications. I became a SL resident, scripter, and builder in early 
> 2006. I'm just beginning to get involved with OpenSim. This is a hobby 
> for me, it is unrelated to my work.
>
> For a while I've been thinking about "application models" for virtual 
> worlds. By "application model" I mean something that involves more 
> than simply scripting.
>
> A traditional application is a package of application code, shared 
> libraries, resources like images, etc. A platform's application model 
> defines the structure of these packages as well as things like the 
> security model, installation services, etc. To the user, an 
> application represents a consistent self-contained "user experience," 
> usually with a specific purpose.
>
> Of particular interest to me is the model for applications built 
> _inside_ a virtual world.
>  
> A build of any level of complexity could be thought of as an 
> application. For example: a building with door and window scripts, an 
> attachment with configuration scripts, a vehicle, a stage with 
> programed special effects for a product presentation, etc.
>
> SL offers a very rudimentary application model. You can put copies of 
> scripts in prims and you can link a limited number of prims together. 
> The platform also provides a security model and a number of other 
> services.
>
> However, the SL application model is missing a bunch of things. For 
> example we need a hierarchical prim model that supports any number of 
> prims and at region scale, a way to share and reuse script libraries, 
> a way to update things after they have been sold, given, or copied, etc.
>
> As the complexity of builds increase, the missing features become 
> quite restrictive. This limits the ability of content creators to 
> produce compelling user experiences. That limits the adoption of the 
> platform for commercial purposes.
>
> In addition, the SL script execution model is complex to implement 
> and requires a lot of computing resources. Specifically, treating 
> global script execution state as a persistent data store is 
> very problematic.
>
> I think we need something better. But I also think that making 
> something that is really better could require moving away from the SL 
> model in some fundamental ways.
>
> What do you think?
>  
>   == Mike ==
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>
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