[Opensim-dev] OnLook viewer and opensim support modules

[Diva Canto]

Dear devs,

I've been working with a Singularity developer in order to develop a 
Singularity-based viewer for OpenSim that can show different UI and user 
controls depending on data sent from the server side. It's a little bit 
like a Web browser: the browser is to be as generic as possible, the 
server sends the application, which changes from server to server. These 
viewers obviously aren't Web browsers, so there's only so much that we 
can do under this idea. But to the extent that it can be pushed to 
behave like a web browser, we're pushing it. This allows for opensim 
providers to offer different/simpler interfaces to their users without 
requiring a whole new viewer installation.

The viewer is called OnLook, and the few changes we already made prove 
the concept. The code is here:
https://github.com/diva/OnLook

There are currently two independent options: (1) a special UI, where the 
server can send what buttons to show in the toolbar; and (2) a 
camera-only mode that tells the viewer not to render the person's avatar 
and to provide a camera control model that is more inline with what you 
have in 3d editors like Sketchup (warning: this second mode is going to 
make many of you barf! :) This is just the beginning, and much more can 
be done.

In order for this viewer to behave any different than regular 
Singularity, the sim needs to be extended with modules for supporting 
these behaviors. In talking to Justin and others on the IRC, there 
seemed to be support for adding these modules to core opensim, under 
OpenSim.Region.OptionalModules -- there's already one there made by 
Melanie that also subscribes to this design philosophy.

But before I push it, I wanted to let you know about it, and to make 
sure there are no issues in having this in core. I need a viewer whose 
UI and user controls can be programmed server side, that's why I made 
OnLook. Nothing in it is proprietary, but I also don't want to impose it 
in core.

Cheers
Diva