Hosting stacks

[Regulae]

Hi all,

I am currently involved in an educational project which requires that students be able to view/interact with rev stacks on the web. The problem is that they really can’t download anything, which rules out providing standalones for them to download and run, or revlets, as installing the plugin is not, for them, an option (despite this being a once-off operation). Is it possible to host rev stacks on the server using an onRev account, and if so, how? I take it that, even on RunRev’s own servers, revlets would still require the plugin on the client’s computer. The aim is to make a number of standard rev stacks, prepared by teachers over the past year or so, more widely available. Essentially, the requirement is to run the stacks entirely on the server, without the student downloading or installing anything. I’m quite new to the web side of things, so any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance,

Michael

[Klaus]

Hi Michael,

here some infos:

Revlets:
1. To display them in a browser you DEFINITVELY need the plugin to be installed!
2. They can be hosted on ANY webserver!

Rev stacks (*.rev)
Can be hosted on ANY server, since they are just files.

But what do you mean by "they really can’t download anything"?
(Simple web pages ARE downloaded before they are displayed in a browser!)

If this is really true then how will you start at all?
They need at least SOMETHING on their machines!
e.g. a simple standalone that downloads stacks and display them.
This can be done with a single line:
...
go url("http://www.yourserver.com/folder/the_stack.rev")
...


Best

Klaus

[bn]

Hi Michael,
Klaus just explained it. To add to this, assuming you can not download anything but have lets say RevMedia (free) installed then you could go with what Klaus said.
put the following into the message box and hit return

Code: Select all

go stack url "http://berndniggemann.on-rev.com/easterstack/EasterEgg07.rev"

or

Code: Select all

go stack url "http://berndniggemann.on-rev.com/tableField/TheOldTableField.rev"

these stacks are hosted on onRev but could be hosted on any server. They will load into RAM and not be saved, unless the user saves them, if permitted by his rights.
It is conceivable that you host your example stacks and the user just loads them and plays around with them and when he is done, everything is gone.
Is that what would help in your situation?
regards
Bernd
Edit:
have a look at:
http://www.revjournal.com/features/reactorlab.html
They do something similar. I dont know if this would be possible in your situation.

[Regulae]

Thanks very much for your replies, which really help. Rev clearly offers a number of ways of making stack content available to the user- as a revlet in the browser, as a standalone application on the student’s computer, or using revMedia as a free “stack player” on the student’s computer. As I understand it, with these options the rev engine is running on the student’s (i.e. client) computer. I was wondering if there was any way to have the rev engine on the server instead, so the student could visit a web site and “play” stacks. The current problem is not one of cost- the plugin, and revMedia are both free (and standalones could be provided free), it’s more a question of what the student need have on their computer, other than their operating system and browser. The problem is requiring students to instal anything, so I was wondering if there was a way of running the stacks on the server? Thanks again- I have followed up the links indicated, and you are all really helping me clarify the problem.

[FourthWorld]

All interactive media will require an engine to drive it. Flash has the advantage of being preinstalled with most browsers; other than Flash the only engines available to a browser without installing anything are JavaScript and Java.

Installation of the Rev plugin is about as easy as an installation can get, and Rev standalones can be self-contained so they're as simple to install as simply downloading and unzipping it.

Whether you use the plugin or a standalone, installing only has to be done once. So after a very minor one-time inconvenience, the rest can be as simple as going to a web page.

[Regulae]

Thanks everyone- you’ve really made things clear. Being new to it, I hadn’t understood what sort of things can be done on the server, and what must be done on the client, or student’s, computer. I see now that to enable something as interactive as a stack to be displayed, one way or another the Rev engine must be available on the student’s computer. As you’ve pointed out, there are some very easy ways to achieve this. Thanks again.