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Challenge
One of our clients addressed to us with a task to create a toolbar for two popular
browsers – Mozilla Firefox and MS Internet Explorer. This toolbar has to have the
following features:
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Display links to sites in a form of menu items;
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Display information from RSS channels;
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Support search on different sites;
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Support its structure update after user installed in on information base received from the site of toolbar’s company-owner;
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For both browsers the toolbar should be installed and uninstalled by one installer.
Solution
For the implementation of this project KBSoft team used a set of tools and technologies,
different for each browser. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 abilities and .Net Framework
platforms were used to create a toolbar for MS Internet Explorer. JavaScript abilities
and the language of interface description XUL were used to create a toolbar for
Mozilla Firefox.
We developed a toolbar structure, supporting necessary control elements and implemented
it for both browsers. The first part of the structure was a menu with information
about toolbar and product site, and also searchbox for search with the help of Google.
The control's architecture is also flexible enough to allow further enhancement
(addition of new charts, indicators, rendering technologies, etc.)
Further an arbitrary number of buttons, opening either list of links:
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or RSS channel followed:
A mechanism at which the toolbar checks the presence of fresh updates on the product
site was created for the update of the structure. For that, it downloads update_config.xml
file from the product site in which all buttons and their menu are described and
it also contains a date pointing if the structure of each button was updated or
not.
This fragment demonstrates one of the records in update_config.xml file for toolbar button:
<button index="1" version="2008-06-26T10:53:46-04:00">
<url>
http://www.jeaks.com/games/update/cheatssearch.xml
</url>
</button>
Version attribute indicates a date when this file was updated. If after downloading
of this file it is discovered that the date was modified, a file, the address of
which is indicated in element
<url> (in this case it is cheatssearch.xml), will be downloaded. This file described the structure of one button of the toolbar.
We used Inno Setup Compiler to create an attractive installer. Thus, for the installation
of a toolbar, a user have to go over several steps of installation wizard in order
to installer the toolbar into both browsers.
Software and Services
C#, JavaScript, XML, MS Visual Studio.NET 2005, XUL.
Results
In the result of the project implementation the client received a toolbar installed
into two most popular browsers. Moreover, he received a mockup for creating an arbitrary
number of toolbars supporting update from the site, which allows to modify information
displaying in the already installer toolbars.
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Contact KB_Soft Group for
