[REBOL] Re: REB sites which don't respond
From: jasonic:panix at: 18-Nov-2001 7:52
> shot in the dark here but in the lower left corner of your view
> desktop there maybe a yellow word "local" if so, then click
> it to put yourself in "online" mode (where it will not say anything there)
>
> and yes I was unable to reach most that I just randomly tried
> ... but others including mine worked
This got me recently after I had re-installed REBOL, but neglected to select
the check box marked "connect at startup" [I think that's what it is
called].. puzzled for couple of days while I thought I had flaky DSL
connection, finally happily discovered the 'local' button. doh.
There is an smart improvement to add to REBOL Desktop's design:
1. Offer a similar option to "connect at startup", called:
check rebsites at startup
2. If checked then REBOL would politely go through pinging each of the
REBsites and then do a quick, quiet check of the full URL to check
availability.
3. Provide a connection status indicator. For example, each rebsite name
listed in 'REBsites' could now be rendered in one of 3 possible colors:
Red, Yellow, Green for example [traffic light paradigm]..
Red: cannot even ping the domain. ie: no connection possible
Yellow: ping responds but cannot find the URL. ie:possible programming
error
Green: site online, enjoy..
4. Include a 'stats' option to show recent history of access to sites. Could
be a percentage or data value related to the 'check rebsites' history log.
The idea behind this is that while it may take a few minutes to do all this
checking, it would make a much smoother desktop, save a lot of confusion and
wasted time for everyone. The more REBsites are added the more useful this
might be.
5. To streamline the idea and allow people to customize suitably, site
checking mechanism would reference a 'check-rebsites block in user.r
The default would probably simply read thus:
check-rebsites: [
{check availability of all rebsites when desktop at startup or on-line)
url: all
frequency: startup
]
But many people might want include include multiple entries in
check-rebsites to cover more subtle or personal needs. Which sites, how
often etc..
url: all ; do them all
url: new ; since some/last time, check history
url: list ; a block of named sits to have the same settings
url: wildcards ; any REBsites with url matching certain wildcard filter
this would be a list of rebsites
The frequency: parameter is the really crucial one, governing the behavior
of check-rebsites. accepting accept time! values for daily, hourly, every 15
minutes etc. check-rebsites/frequency should also allow some obvious
contingency values, say:
frequency: never ; don't bother with this one
frequency: connect ; when desktop switches from local to on-line
frequency: select ; as it is now, when I try to access site check status
frequency: notify ; for publish and subscribe REBsites
frequency: nested ; this one would work for REBsites not visible at the
top level. Designed to be used sweepingly as some kind of /all mode or where
a precise targeting is helpful for known sites.
REBOL anticipates a very wired world, but also a wire-less world. Dynamic
site checking has to be an important feature in this vision adn should be
built in to the regular interface from the beginning.
When it works REBOL is transparent, delightfully swift and silent. But when
you get an error [often in /View] or when clicking on numb REBsites, it
gives no intelligent feedback and the clever user interface illusion
collapses fast. The technology includes its own medicine. Let's use it well.
./Jason