GBPVR Web

[CodeMonkey]

I am sitting here at work (and not working ) thinking about doing a web interface (service) after weather is complete and had a couple thoughts.

1) Sub, could I get info from you on the database layout and if possible some examples of the C# code you use to access the data?  If you didn't want to post that yet, email would be fine.  Actually your code that displays the guide would be extremely helpful too.  Save me development time and would make the web guide look as much like the native guide as possible.  Of course the same holds true for recording screens etc. too.  So I guess you could just give a drop of the whole app  hehe

2) I was thinking of using the Apache web server (http://www.apache.org).  It is free, has a Windows version, is fairly well known, and (apparently) supports C# web services.  

Basic features of guide viewing, schedule a recording, view current recording schedule, and view previous recordings would be supported at first.

My only hesitation would be that I will not have time to support people trying to get Apache running.  And I would be worried that people who didn't know what they were doing could be completely opening up their machines or home networks.  I would be putting a BIG disclaimer around that second concern.

Any thoughts or comments?

[gplasky]

I think Windows XP also comes with IIS as an optional component. You might want to consider that. Either way you end up supporting a web server so you need to come up with some type of installation wizard that walks them through doing it or automating the setup specifically for your Web Interface app. Or take a look at how BeyondTV does it. They have their little webserver app running for the same reason.

Gerry

[sub]

You might want to let me integrate the web server for you. A little known fact is that a big chunk of IIS is contained within the .net framework (system.web.dll). This contains all the functionality to host and run .net web applications and web service.

I can integrate support for this into the recording service, allowing you just to drop aspx pages (and any bin\*.dll), or asmx files into a hosting directory.

[CodeMonkey]

Sounds good about the integrated IIS/webserver.

I suppose the exposing a interface to the recording service makes sense as well. Greatly simplifies this web service.

[TypQxQ]

When you say WebService, do you mean a SOAP Web Service that has to be consumed by a webpage somwhere else, or what do you mean?

I think you mean a standardised WebSite running ASPX. If you make a WebService, it wil only return XML as output to a XML querry and someone else has to build the website that connects to the WebService.

That could work if we would have something like a big site on which you log in and it would connect to your computer and send/get everything.

BUT, not everyone has an IP from their provider. That means they can't get to the computer from outside their private network.

If we'd have a central site a plugin could check and update both ways every few minutes from the gb-pvr computer. But how would you be able to show the users personal tv-guide?

That's just some thoughts........

[sub]

No, we're not going doing that path. I'd prefer information about tv listings, recording etc all to be stored on the users PC.

We'll provide the ability to host a GB-PVR website (or possibly web services) on the users HTPC. Access to it is their problem. They can choose enable the web access if they want this functionality. People with broadband and router (linksys/dlink/etc) can easily setup a particular port (eg 80) to be forwarded to the home theatre pc. If they dont have static IP address, they could like at things like dynip.

Nothing has really been decided, but the reason I mention webservices, is incase we decide to implement the a multi-tier web application (to support webpages hosted on a separate machine from the home theatre PC). For example, say they user has a linux webserver and would like to make the GB-PVR pages available via the net. They could host the web pages on the linux server, which consumes the webservices (*.asmx, bin\*.dll) on the GB-PVR home theatre PC.

Alternatively in the same senario, a linux webserver could be set up to proxy pass requests for a specific web app, to the web server running on the home theatre PC.

Lots of options.

[CodeMonkey]

I mis-spoke.  Actually I was just thinking about a .NET application written in C# that runs via IIS (or http server) along the lines of:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">
//csc Hello.cs
using System;
class Hello
{
         public static void Main()
         {
                  Console.WriteLine("Cotent-Type:text/html\n");
                  Console.WriteLine("Hello how are u");
         }
}

//code for Hello.html running under IIS
|<HTML>
         <form action ="/scripts/Hello.exe">

                  <BR><BR>
                  <center>Click The Button<br>
                  <input type=submit value="Show Message"></center>
         </form>
</HTML>
[/QUOTE]

[CodeMonkey]

Sub, what were you thinking about for guide data?  Exposing a interface for that too?  That would encapsulate the data to the point where if you changed the database for whatever reason, the web plugin would stay the same.

[TypQxQ]

Codemonkey, that looks like cgi... It's sooooo EARLY 90's... I was doing that inn '94 with Perl and HTML.
Think ASPX and Server Side Components (DLL's called by ASPX). Besides, calling an exe from IIS is a security risc and a few extra steps for installing the web application, you have to change the IIS security to allow executables.

And I doubt this can be calleda plugin.

What I'd do (no, I wouldn't do a big site and webservices), is make an ASPX site that is a frontend to some nicely done ServerSideComponent's that connect to the database and do all the dirty work. Maybe skinable trough XSLT and XML and... STOP, too many ideas...

Anyway, if you email me I can email u back a book about C#, ADO.NET and ASP.NET.

If you allready know all this and more, I apologise, I've just built a few sites in .net...

If you need a good book, I can email you a couple

[mamema]

i like this web server stuff a lot, but consider the following:

the whole htpc stuff is in its early stages. The most people which using this kind of stuff are technical skilled people, so the one button install solution isn't necessary at the moment (perhaps at a later time)
Because there are some technical skilled people out there, these kind of people might have already a webserver (like myself). Then i install a tool like gbvr and have another webserver?
Then i need another port for the new webserver.....
Then i have problems to connect because some companies block other ports than 80 or 21
Then the webserver gets useless to me.....

This kind of solution is suitable to every kind of tool i've installed on the PC which has a webserver included.

Because of that i would prefer a solution where i can point gbvr to a directory where the files are stored but where these files will be used from my webserver (apache)

Perhaps a second solution is if the user is able to choose if he wants to use the build in gbvr webserver or an external webserver

By the way: IIS is a webserver with a lot stuff included. And it needs a lot configuration skills to lock down these security holes.....
I think using IIS for gbvr is like throwing weapons of mass destruction on a car thief

regards

mamema