Avviso contenuto: There were some really cool demos at FediForum last month, but the one that really opened my eyes was Emissary. It's a newer project developed by Ben Pate, and it does something totally new: composable interfaces. https://spectra.video/w/fj7mRnbsY5WpMLqFa
There were some really cool demos at FediForum last month, but the one that really opened my eyes was Emissary. It’s a newer project developed by Ben Pate, and it does something totally new: composable interfaces.
https://spectra.video/videos/embed/73e73f8f-6d8f-4918-8634-c37171e41f87#?secret=akIj8skikr Emissary FediForum demo The secret sauce behind Emissary as a project is brilliant in its simplicity: it gives you a server and a bunch of tools, and gives you the power to build whatever interface you want on top of it. It’s very reminiscent of Hubzilla, but it makes customization a first-class citizen.
Deep Customization
There’s a lot of moving parts here, but it’s pretty easy to summarize: instead of simply giving you the power to customize how Emissary looks, you’re also given the power to customize how it works. Examples from the FediForum demo. Left to right: a social reader view, a to-do list view, and a social profile view. All of these were developed using Emissary’s powerful templating system. Emissary offers comprehensive documentation, and a bunch of different template types that can assist in building whatever app comes to mind. From the layout and widgets to the timelines and data types.
By following this method, is possible to turn Emissary into whatever platform you want. It uses a special JSON templating system, and the frontend processes everything with a toolkit based on HTMX. For developers, this means that you don’t need to write a frontend in a special custom framework – instead, Emissary uses the principles of HTML for development.
Contrary to other attempts to build this kind of thing in the past, Emissary lets developers write timelines and activity data as templates. Here’s how you can define a simple to-do list item:
Template Definitions
This part exists at the top of the template, and simply defines what it is, and provides some instructions for how it’s used by Emissary. templateId:"test-todo-item"templateRole:"todo-item"socialRole:"Note"model:"stream"containedBy: ["todo"]label:"To Do Item"description:"A single item in a to-do list"icon:"check-badge"
Schema
This part defines the actual fields of the object itself. Every single property is defined as a type, with additional fields nested in the actual data itself. Here, the data property includes dueDate and complete. schema: {type:"object"properties: {label: {type:"string", maxlength: 64}summary: {type:"string", maxlength: 256}data: {type:"object", properties: {dueDate: {type:"string", format:"date"}complete: {type:"boolean"}}}}
Actions
Here, the allowed actions are defined. Each action is built up of multiple steps, which are tasks that can be mixed and matched to make something happen. Let’s look through it. actions: {create: {steps: [{do:"as-modal", "steps": [{do:"edit", "form": {type:"layout-vertical"label:"Add Task"children: [{type:"text", label:"Name", path:"label"}{type:"textarea", label:"Details", path:"summary"}{type:"text", label:"Due Date", path:"data.dueDate"}]}}{do:"publish", outbox:true}{do:"trigger-event", "event":"refreshPage"}]}]}view: {steps:[{do:"include", "action":"edit"}]}edit: {steps: [{do:"as-modal", "steps": [{do:"edit"form: {type:"layout-vertical"label:"Edit Task"children: [{type:"text", label:"Name", path:"label"}{type:"textarea", label:"Details", path:"summary"}{type:"text", label:"Due Date", path:"data.dueDate"}{type:"toggle", path:"data.complete", options:{true-text:"Complete", false-text:"Not Complete"}}]}options: ["delete: /{{.StreamID}}/delete"]}{do:"publish", outbox:true}{do:"trigger-event", "event":"refreshPage"}]}]}delete: {"steps": [{do:"unpublish", outbox:true}{do:"delete", "title":"Delete Task?"}{do:"trigger-event", "event":"refreshPage"}]}discuss: {steps: [{do:"as-modal", "steps": [{do:"view-html"}]}]}} The Create action adds a popup modal as a step, which then has the Name, Details, and dueDate values. After it’s filled out, the activity gets published to an outbox, which is the standard method for dispatching in ActivityPub. The page refreshes, and now it’s possible to edit or delete the item, or add a comment.
When we put it all together, we get something that defines what data is available, what actions are taken in processing that data, how it all looks, and what interactions are available to users. As someone who had messed around with PHP, Rails, and Node apps over the years, I cannot begin to tell you how wild this is.
Federated Music Demo
The latest demo Ben showcased is an attempt to create an alternative to Bandcamp. It’s called Arcadium, and is designed around letting artists customize the look and feel of their band pages. It includes support for streaming audio, links to other services, a custom home page, and events.
It’s an incredible example, and as of this writing, has a little over two weeks of active development time. The idea that this kind of thing is possible so quickly is nothing short of astonishing.
Ben continues to work on Arcadium, but is also seeking insight from Fediverse musicians looking for another Bandcamp alternative. Tapping into an existing community and building for their needs would be a great idea, as we’ve already seen Bonfire do with Open Science Network.
Who is this for?
It could be argued that Emissary is for power users and developers, but I think that’s only part of the picture. Emissary is based on IndieWeb principles, and a big motivation for the project involves giving people the power to shape their Web environment into whatever they want. It’s a powerful, intoxicating idea, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I’m going to download Emissary and tinker with it. Should my efforts bear fruit, I hope to write some guides in the near future!
There were some really cool demos at FediForum last month, but the one that really opened my eyes was Emissary. It's a newer project developed by Ben Pate, and it does something totally new: composabl
FediForum is a wonderful unconference intended for builders, designers, and thinkers to come together and have discussions about the Fediverse.
Don’t Forget: FediForum is Coming Soon! FediForum is the Fediverse’s recurring unconference where developers, community members, designers, and thinkers come together to share their ideas!
We’re trying something new this year: we’re live-blogging the event from on the page. It’s largely an experiment, but it’s an effort to provide deeper insight into the various events happening throughout the day. Keep an eye on the updates below!
When does it start?
FediForum starts at 8am Pacific Daylight Time, on Tuesday, March 19th, and again at the same time on Wednesday, March 20th.
What is the schedule?
A tentative schedule can be found on the site here. We’re going to do our best to cover the presentations, discussions, and demos as they come up.
Where can the readers hang out?
Regardless of whether you’re attending the conference, or just checking out updates from this page, you’re welcome to come hang out in our Matrix Space, under our Off-Topic Island channel.
FediForum is a wonderful unconference intended for builders, designers, and thinkers to come together and have discussions about the Fediverse. Don't Forget: FediForum is Coming Soon!FediForum is the
