Notices

hey all, I saw a video where someone developed a iphone-like keyboard and i read that the canola2 developers might use the source code or something like that.

My question is, did that happen? Is there currently an iphone-like keyboard in canola2?

Thanks

Hi SXM,

Actually Gustavo Barbieri, the lead developer on Canola team, did the iphone keyboard like months ago while he was finishing porting Evas to Maemo. And as we needed a keyboard also it was perfect to be used, but there's so much things more important now that we left it behind for a while because we wouldn't want to launch it as a "Iphone' keyboard, but to really do our version of it, using the features that canola needs.

It will come sometime, but the point now is to really fix the bigger problems like in the scanner, podcast and media engine.

BUT: it's working ( see the youtube video by andré when he made the final hooks between maemo and the keyboard) but it still need some love, internacionalization etc.

Br

=)

If I recall correctly, this keyboard is included in the edje demo package. But I found it to be rather limited and awkward to use. YMMV.

pycage :
Yes, you're more than right. That's also one of the things that we didn't want to use it as it was. Gustavo made as a technology demo, now it's much more envolved but there was almost no design work on top of it (for example to include more characters and etc) and the "hide keyboard" field navigation, highlights etc.

So this is actually what I said about it doesn't have the features that we need, thus we won't release it just for the eye candy. We want to make users life easier and if it's not the case we don't release it =)

BR

Marcelo

got it.. You guys are doing great work, and I'm looking forward to your next update.

e ai mano, blza?

I'm curious, when the keyboard is released, will it be an option to replace the stock virtual keyboard, or limited to running inside of Canola?

Rhouge : Beleza =)

The problem with replacing the other keyboard is that we would need to be able to draw a evas transparent window on top of the all other windows. While this can be hacked we don't think is the goal right now =)

But keep in mind on thing : doing a keyboard that could fully replace the default one is a lot of work (specially in the internationalization etc) so we are really not going that way now =)

BR

Marcelo

never used (or saw) a Iphone...
what's so special on the keyboard?

Polo

I wouldn't say special, but they are using the name only because Gustavo (One of the devs) did a small demo to show off python + evas (the technology behind Canola) and how fast and simple is to develop it.

The thing is that he released this demo in the same time iPhone was really up, and the keyboard was visually the same.

The features that are nice in the keyboard are :

1. Visual dictionary ( it tries to correct your type by the proximity of keys that you maybe got wrong )

2. Smart keyboard set (for Web address, email etc)

3. It doesn't take the whole screen (thus giving you a good way of keeping the context of what you're doing

4. Gives you a smaller keys but nice visual clues of what key is pressed so you can correct by dragging the finger.

For us, to do a similar thing is more to keep the context, and because we believe that we can use the space in a better way optimized for the specifics tasks.

BUT the keyboard as it is today already suffices the needs, so that's why we are not rushing to put it out. We are going to put if it really brings the benefits.

BR

Marcelo