SuperKaramba

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

SuperKaramba

SuperKaramba is a tool that allows one to easily create functionality enhancement modules on a KDE

KDE

KDE is a free software project based around its flagship product, a desktop environment for Unix-like systems. The goal of the project is to provide basic desktop functions and applications for daily needs as well as tools and documentation for developers to write stand-alone applications for the system....
desktop

Desktop

Desktop refers to the surface of a desk. The term has been adopted as an adjective to distinguish office appliances which can be fitted on top of a desk from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor....
. Currently, only Linux

Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
is officially supported, although it also works well on FreeBSD

FreeBSD

FreeBSD is a Unix-like free software operating system descended from AT&T Unix via the Berkeley Software Distribution branch through the 386BSD and Berkeley Software Distribution#4.4BSD and descendants operating systems....
and NetBSD

NetBSD

NetBSD is a freely redistributable, open source version of the Unix-derivative Berkeley Software Distribution computer operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed....
. This program is similar to gDesklets

GDesklets

gDesklets is a GNOME program which provides the architecture for small applets to be placed on top of the user's desktop. It is comparable to other desktop widget programs....
for GNOME

Gnome

A gnome is a mythical creature characterized by its extremely small size and wiktionary:subterranean lifestyle. The word gnome is derived from the New Latin gnomus....
, Yahoo! Widget Engine

Yahoo! Widget Engine

Yahoo! Widgets is a free application platform for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. The software was previously called Konfabulator, but after being acquired by computer services company Yahoo! it was rebranded....
for Windows

Microsoft Windows

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
, DesktopX

DesktopX

DesktopX is a shareware desktop enhancement program that allows users to build their own custom desktops. Amongst its features is a complete widget engine for Microsoft Windows as well as a desktop object system....
for Windows, and Dashboard

Dashboard (software)

Dashboard is an application for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating systems, used for hosting mini-applications known as Widget engine. First introduced in Mac OS X v10.4, it is a semi-transparent layer that is invisible to the user unless activated by clicking its icon in the Dock....
for Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
and also the 'gadgets' subset of Google Desktop

Google Desktop

Google Desktop is desktop search software made by Google for Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. The program allows text searches of a user's e-mails, computer files, music, photos, chats, Web pages viewed, and other "Google Gadgets."...
for Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
.

The interactive programs are usually embedded directly into the background and do not disturb the normal view of the desktop.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'SuperKaramba'

Start a new discussion about 'SuperKaramba'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

SuperKaramba is a tool that allows one to easily create functionality enhancement modules on a KDE

KDE

Desktop

Linux

FreeBSD

NetBSD

GDesklets

gDesklets is a GNOME program which provides the architecture for small applets to be placed on top of the user's desktop. It is comparable to other desktop widget programs....
for GNOME

Gnome

A gnome is a mythical creature characterized by its extremely small size and wiktionary:subterranean lifestyle. The word gnome is derived from the New Latin gnomus....
, Yahoo! Widget Engine

Yahoo! Widget Engine

Microsoft Windows

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
, DesktopX

DesktopX

Dashboard (software)

Mac OS X

Google Desktop

Microsoft Windows

How it works

Authors use text files to create themes that define their widget

Widget (computing)

In computer programming, a widget is an element of a graphical user interface that displays an information arrangement changeable by the user, such as a window or a text box....
. They then have the option of adding a Python

Python (programming language)

Python is a general-purpose high-level programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python's core syntax and semantics are Minimalism , while the standard library is large and comprehensive....
, Ruby

Ruby (programming language)

Ruby is a dynamic programming language, reflection , general purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features....
or JavaScript

JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development. It was the originating Programming language dialect of the ECMAScript standard....
script to make the widget interactive.

Possible uses

* Interactive weather

Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
forecasts

Control and announcement of MP3 playing with XMMS
XMMS

The X Multimedia System is a free software audio player very similar to Winamp, that runs on many Unix-like operating systems.History ...
or Amarok
Amarok (audio)

Amarok is a free software music player for Linux or other Unix-like. It makes use of core components from the KDE, but is released independently of the central KDE release cycle....
Calendar
Calendar

A calendar is a system of organize days for a social, religious, commercial or administrative purpose. This organization is done by giving names to periods of time ? typically days, weeks, months and years....
and notes
Original clock
Clock

A clock is an instrument used for indicating and maintaining the time and passage thereof. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic languages words clagan and clocca meaning "bell"....
s
System monitor for CPU
Central processing unit

A central processing unit is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage....
, network, non-removable disks
Disk storage

Disk storage is a general category of a computer storage mechanisms, in which data is recorded on planar, round and rotating surfaces . A disk drive is a peripheral device used to record and retrieve information....
Notification of new messages
E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
in mailboxes
News
NeWS

NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S....
tickers and RSS
RSS (file format)

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works?such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video?in a standardized format....
aggregators
Animated menu bars
Custom toolbars
Search tools

History

Karamba was originally written by Hans Karlsson as a school project in March 2003. It gained a lot of popularity when it was uploaded to kde-look and people began writing themes for it. Karamba only functioned on text file

Text file

A text file is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of line . A text file exists within a computer file system. The end of a text file is often denoted by placing one or more special characters, known as an end-of-file marker, after the last line in a text file....
s that were written with pseudo-xml format. It became so popular so quickly that Hans had to hand over the project to others who had time to expand upon what he had begun.

By the end of April 2003, Adam Geitgey took over maintenance of the project. He added python scripting support to karamba, which is where it took on a new name, SuperKaramba. Adam kept the project alive, added new features and applied patches from other developers until around April 2005. At that point a group of developers who wanted to move SuperKaramba even further, pushed to get it included in a KDE major release.

SuperKaramba was integrated into KDE 3.5 as part of the kdeutils package, and some of the ideas that it presents have become part of KDE 4’s desktop and panel interface called Plasma

Plasma (KDE)

Plasma, part of KDE 4, is a fundamental rewrite of several desktop interaction technologies included in the KDE desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like systems, focusing on eyecandy and special graphical effects....
, which also has support for the SuperKaramba widgets.

SuperKaramba

How it works

Possible uses

History

External links