University of Bolton researchers have developed a website solution which has been accepted by the prestigious Apache Software Foundation.
The Wookie Widget Server, created by a team with in the University's Institute for Educational Cybernetics, is currently in an Apache incubator. For up to two years Apache-affiliated developers from around the world will nurture Wookie, looking at its potential and helping to iron out any foibles.
Then Wookie will be ready for global use, its ASF-adoption giving it the highest business sustainability credibility.
Wookie is a Java server application that allows users to upload and deploy widgets to applications. (Widgets are mini applications – such as the calculator on your computer). Wookie is based on the W3C Widgets specification, which is a new standard for small applications, that will enable people to use the same applications on any mobile phone - or any website.
This means users can customise their own applications, bringing in widgets that they might prefer to the ones that came with the application package.
As the team is based in IEC its focus has been on educational online learning applications. The applications Wookie could work with could be anything from Moodle, or LAMS.
Wookie has been developed by IEC's senior researcher, Scott Wilson, researcher Paul Sharples and researcherKris Pophat.
Said Scott: 'This is our first project to be accepted by Apache for development – it's a prestigious and significant achievement for the team and the research centre as a whole.
'Apache development gives Wookie sustainability – it is not going to disappear over night due to one of us moving or changing direction, Wookie has a global team developing it – Apache's support gives it a future.
'That sort of accreditation is what development partners want and so it is no surprise that since Apache took up Wookie we've attracted several high-level potential partner approaches, including a major mobile phone company.'