Microsoft Popfly
Encyclopedia
Microsoft Popfly was a Web site that allowed users to create web page
s, program snippets, and mashup
s using the Microsoft Silverlight
rich internet applications runtime and the set of online tools provided. It was discontinued on August 24, 2009.
technology, which are described as follows.
, or be used as a Windows Live Gadget.
, as well as giving users flexibility in designing the programs. Additional HTML
code could also be added to the mashups. A feature similar to IntelliSense
, with autocompletion of HTML code, was available as well.
The Mashup Creator also provided a preview function, with live preview in the background as users link blocks. Tutorials were available, and error notices were given to users when incompatible data was sent between blocks.
for Office 2007. Web pages were created without HTML coding, and could be customized by choosing predefined themes, styles, and color schemes. Users could embed their shared mashups in the Web page. Completed Web pages could also be saved in each user's Popfly space.
, with some support for other blog service providers.
Another feature of Popfly Space was the Popfly Explorer plug-in for Visual Studio Express
. Users could utilize Visual Studio Express (Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions or higher required) to download the mashups and modify the coding, as well as perform actions such as uploading, sharing, ripping, and rating the mashups.
All sites, references and resources of popfly were taken down, and this product is considered defunct.
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
s, program snippets, and mashup
Mashup (web application hybrid)
In Web development, a mashup is a Web page or application that uses and combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services...
s using the Microsoft Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
rich internet applications runtime and the set of online tools provided. It was discontinued on August 24, 2009.
Tools
The Popfly included four tools based on SilverlightMicrosoft Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
technology, which are described as follows.
Game Creator
The Game Creator was a tool that allowed you to create your own game or extend a game already built. It could be exported to FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, or be used as a Windows Live Gadget.
Mashup Creator
The Mashup Creator was a tool that let users fit together to pre-built blocks in order to mash together different web services and visualization tools. For example, a user could join together photo and map blocks in order to get a geotagged map of pictures on a topic of their choice. An advanced view for blocks allowed users to modify the code of the block in JavaScriptJavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
, as well as giving users flexibility in designing the programs. Additional HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
code could also be added to the mashups. A feature similar to IntelliSense
IntelliSense
IntelliSense is Microsoft's implementation of autocompletion, best known for its use in the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment...
, with autocompletion of HTML code, was available as well.
The Mashup Creator also provided a preview function, with live preview in the background as users link blocks. Tutorials were available, and error notices were given to users when incompatible data was sent between blocks.
Web Creator
The Web Creator was a tool for creating Web pages. The user interface layout was similar to the ribbon user interfaceUser interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
for Office 2007. Web pages were created without HTML coding, and could be customized by choosing predefined themes, styles, and color schemes. Users could embed their shared mashups in the Web page. Completed Web pages could also be saved in each user's Popfly space.
Popfly Space
Completed mashups and Web pages were stored on Popfly Space (100MB maximum per user), where users also received a customizable profile page and other social networking features. Public projects could be shared, rated, or "ripped" by other users. Popfly allowed users to download mashups as gadgets for Windows Sidebar or embed them into Windows Live SpacesWindows Live Spaces
Windows Live Spaces was Microsoft's blogging and social networking platform. The site was originally released in early 2004 as MSN Spaces to compete with other social networking sites, and re-launched in 2006 as a part of a shifting of community services away from the MSN brand...
, with some support for other blog service providers.
Another feature of Popfly Space was the Popfly Explorer plug-in for Visual Studio Express
Microsoft Visual Studio Express
Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of freeware integrated development environments developed by Microsoft that are lightweight versions of the Microsoft Visual Studio product line. Express Editions were conceived beginning with Visual Studio 2005...
. Users could utilize Visual Studio Express (Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions or higher required) to download the mashups and modify the coding, as well as perform actions such as uploading, sharing, ripping, and rating the mashups.
Shutdown
On July 16, 2009, the Popfly team announced that the Popfly service would be discontinued on August 24, 2009.All sites, references and resources of popfly were taken down, and this product is considered defunct.
See also
- MashupMashup (web application hybrid)In Web development, a mashup is a Web page or application that uses and combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services...
- Google Mashup EditorGoogle Mashup EditorGoogle Mashup Editor was an online mashup creation service created by Google that is now deprecated.-History:On January 15, 2009, Vic Gundotra, Google's VP of Engineering, announced that the Mashup Editor would be migrated to the Google App Engine: "Existing Mashup Editor applications will stop...
(Deprecated, since January 14, 2009) - WSO2 Mashup ServerWSO2 Mashup ServerThe WSO2 Mashup Server is an open source mashup platform that hosts JavaScript based mashups. It is based on Apache Axis2 and other open source projects, and provides JavaScript authors the ability to consume, compose and emit web services, feeds, scraped web pages, email, and instant messages. The...
- Mozilla UbiquityUbiquity (Firefox)Ubiquity, an add-on for Mozilla Firefox, is an abandonware collection of quick and easy natural-language-derived commands that act as mashups of web services, thus allowing users to get information and relate it to current and other webpages...
- Mozilla JetpackMozilla JetpackJetpack is a project that develops tools and frameworks to ease development of Firefox add-ons. The project has produced the Add-on SDK, a set of APIs, a runtime, and a command-line tool for creating and running add-ons, and the Add-on Builder, a Web-based integrated development environment which...
- Yahoo! PipesYahoo! PipesYahoo! Pipes is a web application from Yahoo! that provides a graphical user interface for building data mashups that aggregate web feeds, web pages, and other services, creating Web-based apps from various sources, and publishing those apps...
- Yahoo! query languageYahoo! query languageYahoo! query language is an SQL-like query language created by Yahoo! as part of their Developer Network. YQL is designed to retrieve and manipulate data from APIs through a single Web interface, thus allowing mashups that enable developers to create their own applications.Initially launched in...
- Scratch programming languageScratch programming languageScratch is an educational programming language that allows people of any experience, background and age to experiment with the concepts of fully versatile computer programming by snapping together visual programming blocks to control images, music and sound...
- EMMLEMMLEMML, or Enterprise Mashup Markup Language, is an XML markup language for creating enterprise mashups, which are software applications that consume and mash data from variety of sources, often performing logical or mathematical operations as well as presenting data. Mashed data produced by...
- Open Mashup AllianceOpen Mashup AllianceThe Open Mashup Alliance is a non-profit consortium that promotes the adoption of mashup solutions in the enterprise through the evolution of enterprise mashup standards like EMML. Enterprise mashup usage is expected to grow tenfold in the next five years...
External links
- Review of Popfly (PC Magazine)
- Adam Nathan and John Montgomery: Popfly - Now Open to the General Public and New Features Announced from creators Adam NathanAdam NathanAdam Nathan is a technical author/speaker, and currently works as a software developer at Microsoft. Adam is the core architect of Microsoft Popfly. He has been involved with .NET technologies from the beginning, and has written a 1,600-page book on .NET/COM Interoperability...
and John Montgomery