Slides of my workshop for the Layar Developer Day held June 19th, 2010 in Amsterdam. Introduction to the PorPOISe platform as a Layar API server.

1. Layar Development on the PorPOISe platform
Layar Development Day 19 June 2010

2. The Layar API
• Based on HTTP requests:
• much like a regular web request
• contains user location (and more)
• Response (JSON):
• Point Of Interest Objects (POI)
• layer metadata

3. Implementations
• Roll your own
• basic cases are pretty simple
• you really learn how Layar works
• Use an existing framework
• don’t reinvent the wheel
• more complicated scenarios are implemented...
• ...or easy to add (contribute!)
• the programmers virtue: be lazy!

4. The PorPOISe Platform

5. PorPOISe
• Open Source Layar Application Server
• permissive BSD license
• well designed, OO architecure
• runs under a standard PHP web server
• out of the box support for XML file and database sources
• 3 POI types: point, 2D, 3D objects
• basic web app and web view templates
• support for standard oAuth

6. PorPOISe Setup
• Download distribution
• http://code.google.com/p/porpoise
• Upload to webserver
• Configuration:
• add developer details to config.xml
• add layar description to config.xml
• Deployment:
• add porpoise endpoint to Layar deployment site

7. The AR content
• This is the central part: where the POIs come from
• A few options...

8. XML file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<pois>
<poi>
<id>1</id>
<title>Parking lot</title>
<line2>Central parking, free</line2>
<line3>Open all day</line3>
<line4>Wheelchair accessible</line4>
<lat>52.234127</lat>
<lon>4.959914</lon>
<imageURL>http://maps.google.com/icons/parkinglot.png</imageURL>
<attribution>(c) TABworldmedia.com</attribution>
<type>1</type>
<action>
<uri>http://my.server.com/action1</uri>
<label>Make reservation</label>
</action>

9. XML advantages
• Easy to create, no programming!
• No additional configuration needed
• performs well for up to a few hundred POIs total
• When to use
• small projects
• prototypes
• as part of a XML / XSL transformation chain

10. XML (continued)
• Bonus: google maps conversion stylesheet!
• example: Vinkeveense plassen (diving layer)
• easy to set up, demo later if time permits!

11. Database
• Still no programming!
• just a DB schema:
• POI
• Action
• Object (2/3D)
• Transform (2/3D)
• User
• optional, for oAuth

12. Database advantages
• Robust and can be more secure
• Performs well for many thousands POIs
• When to use
• large projects
• high performance needed
• dynamic content, user authentication
• complex selection criteria

13. API gateway
• The PorPOISe server acts as a converter between a geo-location
aware service and Layar
• Example: Twitter (tweepsaround), Foursquare, Gowalla
• Still just one method to implement:
• iPOIConnector::getPOIs(Filter $filter);
• extend WebApiPOIConnector for oAuth support

14. Virtual POI server
• The PorPOISe server generates “virtual POIs” relative to the
observer
• Great for screenshot layers
• again just one method to implement:
• iPOIConnector::getPOIs(Filter $filter);

15. Demo: orangedress
• Last week, ladies in orange
dresses got arested because
of strict FIFA rules
• It turned out to be a guerilla
marketing stunt which got
huge press attention
• Today the “Orange Dress
Ladies” will not be at the
football match
• Or... will they?

16. Demo: orangedress
• Let’s produce a real layer: put the Orange Dress Ladies in the
middle of Moses Mabhida Stadium - in AR
• locate stadium on Google Maps
• create XML file
• adapt PorPOISe configuration
• upload files & graphics
• request publication...
• ...done!

17. Future
• PosPOISe is Open Source so you can contribute!
• Some ideas:
• implement the API changes we discuss today
• write a test suite (SimpleTest is great!)
• performance optimization
• new database schemas
• implement true geohashing for 1 billion POI projects
• ...anything goes!

18. Credits
PorPOISe is created by Jens de Smit from SurfNET
twitter: @jfdsmit
Contributions from Squio.nl
> and you!?
http://code.google.com/p/porpoise

19. Thank you!
@jlapoutre
Johannes@TABworldmedia.com