Subject: [Geopriv] geolocation-HELD add-on for Firefox

From: "Karl Heinz Wolf" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 09:33:15 +0100

As there is ongoing discussion about the W3C geolocation activities
and the support in Firefox 3.1, I decided to implement a prototype
geolocation-provider for Firefox 3.1beta using the HELD protocol for
demonstration. Firefox allows different geolocation-providers to be
installed as add-ons. So far, there is just an add-on for manual
location configuration
(https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8420).
My add-on uses the HELD protocol to get location information and
passes it on to Firefox.
If you want to give it a try, you have to install Firfox 3.1 beta
release (download at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html).
Just install the geolcation-HELD extension, download at

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9504 (if you have an
account there)

or direct download link

http://ecrit.labs.nic.at/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/raw-attachment/wiki/firefox-geolocation/geolocation-held-0.0.1-fx.xpi

The LIS has to be entered manually: In Firefox goto Tools – Add-ons,
extension Geolocation-HELD, configuration and enter your LIS URI (for
example, the Open Source LIS works).
Then, you can go to a test site, for example
http://www.meer.net/~dougt/gps_test.html and Firefox alerts you, that
this pages wants to know where you are. If you allow exact location, a
HELD request is sent to the LIS and then you should see your location
on the map.

Karl Heinz
_______________________________________________
Geopriv mailing list
[email-masked]
https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/geopriv

---

From: Richard Barnes <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:29:11 -0500

Actually, I wrote up something similar last night, but didn't manage to 
get it up on the Firefox Add-ons site.  It is, however, accessible at 
the following URL:
<http://geopriv.dreamhosters.com/held-location-provider-1.0.xpi>

I'll work with Karl Heinz to figure out how to merge these two 
extensions.  This will be a good example of how to HELD can be useful, 
and will be especially helpful to demonstrate how W3C and GEOPRIV stuff 
can play nice together.

Cheers,
--Richard

---

From: "Richard Barnes" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 22:08:39 -0500

Hi all,

Over the weekend, I took Karl Heinz's idea and ran with it (KHW: I
listed you as a co-author, hope that's OK!).  Now I think we have a
relatively complete first pass at a HELD location provider for
Firefox, which parses out essentially all of the PIDF-LO object it
gets from the LIS:
-- Geodetic location
-- Civic location
-- Privacy rules
It also allows the user to override the privacy rules in the LO with
his own rules.

If you've got Firefox 3.1b1, you can get the extension at the following URI:
<https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9534/>

The disappointing thing is that nothing but a single lat/long can be
passed to web apps through the Geolocation API that Firefox
implements.  Hopefully this extension will serve to start some
discussions between GEOPRVI and the W3C group that's defining the
application-layer API.

Cheers,
--Richard

On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 3:33 AM, Karl Heinz Wolf <[email-masked]> wrote:
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---

From: "Hannes Tschofenig" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:44:35 +0200

Richard, 

could you elaborate a bit more on the technical integration (browser /
server-side integration)? 

Ciao
Hannes

>-----Original Message-----
>From: [email-masked] 
>[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Richard Barnes
>Sent: 10 November, 2008 05:09
>To: [email-masked]
>Cc: GEOPRIV
>Subject: Re: [Geopriv] geolocation-HELD add-on for Firefox
>
>Hi all,
>
>Over the weekend, I took Karl Heinz's idea and ran with it 
>(KHW: I listed you as a co-author, hope that's OK!).  Now I 
>think we have a relatively complete first pass at a HELD 
>location provider for Firefox, which parses out essentially 
>all of the PIDF-LO object it gets from the LIS:
>-- Geodetic location
>-- Civic location
>-- Privacy rules
>It also allows the user to override the privacy rules in the 
>LO with his own rules.
>
>The disappointing thing is that nothing but a single lat/long 
>can be passed to web apps through the Geolocation API that 
>Firefox implements.  Hopefully this extension will serve to 
>start some discussions between GEOPRVI and the W3C group 
>that's defining the application-layer API.
>
>Cheers,
>--Richard
>
>http://ecrit.labs.nic.at/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/raw-attachment/wiki/firefox-
>> geolocation/geolocation-held-0.0.1-fx.xpi
>>
>> The LIS has to be entered manually: In Firefox goto Tools - Add-ons, 
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the 
>Google Groups "Location Implementation" group.
>> To post to this group, send email to [email-masked] To 
>> unsubscribe from this group, send email to 
>> [email-masked]
>> For more options, visit this group at 
>> http://groups.google.com/group/loc-imp?hl=en

---

From: "Dawson, Martin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:05:51 -0600

Thanks for taking the initiative(s) Richard and Karl.

Yes - I hope W3C are open to evolving the API so that minimal
transcoding (and no loss of functionality) is required between a
HELD-acquired PIDF-LO and what can be sent to the web application. It
seems crazy to keep reinventing this container... and it would be nice
for there to be consistency between what can be sent with SIP and what
can be sent with HTTP.

Cheers,
Martin

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On
Behalf Of Richard Barnes
Sent: Monday, 10 November 2008 2:09 PM
To: [email-masked]
Cc: GEOPRIV
Subject: Re: [Geopriv] geolocation-HELD add-on for Firefox

Hi all,

If you've got Firefox 3.1b1, you can get the extension at the following
URI:
<https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9534/>

Cheers,
--Richard

> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9504 (if you have an
http://ecrit.labs.nic.at/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/raw-attachment/wiki/firefox-ge
olocation/geolocation-held-0.0.1-fx.xpi

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---

From: "Richard Barnes" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:39:36 -0500

There's not much integration required, besides both sides speaking
HELD.  The LIS that I tested against (and the default in the plugin)
is a Perl CGI script that uses some rough IP geo techniques to provide
a location for most IP addresses.  I wrote that LIS independently of
this plugin, and although testing revealed some bugs in both (and
Martin T has pointed out some more bugs in the LIS), I didn't need to
do anything beyond implementing the standard to make things work.
Standards work!

As far as integration within the browser, Firefox has a layered
architecture for geolocation, where a web page queries an
implementation of the W3C Geolocation API, and the API queries a
Location Provider (e.g., this extension), which passes back a location
object.  Right now, the only real fields in the API's location object
are lat/long/altitude (no civic or rules), so while we do pull more
stuff (including civic and rules) out of the PIDF-LO we get over HELD,
we can't pass them up through the API.

--Richard

---

From: "Carl Reed" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:43:45 -0700

I have developed a very long list of comments to be submitted to the W3C WRT 
the Geolocation API. I hope to submit this week but I fear significant 
push-back. Obviously one of the comments has to do with the extremely 
limited approach to handling geometry (AKA a single point instance). The 
main problem is that the Geolocation API leave much to the mind of the 
implementation community - such as the "handle" (or ID) for a given mobile 
device instance.

Anyway, if anyone has any comments on the Geolocation API, please feel free 
to send them to me and I will add to my list.

Thanks

Carl

---

From: "Winterbottom, James" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:33:27 -0600

This conversation may be better on the HELD Implementers list.
[email-masked]

Cheers
James

> From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On
Behalf
> Of Richard Barnes
> Sent: Tuesday, 11 November 2008 12:40 AM
> To: Hannes Tschofenig
> Cc: GEOPRIV