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Archive for the ‘FreeSWITCH’ Category

TCAPI Project now out there somewhere…

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Those developers who joined the introductory WebEx today can now access the code that was released. It’s not much, but it’s a good start. Hopefully some folks will commit some stuff to it.

For those who didn’t join today you can still get involved. Please drop me an email if you want to develop some code for what is currently a FreeSWITCH-based GUI front-end for a PBX (and whatever other functions you might desire).

You can reach me here.

Also, I’m curious to start getting feature requests. What makes up a good FreeSWITCH UI? What functions do you want to see? Let me know your thoughts.

Posted in Daily Dose, FreeSWITCH, TCAPI, Tech Stuff | No Comments »

TCAPI Pre-Alpha Release (formerly FreeSWITCH GUI Project)

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

I’m pleased to announce the pre-alpha (yes, pre-alpha, meaning “doesn’t do very much”) release of the FreeSWITCH GUI project (now named “TCAPI” - the Telephony Configuration API).

Before you get all excited, I want to make sure I’m clear that my main focus has been concentrating on structure and flexibility of the back-end and whatever modularity I could build thus far. I will publish a stack-type diagram shortly to show what I’m looking to achieve. In the meantime, I’m releasing what code has been written (it’s not much) to help people get familiar with the underlying structure of the code. The UI doesn’t *do* anything except configure extensions with various variables that aren’t recognized by default by FreeSWITCH so if you are thinking this GUI will, today, actually do anything for you, keep holding.

Here’s what HAS been accomplished:

  • Implementation of a reasonable AJAX-based JavaScript framework that also implements cross-browser compatible CSS “frames”
  • Helpers have been created to aid in reading/writing XML files with complex element/attribute structures
  • Ability to write your data to MySQL/SQL/Firebird/DB2/Oracle/ODBC/Postgres/etc.
  • Ability to write to raw/native FreeSWITCH XML files via a FreeSWITCH model (+ the start of a DBO layer for FreeSWITCH)
  • Basic controllers with limited logic
  • A lot of work has gone into making the JavaScript work in an abstract-able way, so that a different AJAX framework can be introduced later
  • Menus are configurable without touching any JavaScript. You can write stuff that utilizes the JavaScript framework without knowing or touching any JavaScript directly
  • DHTML/CSS frames-based layout allows for “plugging in” just about anything as a menu item (including scripts in other languages, if necessary)
  • XML save/load models are easy to duplicate, and mapping helper functions are just a few steps away
  • Extensions page is functional and easy to modify/setup/etc.
  • Basic sample pages have been put together for other areas (domains/users/devices)
  • Browser-based AJAX streaming classes have been written/included to allow for streaming channel status information
  • Everything has been written with layers in mind (as much as time allowed for anyway)
  • Oh, and of course, an IRC channel on freenode
  • irc.freenode.net #tcapi

    Here’s what’s very much missing:

  • A web page describing the software & it’s mission (I have this written, but would like to post it on a nice looking website)
  • A bug tracking system
  • A proper email list
  • A PHPDocumenter-generated (or similar) list of functions & what limited classes/APIs have been written
  • A simple install procedure/instructions/etc. file
  • SIP Profile configuration tools
  • Domain configuration tools
  • A dialplan that allows advanced features being saved to the XML work (stock dialplan)
  • A ’settings’ page to configure base settings via the UI
  • JavaScript is not properly abstracted on most pages
  • this needs to be completed

  • Pages should be designed to work within the JavaScript frames as well as when they are NOT in the frames
  • The fsxml component needs to be abstracted as a custom behavior

    Other ideas I’m tossing around:

  • Making all HTML and back-end pieces WSDL/SOAP accessibile
  • True APIs - everything has been written as if it was a program for now, but I’m at the point where many things should have get/set/etc. commands added and the related variables that are being modified should become protected, so that things can be moved into libraries.

    A few things have been kept out of the initial check-in until I clean them up, but the channel & conference status pages will be checked in by Friday I hope so that you can monitor calls in progress/etc.

    So what’s next! I am limiting who gains access to the initial files and who commits to the project. I am doing this to gauge interest and because so much still needs to be done, I frankly only want serious, interested developers at this time (even if you can’t commit gobs of time, you need to show your interest in at least learning how the things work). This is mostly to avoid questions and also avoid disappointment from “end-users” who are just out there to try things out, since most of this code doesn’t do very much yet and a lot of hand-holding to install it is still required.

    So here’s what I’ve decided to do. I am going to hold two training WebEx meetings in the next week. The first one will be on Sunday at 11am PST. I will go through the code and how to set it up. I will provide an SVN link at that time to the code and you can follow along with the setup process. All you need is an install of FreeSWITCH on a Linux box + Apache + PHP5 stock libraries. Past that, I’ll get you going, show you how the code is setup, where things are, how to add menu items, how to add a table to the custom model, and so on. And you should be off to the races to try out any of the above items you wish, or some of your own!

    So again, WebEx, Sunday, 11am PST. If you’re interested, please email me and I’ll send you a formal invite with an attendee link.

    If you’re not interested in contributing at this time, just sit tight. I expect a true functional alpha release to be ready within 30 days (or less) that can configure SIP profiles, domains and directory entries completely from the UI.

    You are also welcome to invite others - pass along this URL if you wish.

    • Posted in Daily Dose, FreeSWITCH, TCAPI, Tech Stuff | No Comments »

    The FreeSwitch GUI Project

    Saturday, July 26th, 2008

    Welp, it’s official.

    The FreeSwitch UI / GUI Project is underway. This week I hope to put the finishing touches on a functioning graphical, web-based user interface front-end that, at the least, adds/edits/removes extensions, adds/edits/removes service providers, lets you setup some basic global features, and maybe even allows you to have a “light” version of a functioning PBX.

    The system utilizes FreeSwitch, CakePHP and some JavaScript/DHTML add-ons. Some may bicker about this, as I am aware it bloats the software a bit, but considering the audience for this is administrators, a bit of bloat in exchange for rapid development and ease of use seems reasonable. CakePHP may also be a source of complaint (compared to Symfony and others, or maybe you just hate PHP), but hey, the reality is CakePHP is under active development and seems relatively lightweight. Best of all (in my opinion) it doesn’t use a templating engine for views. Those things make me cringe when trying to teach people in an open source project how to ramp-up on the coding pieces, and don’t add enough value to warranty this additional hurdle.

    The overall design is easy enough to understand that anyone should be able to dig into the Ajax friendly front-end views without knowing much coding, or add functionality on the back-end where the same assumption applies.

    Here’s a screen shot to wet your appetite…

    Configuration screen in FS demo

    If you’re interested in helping with development, please contact me.

    Posted in Daily Dose, FreeSWITCH, TCAPI, Tech Stuff | 1 Comment »

    FreeSwitch + the future

    Friday, June 13th, 2008

    So I’ve been an Asterisk fan for a long time, but mostly because of the functionality it spearhead providing. As a first-of-its-kind to a community of telephony enthusiasts in flexibility, features and simplicity, it really took the cake for being a wonderful open-source product.

    However, I’ve felt for some time that the Asterisk endeavor has sort of stalled. While support for the product is mounting, people’s attempts to capitalize on it (www.trixbox.com, www.digium.com, etc.) may have actually stalled it’s growth in terms of features and flexibility.

    Then I found FreeSwitch.

    FreeSwitch’s goal was to take the things Asterisk couldn’t or wouldn’t do and expand on them. I truly believe this is the next Asterisk 2.0. From stability to a better core threading model, this is a great start to a new phenomenon.

    One of my core concerns with FreeSwitch is that it is so flexible that I think some people get scared away from it because, out of the box, it actually doesn’t do very much. You’re left to program a bunch of dialplan and SIP provider information on your own. No GUI, little documentation, etc.

    I can’t blame the developers for this - they clearly packed quite a punch in the feature list, and development is quite active - but I believe it’s stalling adoption.

    So while I know PHP isn’t anyone’s favorite language these days, I decided to throw something new into the mix.

    Welcome to the FreeSwitch GUI project. :-) Today I began building a UI for FreeSwitch that allows it to work like a full-featured PBX. Been done before, I know, but it’s really just a start. I’m hoping to get feature requests to expand it to work as more then just a PBX. Maybe an advanced Call Center, or maybe an advanced IVR system? Who knows - but I’m open to requests.

    I’ll be starting with the basics - look & feel, basic programming, and generating dialplans automatically. After that, we’ll try to make it flexible when configuring SIP providers. Then we’ll start adding more heavy duty features.

    If you’re a PHP coder and interested in joining in this endeavor, feel free to hit me up.

    Screenshots coming soon…

    Posted in Daily Dose, FreeSWITCH, Tech Stuff | No Comments »