I have just finished a draft with the commands you are supposed to see in the next version of ClipboardLAN. This is work in progress and it may change during the development. However, if you are curious, you can take a brief look at this document. Basically it shows the commands it will use (LOGIN, PING, VERSION, CAPABILITIES, TRANSFER, QUIT) and some of the rules I thought.
During the brain-storming I thought of different schemes to design a protocol and, finally, I decided to use my knowledge of the NNTP protocol to design something alike. NNTP protocol specification (RFC 977) is a must-see for anyone seeking for inspiration. I, personally, found it inspiring because of cultural references in the examples and the way is presented. Besides, it is really easy to understand.
At the moment, I have put most of my effort in the collaborative part of the ClipboardLAN. However, I spot a few cases where lots of people might it found useful: interactive sharing. I mean it really shares the content of the clipboard across a network without asking for confirmation. So I am still thinking about a “MODE” command where it sets the kind of use it will have (COLLABORATIVE MOVE vs. INDIVIDUAL MOVE).
“Collaborative mode” is thought to work in pairs. So connections are between one-on-one. It also ask for confirmation between replacing the current content with new ones. “Individual mode” supposes you are working alone with a few computers, so it just will spread the data to any computer without asking (but I think that this should not be done when large files or data are put in the clipboard because it could time considerable time. I must work on this).
I still have to make some mockups to get a clear idea about how it will work…
These days I have talked with lots of people about these ideas and expectation is rising. I have found some prospective users and I think I am becoming some sort of a vaporware seller. I expect not to. However, I can’t promise you to deliver this on time, because it is not one of my top priorities. But this is my roadmap by now:
March 2009: ClipboardLAN 2.0 for Windows a first beta is being released.
April 2009: ClipboardLAN 2.0 for Windows release candidate goes out.
May 2009: ClipboardLAN 2.0 Windows is available :D
November 2009: ClipboardLAN 2.0 Linux(Gtk) is available.
PS: If this post does not make sense to you is okay. I am just writing these things down as a brainstorm to think about them later.
