Tools for managing widgets

This project includes tools for managing widgets.
These tools are:

  • wgtpkg-info: command line tool to display informations about a widget file.

  • wgtpkg-install: command line tool to install a widget file.

  • wgtpkg-pack: command line tool to create a widget file from a widget directory.

  • wgtpkg-sign: command line tool to add a signature to a widget directory.

For all these commands, a tiny help is available with options -h or --help.

There is no tool for unpacking a widget.
For doing such operation, you can use the command unzip.

To list the files of a widget:

unzip -l WIDGET

To extract a widget in some directory:

unzip WIDGET -d DIRECTORY

Note: that DIRECTORY will be created if needed.

Getting data about a widget file

The command wgtpkg-info opens a widget file, reads its config.xml file and displays its content in a human readable way.

Signing and packing widget

Signing

To sign a widget, you need a private key and its certificate.

The tool wgtpkg-sign creates or replace a signature file in the directory of the widget BEFORE its packaging.

There are two types of signature files: author and distributor.

Example 1: add an author signature

wgtpkg-sign -a -k me.key.pem -c me.cert.pem DIRECTORY

Example 2: add a distributor signature

wgtpkg-sign -k authority.key.pem -c authority.cert.pem DIRECTORY

Packing

This operation can be done using the command zip but we provide the tool wgtpkg-pack that may add checking.

Example:

wgtpkg-pack DIRECTORY -o file.wgt

Writing a widget

App directory organization

There are few directories that are by default used in the binder. At the root directory of the widget folder, here are the directories that could be used:

  • lib : default directory where lies external libraries needed for the binding. Binding could be stored here too or in another directory of your choice.
  • htdocs : root HTTP directory if binding has web UI.

The steps for writing a widget

  1. make your application
  2. create its configuration file config.xml
  3. sign it
  4. pack it

Fairly easy, no?

Organization of directory of applications

directory where are stored applications

Applications can be installed in different places:

  • the system itself, extension device.

On a phone application are typically installed on the sd card.

This translates to:

  • /var/local/lib/afm/applications

From here this path is referenced as: "APPDIR".

The main path for applications is: APPDIR/PKGID/VER.

Where:

  • APPDIR is as defined above
  • PKGID is a directory whose name is the package identifier
  • VER is the version of the package MAJOR.MINOR

This organization has the advantage to allow several versions to leave together.
This is needed for some good reasons (rolling back) and also for less good reasons (user habits).

Identity of installed files

All files are installed as user "afm" and group "afm".
All files have rw(x) for user and r-(x) for group and others.

This allows every user to read every file.

labeling the directories of applications

The data of a user are in its directory and are labelled by the security-manager using the application labels.