This post is one in a
series that previews Google I/O,
our biggest developer event in San Francisco, May 28-29. Over the next two months, we'll be
highlighting sessions and speakers to give Google Code blog readers a better sense of what's
in store for you at the event. - Ed.
Being a UI engineer, I
usually expect the features I implement to have a little bit more visual interaction than a
little green icon. However, while my team and I were implementing Google Docs Offline, the
challenge was just that: how make the offline experience work seamlessly while just adding one
icon.
Building Docs Offline was
quite a challenge, and we pushed Gears to its limits to accomplish it. To give an idea of some
of the complexities, Google Docs is one application that is comprised of 3 editors (documents,
spreadsheets, and presentations) and 1 file management UI running across two domains
(docs.google.com and spreadsheets.google.com). The domain challenges alone were significant
challenges in our design - we are fully utilizing multiple cross-domain workers to synchronize
documents, capture resources, and authenticate users.
Oh yeah, and did
I mention that any of the servers can be running any version of the code and fall over at
anytime?
Getting all of this to "just work" for users was tough, but
necessary for a great user experience.
Wondering how you can take your
applications offline? I'll be discussing all these issues in-depth at this year's Google
developer conference, Google I/O. Come by and learn how to get your app its very own little
green syncing icon.
