Mashup Architecture for Connecting Graphical Linux Applications Using a Software Bus
Mohamed-Ikbel Boulabiar, Gilles Coppin, Franck Poirier · 2014
Although UNIX commands are simple, they can be combined to accomplish complex tasks by piping the output of one command, into another's input. With the invasion of GUI applications, we have lost this ability to chain many small tools in order to accomplish a composite task or the possibility to script applications. As such we have become imprisoned into the interface as designed by the developer. Most applications are also designed to be used through a keyboard and a mouse even if the user has newer input devices. In this paper, we demonstrate how we can remove most of these limits and provide the possibility to script, adapt and automate GUI applications using a software bus in a Linux operating system. We provide implemented proof-of-concept cases in addition to conceptual scenarios showing the possibilities arising from the approach.