FAQ

Here you can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about OpenSocial on Hyves.

1. General
   1. What is OpenSocial?
   2. OpenSocial gadgets on Hyves are?
   3. Why OpenSocial on Hyves?
   4. How does Hyves support OpenSocial ?
   5. How do I get started?
   6. Do you have a step-by-step guide on building an OpenSocial gadget?
   7. What ways are there to add a gadget?
   8. What are the limitations of OpenSocial gadgets next to the embed/iFrame …
   9. Is it possible to only place a gadget on the profile page or the gadget …
   10. I have a gadget that works on another social network that supports …
2. Developers
   1. Does Hyves provide hosting for developers?
   2. Does my gadget need approval?
   3. How long does this approval of my gadget take?
   4. What are de width and height of the different gadget views?
   5. Can I style the gadget skin?
   6. Does Hyves have a data API?
   7. What to do if you want to combine OpenSocial with the API and you're an …
   8. Where can I contact Hyves about OpenSocial?
   9. Why is my Flash embed on top of the Hyves chat bar on the bottom of the …
3. Code
   1. Google Maps API
   2. How can I make my background transparent?
   3. Are dynamic application XML-url's possible?
   4. Why doesn't opensocial.newDataRequest() work in IE6?

General

What is OpenSocial?

OpenSocial is a JavaScript API (Application Programming Interface) that makes it possible to build one gadget (or 'application') that works on multiple social networking sites. The OpenSocial standard is a collaboration of Google and other social networking sites (a list of launch partners can be found here: http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/partners.html). The gadgets are written using plain old HTML and JavaScript and any other web technology a developer may require, like Flash. More information about the OpenSocial API can be found at http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/.

OpenSocial gadgets on Hyves are?

For a long time it has been possible to place external content on Hyves using manually approved embed and iframe codes. We named this type of content gadgets. These gadgets are quite "unintelligent" in the sense that they don't know anything about the context of where they're being displayed.

With the introduction of OpenSocial you can create smarter gadgets, that can interact with the page they're in. OpenSocial gadgets can, for instance, ask information about who is viewing the gadget, who his/her friends are, store and retrieve application data and invite friends to install the same gadget, increasing the viral effect. OpenSocial gadgets are to be seen as applications, not just a piece of html like the "unintelligent" embeds and iframes.

Why OpenSocial on Hyves?

To sum it up, some of the advantages (for us and you, the developer) of using OpenSocial on Hyves:

• OpenSocial uses open web standards that are widely used like XML, JavaScript and HTML.
• Applications that already run on other OpenSocial containers can (in practice) easily be ported to run on Hyves, instantly adding extra functionality to Hyves and expanding the user base for gadget developers.
• Through the caching system that OpenSocial offers, developers are able to host gadgets with minimum hardware and network requirements.
• With one click on an install button a user can install a gadget on his profile page or gadget home page. No need to copy/paste html codes.
• Easy localization (translation) through the use of language files.
• Gadgets can be A LOT smarter than before, like knowing who is viewing the gadget, who installed it and who the friends are of the viewer or owner of the gadget.
• Also place gadgets on the gadget home page of the Hyver and get a large viewport to navigate to, the so called Canvas view.
• Broadcast information to the activity feed of Hyves (named the 'Buzz') (under development)

How does Hyves support OpenSocial ?

Hyves has implemented version 0.7 of OpenSocial. In the future we'll be supporting new versions, while remaining backwards compatible with 0.7.

For developers, we created a sandbox that lets you develop and test your gadget. The sandbox can be found at: http://www.hyves.nl/api/opensocial/ you can Toggle the Sandbox mode. This is the mode where you will only see Sandbox gadgets on your profile. It's also disabled to add embed/iframe gadgets.

You can add your sandbox gadget through http://www.hyves.nl/profielbeheer/toevoegen/gapmember/ (Only other developers can see you sandbox gadgets when they are in sandbox mode, depending on your visibility settings (everybody,friends,etc)). You will have to add a XML file url of your gadget (you will have to host this on your own server).

How do I get started?

See the Getting started section

Do you have a step-by-step guide on building an OpenSocial gadget?

We are building Examples, we have Code snippets that can be a great example. You can also go to Google's OpenSocial tutorial 0.7 for examples from Google.

What ways are there to add a gadget?

There are 4 ways to add a gadget.

1. By direct linking to the info page (your gadget does not have to be in the gallery for this). Here is an info page example: http://www.hyves.nl/gadgetgallery/128/BuddyPoke/. You can edit this page when the gadget is added to your live apps (http://www.hyves.nl/api/opensocial) This is the only option where you can add parameters to you installation (http://trac.hyves-api.nl/wiki/OpensocialSpecs#Additions).
2. By making an API call (gadgets.createByXML) and adding the original XML-url to this call (note: this is not a different xml for each user, only one application url).
3. By pressing a "add" or "voeg toe" button at the bottom of the gadget on the profile page or on the canvas page.
4. By getting an invite from a friend for the application (aka application invite message).

What are the limitations of OpenSocial gadgets next to the embed/iFrame gadgets

• OpenSocial gadgets can't be placed in groups or hubs (spots, companies, interests, brands, etc). At the moment an OpenSocial gadget is connected to a single Hyver.
• You can't place more than one instance of an OpenSocial gadget on a profile.
• OpenSocial gadgets can't be placed in scraps, messages, blogs, etc. other then the title and thumbnail in a special format.

Is it possible to only place a gadget on the profile page or the gadget home page?

On request (email: opensocialAThyvesDOTnl) the gapmember-settings can be changed to only placing on the profile page or only placing on the gadget home page.

I have a gadget that works on another social network that supports OpenSocial, does it work on Hyves?

You will have to check what spec your gadget needs and what functionality your gadget needs. Not every network supports all the features.

Developers

Does Hyves provide hosting for developers?

No, but OpenSocial provides heavy caching for the XML and other resources, so in theory you could host your gadget from your home ADSL line. Of course the hosting requirements and data traffic also depends on the complexity and usage of your gadget.

Does my gadget need approval?

Yes, this way we can guarantee a good user experience for our users and disallow the gadgets that are not according our Terms of service agreement. You can send the XML url to gadgetgalleryAThyvesDOTnl and we will review your application as soon as possible. On OpensocialSpecs you can find the gadget requirements and on OpensocialPolicy you can find our gadget policy.

How long does this approval of my gadget take?

We process the gadgets in the order they were received. If we don't approve the gadget, a message will be send with the reason why. Of course you can adjust the gadget and send it in again for approval.

What are de width and height of the different gadget views?

click here

Can I style the gadget skin?

This is part of the 0.7 spec, you can find this at http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/docs/0.7/reference/gadgets.skins.html. We supply the 'pimped' profile values as well, which means the gadget should blend in nicely with personalized profile pages. See an code snippet over here.

Does Hyves have a data API?

We don't support the OpenSocial RESTful / Data API, but we do have our own Hyves API with many useful features. This cannot not be used directly in OpenSocial gadgets. You will have to use your own backend to connect to our API. More information can be found at http://trac.hyves-api.nl/hyves-api/wiki/APIMethods.

What to do if you want to combine OpenSocial with the API and you're an "old" API partner

API-developers with an older developers account have the option to convert their account to an OpenSocial approach. The only difference is that this will make your API-id's the same as the (user) id's in OpenSocial. To enable this, a one-time (irreversible) conversion is required of your API partner account. Go to http://www.hyves.nl/api/manage/gapConvert to convert your API-id's.

Where can I contact Hyves about OpenSocial?

If the documentation and the http://hyves-api.hyves.nl messages do not give you the answers you seek, you can contact us by email: opensocialAThyvesDOTnl

Why is my Flash embed on top of the Hyves chat bar on the bottom of the screen?

When embedding Flash content you can specify the wmode attribute. When you set wmode to opaque or transparent the Flash object will hide behind other content on the page like the Hyves chat bar (example screenshot) on the bottom of the screen or the Hyves main menu.

Code

Google Maps API

When you want to add a Google Map to your gadget using their Google Maps API. You need to know the domain the gadget is called from. The following domain works for generating your key: hyves-modules.nl. You can generate a key here http://code.google.com/intl/nl/apis/maps/signup.html.

The Sandbox and Live mode of a gadget behave differently with the Google Maps API. In the Sandbox mode the URL is called directly while in Live mode the URL is rewritten and proxied. To make this work correctly, make sure you set the Google Maps JS file rewrite to OFF. To do this you can exclude the appropriate file. For more information about this, see: Refreshing Gadgets

How can I make my background transparent?

Use "background-color: transparent;" in the css body tag.

Are dynamic application XML-url's possible?

We do not support dynamic generated url's with an id, name or directory, because OpenSocial defines only one Gadget-XML-file per gadget (Note:only portnumbers 80, 443 or 8080 are possible to include, like for example http://www.example.com:8080/my_own_gadget.xml).

Why doesn't opensocial.newDataRequest() work in IE6?

We do not support IE6 any more and this is something we can't fix any time soon. The best thing to do is trace what browser version people have in js and show a notification if they have IE6.