At this point am asking, in a big picture, is it possible kinda question:
1) Know of any existing stuff that we could tweek or use out of the box?
2) Alternatively, if we have to do it from scratch - what is the best language, technology, API or whatever you want to call it, to do it over the web - Java? Javascript? OpenGL? Flash? what help me out here...
We do not want to "publish" images/graphics/photos/animations, etc. TO the web/our website
We want to give the users (our customers) the ability to "reverse-publish" back to us.
On top of that they will not be sending us some pre-exisitng image, animation, photo, drawing, etc. (if that were the case no problem).
Want our website to give them the ability to sketch what they want.
I use "sketch" very deliberately. A "sketch" as in a rough drawing, a general idea - we get sketches from customers now, done with pen/pencil & paper now, 2 problems with it: it is on paper (leading to paper shuffling) & it is not in our system (which leads to next step, #3, in process which I am going to ignore for now)
That is customers go to our wbesite, and go to a "palette", "blank sheet" (whatever you want to call it) and using their mouse (most likely) sketch out what they want.
What do they want, well again set the details aside, let us just say they will draw a stick figure box, or a rectangle, or a circle or a triangle...and maybe their triangle might have some little circles on it - in various places, or their rectangle is actually 2 rectangles one slightly bigger than the other, etc.
Don't care if the lines are blue or orange, or black, or whatever, perfectly straight, exactly aligned/position (as I said, a sketch) - just need the "lines" (and dimensions).
Nothing fancy, no fancy coloring, mapping, precision, animation, lighting effects, bells & whistles.
We & they do need the dimensions (not as drawn on screen but the "real" dimensions - which is just a matter of scaling) which would then be used in step 3 -but again ignore step 3 for now, -cause if we can't do step 1...we'll we never get to step 3.
If nothing out of the box will do it, oh well I have a guaranteed job writng it - so no big deal either. (Although I do appreciate that it is a large job)
I was told that I could write such an animal with Flash, that would work on/over the web.
True? Our custmers, could do a sketch, using their web browser?
Not looking, at this point for the nitty gritty of how to, still asking "Is it possible?"
If yes, then using what? In a big picture sense. And of course, an "out-of-the-box" solution would be nice too.
Again, we do not have the "sketch," neither do our customers, they have to create it. Yes they could buy a drawing program, CAD/CAM program, photoshop, whatever, to do the sketch, then send us the file, ignoring the fact that that is not likely to happen, it still does not help.
If you really want all the details go to And of course, if down the road we can add all the bells & whistles, well that would be great...but if we can't do step 1, then step 9876 is not going to happen either.
1) Know of any existing stuff that we could tweek or use out of the box?
2) Alternatively, if we have to do it from scratch - what is the best language, technology, API or whatever you want to call it, to do it over the web - Java? Javascript? OpenGL? Flash? what help me out here...
We do not want to "publish" images/graphics/photos/animations, etc. TO the web/our website
We want to give the users (our customers) the ability to "reverse-publish" back to us.
On top of that they will not be sending us some pre-exisitng image, animation, photo, drawing, etc. (if that were the case no problem).
Want our website to give them the ability to sketch what they want.
I use "sketch" very deliberately. A "sketch" as in a rough drawing, a general idea - we get sketches from customers now, done with pen/pencil & paper now, 2 problems with it: it is on paper (leading to paper shuffling) & it is not in our system (which leads to next step, #3, in process which I am going to ignore for now)
That is customers go to our wbesite, and go to a "palette", "blank sheet" (whatever you want to call it) and using their mouse (most likely) sketch out what they want.
What do they want, well again set the details aside, let us just say they will draw a stick figure box, or a rectangle, or a circle or a triangle...and maybe their triangle might have some little circles on it - in various places, or their rectangle is actually 2 rectangles one slightly bigger than the other, etc.
Don't care if the lines are blue or orange, or black, or whatever, perfectly straight, exactly aligned/position (as I said, a sketch) - just need the "lines" (and dimensions).
Nothing fancy, no fancy coloring, mapping, precision, animation, lighting effects, bells & whistles.
We & they do need the dimensions (not as drawn on screen but the "real" dimensions - which is just a matter of scaling) which would then be used in step 3 -but again ignore step 3 for now, -cause if we can't do step 1...we'll we never get to step 3.
If nothing out of the box will do it, oh well I have a guaranteed job writng it - so no big deal either. (Although I do appreciate that it is a large job)
I was told that I could write such an animal with Flash, that would work on/over the web.
True? Our custmers, could do a sketch, using their web browser?
Not looking, at this point for the nitty gritty of how to, still asking "Is it possible?"
If yes, then using what? In a big picture sense. And of course, an "out-of-the-box" solution would be nice too.
Again, we do not have the "sketch," neither do our customers, they have to create it. Yes they could buy a drawing program, CAD/CAM program, photoshop, whatever, to do the sketch, then send us the file, ignoring the fact that that is not likely to happen, it still does not help.
If you really want all the details go to And of course, if down the road we can add all the bells & whistles, well that would be great...but if we can't do step 1, then step 9876 is not going to happen either.
