MaidSafe Dev Update :safe: 31st August 2015 - Part II

Development Updates
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Part II

As promised in yesterday’s main update here is part II of this week’s Dev Update. In this update we are inviting Windows (64-bit only for now) users to join the party and releasing a few more bundled example goodies for everyone.

A lot of these steps are the exact same as yesterday’s update so to save duplication I really would recommend reading through that post for the Linux walkthrough or watch @dyamanaka excellent walkthrough video - Thank you for that! I shall only cover steps that are not exactly the same on Windows as Linux.

64-bit Windows users will now find a Windows compatible safe_vault_win.exe and safe_dns_example-network-win.zip here. Once downloaded, run the executable 3 times and you have a 3 vault network - it’s that easy… however, if you want to look at the logs and see what is happening, open a console window > navigate to the downloaded executable > set RUST_LOG=info > then run the safe_vault.exe

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Running the safe_dns_example for Windows, as already mentioned, is the same as the instructions in yesterday’s update - choose > safe_dns_example-network-windows.zip and extract the contents of the zip file and open the directory > safe_dns_example-win32-x64 > click and launch the safe_dns_example executable and follow the screenshots and instructions from yesterday.

As we are only catering for 64-bit just now, you require a 64-bit compatible browser with our add-on for Windows and Waterfox (based on the Mozilla platform) fits the bill - download it here . You can find the Windows compatible add-on here and install safe_addon-0.0.1-network-win.xpi to Waterfox as a file add-on.

In Windows, you will encounter the UAC confirmation about running the executable and allowing access through the firewall, etc (see an example below); this is pretty standard Windows behaviour and if you wish to test things out you will have to allow and run anyway, etc.

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Have fun Windows folks :slight_smile:

We have also precompiled all the other library examples (a few have already been announced and shared via these updates) and bundled them up to save people having to build from source and these are now available here as tar / zip files for Linux, OS X and Windows - for example safe_network_example_bundle_linux.tar.gz. Full documentation for these will follow. These are CLI examples and running <example_name> --help from a terminal on most examples should provide assistance until the documentation is complete.

As you already have a safe_vault network up and running locally then I would suggest maybe starting off with the self_authentication and rest_api examples against your local safe_vault network. They are menu driven CLIs and quite straightforward to use, just run them from a terminal. As I said, documentation to follow, but I am sure the creators and maintainers will reply to any specific questions and/or queries.

Now we have started, we just can’t stop giving!

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Like magic! Thank you very much. Didn’t touch any terminal at all. But I will next time for fun :smile:

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Windows! Now all my friends can test it out!

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thank you and please make it happen on 32bit aswell

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Here’s the windows walk through video.

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It gives me the “response_token: none” error when i try to upload my website through safe_dns_example, even though I went through all the steps just like in the tutorial. The window just hangs at “Uploading your files” when using the “Drag a folder or HTML/Website files” function.

Was this released as a demonstration or is it fully functional ? Thanks!

Edit: Actually i receive the same error when using “Use Template” too…

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Try running 2 vaults instead of 3. For me at least, running too many vaults drains my PC resources and it locks up.

Beyond that, I hope the devs will be able to trouble shoot your issue.

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Open development, it’s straight out of the cooker :slight_smile: So not fully functional but allows folks to see the pieces coming together, it will have bugs, many we know about and some we don’t. The upcoming sprint is a stabilisation sprint to catch some bugs but also to stabilise vaults. So expect some issues, we will capture all we see reported as part of next weeks sprint. (No breath between sprints this time, last one was too big but no time to waste).

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This is an epoch moment

The ANTS are coming

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I read that in Pippin’s voice:

The Ants are coming!

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Thanks for the video. I am not very tech sawy and I am trying to wrap my head around this so i have a few questions.

Will safe websites actually be accessible through our usual browser?

What is the file you uploaded? I didn’t see you upload a file from your laptop, maybe i missed something?

Do you have another drive pop up next to your other drives when you run these vaults?

If you can explain in simple terms, i know some of these questions may sound a bit silly.

thank u

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Don’t worry about it. We have a great community to help answer your questions at any level. :smile:

Yes, you just need the “addon” so your browser understands what safe: means in your address bar. Right now, we only have addons for Firefox (Linux and OSX) and Waterfox (Windows).

The webpage I upload was a template already provided by this Application (safe_dns_example-win32-x64). But the idea is you can just as easily create your own webpage (HTML file) and upload it. Though I have not tried it yet, still working on how to do that part.

Those command terminals in the video are the vaults. So no, there was no “drive” created. I think you’re looking for the SAFE Client feature, which will create a virtual “drive” to upload to a live Network. The video only shows how a vault works on a local network (your own PC).

I hope this gets easier to understand. But feel free to follow up with questions for more explanation.

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Thanks for your answers, as you can imagine the light bulb moment does not happen quickly with people like me:) so i have follow up questions

When someone access say for example safebook with his browser (safe: safebook.com) how can he access his account on this page without entering any credentials? I read somewhere that on the safe network we will have one password for every thing so i;m a bit confused how this all work?

David said in answer to the update that next will be messaging and then safecoins but no mention of safe client, will this be integrated in the sprint too?

Could you describe how will the safe network look like when completed?

so we will have 1 browser + 1 client + 1 self authent + 1 app launcher? isn’t this a bit too technical for the average user or maybe david and nick have plans to have this all in one downloadable file?

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I’ll probably cause more confusion than answers. But I’ll try to help with what little I know…

You’re referring to a dynamic website which is more complicated than a static website. Right now, I don’t know how dynamic websites work.

Regarding credentials, you have a unique ID when you create an account (self-encrypted profile) on the Network. This means all your PUTS are mapped to that account, which includes creating other accounts (keys).

I hope I’m explaining this correctly. I may be wrong.

In other words, your login + password + pin = your master account/ID

Then any other accounts you create on other websites like safebook are all linked to your master account. So it’s like a big key ring, with the ability to add individual keys to your ring. The safebook website only uses your safebook key, while another website will use a different key. So yes, you only login once, then use whatever individual key you have created: safebook, safegames, safepress… etc.

From what I understood, the SAFE Client is the SAFE App Launcher. That is where people create their SAFE Network Accounts. The 2nd component is the vaults, which seems to setup and run independently right now. And the 3rd is the Browser Addon which can browse uploaded webpages. So I think it’s like this…

  • SAFE App Launcher = Used to create/login to your accounts, full access (GET/PUT) on the SAFE Network

  • SAFE Vault = Needed to start farming Safecoin, provides resources to the SAFE Network.

  • Browser Addon = Enables SAFE website browsing (GET only). Anyone on the regular Internet should be able to browse a SAFE webpage without an account. However if they wanted to PUT (comment, send msg, upload) they will need to create an account. In which case, they may need to use the SAFE App Launcher.

I have no idea, because things could change very quickly.

Ideally, everyone would only need to download 1 bundle. They would select their operating system and it takes them to the correct bundle similar to the TOR Browser Bundle. However, we have a lot of development ahead before we can start putting it all together.

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I understand things a lot better now.Thank you very much for your time.

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Fantastic work. As I begin formulating an app I want to build in my head, I wonder if using the shared library in the system is the best way. I gather there are three options for the app dev: 1. the addon when it has hooks into the api from JS (if my app is html/js), 2. the shared lib as in the dns example, and 3. the “app launcher”. Is that correct? I would very much like to use #2 in my app that needs to know the user, is that reasonable or should I wait for the other two options to mature? Obviously I’m not building it yet, just deciding on my stack.

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I got it all going thanks to Yamanaka’s video (running 3 vaults).

I created my website at safe:www.escaprism and got it to view in Waterfox. But then I tried going to safe:www.dyamanaka and Waterfox crashed. Now Waterfox crashes even when I put in safe:www.escaprism … (I use Chrome and have it open simultaneously, though I don’t think that should be a problem. I’m using Windows 7.)

Also I click the upload an existing website icon/button, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. Anyhow, I’m really glad I got even this far. My understanding is very little. I will read more tomorrow since I need sleep now.

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Sometime for me I have to wait a little longer when Waterfox is no longer responding and it will respond again seconds later. But never experienced crash except when I force close.

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But hey can I link to or post a video / image/etc that’s on the SAFE Network, within my regular website that’s on the regular internet?

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If you run the Vaults like you did, you created a little local network. So you can only connect to the site you made local on your machine. In the coming weeks there will be a global network, than we can all visit each others sites as well.

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