FSDL language and publication

FSDL (Frogans Slide Description Language) is a free XML-based language and is one of the pillars of Frogans technology (with the FNSL language, Frogans Player and Frogans software libraries).

Frogans Player will implement version 3.0 of the FSDL specifications, which will be released concurrently in 2010.

Specifications

FSDL is specified with the precision of an Internet standard (in the format of an RFC from IETF).

The FSDL specifications are currently released in version 2.1 (May 2004 edition):

Designers and developers are invited to send their comments on these specifications by e-mail to: fsdl@frogans.com.

The terms of use of FSDL 2.1 are perpetual and will not be revoked. Please read the terms of use in the FSDL specifications.

Previous versions of the FSDL specifications can be downloaded here.

Publishing frogans sites

FSDL is used to develop frogans sites. Frogans sites are accessible online to end-users using Frogans Player.

In a frogans site, pages are called frogans slides.

Each frogans site is published by means of a frogans address on a frogans network.

For example, a frogans site can be published on the main frogans network, where frogans addresses start with "frogans*".

A frogans site can also be published on an organization's intranet, on a dedicated frogans network.

The development of a frogans site does not depend on the frogans network on which it is published.

Rapid and simple

FSDL was designed to permit the rapid development of frogans sites by designers and developers.

FSDL documents can easily be hand-coded.

Their structure, which is closely related to the layout of the frogans slide, is clear and comprehensible.

For example, graphic elements are processed as layers which are displayed one on top of the others in the order that they appear in the FSDL document.

To view an FSDL document, select "View source..." from the menu of any frogans site open on screen. This command displays the source code of the frogans slide.

Compatible with all servers

FSDL documents can be produced dynamically by the server which hosts the frogans site.

Frogans sites can then be updated automatically or be personalized for each end-user.

Frogans sites can be hosted in any HTTP server directory and can be developed in conjunction with any database software and any application server.

FSDL includes elements which permit the management of:

the end-user's session
internal redirections in the frogans site

This makes the publication of frogans site independent from the network protocol used between the server and Frogans Player.

Universal

FSDL permits designers and developers to create frogans sites which are varied, from both a graphical and functional perspective.

The number of slides in a frogans site is unlimited.

FSDL is ISO 10646/Unicode compliant and texts in the frogans slide can be displayed in all reading directions, including vertical ones.

As of FSDL 3.0, all typographic fonts used in frogans sites will be embedded in Frogans Player to ensure universal rendering on all platforms, including mobile devices.

Secure

FSDL is a secure language because it does not contain any script executed on the end-user's device:

roll-over buttons are defined by simple association of graphic elements
the possibility of making graphic elements appear or disappear depending on the size of the frogans site on the screen corresponds to the value of an attribute (LEAPOUT)

Light

Resources such as music, video and other animations are not supported by FSDL and therefore can not be played directly in a frogans site. The rationale is:

frogans sites must remain light to use for end-users
the use of frogans sites must be compatible with all devices, including mobile devices (minimum consumption of memory, CPU and bandwidth)
frogans sites that are open on desktop screens (on top of the other applications) must not distract end-users while they are using other applications

However, end-users can access website resources through buttons in a frogans slide, directing the default web browser to a specific URL.

Opportunities for the designer and developer communities

Designers, developers and software companies have the liberty to supply frogans site development services to content publishers throughout the world, commercially or non-commercially.

The terms of use of the FSDL language also permit anyone to develop frogans site authoring software, server applications and hosting services.

As with all Internet standards, there is no need to register or pay a fee for using FSDL.

As the registry of frogans addresses on the main frogans network, STG Interactive S.A. provides worldwide frogans address registration and lookup services. For more information, please see STG Interactive S.A. and its role.

Download

Download of the specifications:

FSDL 2.1 - May 2004 edition - ASCII text - 165,531 bytes
FSDL 2.1 - May 2004 edition - Adobe PDF - 126,853 bytes
FSDL 2.1 - October 2002 edition - ASCII text - 140,750 bytes
FSDL 2.1 - October 2002 edition - Adobe PDF - 112,281 bytes
FSDL 2.0 - February 2002 edition - ASCII text - 96,812 bytes
FSDL 2.0 - February 2002 edition - Adobe PDF - 78,608 bytes