HelloZeroNet/ZeroNet

ZeroNet GUI is not Usable Without 3D Acceleration

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#1194 opened on Nov 27, 2017

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 (4 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)JavaScript (18,200 stars) (2,245 forks)batch import
bughelp wanted

Description

Environment:

  • ZeroNet version: 0.6.0 (rev. 3146)
  • Operating system: Raspbian & openSUSE Linux
  • Web browser: Chromium (Google Chrome)
  • Tor status: disabled
  • Opened port: yes

The problem:

The 3D globe at the zite settings panel depends on 3D support(probably WebGL), but the WebGL, GPU support, is not available at all browsers and that makes the ZeroNet much less portable.

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Open the ZeroNet GUI in some non-standard browser, like http://www.midori-browser.org/ or https://rekonq.kde.org/ or https://konqueror.org/

  2. Try to open the zite settings panel by sliding the zero icon.

Observed Results:

Either the zite does not load at all or the zite loads, but the settings panel is empty, blank.

Wishes:

The JavaScript of the ZeroNet GUI should first check, whether 3D/GPU-s are supported and load the 3D Earth only, if the WebGL/GPU support is available. If the 3D acceleration is not available, the classical 2D "World map" with color-coded height might be used, the way geography related paper-books used to depict mountain range heights on maps.

http://vterrain.org/Elevation/NOAA_Globe_680.jpg (archival copy: https://archive.fo/QFJ6k )

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
frontend
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Basic JavaScriptWebGL detection knowledgeCanvas 2D APIBrowser compatibility
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60
Research direction
Investigate the ZeroNet GUI source code, likely in the 'src/Ui' directory, to locate the settings panel and the 3D globe component. Implement a WebGL feature detection using a try catch on canvas.getContext('webgl'). If WebGL is unavailable, conditionally render a 2D world map using Canvas 2D or an image overlay. Review the issue comments for any additional context or suggested approaches.