GUI – KosherJava

User Interface Update to El Al’s Zmanim App

Upcoming Zmanim in El Al’s Latest Zmanim App. Note the latitude and longitude on the display as well as the version number.

While there have been many technical updates to El Al’s in-flight zmanim app since it rolled out, none included changes to the visual user interface. In February, El Al rolled out a long awaited update by FlightPath3D to the user interface based on feedback received since the initial system was rolled out. The new UI has many enhancements including:

Displaying the latitude and longitude on the main screen to allow people to more easily validate the accuracy of zmanim calculations and simplify bug reporting. This feature involved a security review by El Al. To enhance reporting even further, the app version is displayed on the main screen. I am not aware of any software that shows the version on the main app screen, but we are doing what we can to help resolve any potential issues, and knowing the version number can help. Since feedback is often in the form of a picture of the screen, displaying the aircraft location and version number on the screen simplifies debugging issues.
A UI toggle to show a more extensive list of zmanim (not just a few past and upcoming ones).
Avoid showing the zmanim screen before takeoff (projections on the ground are too inaccurate, since the system has no idea when it will take off). Even showing zmanim for specific cities prior to takeoff was shelved in a UX review since it would likely confuse users who would think that it reflected the flight zmanim. The icon for displaying zmanim shows up as soon as the flight is underway.
Minor FAQ changes, including the addition of QR codes to simplify contacting us to report issues. Thank you YCS for the suggestion.
The Halachic Datelines (the Chazon Ish and Rav Yechiel Michel Tucazinsky) were added to the flight map. Note that graira / גרירה is used in the Chazon Ish (west) date line, but not Rav Tucazinsky’s (east) date line, since he was seemingly מסופק / unsure about concept. This change was a mapping update, and not a zmanim app update.

ZmanimPlasma (Linux) Released

Linux on Wood Background
Moshe Wagner recently released ZmanimPlasma for the Linux platform. This KDE Plasma desktop widget displays the Hebrew date and zmanim on a Linux desktop. The zmanim calculations use Moshe’s C++ port Zmanim CLI wrapper that enables a C++ program to call the Java Zmanim API. There are no current plans to make this widget available on any other platform. It can be downloaded from the Luach project download page. Moshe has in the past used the Zmanim API for use in Linux and some cross platform projects. These include the above mentioned Zmanim CLI, and Zmanim GUI that uses the ZmanimCLI.

Updated on 4/13/2010 ג׳ אייר תשע״ג to reflect information from Moshe explaining that this was not a port.

Zmanim GUI Released

Zmanim GUI screenshot I was recently contacted by Moshe Wagner who wanted to know if there was a graphical front end to the Zmanim API. While there are various programs that do use the API, there is no standalone Java GUI that uses the API (the ~~zmanim clock applet~~ is not easily useful for looking up zmanim for various locations). As first announced in Hebrew (ZmanimGUI – ממשק להצגת זמני היום ההלכתיים), Moshe took the API and wrote a Java Swing GUI for the API. The Zmanim GUI (called זמני היום in Hebrew) can switch between Hebrew and English display and shows the most common list of zmanim typically used. The program requires Java 6 and can be launched by double clicking on the ZmaniGui jar file (or execute the command ‘java -jar ZmaninGui.jar’ from a command prompt). As with the Zmanim API, the GUI was released under the GPL2 and is available (including source) on our download page (direct link to version 0.0.87 updated on י״ח אייר תשס״ט May 12, 2009). Questions and comments can be posted here or sent directly to Moshe at moshe.wagner -AT- gmail.com.

Zmanim Clock Applet Alpha Release

Note: Java Applets are obsolete, and the applet is no longer available
A while ago, Dr. Irv Bromberg mentioned to me, that my Zmanim API was in use in the Astronomical Clock Applet created by Ali Adams. The applet was a modification to Antony Pranata’s clock applet that displayed Islamic prayer times. Apparently the Zmanim API was so flexible that without any modification it was able to be used for generating “zmanim” well beyond anything I had envisioned. At Dr. Bromberg’s suggestion I modified the clock applet to display zmanim. Using the same Google Map API used in the Calendar Generator, I created the ~~Zmanim Clock~~ page (no longer available). The clock on the Clock page is very configurable, and allows selection of the location, zmanim etc. I contacted Antony Pranata, the original author of the clock who allowed my to release it under the GPL. An easy to use downloadable version will be made available in the near future. For those who think that the clock is upside down, there are more than enough configuration options to tweak the clock to your heart’s content.