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Ozone Widget Framework

Open-source web-based framework From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Ozone Widget Framework (OWF) is an open-source web-based framework for composing and integrating lightweight web applications, known as "widgets", into a customisable desktop-like interface called a "webtop". [1][2][3] Developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), it enables decentralised data communication between widgets within a browser, allowing users to assemble tools for tasks like real-time analytics, cyber-situational awareness, and operational planning without sending data back to servers.[4][5] OWF supports inter-widget communication via intents and channels.[6][7]

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Background

OWF originated as a secure framework for command and control (C2) interfaces within the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD).[8] It was designed to address challenges in net-centric environments, where traditional portals struggled with decentralised content.[9] In 2012, Congress mandated its release as open-source software under the National Defence Authorisation Act, requiring the DoD to publish APIs, toolkits, and source code to encourage commercial development and DoD/intelligence community use.[10][11][12]

OWF's code was hosted on GitHub by the Ozone Platform team and released as Government Open Source Software (GOSS).[2][13][14] The framework evolved from NSA's Secure Widget Integration Framework (SWIF), incorporating mandatory access control (MAC) for multi-level security.[4][15]

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Features

OWF provides a browser-based webtop where users can:[16][17]

  • Assemble widgets into dashboards or tabbed layouts for personalised workflows.[3]
  • Enable inter-widget communication via publish-subscribe channels and intents, allowing data sharing (e.g., a contact list sending addresses to a map widget).[2][18]
  • Implement security through plugin modules for user-specific access, discretionary access control (DAC) at the widget level, and optional MAC for data classification.[4]
  • Integrate with APIs like the Common Map Widget API (CMAPI) for standardised map-data interactions.[3]
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Development and community

Development focuses on widget creation, with guides for integrating existing apps and adding components like descriptor URLs.[19] The Ozone Platform maintains repositories for OWF, the OZONE Marketplace (a widget search engine), and OZONE Synapse (a data-caching layer).[20][21]

Community support includes Google Groups for LDAP configuration and announcements, with pull requests encouraged via GitHub.[22][2] Refactoring efforts in 2013 aimed at OSGi backend and Ext JS removal for scalability.[9]

Related projects

See also

References

External links

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