My work involves GUI programming for IPTV set-top-boxes. We're operating old boxes currently, with a fairly simple browser (imagine Netscape 2.0), so what we have been able to do with GUI is quite limited.

Now we have a new set-top-box we will be start giving to customers later this year, and the "portal" (the web site containing the gui that the set-top-boxes load) is quite "backwards" in comparison to the capabilities of the new set-top-box (it has Opera 10 and will be dual core).

So, here I sit with these boxes that seem to have all capabilities except of anti-gravity hovering.

I'm looking into all the new idioms for developing "web apps", because that's really what the box will run, an app written with Javascript and web stuff like html, svg, canvas, or even opengl. The "app" is really an device run application, which simply uses the web and the browser as a medium, so it's nothing like a ordinary hyperlink-based webpage, but a very specifically designed UI app.

Already looking at some libraries like Backbone, JQuery, Less, and imagining how I can use all these "new" web features available in Opera 10, widgets, and such.

Anyway, my question is really the following: What should I take a look at?

Really looking for a "heads up, look at this library" or "this is a common way to do things". I may be missing something obviously beneficial. There are many ways to accomplish what I'm doing, and I can already accomplish what I need to do with pre-existing technology, but I'm looking to evolve this "pre-existing technology" further.

Thanks.

+1 for GWT.

Its just awesome.

JQuery is fantastic.  Extremely lightweight, hundreds of plugins (which work x-browser normally) and doesn't clutter up your code like other Javascript frameworks.  Takes a while to get used to the syntax (selectors etc.) but after which I have never looked back!

I use jQuery extensively daily, and I can only agree: It rocks. I used to hate javascript. Not anymore.

It is a web app, but not a web app like most understand it. An TV GUI is primarily a interface, a TV channel environment, electronic program guide (EPG), main menu, Video On Demand catalog, etc. You do not load a new web page if you changed a channel.

You have to consider A LOT of factors, connectivity problems, server uptime, delay issues, etc. Responsiveness matter A LOT. Waiting for a web page to load is NOT satisfactory. You do not go from main menu page to EPG page, and then go from EPG page back to TV page. It doesn't work like that.

It's a UI application that is loaded as needed and uses http for data interaction. I'm not saying you load everything at boot-time, but you do load parts of the UI as needed to keep responsiveness and user convenience at maximum.

The server backend is not the issue here, the GUI is.

I'm confused, or you are, jQuery IS a Javascript library!?

Exactly my understanding.

Yes jQuery is a javascript library, just re-read my post and I don't think I implied otherwise did I?  Just to clarify when I say Javascript vs jQuery, I mean writing standard Javascript vs writing Javascript using the jQuery syntax.

Ok I'm just putting a meaning into something that wasn't implied.

No problem, I can see how my post was mis-understood.  I would have probably expressed myself clearer if I wasn't distracted by the music blasting into my headphones 

How about JQuery for DOM stuff mixed with processing.js?

John Resig is the answer! 

Glad to be of assistance.  http://hascanvas.com is quite fun to play with to get an initial grasp of processing.js, though I can't see me switching to a browser based IDE any time soon! 

There's also jqueryui, I wonder if that's smart.