HELIOS Personal Data Storage API

Introduction

Personal Data Storage API is used to provide certain unified file storage abstraction for HELIOS applications without binding these APIs to specific storage location. Experiment using HTTP and File based transports. Unfied API interface should be defined that will utilize underlying access APIs. Because we are expected to also have remote storage the whole API should be asynchronous.

HELIOS Personal Data Storage API is one of the HELIOS Core APIs as highlighted in the picture below:

Personal Data Storage API is implemented in HELIOS Core component that is called Personal Data Storage Manager.

API usage

See javadocs in javadocs.zip.

Introduction

Personal Data Storage API is used to store and load data objects using HELIOS persistent personal data store. HELIOS personal data store is a location agnostic storage concept. The storage can be either local or remote storage. Applications are expected to use asynchronous access functions also for local storage in order to provide the same API both for local and remote storage. However, at the moment there is only implementation for local storage.

HeliosStorageManager

Applications are expected to use HeliosStorageManager singleton class to access HELIOS Personal Data Storage. Applications should call getInstance() method in order to get a singleton instance:

HeliosStorageManager storage = HeliosStorageManager.getInstance();

HeliosStorageManager can then be used to access HELIOS Personal Data Storage. It is also possible to include a listener class as a parameter to these methods. The listener class member function implementing the required interface can be called when the operation is completed. The listener parameter can also be null, which means that there is no callback function and operation completion is not notified.

An object can be requested from the HELIOS Personal Data Storage using a download method:

storage.download("object_name", listener);

An object can be uploaded to the HELIOS Personal Data Storage using an upload method:

storage.upload("object_name", data, listener);

An object can be removed from the HELIOS Personal Data Storage using a delete method:

storage.delete("object_name", listener);

HELIOS Personal Data Storage objects can be listed using a list command:

storage.delete("object_name", listener);

HeliosStorageUtils

There is also HeliosStorageUtils utility class that is used in HELIOS test client to access local filesystem based HELIOS Personal Data Storage. These functions are used in order to provide a layer that can be ported to support also other Personal Data Storage implementations instead of directly binding th eimplementation to Android File operations.

Future work

The current implementation is using hardcoded local filesystem based implementation. HELIOS Profile Manager could be used to query user's settings that can be used to specify location of the personal storage. Extension modules can be used to provide alternative storage implementations. Some kind of registering mechanism is then needed.

Android Studio project structure

This Android Studio 3.5 project contains the following components:

• app - Personal Data Storage API test application

• doc - Additional documentation files

• lib - Personal Data Storage API implementation