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[astrojuanlu]

Edit: See current status in this comment.

At the moment, czml3.widget.CZMLWidget has a straightforward _repr_html_ that prints some HTML. However, this is not how custom widgets are supposed to be implemented [citation needed]

We should write our own custom Jupyter widget so it's compatible, at least, with modern JupyterLab.

Edit: Adding more information to this description for completeness

Rather than a JupyterLab extension, if I understand correctly we would need to create a custom Jupyter widget. Therefore, we should be using either https://github.com/jupyter-widgets/widget-cookiecutter (JavaScript, barebones) or https://github.com/jupyter-widgets/widget-ts-cookiecutter (TypeScript + bells & whistles), which are described in https://ipywidgets.readthedocs.io/en/latest/examples/Widget%20Low%20Level.html

However, we should wait for the TypeScript one to be updated: jupyter-widgets/widget-ts-cookiecutter#83

These cookiecutters already make use of https://github.com/jupyter/jupyter-packaging.

For inspiration, we could also have a look at https://github.com/bloomberg/bqplot, https://github.com/jovyan/pythreejs, https://github.com/ellisonbg/ipyleaflet or https://github.com/matplotlib/ipympl.

With this and https://www.npmjs.com/package/c137.js shared by @TJKoury above, we should have everything we need already.

[GorgiAstro]

According to this post, it could be necessary to get a webpack of Cesium: jupyterlab/jupyterlab#5566

A new webpack of Cesium will come soon: DigitalArsenal/webpack-cesium#7

[astrojuanlu]

Oh wow, Jon Mease already worked on it 😳 perhaps we'll have more luck this time!

[GorgiAstro]

Yes, but I could not find where he published his ipywidget. Maybe we can ask him in a chat or by tagging him here?

[astrojuanlu]

Hi @jonmmease! We noticed your comment from a couple of years ago about making a Cesium widget. @GorgiAstro found that there will be a new version of webpack-cesium soon. Do you have any code you can share so we can pick up from there and perhaps finish the work? Or do you think we should start from scratch?

[jonmmease]

Hi @astrojuanlu, thanks for reaching out. Sorry to say that I can't share the code, but that said it wasn't very far along. Most of the time spent was in tinkering to try to get cesium building as an ipywidget. Sounds like a webpack-cesium would make that much easier!

In terms of the widget itself, all that I got working was a proof-of-concept where I made a Python/JavaScript model that stored a single lat/lon/altitude coordinate. Updating that coordinate from python triggered the Cesium API to move the sphere around the earth.

Had I stuck with it, I was picturing adopting the approach that bqplot uses (https://github.com/bloomberg/bqplot), where you create a matching hierarchy of nested Python and JavaScript models. But that idea is as far as I got. Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

[TJKoury]

@jonmmease @astrojuanlu We have a new build that works great, and will be kept up to date with the latest in core Cesium.

As I am sure you are aware, the packing process is non-trivial, and in our case represents a significant investment to maintain. We are trying to keep it open for community use but have not decided on a licensing model yet.

Would any of the companies represented on this project consider sponsoring the work?

[astrojuanlu]

Thanks for chiming in @TJKoury! That's great news.

Would any of the companies represented on this project consider sponsoring the work?

poliastro and czml3 are a community effort, unfortunately the only support we can offer is integrating webpack-cesium in czml3 and try to make it work for a broader audience.

[TJKoury]

@astrojuanlu Understood. How do you think the community would respond to a 'non-commercial' license?

[astrojuanlu]

@TJKoury It's a good question. There are many forms of "non-commercial" licensing, for example what Qt does. If you decide use a copyleft license, we'll have to evaluate how to use it from czml3 (MIT, hence non-copyleft) without infringing the terms (and I might need a lawyer for this...). Other than that, I don't know how that can affect adoption.

[TJKoury]

Also, we are about to release a commercial package for the library behind Celestrak Orbit Viz.

[TJKoury]

After some consideration, I think we will probably just release it under MIT and ask for donations.

[astrojuanlu]

After some consideration, I think we will probably just release it under MIT and ask for donations.

That's great news :) Let me suggest https://opencollective.com/ for the donations part in case you don't know it. Looking forward for the release 💪

[TJKoury]

Here it is, C137.js.

Decided to go with CC BY 4.0 as freeware, since source-wise it is already open.

Left some crypto addresses at the bottom if people are feeling generous.

[astrojuanlu]

Awesome @TJKoury, thanks a lot! We'll soon try to figure out how to use, if @jonmmease doesn't beat us to it :)