Framework Flake Processing

Every Pageflakes user has exactly one top-level Page-Set (shown below). The Page-Set displays one or more pages, where each Page is shown as a tab. Similarly, each page can contain zero or more flake instances.

Each flake is represented by a single HTML file (which may include references to other files, including JavaScript, CSS, etc.). Those files are collectively referred to as the “Flake Code” and they are hosted on a web server. Usually, this will be pageflakes.com, but flakes can be hosted on any web server.

When a user visits pageflakes.com, the Pageflakes framework fetches and parses each of the flakes being used. It then generates a single XHTML document that is displayed to the user.

The Flake Code is not added to the page "as-is". Instead, the Pageflakes framework looks at each part of the flake, using those parts to selectively construct the Generated XHTML Document. This conversion from "Flake Code" to "Flake Instance" is described in more detail in the following sections.