The Future of the Web: Rich Clients, Rich Browsers, Rich Portals
A Look at XUL, XForms, Curl, Rebol and other emerging technologies
Gerald Bauer (Chairman, CEO, CFO and CTO of Me, Myself & I, Inc.)
Vancouver XML Developers Association (VanX) Talk, March 2003
Table of Contents
Rich Clients, Rich Browsers, Rich Portals
Agenda - The Road Ahead
- Intro: Why Rich Clients? Why Rich Browsers? The Big Picture
- Part I: W3C's Web Vision: XHTML 2.0 and XForms
- Part II: Self-Proclaimed "HTML Killer" Curl and Self-Proclaimed "Internet OS" Rebol
- Part III: Beyond the Windows Tyranny: UI Toolkits For All OSes
Why Rich Clients? Why Rich Browsers? Isn't Dynamic HTML (aka HTML, DOM, JavaScript) enough?
- rich user experience (interactivity, drag'n'drop, editing, high-end graphics, multi-tasking (threads))
- nomadic use; offline access
- load balancing (fast desktop CPUs are everywhere; desktop handles some computation)
- responsiveness (avoid excessive server roundtrips)
Rich Client/Browser Architecture: Beyond Hairballs and Spaghetti Code
One Language Can't Do It All.
Prefer the single-purpose languages below
to general-purpose languages such as Java, C# or Shark.
| Building Block |
What for? |
| Why XHTML? |
Rich (Styled) Hypelinked Text |
| Why XUL (XML User Interface Language)? |
Rich Widget Set (such as menus, toolbars, forms, datagrids, trees, and so on) |
| Why SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)? |
Rich 2D Graphics (such as charts, maps, logos, and so on) |
| Why XForms? |
Form Data Submission (XML In, XML Out), Auto-Fill, Pre-Fill, and more |
| Why CSS (Cascading Stylesheets)? |
Visual Styling for XHTML, XUL and SVG |
| Why Python? |
Scripting |
| Why XPath? |
XML Tree Node Addressing |
| Why SQL? |
Data Queries, Updates, Inserts, Deletes, etc. |
| Why String Tables? |
Internationalization |
| Why Velocity, XSL-T? |
Templates |
XML is not ... / The "Golden Hammer" Fallacy
Golden Hammer - When you have a hammer in your hand, everything starts to look like a
nail.
Don't get swamped away in the XML craze.
XML has limits and is not the magic bullet that will solve
everything from world hunger, to peace in the Middle East
to folding your laundry and cleaning your carpet.
- XML is not a scripting language --> choose Python
- XML is not a heavy-duty programming language --> choose Java, C#, Shark
- XML is not a style-sheet language --> choose CSS
Celebrating 10 Years of HTML Forms
- HTML Forms Widely Successful
-> Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo Mail and much more
- Unmatched Simplicity
<form action="http://www.google.com/search" method="GET">
<input type="text" name="q" />
<input type="submit" value="Go" />
</form>
|
HTML Forms Widget Set (=Form Controls) Brush Up
| Syntax |
Describtion |
<textarea></textarea>
|
Multi-line textbox |
<select></select>
|
Drop-Down listbox; (specify values using <option>) |
<input type="text">
|
Single-line textbox |
<input type="password">
|
Single-line masked textbox obscuring chars |
<input type="checkbox">
|
Checkbox |
<input type="radio">
|
Radio button |
<input type="hidden">
|
Hidden value |
<input type="image">
|
Image (auto-submits on mouse click) |
<input type="button">
|
Button (triggers script on mouse click) |
<input type="submit">
|
Button submitting form |
<input type="reset">
|
Button clearing/reseting form |
<input type="file">
|
Single-line textbox plus browse button to choose filename |
HTML 4.0 Form Tags Additions
<fieldset>
|
groups input controls (similar to <div>) |
<label>
|
assigns a label to an input control |
<legend>
|
assigns a caption to a fieldset/groupbox |
Summary: Nothing New; Tags Improve Accessiblity
What's wrong with HTML Forms?
- script, script, script (required for validation, error messages,
master-detail synchronization, calculations and much more)
- you can't load the form data from a separate document using a link;
"prefill" requires dynamic page (that is, a page created on-the-fly using
a scripting language such as PHP or JSP that adds the form data in-place
as hard-coded values);
- no XML in, XML out; HTML forms only supports name value pairs (=flat/unstructured data) for form data
- too few form controls (no slider, no date picker, and so on)
What are XForms?
- Official Upcoming W3C Spec for Next Generation Web Forms; Royality-Free
- Replaces HTML Forms in XHTML 2.0; Adds Forms To SVG or FO (Formatting Objects)
- XForms 1.0 Candidate Recommendation, November 2002
- XForms Working Group started out in early 2002 as an HTML Working Group commitee; now independent
XForms Widget Set (=Form Controls)
10 widgets; yes, that's all folks
| XForms |
HTML |
Description |
<input>
|
<input type="text">
|
Single-line textbox; or if bound to datatype lets you enter date, time, and so on
using a pop-up calendar or other helpers |
<textarea>
|
<textarea>
|
Multi-line textbox |
<secret>
|
<input type="password">
|
Single-line masked textbox obscuring chars |
<output>
|
- |
Displays calculated, read-only text |
<range>
|
- |
Slider to "visually" select a value (e.g. volume control)
|
<upload>
|
<input type="file">
|
Upload file or get data from scanner, digital camera,
microphone, video or other device
|
<trigger>
|
<button>
|
Button |
<submit>
|
<input type="submit">
|
Submit form data |
<select>
|
<select multiple="true"> or
<input type="checkbox">
|
Multiple choice (select zero, one or many options);
offering three styles: minimal, compact and full (drop-down, list, checkboxes) |
<select1>
|
<select> or
<input type="radio">
|
Single choice (must select one and one option only) |
XForms In Action - Example
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2"
xmlns:xforms="http://www.w3.org/2002/08/xforms/cr">
<head>
<title>XHTML plus XForms Example</title>
<xforms:model id="search">
<xforms:submission action="https://www.google.com/search" />
</xforms:model>
</head>
...
<p>More than two billion pages in store</p>
<xforms:input ref="q">
<xforms:label>Search For:</xforms:label>
</xforms:input>
...
<xforms:submit>
<xforms:label>Go</xforms:label>
</xforms:submit>
...
|
XForms Goodies
Form data separated from form controls (that is, no hard-coded values)
Before (HTML): Value hard-coded in form control
<input type="text" value="Hello Vancouver">
|
After (XForms): XPath expression "binds" value from XML doc to form control
<greeting>Hello Vancouver</greeting>
...
<input ref="greeting" />
|
New form control attributes such as required, read-only, hint, alert, etc.
XML In, XML Out; form data submitted as structured data (aka XML)
XML In, XML Out - XForms Data Submission
Encoding
-
New: XML (aka structured data)
- URL-encoded (
application/x-www-form-urlencoded) only supports ASCII chars
-
multipart/form-data supports binary data (e.g file uploads) and non-ASCII chars
Transport
- HTTP (GET, POST, PUT)
- File system
- email
Advanced XForms
- Grouping (
<group>)
- Dynamic XForms (
<switch>/<case>)
- Multi-Page Forms
- Repeating Tables (
<repeat>)
What's wrong with XForms?
Whatch your language - plain-English,
please; no academese or jaron-filled mumbo jumbo
| trigger |
what's wrong with button? |
| secret |
what's wrong with password? |
| relevant |
what's wrong with if? |
| instanceData |
how about just plain data? |
| model |
how about something more concrete such as form? |
Markup bloat; don't overdo tags; allow attribute shortcuts
<trigger>
<label>Touch Me</label>
</trigger>
|
vs.
<trigger label="Touch Me" />
|
XML fever; don't replace scripting with bloated markup
<trigger>
<label>Click To Recalculate</label>
<action ev:event="xforms-active">
<recalculate/>
</action>
</trigger>
|
vs.
<trigger label="Click To Recalculate" onclick="recalculate()" />
|
Drop namespaces; ditch the useless bloat from core markup
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2"
xmlns:xforms="http://www.w3.org/2002/08/xforms/cr">
<head>
<title>XHTML plus XForms Mumbo Jumbo</title>
<xforms:model id="search">
<xforms:submission action="http://www.google.com/search" />
</xforms:model>
</head>
...
|
vs.
<html>
<head>
<title>XHTML plus XForms Cleaned Up</title>
<form id="search" action="http://www.google.com/search" />
</head>
...
|
XForms Past, Present, Future
- HTML Working Group froms committee to develop new, non-backward compatible spec for next generation web forms
- April 2000: First XForms working draft titled "Datamodeling Proposal for XForms"
- Mid-2000: XForms working group throws out home-grown XML data types named "simple syntax"
in favor of W3C XML schema
- Late-2000: XForms working group adds XForms User Interface (aka Form Controls);
previouly only UI-independet XForms model was envisioned
- January 2002: "Last Call" Working Draft
- November 2002: Working Draft Candidate Recommendation
- Mid-2003?: Proposed Recommendation
XHTML 2.0 Goodies
Links, Links, Everywhere
XHTML 2.0 has no more anchor (link) tag (that is, <a href="">).
Instead you can turn every tag into a link using the href attribute.
Example: Hyperlinking Before Big Bang 2.0
<li>
<a href="http://www.vanx.org">VanX</a>
</li>
|
Example: Hyperlinking After Big Bang 2.0
<li href="http://www.vanx.org">VanX</li>
|
XHTML 2.0 Style Hyperlinking In The Real-World
Usage Examples in Luxor XUL
<menuitem label="The Richmond Post" href="http://luxor-xul.sf.net/post" />
<menuitem label="XUL Tag Reference" href="chrome://tagref/index.html" target="help" />
|
or
<button label="About Me" href="http://vamphq.com/pam.html" />
<button label="Memory Usage" href="portal:memory" target="top" />
|
What is Curl?
- Self-proclaimed "HTML Killer"
- "Universal" language;
HTML, CSS (Styling), SVG (2D Graphics), VRML (3D Graphics),
Java (OOP), Javascript,
and more all rolled into a single XML-like/Lisp-like language
using curly braces (
{}) instead of
angle brackets (<>)
or round braces(()).
- Curl scripts run in sandbox; Surge Runtime
sports secure sandbox services like Java Web Start
(e.g. muffins, secure file open and save, secure printing and cut and paste, etc.)
for unsigned/untrusted scripts
-
No Byte-Code; plain-text Curl scripts send-over-the-wire and compiled on-the-fly by Surge Runtime
- single-vendor, closed-source, payware;
"starter" kit starts at US$25.000+;
runs on Windows only (browser plug-in named Surge Runtime)
-
Curl Surge Labs; US Startup in Boston;
MIT spin-off founded in 1998 by twelve MIT researchers; lead by David A. Kranz;
secured US$30+ millions in venture funding
First Impression: Curl In Action
{curl 2.0 applet}
Ciao Vancouver!
{bold Ciao Vancouver!}
{bold
{italic Ciao Vancouver!}
}
{bold font-style="underline", Ciao Vancouver!}
|
Second Impression: User-Defined Styles
{curl 2.0 applet}
|| Define mytitle style
{define-text-format public mytitle as text with
color="red",
font-size=35pt,
font-family="Verdana"}
|| Now use it
{mytitle Ciao Vancouver!}
|
Third Impression: UI and 2D Graphics: Pie Chart Example
|
{curl 2.0 applet}
{HBox spacing=4mm, background="beige",
{EllipticalArcGraphic
wedge-size=220degrees,
height=5cm,
width=5cm,
color={FillPattern.get-blue},
border-width=1pt,
border-color={FillPattern.get-black}
}
}
|
|
Last Impression: Curl Form
{import * from CURL.IO.HTTP}
{let name:TextField = {TextField max-chars=50, value="Ogopogo" },
address:TextField = {TextField max-chars=50, value="77 Okanaga Lake" },
city:TextField = {TextField max-chars=50, value="Kamloops" }
}
{define-proc {do-submit}:void
let form-data:HttpFormData = {new HttpFormData}
{form-data.append {new HttpFormStringParam, "name", name.value }}
{form-data.append {new HttpFormStringParam, "address", address.value }}
{form-data.append {new HttpFormStringParam, "city", city.value }}
{{get-the-applet}.browse-url-form {url "./submit"}, form-data, method="post"}
}
{Dialog
{table
{row {cell Name:} {cell {value name}}}
{row {cell Address:} {cell {value address}}}
{row {cell City:} {cell {value city}}}
{row {cell colspan=2,
{CommandButton label="Submit",
{on Action do
{with-busy-cursor
{do-sumbit}
}
}
}
}
}
}
|
What is Rebol?
- Yet Another All-In-One Scripting Language
- REBOL = Relative Expression Based Object Language
- Rebol Runtime/Plug-In named Rebol IOS (Internet Operating System)
- Single-Vendor, Close-Source Payware; Licensing: US$ 100 per seat (10 seats minimum) plus US$1,000 per server;
support package for US$5,000+ per year
- Headed by Carl Sassenrath (designed the Amiga OS more than a decade ago)
- Runs on 40+ plus OSes including Amiga
First Impression: Rebol In Action
Commentary: Window with white background and image on top.
If you click on the image, you browse to the Rebol website.
view layout [
backcolor white
image http://www.rebol.com/graphics/link.jpg [
browse http://www.rebol.com
]
]
|
Rich Client Example - Explore the Amazon
Amazon Browser - Thinlet XUL Edition
Robert Bajzet's Thinlet - the world's tiniest XUL engine squeezed into a 26 k jar -
sports an Amazon browser that you can fire off using Web Start
to browse the bookshelfs at Amazon.
Amazon Browser - Mozilla XUL Edition
Widget Galore - "Eclipse UI" Widget Set Sampling
Widgets, Widgets, Widgets - SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit)
| Widget |
Comments |
| Button |
includes radio, toggle and checkbox |
| Canvas |
|
| Combo |
|
| Composite |
similar to box or panel or container |
| CoolBar, CoolItem |
similar to a toolbar |
| Group |
similar to a titled box or groupbox with caption |
| Label |
|
| List |
|
| Menu, MenuItem |
|
| ProgressBar |
|
| Sash |
similar to a splitter dividing a box into two |
| Scale |
similar to slider |
| ScrollBar |
|
| Shell |
similar to window or frame or dialog |
| Slider |
|
| TabFolder, TabItem |
similar to tabbox |
| Table, TableColumn, TableItem |
|
| Text |
includes single-line, multi-line and password |
| ToolBar, ToolItem |
|
| Tree, TreeItem |
|
Misc Widgets: Caret, Tracker
Ready-Made Standard Dialogs: ColorDialog, DirectoryDialog, FileDialog, FontDialog, MessageBox, PrintDialog
Cross-Platfrom UI Toolkits
The Oldie
The Big Three: Classic Desktop OS
The Big Two: Modern Network OS
- SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit), "Eclipse UI"
- Swing, Java Foundation Classes (JFC)
The Tk Story
- In the 80's: John Ousterhout working on integrated circuits design
at University of California, Berkeley
creates a scripting language (dubbed Tool Command Language - TCL)
that can easily be extended and embedded.
- Winter 1988: John creates UI toolkit extension for Tcl named Tk.
- Early 90's: John talks up Tcl and Tk at numerous conferences and makes
Tcl and Tk freely available.
- 1994: John publishes Tcl and the Tk Toolkit book (Addison-Wesley, ISBN: 020163337X)
The Qt Story
- 1991: Haarvard Nord and Eirik Eng build apps using poor-quality cross-platform toolkits
- Haarvard writes diploma thesis on UI design while Eirik builds a UI toolkit in C++ for a Norwegian company
- Early 1993: Haarvard and Eirik hook up to create Qt 1.0 - a high-quality, easy to use UI toolkit in C++
- 1994: Haarvard and Eirik found Trolltech to market Qt
- KDE pioneer Matthias Kalle Dalheimer picks Qt for the free KDE Linux desktop
The wxWindows Story
- 1992: Julian Smart builds a CASE tool named Hardy at the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute
at the University of Edinburgh; Hardy is chartered to run on Windows and X11 Unix boxes;
no free, low-cost UI-independet toolkit available; thus, wxWindows is born (w stands for Windows
and x for X-Window)
- First version build on XView for X-Window and Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) for Windows
- XView stops development; thus, switch to Motif toolkit;
to avoid MFC lock-in, switch to bare-bones Windows API
- 1995: Markus Holzem creates wxWindows port for X-Window
throwing out Motif and using Xt instead
- 1997: wxWindows 2.0 throws out Xt and now builts on Gtk+
- 1998 and 1999: work starts on Apple Macinthosh and OS/2 ports
The Gtk+ Story
- 1995: Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis drop their Scheme compiler student project
and start working on a pixel graphics program instead
- February 1996: Spencer and Peter release first Beta (v0.54)
of GIMP (General Image Manipulation Program) on the Internet build using Motif
and sporting a plug-in architecture and more
- Spring 1996: Spencer and Peter decide to ditch the commercial Motif
toolkit (holding back wide distribution because of royalities) and create
a free UI toolkit instead
- July 1996: GIMP v0.6 ships sporting a free UI tookit
made up of a low-level GDK (GIMP Drawing Kit) for 2D graphics and a high-level GTK (GIMP Tool Kit)
for widgets, windows and more.
- February 1997; GIMP v0.99 ships with GTK+,
the umbrella name for GDK and GTK.
- Frederico Mena working with Miguel de Icaza on GNOME discovers GTK+
and GTK+ replaces Tk as GNOME's planned UI tookit
Platforms: OS Galore
Classic Desktop OS
The Big Three
- Linux Family: Gnome, KDE
- Apple Macintosh: OS X (Carbon)
- Windows Tyranny: 98, XP, ME, 2K
The Fringe
- IBM OS/2
- Unix Zoo: FreeBSD, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX, Irix
- Retro: Amiga, BeOS
Modern Network OS
The Big Three
- Java: Swing, SWT
- Mono: Qt, Gtk+
- .Nyet: Windows Forms
Mobile Devices OS
- Palm OS, EPOC, QNX (Photon)
Cross-Platform UI Toolkits: Write Once, Run Anywhere
Pick Your OS (Beyond Windows)
|
Linux |
Mac |
Windows |
| Qt |
Yes |
Yes (Non-Free) |
Yes (Non-Free) |
| wxWindows |
Yes |
? |
Yes |
| Gtk+ |
Yes |
? |
So-So |
Pick Your Language (Beyond C/C++)
|
Python |
Mono (C-Sharp) |
Java |
| Qt |
PyQt |
Qt# |
? |
| wxWindows |
wxPython |
wxNet |
? |
| Gtk+ |
PyGtk |
Gtk# |
? |
UI Toolkit Criteria:
- License, Backers, Open-Source, Founded
XML for UIs - Qt Designer Example
XUL Version
<window id="Form1">
<vbox>
<label value="Luxor Rocks" />
<hbox>
<button id="PushButton1" label="Big Time" />
<button id="PushButton2" label="Yup" />
</hbox>
</vbox>
</window>
|
Qt Designer XML UI Version
<UI>
<class>Form1</class>
<widget>
<class>QDialog</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>Form1</cstring>
</property>
<property>
<name>geometry</name>
<rect>
<x>0</x>
<y>0</y>
<width>206</width>
<height>74</height>
</rect>
</property>
<property>
<name>caption</name>
<string>Form1</string>
</property>
<widget>
<class>QLayoutWidget</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>Layout2</cstring>
</property>
<property>
<name>geometry</name>
<rect>
<x>10</x>
<y>10</y>
<width>170</width>
<height>49</height>
</rect>
</property>
<vbox>
<property>
<name>margin</name>
<number>0</number>
</property>
<property>
<name>spacing</name>
<number>6</number>
</property>
<widget>
<class>QLabel</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>TextLabel1</cstring>
</property>
<property>
<name>text</name>
<string>Luxor Rocks</string>
</property>
</widget>
<widget>
<class>QLayoutWidget</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>Layout1</cstring>
</property>
<hbox>
<property>
<name>margin</name>
<number>0</number>
</property>
<property>
<name>spacing</name>
<number>6</number>
</property>
<widget>
<class>QPushButton</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>PushButton1</cstring>
</property>
<property>
<name>text</name>
<string>Big Time</string>
</property>
</widget>
<widget>
<class>QPushButton</class>
<property stdset="1">
<name>name</name>
<cstring>PushButton2</cstring>
</property>
<property>
<name>text</name>
<string>Yup</string>
</property>
</widget>
</hbox>
</widget>
</vbox>
</widget>
</widget>
</UI>
|
XML for UIs - Glade Example
XUL Version
<window id="window1">
<vbox>
<label value="Luxor Rocks"/>
<hbox>
<button id="button1" label="Big Time"/>
<button id="button2" label="Yup"/>
</hbox>
</vbox>
</window>
|
Glade XML UI Version
<widget>
<class>GtkWindow</class>
<name>window1</name>
<title>window1</title>
<type>GTK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL</type>
<position>GTK_WIN_POS_NONE</position>
<modal>False</modal>
<allow_shrink>False</allow_shrink>
<allow_grow>True</allow_grow>
<auto_shrink>False</auto_shrink>
<widget>
<class>GtkVBox</class>
<name>vbox1</name>
<homogeneous>False</homogeneous>
<spacing>0</spacing>
<widget>
<class>GtkLabel</class>
<name>label1</name>
<label>Luxor Rocks</label>
<justify>GTK_JUSTIFY_CENTER</justify>
<wrap>False</wrap>
<xalign>0.5</xalign>
<yalign>0.5</yalign>
<xpad>0</xpad>
<ypad>0</ypad>
<child>
<padding>0</padding>
<expand>False</expand>
<fill>False</fill>
</child>
</widget>
<widget>
<class>GtkHBox</class>
<name>hbox1</name>
<homogeneous>False</homogeneous>
<spacing>0</spacing>
<child>
<padding>0</padding>
<expand>True</expand>
<fill>True</fill>
</child>
<widget>
<class>GtkButton</class>
<name>button1</name>
<can_focus>True</can_focus>
<label>Big Time</label>
<relief>GTK_RELIEF_NORMAL</relief>
<child>
<padding>0</padding>
<expand>False</expand>
<fill>False</fill>
</child>
</widget>
<widget>
<class>GtkButton</class>
<name>button2</name>
<can_focus>True</can_focus>
<label>Yup</label>
<relief>GTK_RELIEF_NORMAL</relief>
<child>
<padding>0</padding>
<expand>False</expand>
<fill>False</fill>
</child>
</widget>
</widget>
</widget>
</widget>
|
Why XUL? Do More With Less (Lines of Code)
Productivity Case Study: Markup vs. Scripting vs. Hard-Core Programming
XUL version
<window title="Salve" onclosing="exit()">
<button label="Ciao Vancouver" style="width: 200; height: 50;" onclick="exit()" />
</window>
|
Python version
import java.lang as lang
import javax.swing as swing
def exit( event ):
lang.System.exit(0)
frame = swing.JFrame( 'Salve', windowClosing=exit )
button = swing.JButton( 'Ciao Vancouver', preferredSize=(200,50), actionPerformed=exit )
frame.contentPane.add( button )
frame.pack()
frame.show()
|
Java version
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class CiaoVancouver extends JFrame
{
public CiaoVancouver( String title )
{
super( title );
addWindowListener( new WindowAdapter() {
public void windowClosing( WindowEvent ev )
{
exit();
}
} );
JButton button = new JButton( "Ciao Vancouver" );
button.setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 200, 50 ) );
button.addActionListener( new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent ev )
{
exit();
}
} );
getContentPane().add( button );
}
public void exit()
{
System.exit( 0 );
}
public static void main( String args[] )
{
CiaoVancouver frame = new CiaoVancouver( "Salve" );
frame.pack();
frame.show();
}
}
|
C++ version
Spare me the pain.
Assembler version
Anyone?
Industry Giants At Work: Pushing Their Own Agenda
- IBM Pushes Lotus Notes
- Micromedia Pushes Flash
- Adobe Pushes Acrobat (Postscript)
- Sun Pushes Java Swing
Who's pushing XUL? How about you. Join the Free World
and help secure a rich internet for everyone.
Inside Redhell: What's the Politburo up to?
Internet Exploder Frozen Since 1999
- No New Features
| Forget XUL |
Use Micropoly Windows Forms |
| Forget SVG |
Use Micropoly Windows GDI+ |
| Forget XForms |
Use Micropoly Office InfoPath (XDocs) |
| Forget XHTML (2.0) |
Use Micropoly Office Word |
| Forget XML Build Tools |
Use Micropoly Visual Studio |
and so on
Conclusio: New features
added to Windows or Office
using patentend, closed-source, single-vendor technology.
Avoid XML formats
use APIs or binary formats instead
for maximum vendor lock-in.
Let a Thousand Browsers Bloom
You're special. Demand Your Own Browser.
Gecko Family
- Mozilla
- Netscape
- Phoenix
- Camino (formerly Chimera)
- Galeon
- K-Meleon
- Beonex
- BrowserG!
- Dino!
- and more
KHTML Family
Luxor Family
Project Eldorado - Gold, Gold, Gold - Kicking Off A New Stampede
Rich Browser Propelled by Luxor - Upcoming Fall 2003
How does Eldorado outshine existing Java browsers?
- Uses Low-Footprint, High-Speed Eclipse UI Toolkit (=SWT/Standard Widget Toolkit) instead of Sun's Swing Memory Hog
- Single-Click Startup/Installation-On-Demand or Update over the Web or from CD
- Instant Applet Startup; Browser Runs On Java Runtime Shared with Applets
- Supports XForms, XUL, XHTML, SVG, CSS, Python and more
