Web programming tools

Sat May 3 18:42:00 EDT 2003

> Use MC as a CGI:  free, easy, fun. :)

I agree, in theory. Oddly, in practice, I have never
found a tutorial to explain how to use MC as a CGI.
It's something I really want to learn though!

> What would you like to do with a command-line-powered
> browser?

Basically advanced navigation and content manipulation. 
I would like to be able to have a command line for my
web browser to do the following:

1) Change the font
a) size
b) color
c) font face

2) Stop/Start animations (esp. gifs)

3) Change window size - I type really fast, faster than
a mouse click & drag

4) Speak text. Send beeps/Play music, i.e. (in HC play
harpsichord)

5) access and alter the menubar. I know this is more HC
than MC/RR but imagine if you could tell your browser "

6) Navigation. What would be really really usefull
would be "go parent" which would take
http://www.geocities.com/engleerica/computers/hypercard.htm
and then go to 
http://www.geocities.com/engleerica/computers/
so if I then said "go parent" I would get sent to 
http://www.geocities.com/engleerica/
etc.

Search, copy, paste, PROGRAMMATICALLY.
So say I find a great law review article on the web,
and like most its literally DOZENS of pages and
HUNDREDS of footnotes -- and all *I* really want is to
find a footnote about some author you never heared of - 
"Find Paragraph Search Term" 
would return the paragraph the search term occurs in 
"Find 2 Paragraphs Search Term" (with S being optional)
Now I get my desired paragraph plus the paragraph
preceeding and following.

Predefined scripts/handlers: 
Say MY home page *really* like
hyperCard/MetaCard/Revolution lets me do this:
<script language="xTalk">
on zoomIn
repeat with i = 1 to the number of images on this page
set the width of image i to the width of image i * 2
set the height of image i to the height of image i * 2
end repeat
end ZoomIn
<script>

That is, this handler/script would be in the message
hierarchy! It would let me zoom in on images (I know
this can be done with a book marklet, its just an
example). And if I wanted another handler to do
something else I would just write it and install it
into my "home" page - just like HC/MC/RR

>   With Flash having won the plugin wars, getting
another
>   plugin bundled with browser distributions would be
> next
>   to impossible.  

This is very true, expecting a bundled plug in is
completely unrealistic! HowEver... 

> And as long as your users would have
> to
>   download something, why not download a more flexible
>   helper app than a plugin?  No additional 
engineering
>   needed for MC Corp., and you get immediate
> gratification.

Because of the very same reason that the thread starter
pointed out! People would *rather* work through a
clunky web interface *because they are familiar with it
- even though a smaller solution would be more powerful
- this is how microsoft one I think. People would
rather download a "safe" "easy" plugin than learn a
"new" "different" program. 

This is why I haven't done much with java or perl - its
a question of diminishing returns, I *know xTalk. My
job is not my dream job (computers) but almost (law and
computers). So I have to put at least 60% of my energy
into law, not computers. Remaining energy can be used
to develop new technologies (java, perl) with
cumbersome syntax or to apply existing investments
(xTalk). Unless the return from learning java is
sufficiently high it makes no sense for me to learn it.
BTW, once MC made xTalk cross platform I saw no need to
explore java any further. Then MS killed Java - which
is why you're right a bundled browser plugin is a pipe
dream; but a MC/RR engine &/ frontend disguised as a
downloadable plug-in isn't!. If you look at disguising
the starter kit as a plugin you might distribute more
starter kits!

My gist is : why not have the engine/frontend ACT like
a plugin AND like an independant application? I.e. you
download the MC/RR plugin, you use it to visualize
media (AND I DO THINK THAT MC/RR SHOULD CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP AS A QUICKTIME GENERATOR - sorry for yelling
that's important for marketing to understand though;
flash is way to expensive. so is final cut pro. MC/RR
could however weigh in easily as a quicktime generator. 

So the users download MC/RR 
1) so they can programmatically control web pages, i.e.
as a plug in 
2) to generate content, namely quicktime

Then they discover - woah, I can use this for
everything director does? And maybe better?!? (Director
in my opinion has become too complex to be useful for
most people).

Then they also discover they have a starter kit bundled
with / disguised as a standalone.

And this is how I get to type

cmd-m go nextCentury

My Home Page with free online legal information
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