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Evolution of Web-Centric Computation: The Future of Accessible Tools

Explore the evolution of web-centric computation, from today's popular computer applications to tomorrow's uniform medium for accessing services. Learn about new features like Microsoft's Content Wizard for PowerPoint and the advancements in web interaction models. Discover the potential obstacles and issues facing web-centric evolution. Written by Steve Ward & David Kranz from MIT Lab for Computer Science.

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Evolution of Web-Centric Computation: The Future of Accessible Tools

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  1. Vision: Web-centric Computation • Today’s Web: a popular computer application ... along with desktop publishing, graphics, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, ... • Tomorrow’s Web: a uniform medium for access to services... • ...includingdesktop publishing, graphics, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, ...

  2. New Powerpoint Feature: Microsoft’s Content Wizard will prepare your entire talk! Asia Talk Web-centric PC... Steve’sStartup Page • Miscellaneous • My stock portfolio • Munich Trip • Textbook I’m writing • Logicsimulations • CURLhacking • TaxReporting • Photography Talks Books CURL Paper

  3. Technology barriers - Interaction barriers - Skill barriers Function C++, ActiveX,... JAVA Programs Text, Pictures Applets TCL, JavaScript Scripts Evolution involves hill climbing along this curve… Discontinuities discourage it! HTML Sophistication

  4. Alternative: The Gentle Slope...Evolutionary path for accessible tools • CURL (MIT LCS): single language supporting • • HTML-like formatted hypertext • • Author/programmer semantic continuum • • Efficient, native-compiled mobile code • • Mobile, extensible type system for metadata Function Sophistication

  5. Web-centric user view • Web Interaction Model replaces • Software installation (dynamically imported) • “Applications” • File system interaction (transparent caches) • Local/Remote distinctions • Manuals/documentation • Windows 95! Config.sys. Install/Uninstall. FAT filesys. Remote mounts. Software updates. Registry. … … ...

  6. Obstacles & Issues • 1. Technical: can a coherent web environment support authors, programmers, developers? • 2. Business: do industrial interests promote web-centric evolution? • 3. Economic: Can current economic models survive the communication revolution?

  7. Partitioned Community... Developers Bill & Jim Programmers Many of US. Authors People who actually have something to say.

  8. Technology Pressures • New Communication level: driving forces • Function: assimilation of applications • Automatization of content consumption • Semantic coherence: • consistent language interface over content/scripting/programming communities • “Groupware” cooperative environments • Promising approaches: • Metadata? Objects? • Code mobility: security, transparency • What will emerge as the Lingua Franca of the web?

  9. Structured, interactive documents...

  10. Automatization: Content Extraction • Today: Sophisticated Curl user: • • Builds get-quote primitive which automates consumption of some particular web content • • Might use extract-html, provided by an even more sophisticated user: {define {get-quote name:symbol}:float {extract-html x:float {get-url {append “www.quote.com/qs/SYM=“ name}} {table ...} {table ... {row “Last” x ...} ...} ...} Eventually: server provides typed CURL stock object

  11. An integrated, coherent web...

  12. Alternative: The Gentle Slope...Evolutionary path for accessible tools • CURL: a single language supporting • • HTML-like formatted hypertext • • Author/programmer semantic continuum • • Efficient, native-compiled mobile code • • Mobile, extensible type system for metadata Function Sophistication

  13. CURL: A Gentle-Slope Language for the WebEvolutionary path for accessible tools • Steve Ward & David Kranz • MIT Lab for Computer Science • • HTML-like formatted hypertext • • Author/programmer semantic continuum • • Efficient, native-compiled mobile code • • Mobile, extensible type system for metadata Function Sophistication

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