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...

...including desktop publishing, graphics, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, ...

Web-centric PC...

Steve’s Startup Page• Miscellaneous• My stock portfolio• Munich Trip• Textbook I’m writing• Logic simulations• CURL hacking• Tax Reporting• Photography

Talks

Books CURLPaper

Asia Talk

New Powerpoint Feature:Microsoft’s

Content Wizardwill prepare your

entire talk!

Technology barriers

SophisticationSophistication

FunctionFunction

HTML

TCL,JavaScript

JAVAC++, ActiveX,...

Evolution involves hill climbing along this curve…

Discontinuities discourage it!

- Interaction barriers- Skill barriers

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

SophisticationSophistication

FunctionFunction

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. … … ...

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?

Partitioned Community...

Authors

Programmers

DevelopersBill & Jim

Many of US.

People who actuallyhave something to say.

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?

Structured, interactive documents...

Automatization: Content Extraction

{define {get-quote name:symbol}:float {extract-html x:float {get-url {append “www.quote.com/qs/SYM=“ name}} {table ...} {table ... {row “Last” x ...} ...} ...}

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:

Eventually: server provides typed CURL stock object

An integrated, coherent web...

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

SophisticationSophistication

FunctionFunction

CURL: A Gentle-Slope Language for the WebEvolutionary path for accessible tools

Steve Ward & David KranzMIT Lab for Computer Science

• HTML-like formatted hypertext• Author/programmer semantic continuum• Efficient, native-compiled mobile code• Mobile, extensible type system for metadata

SophisticationSophistication

FunctionFunction