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Chapter 15Hack to the Future: What's Ahead for HTML and the Web
I love watching old film reels or reading descriptions of any World's Fair from earlier in this century. There was always an "Exhibit of the Future" that-thanks to its breathless depictions of flying cars and self-cleaning homes-now provokes lots of hindsight-induced guffaws. The problem, I think, is that predicting the future is really just a fool's errand. The pace of technological change is too great and, perhaps more importantly, the direction that change takes is too unpredictable. That, of course, is no great impediment for the world's futurologists and forecasters. These fearless prognosticators are only too happy to wax prophetic about the state of some future union, upcoming social or cultural trends, or the Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-come. So, hey, if everybody else is doing it, why can't I? In this chapter, I'll embark upon my own complete idiot's errand and examine what's on the HTML horizon. A disclaimer, though, is in order: The World Wide Web changes so blindingly fast, it's not possible to even guess what things might be like in a couple of years. (And if you meet anyone who thinks they know, you have my permission to hit them upside the head with this book.) So, instead, I'll just focus on a few of the "bleeding edge" technologies that are emerging as this book goes to press (early 1996). (A note to those of you reading this book in 1997 or later: Try to keep the laughter down to a dull roar.) The Java Jive: A Piping Hot Mug of Browser-Based Programs1996 will be the year that pages move away from the simple type-it-and-send-it world of forms and start performing the Web equivalent of singing and dancing. That is, Web pages will no longer be restricted to static displays of text and graphics, but instead will become dynamic, kinetic, and, yes, truly interactive environments. Instead of mere documents to read and look at, pages will become programs that you can manipulate and play with. The engine that's propelling this sea change is an amazing new technology called Java that's poised to become the biggest thing on the Web since, well, the Web itself. The idea behind Java is amazingly simple, but devilishly clever: When you access a Java Web site, your browser gets not only a page containing the usual HTML suspects, but it also receives a program. The browser (assuming it can tell a Java program from a Jackson Pollock-more on this in a sec) then runs the program right on the Web page. So if the program is, say, a game of Hangman, then you'll be able to play Hangman right on the page. Now that's interactive! These Java programs (or applets, as they're sometimes called) are written using the Java programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Here are a few advantages that Java programs have over traditional software:
What You Need for JavaSo what do you need to start sipping some of this Java? Well, for starters you need a computer capable of handling Java. When this book went to press, Java had been implemented for three operating systems: Windows 95, Windows NT, and SPARC Solaris (a UNIX operating system). Plans were in the cards to bring Java to Macintosh computers in early 1996. Sun has no plans to implement Java on Windows 3.1, OS/2, Amiga, NeXT, or Linux systems, but they've made the Java code available to others who might want to bring Java to these machines. The other ingredient you need for a good cup of Java is a Web browser that knows what to do with any Java program that comes its way. Although I expect that any browser that wants to survive will become "Java-enabled" eventually, at the moment there are only two browsers that do Java:
http://home.netscape.com/
http://java.sun.com/ Some Java ExamplesJava is already the talk of the Web, but it will become huge for one simple reason: there's really no limit to the kinds of things you can do with Java programs. In these early stages of the Java revolution, many of the examples you see are simple because the programmers have just constructed quick-and-dirty programs. Animations, crude games, clocks, and calculators are the extent of the Java universe at the moment. However, it's only a matter of time before these basic applications give way to full-blown software packages: word processors, spreadsheets, real-time stock quotes and portfolio management, high-end games, and much more. Until that day comes, however, we have to content ourselves with the basic Java programs currently available. That's not to say I'm disappointed by the present crop of Java doohickeys. Far from it. This Java jazz is such a radical departure from typical Web content that interacting with even the humblest applet is a revelation. So, in that spirit, let's visit a few sites that boast some Java functionality. The best place to start is a Web site called Gamelan, which serves as the Web's unofficial "directory and registry of Java resources." Gamelan boasts hundreds of Java programs, arranged in many different categories, including Animation, Finance, Games, and Special Effects. Here's the URL: http://www.gamelan.com/ Our first example is a Java version of the classic arcade game Breakout. The picture below shows a game in progress. You can get to this program directly by using the following URL: http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~calum/java/breakout.html I think one of the most common Java applications you'll see is real-time updating of information, especially stock quotes, sports scores, and late-breaking news. For example, the c|net Web site features a Java program that displays a "ticker-tape" style news feed at the top of the page (see the figure below). To check it out, head to the following site: http://www.cnet.com/ There are also applets that come with the HotJava browser (including, yes, a game of Hangman), and you can find more programs at the Netscape and Java Web sites:
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/version_2.0/java_applets/index.htmlJava: http://java.sun.com/applets/index.html VRML: Another HTML DimensionJava may currently be the apple of the Web's eye, but there's another technology on the horizon that promises an equally radical change in the way we approach the Web: VRML. VRML (which is pronounced vermal by the cognoscenti) stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
VRML BrowsersTo try out VRML you need to have the proper software that knows how to accept and render VRML worlds. This software comes in two flavors:
http://www.paperinc.com/
http://www.caligari.com/ To stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in the VRML browser world, keep an eye peeled on the VRML browsers page of Stroud's Consummate Winsock Applications site. Here's the full URL: http://cwsapps.texas.net/vrml.html Over, Under, Sideways, Down: Some VRML WorldsTalking about VRML is like talking about sex: the biggest thrills don't happen until you actually get down to brass tacks and start doing it. So, now that I've piqued your interest, let's break out of boring, old 2-D cyberspace and check out some radical 3-D VRML worlds. We'll begin our tour at the WebFX home page, which has a list of cool VRML sites at the following URL: http://www.paperinc.com/wrls.html There are dozens of VRML sites on this list, and any one of them is a fine way to experience the rush of VRML flying. For example, select the VRSOMA site to travel through a virtual city. Here's the URL, and the picture below shows the opening scene: http://www.hyperion.com/planet9/worlds/vrsoma.wrl Some VRML sites actually let you create a VRML world on the fly (so to speak). One of my favorites is the Virtual Jack-O-Lantern at the following URL: http://www.chaco.com/~glenn/jack.cg: You select a few options that govern the size and shape of the Jack-O-Lantern's eyes, nose, mouth, and stem, and then your Halloween pumpkin is carved up for you in a few seconds. You're then free to zoom around your creation. The picture below shows how things look from inside a Jack-O-Lantern. Scary! The number of VRML sites is growing rapidly, so there'll be no lack of worlds in which to do the "Sister Bertrille" thing (for you youngsters in the crowd, she was TV's Flying Nun way back when). Here are a few other general VRML sites that you can check out for the latest and greatest:
http://Web.Actwin.Com:80/NewType/vr/vrml/index.htm
http://www.virtpark.com/theme/proteinman/home.wrl A Look at What's New in Netscape 2.0You saw back in Chapter 10, "Fooling Around with the Netscape Extensions," that the Netscape browser leads the pack in implementing new HTML innovations. Now, with the release of version 2.0, Netscape is once again ahead of the HTML curve. Netscape 2.0 sports all kinds of new features, including support for Java programs (as described earlier), an integrated and full-featured e-mail program, and a built-in newsreader. But there are also plenty of what-will-they-think-of-next goodies for Web weavers. The next few sections take you through the highlights. Divide and Conquer: FramesOne of the keys to a successful Web site is to make it easy for surfers to surf your pages. This means, usually, including links at the top of the page (and sometimes at the bottom) that take the reader back to your home page or to other pages at your site. This convenience is defeated, however, if the links disappear once someone has scrolled down the page. Wouldn't it be nice to have a "toolbar" of links that always stays visible? Well, with Netscape's new frames, you can. Frames work by dividing up a Web page into rectangular areas that contain separate chunks of text, graphics, and HTML. In other words, you can use frames to divide a single Web page into two or more separate pages. So, for example, you could have a small frame at the top of the screen that contains your navigation links, and then a second frame that displays the content. The reader can scroll through the content frame all she likes, and the navigation links remain handily in place, just like a toolbar. Creating toolbars is only the beginning of what you can do with links. They're perfect for keeping a logo onscreen or an advertisement; you can use them for a table of contents, banners, help information, or whatever you like. Let's check out an example: the product info page for Netscape 2.0 itself. Here's the address: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/version_2.0/index.htm The following figure shows the screen you'll see. Notice how the content area is split into two sections: the bottom section shows a few navigation icons that you can click on; when you do, the results appear in the top section. For example, clicking on the Frames icon takes you to a new page that explains how frames work. As you can see below, the upper frame displays the new content while the lower frame remains the same. Power On Demand: Plug-InsBack in the old days (a couple of years ago!), Web browsers could only handle text and a few graphics. But with the multimedia boom of the past few years continuing apace, Web authors wanted to bring better bells and whistles to their creations. So while browsers weren't sophisticated enough to handle, say, sound and video files, most of them were at least smart enough to pass the buck. That is, the browser let you designate "helper applications" that would play the sound or run the video for you. This works reasonably well, but surfers started clamoring for Swiss army knife-type browsers: programs that could handle any type of content right out of the box. That hasn't happened yet, but Netscape 2.0 takes a large leap in that direction with its new plug-in feature. A plug-in is a software program that fully integrates itself with Netscape. A good example is the WebFX VRML browser I mentioned in the last section. When you "plug" WebFX into Netscape, you gain the ability to view and manipulate VRML worlds. Everything happens right inside the Netscape window, so the added functionality of WebFX is completely seamless. Here's the URL of the Netscape page that discusses plug-ins: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/version_2.0/plugins/index.html As I write this, WebFX is the only plug-in available, but there are many more in the works that should be out soon. Here's a sample:
Java for the Masses: JavaScriptJava is a welcome addition to the Web authoring tool chest, but its appeal is limited to hardcore programming types who live for all-night coding sessions fueled by pizza and Jolt cola. For the rest of us, Netscape has developed a scaled-down version of Java called JavaScript. Yes, it's still programming, but it's a bit more accessible to non-geeks. JavaScript code goes right inside the Web page, just like HTML tags. When a Netscape 2.0 browser accesses the page, the JavaScript code is executed and the program does its thing. For example, the program might check the time of day and display an appropriate welcome message. Or you could embed a calculator right on the page. There's no limit to the kinds of things you can do. If you'd like to know more about it, head for the following page: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/version_2.0/script/index.html Thar's Gold in Them Thar Pages: Netscape GoldWith the release of Navigator 2.0, Netscape is making its bid to become the all-purpose, "everything but the kitchen sink but wait until you see what we have in store for version 3," Swiss army knife of the Internet. Besides being one of the best Web browsers around, Netscape 2.0 is also stuffed with an e-mail program, a Usenet newsreader, and the ability to handle most other Net services, including FTP and Gopher. And, as you saw in the last section, you can even stick in a few extra utensils by taking advantage of plug-ins such as WebFX. But that wasn't enough for the Web's resident greedy-guts. Oh no. They shouted "Give us more! Give us more!" so the eager-to-please souls at Netscape obliged by bringing out Netscape Navigator Gold. This version of Navigator has the same great features as the regular version, but it also includes the ability to edit HTML documents right in the browser! Cool? Way. Unfortunately, as this book went to press Netscape Gold wasn't ready for prime-time, which means I can't discuss any of its features in any depth. But rather than simply ignoring this handy new technology, this section gives you a sneak preview of what Navigator Gold is all about and then you can try it out for yourself when the Netscape folks finally release it. (Keep your browser's eye peeled on the Netscape home page---http://home.netscape.com/-for announcements about the availability of Netscape Gold.) When you load Netscape Gold, you'll see the usual Netscape screen. Hmm. No gold bars or trimmings; no gold-plated toolbar buttons; just the same ol', same ol', apparently. That's because you're looking at the browser part of Netscape. Recall that Netscape is now more like a Swiss army Knife, so getting to the "Gold" part means you have to "pull out" a different tool. Specifically, you have to start the Netscape Editor by pulling down the File menu and selecting the Edit Document command. Ah, that's more like it. You should now see the Netscape Editor window, with some new HTML-related toolbars and menus. How Netscape Gold WorksWhen you're playing around with the Netscape Editor, bear in mind that you won't be working with HTML tags directly. Rather, you type in your document text and then use the editor's menu commands and toolbar buttons to "format" the text. This formatting is the same as adding tags, but the Netscape Editor doesn't display the HTML nuts and bolts. Instead, it just shows you what your text will look like in a browser (or, more accurately, in a Netscape browser). In other words, the Netscape Editor is a WYSIWYG display. (WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get, although some pessimistic wags prefer When You See It, Won't You Gag?) Here are the basic steps you'll follow for each document:
Here's a quick rundown of how the Netscape Editor handles various HTML knickknacks:
As you can see, Netscape Gold's editor ushers in a new era of easy-as-pie Web engineering by hiding all that HTML foofaraw. Your brain will be, I'm sure, eternally grateful. The Least You Need to KnowIn this chapter, we pulled out our crystal ball and gazed into the future of HTML. Just in case you weren't paying attention, here's a quick look at what happened:
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