Gmail is basically just a blob of js. A lot of modern web apps are. If your definition of the Web is "View Source" capable JS, that battle was lost a long time ago.
NaCL does permit web apps, the Pepper API allows calling browser APIs just like JS, unlike Flash.
The way I look at the browser is, it's a layout engine that manages a Render Tree built by DOM and CSS. It has external bindings for APIs to manipulate DOM, CSS, plus canvas, audio, storage, et al. These APIs may be called from JS, Dart, NaCl. It's the APIs that define the platform, not the programming language.
Too many people are fixated on JS. Really, all that truly matters is having a portable, secure mechanism for distributing code that can call into these bindings. Right now, JS is the only game in town, but there's no reason that has to be the dominant mechanism for the next decades.
If the Web is to be around for another 20-30 years, it needs to avoid stagnation via language zealotry.
Interesting, didn't know that. I think some of the bad perception of Java/Flash pages is because most of them didn't access the DOM, they just dumped their own graphics on the page (AFAIK, you could even use AWT/Swing in applets).
Comments
Gmail is basically just a blob of js. A lot of modern web apps are. If your definition of the Web is "View Source" capable JS, that battle was lost a long time ago.
NaCL does permit web apps, the Pepper API allows calling browser APIs just like JS, unlike Flash.
The way I look at the browser is, it's a layout engine that manages a Render Tree built by DOM and CSS. It has external bindings for APIs to manipulate DOM, CSS, plus canvas, audio, storage, et al. These APIs may be called from JS, Dart, NaCl. It's the APIs that define the platform, not the programming language.
Too many people are fixated on JS. Really, all that truly matters is having a portable, secure mechanism for distributing code that can call into these bindings. Right now, JS is the only game in town, but there's no reason that has to be the dominant mechanism for the next decades.
If the Web is to be around for another 20-30 years, it needs to avoid stagnation via language zealotry.
Neither Flash nor Java applets had access to the DOM, I think that was the point of the comment.
Flash and Java applets do have access to the DOM.
Interesting, didn't know that. I think some of the bad perception of Java/Flash pages is because most of them didn't access the DOM, they just dumped their own graphics on the page (AFAIK, you could even use AWT/Swing in applets).
Yes they do, but ExternalInterface and Common DOM suck. Pepper has a more direct-binding feel.