Extending the Browser with Plug-ins
July 26, 1999
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In part three of Intro to Web Application Development Environment, Sol
completes the survey of GUI Layer technologies covering Plug-ins, client
side java, client side scripting, and the DOM and dHTML.
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Though powerful and revolutionary as
browsers
were with their
ability to display
HTML,
gather and send user data to a web
server,
and store
cookies, they were a bit too limited to
really drive the net revolution whose visionaries were
demanding more and more resources and freedoms.
Why can't we drag and drop excel files into our browsers?
Why can't we have more powerful form widgets like grids and
trees? Why can't we have more powerful
animation,
font, and
layout tools?
These were the questions being asked of the browser manufacturers
daily.
Unfortunately, browser manufacturers realized that in order
to keep their applications quick and manageable they would
need to keep their applications simple and lean.
As a result, browser manufacturers
were unwilling to add all
the features desired by the web application development community.
However, all was not lost. Early, innovative pioneers discovered
that they could extend browsers not by building bigger browsers,
but by plugging in smaller components into the browser as needed.
In response, browser manufacturers provided an interface so that
plug-in developers could get to work.
Plug-ins
appeared right and left. Some of the most notable
plug-in packages included
Real Audio,
Real Video,
Shockwave,
and Acrobat
These plug-ins were proprietary software tools that were browser
aware and of which the browser was aware. Thus they could be
executed by the browser when needed and could take advantage
of the HTTP pipeline that the browser maintained. In the
beginning, plug-ins appeared as separate applications to the
user with their own windows. However, over time, plug-ins became
encapsulated by the browsers so that they appeared more cohesive
to the web surfer using them.
Fortunately for everyone, plug-ins brought functionality to the
web browser without forcing web browser manufacturers to add it
themselves. This meant that features could be added more quickly
without the browser developers as a bottleneck and that the
browsers themselves would not become bloated. Object-oriented
design at its best!
Contents:
Introduction to the Web Application Development Environment (Tools)
Java
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