TEAM-ADA Archives

Team Ada: Ada Programming Language Advocacy

TEAM-ADA@LISTSERV.ACM.ORG

Options: Use Forum View

Use Proportional Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Reply To:
Date:
Wed, 5 Dec 2001 11:33:39 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (46 lines)
> afford to build ourselves. That limits the use of items beyond HTML and
> scripting.

I would have no objection to robust server-side
"bells and whistles" as long as it doesn't emulate
the "bull in a paint shop" look of so many of today's
websites.  We don't want to look like "Just another
dull, stodgy, non-creative developer who uses Ada" [1]
but even less IMHO do we want to look like all glitz
with nothing inside.

As for "beyond HTML and scripting"--any Java (or even
bytecode from Ada), Javascript, DHTML, etc.--anything
that does client side processing--should be viewed
on Internet Explorer, Netscape 4.75-4.79, Netscape 6.x,
Opera, OmniWeb, and WebTV or the WebTV emulator on
MacOS 9, Mac OS X, Windows NT/2000, Window 95/98, and
at least one Unix.

When the browser crashes, it doesn't matter that it's
the browser's fault or the operating system's--many users
will blame the web site, and if it's labeled "Ada Inside".....

I also highly recommend at least considering the accessibility
documents at http://www.w3.org

I haven't yet purchased any "parental control" software, so
my sons are never surfing without my knowledge.  EVERY time
they get on the net, they crash the computer.  Last night,
the eldest REALLY wanted some info, so I pulled the web page
to local disk to extract what he wanted.  After I removed
mountains of Javascript--and the idiotic purple background
for black text specs--NS 4.78 had no problem showing the actual
content (which was still poorly formatted).

Now they've never heard of Javascript, and the computer doesn't
craqsh when Papa is surfing, so as far as they're concerned,
the fault is not with MacOS or Netscape, it's with the websites
they look at.  (Frankly, I halfway agree with them!)

[1] Caption of a colorful poster I got from the A.R.A.

--
Wes Groleau
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wgroleau

ATOM RSS1 RSS2