Web and stuff

Steven Pemberton, CWI

Web and stuff

Steven Pemberton

Background

Programming languages: Algol68; Pascal Compilation; ABC, forerunner of Python.

Views: 'Programming environment', but if you saw it today, you'd call it a browser. Extensible markup, stylesheets, vector graphics, declarative functionality.

Web

Organised workshops at first Web Conference at CERN in 1994.

Which led to: HTML4, CSS, RDFa, ...

Spun off NL's first Web company

XForms

Originally for Forms on the Web.

Now: Declarative applications.

Dutch weather service runs using it; many government websites. Part of ODF. One company reduced production time from 5 years with 30 people to 1 year with 10 people by using it.

RDFa

A method of attaching meta-data to any markup language. Used in web sites, also ODF.

Best Buy reported 30% better results after using it.

<link about="[_:StevenPemberton]" rel="foaf:primaryTopicOf" href="" />
<link about="[_:StevenPemberton]" rev="foaf:img" type="image/jpg"
     href="Steven.Pemberton.jpg" />
<div about="[_:StevenPemberton]">
   <h2>Contact</h2>
   Tel: <a rel="foaf:phone" href="tel:+31-624-671668">+31 624 671 668</a>
</div>

Invisible XML

A generic method of turning any structured document into XML so that it can be inserted into the XML pipeline. New, but already being used in a production project by Dutch Government.

body {color: blue; font-weight: bold}
 <css>
    <rule>
       <selector>body</selector>
       <block>
          <property name="color" value="blue"/>
          <property name="font-weight" value="bold"/>
       </block>
    </rule>
 </css>