Displaying Stacks in Browsers

[Richard Gaskin]

Ray Horsley wrote:
> It may sound a bit dreamy, but does anybody know of a way to display a 
> stack in a browser for normal interactive use with the cgi processing 
> the input?

CGI is an interface for processing data from a client to an HTTP server. 
  That side of it is pretty straightforward; it sounds like the question 
here is about the client-side presentation.

Web pages are commonly done in HTML, sometimes augmented with 
interactivity via JavaScript (what the young 'uns call "AJAX").

Browser plugins can provide support for other elements beyond text and 
graphics, such as the Flash plugin.  The challenge with plugins is that, 
like an application, if they're not already bundled with the browser 
they need to be identified, located, downloaded, and installed before 
the media can be viewed.

There isn't currently a browser plugin for viewing Rev stacks, through 
there are three great options which satisfy most real-world requests for 
this sort of thing:

1. JavaScript/DHTML/AJAX:  Check out Google Maps.  A lot can be done 
with plain text and graphics, without the need for supporting a 
proprietary binary file like Rev.

2. Custom browser:  Check out Google Earth.  It provides a MUCH better 
interface than Google Maps, taking full advantage of all the things that 
a dedicated application can do.  Building net-savvy apps in Rev is a snap.

3. Consider Flash:  It's already pre-installed on most systems, and can 
be used to make some great UIs.


--
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
  _______________________________________________________
  Rev tips, tutorials and more: http://www.revJournal.com