Bernard Devlin wrote:
... it's clear from the number of times that it has come up,
that there's quite a lot of desire for it....
...
As I've said, it's not currently a high priority for me,
but it seems to be quite important to other users.
What people want is not always what they need. :)
<http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-revolution/2006-November/089327.html>
Since Lynn asked at the beginning of the month what we wanted from
Rev in terms of browser interaction, maybe he could provide us with
the definitive answer about why a browser plug-in would be such an
engineering challenge.
I'll venture this much, from having worked as a contractor with
Allegiant during the time they made SuperCard's Roadster plugin:
One of the hardest things in making a browser plugin is dealing with the
limitations of the environment: no file I/O, no Apple events, no
Registry access, no windows, no window styles, etc. In a comprehensive
superset of HyperTalk like SuperTalk and Transcript, doing that many
IFDEFs across the code base is a lot of work (and characterizing the
work as simply IFDEFing is of course a generously lighthearted metaphor
for the true nature of the rework).
While Roadster showed that it's not impossible, it's also worth noting
that the current owners of SuperCard no longer saddle themselves with
the expense of maintaining it.
I'm sure all of us would prefer that Rev's engineering resources are
not consumed by the production of a browser plug-in.
Agreed here.
I also think it's noteworthy that the link above helps point the way to
a plugin-free solution for deploying in-the-browser content, yet no
one's been sufficiently motivated to even begin exploring it in practice.
Who could blame them? Asymetrix spent a lot of time/money going down
that path for ToolBook, and where did it get them?
While there are many posts requesting a browser plugin from time to
time, they're from a relatively small number of individuals. And none
of the requests I've seen yet have evidenced having done a sufficient
workflow and business analysis for their own organization to determine
if a browser plugin will indeed satisfy the ostensible goal.
In the absence of such data, it's my belief that the tangible histories
of Allegiant and Asymetrix tell us far more relevant stories in terms of
real-world success potentials.
There are bigger and much more tasty fish to fry, esp. in a world that's
waking up to net-savvy apps as a powerful alternative to the limitations
of the browser. Google Maps is so last year; the future is Google
Earth. And fortunately for us here on this list, Google Earth is the
type of thing that's easier for us to build.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World Media Corporation
___________________________________________________________
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.FourthWorld.com
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