Here’s a “quote” from someone at work that raises some really interesting questions about the future of web development,
Until Silverlight follows some sort of industry standard I’m not going to bother…
Here are some responses to the thoughts that popped into my head when I read this…
Web Standards Are Important
For someone to make the statement above, and that it is such a common assertion amongst members of the web community, is testament to its importance. They are important for a number of reasons,
- Access – standards make it possible for vendors to make browsers, screen-readers and other devices that can interpret the meaning and semantics of mark-up. This opens up a whole world of possibilities for innovation across these consuming technologies and encourages a wide availability of content to a range of users.
- Democratic Evolution – as standards are governed by representatives from various backgrounds, interests, agendas and companies its evolution is not dominated by the views of any one group.
However, I don’t think they are relevant for all types of “applications” that are accessed over the internet.
Differentiating Between Web Sites and Web Applications?
Historically web standards have been focused on encouraging wide and equal access to the information (and services) of web sites. In particular, HTML, is primarily a formatting language that describes how information should be displayed/intpreted on a device – whether that is a computer, a mobile, or via a screen-reader.
I think of web sites being on the far left of a spectrum that ranges from simple static brochure-ware sites to highly interactive applications that leverage the power of a users machine that happen to also be delivered over the web and often via a web browser. Web applications are also referred to as Rich Internet Applications (RIA).
I’m not convinced that the same standards should be applied equally between websites and web applications.
Web Standards Aren’t A Prerequisite for Building Web Applications
It doesn’t necessarily follow that because web standards have their place – and they do – that they should be applied to any technology delivered over the internet. That’s silly.
If you want to build a site based on HTML then you should most definitely follow web standards. However, if you want to build a site based on another technology – go for it! There are, of course, pros and cons but who cares!
Web Standards Can Encourage Mediocrity
I’m often amazed that web designers are often the most fervent supporters of web standards. And when faced with the endless design possibilities of XAML are often dismissive. I listened to a really interesting podcast recently from the .Net Rocks boys interviewing Billy Hollis – he talked about a workshop he did where he handed out a piece of paper and asked the people to sketch out a form that collection some data or performed some function. Most of the users drew a series of rectangles, grid layouts etc. He then handed out another sheet of paper that contained some initially curved, irregular lines and asked the audience to use these lines as part of their design. Many found it really difficult while others loved challenge. It really highlighted how tied we are to the visual paradigms of the day – working with the constraints of HTML/CSS/JS is, in my mind, stifling design innovation. I’d love to see more designers thinking beyond what we see now in web sites and dreaming of brand new ways of engaging and interacting with users. Remember, Avatar – I’m sure there wasn’t a rectangle in sight on their cool wrap-around monitors! And I guarantee they weren’t rendered in HTML.
XAML is an example of an innovation unhindered by standards that opens up a world of other possibilities. Why wouldn’t you embrace this alternative means of delivering information and content to the web?
Silverlight Is Changing The Way We Build Applications
You can do a lot using HTML based web sites – take Xero – it’s one of the best examples of building a rich user experience within the (considerable) limitations of this technology. And it requires a team of highly talented people to maintain compatibility across different browsers, each with subtly different interpretations of the standards.
But, I can imagine a day when building an application does not first start with a decision about whether it will be rendered in a browser (and if so which one) and/or delivered over the internet. Imagine WPF and Silverlight merging into one – you simply open up Visual Studio, File New Application and at some time you configure it to be accessible over the internet (or not). You configure the URL someone points their browser (or something else) to – and that’s it.
In many ways having to deal with the concept of a browser is prohibitive – for RIA’s it actually gets in the way for the users and for Microsoft who have to build plug-ins for multiple browsers and platforms. We now have a silent launcher that effectively allows a you to install a Silverlight application without a browser – let’s hope this is a first step to browser-less web applications.
Web Standards Are Slow!
OK, you’ve heard this before but, waiting for HTML 5.0 to get ratified will be worse than watching the proverbial dry.
Silverlight is up to version 4.0 (April 2010) and was preceded by versions 3.0 (July 2009), 2.0 (October 2008), 1.0 (Sept 2007) – that’s four versions in about 2.5 years!
HTML first got standardised as version 3.2 by W3C in 1996shortly followed by HTML 4.0 (1997) and 4.01 (1999). Since then nothing and latest estimates for 5.0 suggest we may not see the final proposal until (2022). WTF!
I wonder what version Silverlight will be up to in 2022?
So…
In many ways standards do nothing for innovation – standards in this sense are worthless. Web technologies will and should move faster than this. I for one am glad that Silverlight isn’t hampered by Web Standards and wouldn’t want it any other way.