My personal history of Web Authorizing Tools (1)

I have been facinated by the idea of combining web authorizing and programming even before I realize it is called Active Essay. Actually I made a numbers of projects along with the idea. Here is a short story of my side.

Scamper Workspace

Scamper Workspace is a extention for Scamper, a web browser written in Squeak. It runs a Smalltalk code on any web page with simple operation.

I often write a tiny source code in Squeak on my blog. And it is natural that you want to run the code without any effort. Usually, you might have to copy and paste from web browser to Squeak. However, although Squeak has already a web browser named "Scamper", why do we need such clumsy way? What's wrong if a web page is just a text as same as other Squeak's text object, and if you can use full features which Squeak IDE has on it. Scamper has very limited as a web browser, but it is just O.K. to examine a code on blog. Only missing thing is a direct way to execute code on web page.

"No Application" is Squeak's original motto. Squeak consists with a number of objects that they have each different tiny functions, and those are connected naturally. In that sense, there are no need of "Application" because application is just an artificial boundary. So it seems to me natural to add Workspace menu into Scamper.

Because all necessary code is already available in Squeak image. The implementation was very easy. However the result was surprisingly attractive and profound. Thoru Yamamoto made a lot of contents for Scamper Workspace and each of them are so exciting.

Typical page written for Scamper Workspace consists with a short story and a couple of codes. A reader would executes the codes while reading a story. This format is very effective when the story is to explain how to make a graphical program in Squeak. Especially the fearure is emphasized when a page consists only text and source code. Even it lookes if it were 1995's website, it make large variety of effects if you run the code. I would say that it could be another possible evolution path for the Web.

StackWiki

StackWiki is a multimedia authorizing tool written in Squeak. Document is saved as original binary format with Swiki Server.

I made StackWiki inspired by Zest and Marmalade. Zest is WYSIWYG authoring tool like Wiki uses local disk, which allows you to make link to other page, and dynamic content in Smalltalk language. Above all, StackWiki emphasis more features in HyperCard and Wiki.

A StackWiki project consists with one or more pages. In WWW, nomally relationship between pages is maintained only hyper link, but there is no structure like hierarchy or order. Some websites attempt to show such structure with navigation link.

Structure among pages helps user to know a point within the context though, it often makes UI complicated. Addition to historical navigation, forward and backword navigation is needed if pages have an order. Above all, if there is hierarchy, three dimensional navigation would be necessary, In StackWiki, only foward and backword structure is used.

With background, you can put together similar structures in multiple place in one. StackWiki only allows one background, although HyperCard could handle more. Background is implemented as a special "background" page. If you add something onto background page, the element are shown same place behind other elements in all pages.

Here is another interesting trade off. How complicated background is needed? Background can be seen as a special version of macro. Macro is a generic term to represent common structure among document. Macro is very useful to reduce redundancy and to improve maintenance factor. However, it is easy to make too complicated macro which includes macro of macro. In end user's point of view, background can be better than full macro.

Each StackWiki's page is stored as a binary format in Swiki serer. Although, Swiki is itself web application, it is used just as file upload feature. StackWiki doesn't use any web standard except HTTP transport to save data. It doesn't so good attitude in terms of data transparency. But it makes the development so quick that it took only three days to implement it.