Internet Programming

David L. Shang

Internet programming becomes one of the hottest areas today. To get all the coolest stuff like bringing your web pages in motion, distributing a fancy 3D animation, making multi-player games on net, and putting an interactive demonstration in virtual reality, you have to use a programming language. Menus and buttons can't provide the specification of live pictures with sophisticated interactions and controls.

The day of the information highway is coming. The popularity of internet makes many normal humans itchy to have a go at internet programming. But computer languages remain a mysterious argot, understood only by members of logician clique.

What properties should a language for internet programming have? Many issues are specifically related to internet programming such as name space partition, security, safety, speed, multi-tasking, remote access, and code density. In this column, however, the focus is only on the two most important issues: dynamic design and script and domain-specific expression. We'll take a look at Transframe: though the language is not designed uniquely for internet programming, it can be a better tool than other existing languages specifically designed for internet.

Designing and Scripting on the Spot

Speaking in a Native Language