Re[2]: Concerns about HTML+ complexity

/PN=paul.kendall/O=hlp/PRMD=eprix400/ADMD=mci/C=us/@sendxmail.hlp.com
16 Jun 1994 09:02:07 -0500

I am a relatively new participant in these discussions, but I believe
Ken's point may be somewhat validated by reviewing the history of
Unix.

Unfortunately, without a major player providing a 'standard'
implementation for commercial use, it may not be possible to achieve a
stable HTML environment. My experience with various commercial
enterprises suggests that each one will implement its own 'flavor'
which may or may not be compatible with the rest of the known
universe.

As to the statement that someone with a large dedicated programming
staff will be able to successfully implement a monolithic browser, I
again refer to the Unix history. There seem to be as many flavors of
Unix as there are major university computing centers. Again, my own
experience indicates that with this type of proliferation in the
environment, development of a singular commercial 'standard' will
probably not occur in the academic environment, nor in a dispersed
commercial one, but rather because a major corporation implements its
own flavor and aggressively markets it. And as is generally known,
such a product will usually not be a fully implemented variety of
HTML, but a standard subset from which extensions will be developed.

While Ken's statements are unsupported in his original text, there may
indeed be some merit in what he is saying. I don't think his comments
should be dismissed lightly.


Paul L. Kendall

paul-kendall@hlp.com

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Concerns about HTML+ complexity
Author: www-talk@www0.cern.ch at X400
Date: 6/15/94 07:19

In message <9406151740.AA16962@pt0204.pto.ford.com> Ken Fox wrote:

>We really need to think about who in the industry is in the best
>position to implement/control monolithic standards and monolithic browsers.
>It isn't CERN, NCSA or the community of Web hackers, that's for sure!

I would like to see some support for this rather airy dismissal.

>The
>only people in a position to implement a monolithic browser are those with
>dedicated (and large) programming staffs --- such as Framemaker or Microsoft.

Again I would like to see a reasoned argument for this contentious statement.

--
Chris Lilley
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