In a nutshell, here's what we've done to solve this. By taking advantage of
the http_proxy protocol, we can insert little mini-servers in between the
browser and the real servers. For the most part, these little mini-servers
(okay, call them agents if you really want) just pass the request/response
stream between the browser and servers. However, they can also filter,
modify, and take external actions based on what they see in the stream. In
addition we have a browser prototyping testbed into which we've
incorporated a communications channel that the agents can use to inform or
control the browser.
Take a look at http://riwww.osf.org:8001/www/waiba/index.html for more
info. Also look at http://riwww.osf.org:8001/www/index.html for
information on other WWW projects at the OSF Research Institute.
W. Scott Meeks
OSF Research Institute
meeks@osf.org
(617) 621-7229