Should we fix the Web browser, or just discard it?
Based on this article, it sounds to me like Douglas Crockford, of JSON fame, has realized the pathetic state of Web-based application development. It was quite refreshing to see an architect at a major Web firm (Yahoo!, in this case) point out the numerous and obvious flaws when using Java applets, JavaScript, XML, CSS, HTML, and AJAX for application development.
So he has correctly identified the problem: those technologies are just not suitable for serious application development. But I’m not so sure that he has identified the solution. According to the article, “The model in the browser is fully broken and needs to be fixed, he said.”
Now, to “fix” the Web browser may not be a viable task. Due to years of layering new technologies and techniques into the browser, it has become a bloated mess. Trying to stick “fixes” onto a decade-and-a-half of accumulated cruft is surely not the way to go. So it would probably be best to throw out support for JavaScript, Java applets, XML, CSS, HTML, and then just start anew.
Of course, that would not be an easy task. Getting people to use this new technology could be near impossible. But sometimes a lot of pain must be endured to fix horribly-broken software systems. And the Web browser is one such majorly broken system.