NOTE:
This project is no longer being maintained: it was developed for my masters thesis, which was completed in early 1997. I still, however, welcome any questions or comments that people may have.

Interactive HTML Documents

Dr. Cherri Pancake, Oregon State University, pancake@cs.orst.edu
Dianne Hackborn, Oregon State University, hackbod@angryredplanet.com


Overview

Interactive HTML is a system that combines the three most common types of client-side services used in Web browsers -- plug-ins, Java-style "applets," and JavaScript-style "document scripts" -- into one uniform architecture. While currently only implemented under NCSA X-Mosaic 2.7b2, it tries to be browser-neutral by strictly defining an interface to the browser, and not depending on its internal implementation details.

People interested in learning about the design of iHTML should look at in particular at the thesis and appendix B below. There are also links to additional information on the system, experimental NCSA X-Mosaic based binaries, and some example scripts.

Information

Masters Thesis
My masters thesis on the iHTML architecture, including background material and design decisions. This is available only as a Postscript file, formatted either as a technical report (700K) or the OSU thesis (720K). I recommend the technical report, which fits on many fewer pages.
Appendix A: Python Script Developer Manual
Documentation on an iHTML language module for the Python scripting language. This is supplemental information to the main thesis, detailing the interface a scripting developer sees in a representative language module.
Appendix B: Language and Browser Developer Manual
Documentation on the iHTML architecture and other information for browser and language developers. This is supplemental information to the main thesis, detailing the actual implementation of iHTML.
Supercomputing '95 poster
The electronic part of the poster presentation displayed at Supercomputing '95.

Experimental Binaries

Binary distributions of NCSA Mosaic with iHTML v0.4 are available for a number of platforms.

Examples

ASKBLiG
A "Breakout"-like game.
Bouncy
The psychedelic bouncing ball.
AniBars
An animated bar-graph.
Page Usage Statistics
An example of collecting data about how users interact within a web page.
Page Content and Environment
Extracts information about the browser, and the local host a script is running on, to control how a document is displayed.

_________.oo_Q_Q_oo.____________________________________________
Dianne Kyra Hackborn <hackbod@angryredplanet.com>
Last modified: Wed Nov 5 01:19 CST 1997

This web page and all material contained herein is the fault and Copyright ©1998 Dianne Hackborn, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.