FROM JAVA TO FLASH TO HTML5 – CHASING

TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE APPLETS

(WEBAPPS)

Tom Whittaker

Satellites & Education Conference XXVII

Madison, WI USA

July, 2014

Interactive Applets

Does NOT mean clicking a button to move from static page to static page

Does NOT mean clicking or typing in answers

DOES mean:Students use buttons, sliders, click-and-drag

objects, etc. to change thingsStudents can explore ideas, concepts, limits

Examples

My work with Steve Ackerman He is a teacher and an advocate He is a techie-geek kind of person He likes to try new ideas He had a need to help students

understand concepts in weather

What we needed

What software does “every” computer have?

What do we need to do to accomplish “interactivity”

In 1998, what software development environment claimed:

Write Once, Run Everywhere

The first one: Java

Started small “Native Widgets” – buttons, sliders, etc Conceptual hurdle – Object Oriented Applets run on the browser

What went wrong

“Native widgets” Ever growing and expanding runtime Some bad publicity about “security

issues” Memory limitations “Native widgets”

So long, Java, it’s been nice knowing ya… Why?

Widgets, widgets, widgetsMemoryVersions keep changing rules

Who do you turn to in the mid 2000s? Adobe and ActionScript3

Widgets look and feel the sameNo memory issuesOops – no multi-threading……..

Meanwhile….

Flash runs on 98% of all computers in the world…until…

Apple unleashes the iPad…Students start buying and using themSchools start buying them8 year olds start buying themSteve Jobs: “No Flash and No Java”“…but we have a solution….”

The HTML5 revolution

Just what is “HTML5”? A stack of technologies:

HTML version 5CSS version 3JavaScript

Most important for us: the “canvas” element

CSS helps regularize widgets JavaScript allows “programming” Very efficient runtime

The “only” problem

HTML version 5 is still not approved by the W3C…

…but everyone (even Microsoft) has jumped on the bandwagon

Oh, and these are called “WebApps” now and not “Applets”

JavaScript grows up

JavaScript has been around since the mid 1990s

It is not Java, but was influenced by the Java syntax

It was submitted for standardization in 1996 as “ECMAScript”

○ “JavaScript” is now a Trademark of Oracle Corporation

Browser makers did not always agree on function names, use, etc.

Why use it now?

Quite standardized Not “owned” by anyone Lots of support libraries Easy development Runtime engines are very fast (compile

to native code) Might be around for a few years

What are the issues?

A few cross-platform issuesTesting on PC/Mac browser vs.Testing on Tablets vs.Testing on phones

HTML5 requires latest browsers No standards for “touch” devices – but

most browsers now use Apple’s approach

Where to get them… Just “google” for:

wxwise

Then click on the HTML5 link

…or…