Back in the 60s

Since the beginning of Computing Science and computer programming, there has been an important evolution in the methods used to design software. We're now much better than we used to be to produce software. When I turn around and look at the Internet trend though, I have the impression of looking at a software seen of at least 40 years ago. Whereas people are now capable of choosing a programming language on account of the abstractions it allows them to formulate and use for desktop applications, it seems that web programming is still tightly tied with the individual idiosyncrasies of the browser that will be used to run them. Whenever I complain about the hazards of using Javascript, I get the answer that this is what gets executed in the browsers! Since I'm very enthusiastic about the research that I do, I don't usually refrain to mention the sorry state of affair of software and the thought that formal methods can be of great use for that. One year ago, I met a friend of a friend who is enthusiastic about web programming. When I suggested that we should be very careful about the properties that we select for our programs and the assumptions that their validity rely on, he pointed out that would be of very little help for web programming because of the important differences that exist between the browsers. Continuing in that direction, I got the strong feeling that he considered the variety of platforms to be one of the most important and most interesting challenges of web programming. I could not help but be remembered the accounts of the software scene of the 60s that I have read. The accidental complexity is so important that people mistake it for the core of the problem. In that respect, I guess this is no surprise that web applications are of such a poor quality. What triggered the present note is my suffering from the poor quality and and random behavior of Facebook, Google Wave and, while I type, I am reminded that Blogger is not much better. A final word, lest I am mistakenly assumed to be satisfied with the state of the art in non-browser based application: they appear much better in comparison to web application but there are important shortcomings also and I think that they are part of the problem of the web scene. Simon Hudon November 28th Meilen