IBM researchers are currently testing technology which they claim will enable developers to write standalone web applications and embed them in desktop operating systems for the first time. Still in prototype form only, IBM says the technology, called Sash is unique because it enables pre-built web applications – or ‘weblications’ – to be embedded within any type of desktop environment, be it Windows or any other operating system so that they have the same look and feel as any other application.
The idea, says Sean Martin, a member of IBM’s advanced internet technologies group, is to overcome some of the limitations of working within a browser – slow speeds, lack of caching, lack of desktop integration and lack of security – while at the same time taking advantage of the benefits of web development technology.
The Sash programming environment comes with a development kit that enables users to write applications in HTML and Java Script. The key difference being that while the underlying technology is web-based HTML pages, the actual application can sit on a desktop and have the same look and feel as any other application in that environment.
In the same way, it can be launched just like any other application, which means users don’t have to manually click on a browser and download data from a web server each time; that connection is made seamlessly without the user knowing. All he or she sees is the information they asked for, be that a daily weather update or a bank balance.
Martin says developers can write weblications to do just about anything. They can then make them available for download via a company intranet or the users themselves could request a specific weblication be developed for them. For example, a sales manager might typically have to browse the company intranet on a daily basis to pull off the same types of data; sales by region, best selling product by region and so on. Rather than going back and forth on the internet all day, a developer could write a weblication that would automatically download that data and present it to the user whenever the figures get updated. The application would reside on the desktop and could be called something like, My daily sales figures for example. And regularly requested data could be stored in cache memory which further improves performance.
Moreover, because the weblications are built on web technology, which is more sophisticated than a Windows development environment for example, the data within that application can be displayed in a number of different ways. For example, the application could appear as a side bar down the side of the user’s screen, or it could appear as a cartoon character, who displays the information you need in a speech bubble format when you click on it. It gives complete control to the developer, says Martin, and because it’s based on open, internet standards and technology the applications are much easier to write, to deploy and to manage.
The Sash technology has been jointly developed by IBM’s research and advanced internet technologies divisions. While the whole idea is to make IBM web-based data easier to get at, Martin said if the product were to be officially launched it would be aimed at all developers in general, not just IBM partners.
Sash was posted to its AlphaWorks web site last week – the part of IBM’s site that demos new technologies and software developments – and so far Martin says the response has been tremendous. People are using Sash to develop all sorts of applications we hadn’t even thought of, he said. They love the fact they can write applications that sit on Windows without having to know anything about the Windows programming environment. He added: The whole idea is to extend the reach and simplicity of the browser and integrate that with all the beneficial services of the desktop. The end result is applications that are easier to use and interact with.
