Wednesday, September 30, 2009

More Musings on the HTML Model and the GeoWeb

In my last post, I mused about the state of GeoWeb standards and wandered off into a discussion mostly on findability and linking between different files. I've been thinking more about the HTML web and how we use it as a model for what we call the GeoWeb.

The HTML web famously starts with Tim Burners Lee, Robert Cailliau, and their famous 20 tags, 13 of which we still use today. HTML sprang out of SGML, the Standard General Markup Language, but was far simpler, and, well, usable. We all know that the web took off like a rocket, and now the Web is synonymous with the Internet in the eyes of many people. HTML is the vehicle, but as developers know, it is only a part of web. Granted, it's the part that the other parts all depend on, but here's a partial list of the technologies without which the Web as we know it would be fundamentally different:

1) HTML
2) HTTP
3) JavaScript
4) XML
5) JSON
6) Flash
7) CSS

OK, Flash is controversial, I'll give you that, but you have to agree, the Web would be really different without it. Some of you would say better, but very different. Of course, there are other technologies people could put in there, like ASP, PHP, Python, etc. My point isn't the specific technologies, though I'll talk about JavaScript in a minute, but the fact that any developer could come up with this list. I'd like to compare that to a list an enterprise apps developer might come up with:

1) Java

A much shorter list. Again, you could argue about the content of the list, but the fact is, for many other domains, a developer can learn one language, one piece of technology, or perhaps two, and that's it.

So the web is different. It is hard to imagine a serious web designer now who doesn't know JS and HTML and probably PHP or Python or some other server-side scripting language. Maybe Flash instead of JS, but you get the idea. I call it the HTML Web because without HTML the rest couldn't work. But, it's hard to imagine a serious web site without using these other technologies.

I was thinking about this because I am asked all the time, why doesn't Google add JavaScript or some other scripting capabilities to KML. Of course, we no longer own KML, we gave it to the OGC, so we can't just "add" something to KML, aside from our own language extensions. But the question shows that there is a fundamental desire on behalf of developers to have that functionality. Serious GeoWeb developers learn a variety of technologies too. For a basic Google Maps mashup (or Bing, or Yahoo! Maps too), you need at least HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. More complicated mashups will use KML, GeoRSS, or GeoJSON, maybe Flash instead of JS, and wait. Notice the first one of those technologies, HTML. Still fundamentally, the GeoWeb relies on HTML. Sure, with a GeoWeb browser like Google Earth, you don't need HTML, though you can use it in the description balloons. But most mashups require HTML as the carrier.

So for the GeoWeb, we've learned the lessons of the HTML web. The question I'm asking, I guess, is, is this the right thing? Is building on the HTML model, with it's confusing amalgam of technologies, many of which don't work easily together, really the best model for the GeoWeb. I don't have the definitive answer to that question, but I think it's worth asking. Would it be better if we had a single technology to create Maps and distribute them?

OK, I have a preliminary answer, yes it would be better to follow the HTML model, and have an amalgam of technologies than to be locked into a single one.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Washing DC Plug: Google Partnership Exploration Workshops and Hackathon

Google is putting on Partnership Exploration Workshops and a hackathon in a couple of weeks. This DC event is going to be great. How do I know? I'm helping to plan it. The focus will be on Geo and Visualization technologies. Anyway, you should come. Here's more info:

Partnership Exploration Workshops: Your Mission & Google Technology

We are happy to invite you to an interactive session with Google product experts and Google.org members, featuring a keynote address by Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator, and followed by an optional developer hackathon.

There's no doubt that technology, developed both in-house and by 3rd parties, plays a role in helping your organization. With the convergence of GPS and mobile devices, the emergence of crowdsourcing tools, and improving large data set visualization capabilities, new opportunities to guide, manage and empower your field operations are opening up everyday.

Join us for a day of interactive workshops where we explore how Google geo & data visualization technologies can further your mission. Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator, will give a keynote address on technology and disaster preparedness. Google product experts will provide overviews and analysis of recent developments and upcoming innovations for Google Earth, Maps, Map Maker, Fusion Tables and more.

Before the workshops, we will work with you individually to identify projects that might benefit from Google technology. Select attendees will present and lead discussions on their geo & data visualization technology needs. In addition, we will host an optional developer hackathon the day after the workshop to kick-start your integration of Google technologies. We look forward to seeing you there!

When
Interactive Workshops on Thursday, October 8
9:30am–4:30pm (lunch provided)

Optional Developer Hackathon on Friday, October 9
9:30am–4:30pm (lunch provided)

Where
Google DC Office
Rose Garden Tech Talk, 2nd floor
1101 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

RSVP
Please click here to RSVP. These events are by invitation only.