Java and Perl (was Re: [plug] Time & Task Management Tool)

[Bret Busby]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

On 6/3/99, 6:00:59 PM, Trevor Phillips <phillips at central.murdoch.edu.au> 
wrote regarding Re: Java and Perl (was Re: [plug] Time & Task Management 
Tool):

Trevor, with this having headed the way it has, into a debate over 
whether it should use Java, Perl, or JavaScript, here are a few 
thoughts.

I have disabled java, on my M$ windows browsers, due to my having read 
that that should reduce being stuffed around by applets being 
inflicted on me. I believe that I am not the only one, or, one of only 
a few that would have done this, for this reason.

Also, from what I understand (courtesy of Data Comms security 
lectures), a threat comes from "mobile code", that appears to be what 
java applets are. I may be completely wrong in my understanding, but 
the rule appears to be, better safe than sorry. Thus, also, I avoid 
the use of java, in browsers.

In terms of javascript, this causes many problems,for browsers that 
are not javascript enabled. On Linux, I use the Star Office browser, 
when I can, as I use Star Office for other things, simultaneously, 
like my email application, and the word processor, and my Star Office 
browser is not able to be javascript enabled, as far as I know. This 
means that I have been unable to fully use the WebCT web site at 
Murdoch Uni, as it involves javascript. I have to close down Star 
Office, and run Netscape, to use the WebCt site, if I want to access 
the site during a Linux session. Otherwise, I have to reboot into 
windows, and use IE4.

Thus, javascript is limiting.

The extent of the limiting, is probably better demonstrated, by 
referring to the ANZ Internet banking site, which uses javascript 
heavily, and can only be fully used, by running IE4 or IE5, according 
to the ANZ staff. MacOS, Linux, and any OS apart from M$windows, is 
not supported by that facility. IE is the only browser that can 
reliably use the facility.

Thus, I would write off javascript as a web front end, for any 
application, unless the aim is to limit access, to M$ operating 
systems, and to IE4 and IE5.

That leaves Perl, as the only viable option, from the options that you 
have mentioned.