10 years of web interfaces evolution

2007 will be a great year for rich interfaces; To celebrate the forthcoming revolution, I suggest having a retrospective view on ten years of web interfaces evolution, including a prospective view on the coming year.

The HTML page: simple and effective

The simplest way to create a web interface is to use HTML.
To check a web page, you need: an operating system and a navigator. It’s simple and effective, effective enough to make a fortune (like eBay and Amazon).

An applet offers a little more power to the expense of comfort.

During the late 90s, mirco-applications that could be executed within web pages appeared: the java applets. To be able to execute them, it’s of course necessary to have an operating system, a navigator but also a virtual machine. It’s the latter that is used to interpret the Java code (that has nothing to do with the Javascript).

The applets make it possible to do more things than HTML, but they are less comfortable, because they are heavy and take long to start (1 to 3 seconds) and the virtual machine requires more inconvenient updates. When it’s about a 3D configurable of Volkswagon, then it’s okay; but when it’s about a simple calendar to choose a date like on the Fortis bank website, then it’s inadmissible.

The RIA: The best compromise so far

Rich Internet Applications appeared afterwards, they offer greater display and manipulation possibilities than HTML. Those rich interfaces could be done using AJAX (like in the diamond selector of Amazon or the GAP website), or by taking advantage of vectorial technologies like Flash or WPF/E. To make them work, you should have the appropriate plug-in (which is the case for 99% of computers for Flash). Integrating animations within a web page is transparent and very powerful (like for the very good comparison tool of Ford Vehicles).

Widgets : small but extremely effective

More recently, some small autonomous modules are installed on our desktops: the widgets. These micro-applications need many things to work: either a program called a widget engine (Yahoo! Widget, Google Desktop, Kapsules with Linux or the Opera browser), or an new operating system such as Windows Vista or Mac OS X.

The GDR: The future of software?

The latest web interfaces are called the Rich Desktop Applications. Like the applets, the GDR need a virtual machine (RCP Eclipse, NetBeans, Java Wed Start, XULRunner of Mozilla, The future Apollo of Adobe or the SmartClient of Microsoft). These technologies make it possible to create interfaces that are as strong as applications, and the simplicity of the deployment of websites (no need to install them on the operating system).

Many experiments about the RDA are in process: SongBird (a competitor of iTunes built with XUL), the Mozilla Amazon Browser (a RDA that exploites Amazon’s catalogue) or eBay’s module that is built with Apollo.

Conclusion: Service first

After this fabulous presentation of all these promising technologies, I suggest to make the following conclusion: Who do we have at the left of the diagram? Amazon and eBay. Who do we find again on the right of the diagram? Amazon and eBay. The idea that we can get from that is the following: if your service is good, then these different technologies (the most recent in particular) can’t help but to enrich the user experience you offer. But if your service isn’t that great, then don’t even dream, the interface (whatever technology you’re using) will not change the negative user experience.

I will let you ponder about that…