By Harry Fuecks
Here's a question: what if I was to tell you that you can write your own version of Word using something like HTML and JavaScript? What if I added that you could run on your hard disk or launch it directly from your Web server and use it to update your site's content? It sounds a little far fetched, I know, but it's right here, right now -- and it calls itself "Zool".

Here?s what this three-part series will cover:

  • The XUL Revolution: just who is Zool?
  • Back to School: time to dust of that JavaScript...
  • Zoolology: getting read to fire up your first XUL application
  • 3D Browsing with XUL: straight in at the deep end.
  • Desperately Seeking: the search is over.
  • Takeaway Menu: with fries please!
  • But no one uses Mozilla: back to browser detection.
  • The Rise of the Rich Client: the future is XUL.

Part 1

My Comments:
 I am a firm believer in the possibilities presented by XUL. It will enable the bundling of UI, Data, Data Manipulation logic (Application or Module ) as part of a payload hosted on report server Like Virtuoso. Basically, I anticipate the emergence of an IDE that is able to persist is UI components (widgets) and UI behaviour as XML using the XUL grammer. Then along comes a XUL Processor that is able to emit a XUL based UI payloads ( via user agent aware transformation) as:
.NET/Mono Windows Forms assemblies
Javascript
Flash MX
XUL (If we know the client is Mozilla or Firebird for instance)
.....
I think this is a Virtuoso demo in the making :-)