Re: Where are we Headed? (was lynx-dev The Lynx TODO list )

[David Woolley]

>       Now, I can cut to the chase.  More and more sites require Java
> applets and a whole host of lynx breakers.:-(  In my limited
> understanding of Java, it seems that there is no good reason why it
> couldn't be used in lynx as long as the end result is ASCII text.  Is
> this correct?

Java can be used for text applications, but almost never is.  Even 
potentially text applications are likely to have lots of screen positioning
which makes them look like gibberish if you remove the graphical elements,
and a common reason for Java on such applications is to dress up the
text with visual effects, to make the application more "saleable".

One of the most common Java applications at the moment seems to be the
construction of a collapsing index, whereby you are presented with
a set of top level headings and when you click on that, you get the
list redrawn with the original headings but also with the second
level headings for the selected top heading.  You can repeat this to
any depth.  Often the expansion is done as a slow animation.

I think this sort of effect is optimised entirely for visual effect, and,
for instance, conventional nested lists or index pages would be more
appropriate for a non-visual user.  Certainly anything would require to
work at a deeper structural level than the Java animations do.