MultiValue and the Web: Step into the Future
With an early flight home from Spectrum 2011, I left the hotel somewhere around o-dark-thirty, well before the sun — or Starbucks — had awakened. As I turned out of the hotel parking lot onto the street, I noticed things suddenly became very dark, as neither the car nor its sleep deprived commander had remembered to turn on the lights!
Instinctively I reached for the light switch and turned on the windshield wipers instead. A mild but instant panic set in. Where was that light switch? Why can't they make all cars with the light switch exactly where I expect it to be? Fortunately, I found the switch before being noticed by the local police. Then again, it was o-dark-thirty after all.
Pondering this on the way to the airport, I couldn't help but think there was something a little too familiar about that feeling of mild panic. Each time I get into a new rental car, there's always the "get to know ya" period figuring out all the dials and gauges. But this was something deeper. This was more reminiscent of that feeling of mild panic associated with coming face to face with a new computer language or technology.
"Why can't they place all the commands where I expect them to be?" I will often wonder. Of course, that's hardly a rational thought because each language and/or technology has its own nuances, terminology, and learning curve. Otherwise technology would be homogenized, limited, and boring! Furthermore, what may seem perfectly sane in one language may seem absolutely bizarre in another, making the challenge simultaneously frustrating and yet absolutely brilliant in its potential.
Like it or not, in the global technology landscape MultiValue Basic represents a minuscule blip on the radar. We know MultiValue Basic. We love MultiValue Basic. It's a comfortable, most capable language, and we know how to make it dance quite beautifully. But for all it offers, it remains a very small piece of the puzzle. Are we comfortable with that ?
In the past several years, one technology has not only grown to prominence, some might say it has completely revolutionized life as we know it. Anyone remember dial-up modems, bulletin board software, or even ordering product from a printed catalog? Some may chuckle at the memory, since the Internet has since made it nearly effortless to connect to anybody and obtain just about anything anywhere and at any time.
Web browsers are on desktops, laptops, net books, tablets, smart phones, TVs, game systems, shopping carts, and even home appliances. Furthermore, the technology shows no signs of slowing down. It's therefore not out of the bounds of reason to expect that in a few short years the browser will not only become the primary user interface, it may very well become the only user interface that matters.
There is every opportunity for MultiValue Basic to be a significant player in this expanding world of web technology. We simply need to incorporate our technology into the most innovative web solutions possible and demonstrate to the world the power what we bring to the party.
"But web technology is SO different," you say. Is it really? Our MultiValue systems today have client workstations talking to servers. Web technology has client workstations talking to servers. Our applications accept input, do some processing, and produce output. Hey, fancy that — so does the Web! If we look closely, I believe we'll see that while there are differences, there are far more similarities.
What's missing, however, are connectors that allow our MultiValue systems to talk to a browser as easily as we can talk to a telnet client. Once we solve this issue, there will be nothing preventing every MultiValue application from being a full-fledged, card-carrying member of the Web community, with all the rights and privileges of such membership, including:
- Visibility to the widest customer audience — Browsers are everywhere. So wouldn't it be cool if your application could reach everyone, everywhere, and at any time?
- Nearly unlimited support for devices — MultiValue technology on a shopping cart, anyone? Or how about on a refrigerator?
- Fresh user interfaces — Colors, graphics, interactivity, and much, much more!
- Worldwide talent pool — There are a lot of people out there who know a thing or two about web technology. There is a beautiful synergy in the potential of us learning from them while they learn MultiValue from us.
Most importantly, the Web as we know it today is only the beginning. By fully committing to this technology today, I believe we are virtually guaranteed a front row seat to the future. Let me assure you, that's much better than the alternative!
