The lost art of user interface programming
“Now we find ourselves at a strange juncture. With the advent of rich Internet applications, the artificial limits on network-delivered user interfaces (i.e., Web pages) are being lifted, and there are credible technologies (such as Laszlo’s) which can deliver full application-level functionality on the Web. The industry as a whole will need to invent a new interaction model which takes into account what we’ve learned on the Web, while restoring the rich interactivity end-users are accustomed to on their desktops. A synthesis needs to occur for the new model to succeed.
But there are now very few developers who have the sensibility, inclination or skills to take full advantage of the new capabilities and drive this synthesis — they’re either “business logic” developers, who view the “presentation layer” as trivial and lacking in technical prestige, 0r they’re front-end developer/designers who come from a page design background and have neither the technical skills required to implement an interactive application, nor the design sensibility required to conceptualize it.”
David Temkin
