The Lively Kernel: just for fun, let's take JavaScript seriously

Abstract

The Sun Labs Lively Kernel is a new approach to Web programming. It provides a complete platform for Web applications, including dynamic graphics, network access, and development tools, and requires nothing more than available web browsers. We call the system "lively" for three reasons. It comes live off a web page. There is no installation. The entire system is written in JavaScript, and it becomes active as soon as the page is loaded by a browser. It can change itself and create new content. The Lively Kernel includes a basic graphics editor that allows it to alter and create new graphical content, and also a simple IDE that allows it to alter and create new applications. It comes with a basic library of graphical and computational components, and these, as well as the kernel, can be altered and extended on the fly. It can save new artifacts, even clone itself, onto new web pages. The kernel includes WebDAV support for browsing and extending remote file systems, and thus has the ability to save its objects and "worlds" (applications) as new active Web pages. The Lively Kernel uses only existing Web standards. The implementation and user language is JavaScript, known by millions and supported in every browser. The graphics APIs are built upon SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), also available in major browsers. The network protocols used are asynchronous HTTP and WebDAV. The speaker will demonstrate the Lively Kernel and discuss various aspects of JavaScript as a programming language.