VB String Functions in Javascript.  

You know VBScript, and miss some of its functionality in JavaScript? You know JavaScript, but think that it’s string handling leaves something to be desired? Check out VB String Functions in Javascript, a handy library of string functions (e.g., trim, lcase, format, etc).

 [via The JavaScript Weblog]

Some useful stuff in there.

Not a lot of people seem to know this, but MeadCo's ScriptX printing component is also included within the Zeepe framework, along with MaxiPT.

Why is this interesting?

If you are already using ScriptX then you are quite probably providing some sort of Web application to your users (wanting good control of the print process from within IE is probably not high on the list of a general information web page) and you have already taken the decision to ship some additional code to users to work with Internet Explorer (the ScriptX ActiveX control).

Yes, so, why is Zeepe interesting?

Because IE is a fairly lousy host for Web applications - there is all that noise of address bars, back and forward buttons and dialogs that can't post back and doing simple things like menus and tool bars is a ton of markup and script; and that is before you've got to doing the application functionality.

Zeepe gives you an 'Internet Explorer' host without the noise and simple things like menus and toolbars without a ton of markup and dialogs that post back; it works well with ASP.NET as can be seen with this demo app - very much work in progress but it shows what can be done.

Now there is a better option: Florian Balmer's Notepad2 (via Omar Shahine).  [via Don Park's Daily Habit]

Well a ton of people seem to be trying this so why not join the party?

Weblogs Compendium - RSS Readers Wow, what a list! (There is one missing!).

Usability Observation - "Toolbox First" for Forms Programming.  I just ran a usability study with 9 participants where we asked them to build two forms...

So from now I think that when we think about feautres that support any UI programming, we should always think that the user is going to approach it by laying out the form first, and then making the design of the form work by writing code, running wizards, using other features, etc... If users have to do work somewhere else in Visual Studio before they can start laying controls onto the form, they probablyt won't discover this dependency, or won't want to use that feature.  [via ricksp's weblog]

I am absolutely astonished that MS have only just come to this opinion. I've been programming for (gulp) 30 years - in the non UI days (tape/cards and paper printout) the function would come first but since starting with UI (Apple II onwards) the form would be designed and then the code put in to make it work. Heck, after the spec is done don't even COBOL programmers work like this - design the screens on screen coding sheets and then implement the code to do the screens and then the business logic to wire them together?

Is this the first time MS have done this sort of study - if so, why? If not, what was the result of previous studies?

Perhaps I am (or was) at odd with the rest of the world - I did write a database program where you never designed the database per se - you designed forms and the database tables were created for you as a result of your form design.

Why did you choose to launch an aggregation blog?

 [via Micro Persuasion: Q&A with Robert Scoble on Blogging, Media and PR]

Since Dave Winer has linked to the 'interview' it will get a ton of hits - and Dave was one of the original Web loggers - those who logged the web; a list of links to things that they deemed, for whatever reason, interesting. Now Scoble has to come up with a new name - why?

So that I don't loose this (updated so doesn't look gobble-de-gook):

scriptx.ascx:

<%@ Control Language="c#" %> 
<script language="C#" runat="server"> 
public string guid = ""; 
public string src = "lic.mlf"; 
public int revision = 1; 
public string codebase="http://www.meadroid.com/scriptx/"; 
</script> 

<object id="secmgr" style="DISPLAY: none" codeBase="<%= codebase %>smsx.cab#Version=6,1,431,2" 
classid="clsid:5445be81-b796-11d2-b931-002018654e2e" viewastext> 
<param name="GUID" value="<%= guid%>" > 
<param name="PATH" value="<%= src%>" > 
<param name="REVISION value="<%= revision%>" > 
</object> 

<object id="factory" 
   codeBase="<%= codebase %>smsx.cab#Version=6,1,431,2" 
   classid="clsid:1663ed61-23eb-11d2-b92f-008048fdd814" viewastext> 
</object>

Which can be used thus:

<%@ Register TagPrefix="MeadCo" TagName="ScriptX" Src="scriptx.ascx" %>

and then in the page:

<MeadCo:ScriptX 
   runat="server" 
   guid="{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}" 
   src="http://www.meadroid.com/scriptx/xlic.mlf"
   id="ScriptX1" 
   EnableViewState="False" 
   Visible="False" />

The W3C is sponsoring a workshop on Web Apps and Compound Docs in San Jose, June 1st & 2nd.

From the web site:

Position papers submitted for this workshop topic should address at least some of the following questions:

• What functionality is needed for Web applications? What should a hosting environment provide?
• How much of a Web application should be declarative? How much in script?
• How are they related to Web documents, which are normally static?
• Is there a need for a standard set of user interface controls? Should these controls use the native platform look and feel?
• What APIs are needed for Web applications (eg. retrieving and sending data over the network, parsing XML, client-side storage)?
• How should a Web application and its related resources (e.g. images, sounds) be packaged?
• What security issues need to be addressed?
• To what extent can application behavior be usefully abstracted from platform specific details of UI controls? How can the application integrate different modality interfaces (eg. voice, pen, keystrokes)? How to address richer models of interaction management that go beyond simple event handlers?

[via DonXML Demsak's Grok This]

Hmmm, interesting - there is a mailing list and the workshop will also have a public web site. Worth following to see what is presented and conclusionsl, if any.

Not long ago the timeline was first half of the year. There is now speculation here and here that it is now delayed to, how shall we put this, 'early in the second half of the year'. An RC2 still seems on its way in May and to bang my favourite drum (which I have banged with various MS people to no effect what-so-ever) will SDK bits be provided?