Algorithm Ink

This web application built by Aza Raskin is quite impressive. Not only is the UI interesting and well thought out, but it provides a nice tech demo of the capabilities of the new Cavans browser object.

From Aza’s blog

“Computers programs lost something important when displaying a splash of color stopped being one line of code. As a kid, I remember being able to type “plot x,y” on the Apple II to throw up a phosphorescent splotch. When the simplicity of the one-line plotter went away, so did the delight at being so effortlessly generative—in a visual way—on the computer. ContextFree.js is a stab at making it easy again. It’s like a grown up version of Logo (or at least the Turtle Graphics part of Logo).

I think what Aza says about his app speaks volumes of its spirit, but you may wonder what practical value it has. The application shows very nicely the capabilities that are being baked into the latest web browsers. Although it may not meet the performance of something like Adobe Flash/Air or Microsoft Silverlight, it shows a lot of potential especially for web application development. This makes me wonder what the bigger threat is to Flash’s current dominance. Microsoft’s Silverlight or web standards like the Canvas object.