does anyone know how html is stored on servers? i think it might be stored literally - but then isnt that really ineffecient? if html were stored in a compiled form, then like 500+% more (pure html) space would be available right? and download would be faster. if its not compiled, then why isnt it? internet browsers could be distributed with a compiler, so distribution isnt an issue. why does html even exist anymore? its completely crappy. not a single modern web page is created with pure html, it feels kind of like ? some sort of skin that needs to be shed ? i think html should be abbandoned and replaced like DOS - dont you? Edited by - evilcrap on December 15, 2001 11:25:31 PM

yes, I agree

html should be replaced with python

The myopia of priviledge... There are many people in diverse parts of the world who still run crappy old machines incapable of high-end graphical effects, but who can still browse pure HTML pages because those pages are simple text. There are also the blind and otherwise impaired who need pages to be pure text so they can easily be scanned for content to display in large fonts or use a screenreader. While you might think that some form of compiled page is an advantage, it presents security risks (What''s to stop a page from containing malicious code? What''s to stop current Java/Flash/Shockwave/other binary web applications from harboring virii and so forth?)

Moving to a compiled binary web will mean an increase in the amount of processing necessary to verify the material - checksums, encryptions and decryptions, etc - which may end up slowing the web down rather than speeding it up.

I agree with you in the long run, though, that HTML is starting to show both its age and its design limitations. It''s been patched and hacked with technologies like CSS, DOM, XML, etc, but we''re gradually approaching the stage where content alone is not enough (like television and the movies and videogames have). Flashy effects and a high level of graphical interactivity and control will be the paradigms of tomorrow''s internet, and many are trying to position themselves as the premier facilitators and conduits for that.

I''ll stop here.

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Thanks to Kylotan for the idea!

HTML is stored as plain text, as it should be and should always be.

Personally I dont like flashy webpages that are filled with images and animations, I go for the content (and a nice color scheme). I disagree that the Internet should be filled with compiled web pages because I think that that is over kill. Oluseyi also brings up the good point of security. Plain text doesn''t hurt, compiled apps can.

HTML still exists because it does what it was ment to, give structure to the content on the Internet. It does it very well too.

Invader X
Invader''s Realm

And remember, sites like gamedev.net store their data in databases and have html only as empty templates where to insert article from db.

quote:Original post by EvilCrap
does anyone know how html is stored on servers?
i think it might be stored literally - but then isnt that really ineffecient?
if html were stored in a compiled form, then like 500+% more (pure html) space would be available right? and download would be faster.

Most data transfer is compressed anyway, especially over a modem. Text compresses quite nicely.

quote:internet browsers could be distributed with a compiler, so distribution isnt an issue.

Browsers could be distributed with everything include, so we could download a 650MB browser package and need nothing more. Wait: that''s Windows 98 onwards, isn''t it.

quote:why does html even exist anymore? its completely crappy.

Back up your statements. HTML is human readable, it''s easily compressible, it''s highly structured, it''s cheap to create and edit, it scales well, it allows separation of form and appearance (when used properly with CSS)... HTML is one of the better standards.

quote:not a single modern web page is created with pure html

Totally incorrect. Many modern web pages are created with pure HTML. I know this from having worked in the industry. Even pages created by PHP or ASP or whatever spit out HTML at the end as a decent common standard (of which there must be one). Next?

quote:i think html should be abbandoned and replaced like DOS - dont you?

No. See my above statements and those of pretty much everyone else on this thread.

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i dont care about the graphics, graphics are not html, they are graphics.

html is scripted ( and in english too), and designed to be. crappy, crappy.

they could object orient and stream line html significantly more, as a new standard.

html results in the ugliest, most tangled, code i have ever seen.

web pages could be written with an API, maybe like win32 api ir mfc.

systems and readibility are an issue?
if compilers (like scriptors) were contained withing browsers, then you could go to "view source", and read your heart out.
HOW WOULD THIS EFFECT LOW END SYSTEMS?!

Security is an issue?
how is that?!
you could have a compiled set of html and still script it...
it would just have slews of less chars to process.
scripting is perfectly utterly insanly safe.

that last post is mine

I think you forget the origional concept behind the web. A HYPER TEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE = HTML.

It''s concept was never designed with dynamic content, it was meant as a means for any normal person to learn a few tags and publish documents to the web.

It wasn''t until later that dynamic content began to complicate the web so that now it borders on programming.

I don''t think HTML needs to be revamped because I feel it fits its true purpose, as a markup language.

Also, if it were compiled it would be more difficult and time consuming to create dynamic content. In addition, if you were to compile it for distribution, then you''d have to compile it across many platforms: Macintosh, Unix, Windows, BeOS, etc.

I think HTML does it''s job well. It''s platform independent (in its concept), easily accessible to anyone, and easy to develop (well, used to be).

Look into Zend for PHP, they actually do optimization to PHP code. I''m not sure if they pre-compile it on the server or what not. Might be exactly what you''re talking about.

R.