The SVG Terminal for Firefox Debuts

JavaScriptSearch
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; 12:49 PM

The SVG Terminal, released today, is a javascript module for Firefox 1.5 that enables apps to deliver rich views on network screens and fine-grained interactivity with users. It directs all user input from the browser to the app, which sends updates as SVG fragments to the browser. It's designed for apps running on a mobile device which need to present a sophisticated UI on nearby screens via wi-fi, and apps which need to drive multiple network screens with graphical scenes in near-real-time.

The SVG Terminal fits under the AJAX (asynchronous javascript and XML) umbrella, but differs from most AJAX code in a few ways: The UI is described entirely in SVG, instead of HTML. Almost no input processing is done by the browser. The browser maintains a connection to the server, rather than performing discrete XML-HTTP transactions. The SVG Terminal package includes a simple demonstration app, and source licensed under the GPL. The demo app has only been tested on Windows to date, but should compile on Linux & MacOS X with minor changes. The javascript code requires Firefox 1.5. Future releases will provide text wrapping and highlighting, and soon airWRX will show off the real power of the SVG Terminal.