preprocess html?

faq
flatforty
contribute
subscribe
configure
search
rdf

main
parent

preprocess html?
by Dima on Sunday 16/Oct/2005, @12:42

"To give an example, in browsers Javascript needs to be executed at the point that it is found in the markup, resulting in blocking the parser. External Javascript files take a much longer time to arrive at the client over GPRS."

Why can't web pages be preprocessed by the wireless provider, before being sent to the phone? E.g. make all JavaScipt and CSS inline (and maybe even execute some of the JS), remove tags that won't be displayed anyway (Flash, Java, some formatting), to make HTML simpler and smaller?

Related Links

·   Articles on Interviews
·   Also by Dima
·   Contact author

The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )

Re: preprocess html?
by Spy Hunter on Sunday 16/Oct/2005, @13:54

You would still need a powerful rendering engine on the phone; otherwise you would have no chance of rendering complex webpages anything like how they appear on your computer screen (which is the goal). These phones have the processing power to run a real web browser, all that Nokia really needs to do is port one. So they are.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by Ascay on Sunday 16/Oct/2005, @23:35

If the code is changed at the provider it is changed for all browsers. If I connect my notebook to the net via cellphone and use a normal desktop-browser like Konqueror I wouldn't really like that...

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by David Dorward on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @03:20

If it is implemented sensibly it would be done using a proxy server - and you would have the choice of using the proxy or not.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by James L on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @04:44

I could see it being quite sensible for one to simply inline all the css/javascript. Which ideally wouldn't change the rendering. (I can think of one situation where it might off the top of my head, but I think that can be handled inline.)

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by a. p. non on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @03:52

That seems like a really good idea to me.

Perhaps you should implement this as a product :)

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by JC on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @07:11

Your dream already exists :)

My company has created a product called PocketSurfer.
http://www.pocketsurfer.com

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by Bryan Feeney on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @04:04

Opera already does this with its Opera Mini application suite (http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/operamini/). It requires a concerted effort by both manufacturers and phone providers though, and there's still severe levels of rivalry in the business that make it hard to roll out something like that.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by Oren T on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @04:20

"Why can't web pages be preprocessed by the wireless provider, before being sent to the phone?"

Do you really want the WAP fiasco all over again? I prefer my network dumb and trasparent and the smarts in the endpoint, thank you.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by blacksheep on Tuesday 18/Oct/2005, @07:38

No, WAP has nothing to do with his idea. WAP wasn't about the server. WAP just brought a new markup language (WML) more suitable for mobile phones than HTML.

WAP wasn't succefull for two reasons:
- few websites published WAP versions (I don't blame webmasters, it just wasn't an easy task);
- the user needed to specify a different URL than he would for the regular version.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by Alex on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @04:26

This is basically how WAP works.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by JC on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @07:09

This is what we do in my company. The product is called PocketSurfer
We process html before sending to the wireless device.
http://www.pocketsurfer.com

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: preprocess html?
by cpeterso on Monday 17/Oct/2005, @12:18

Because that would break browser caching on the phone. For example, a cnn.com's HTML content probably changes more often than its CSS or JavaScript. If the CSS and JavaScript are in separate files from the HTML, the browser can cache them.

[ Reply To This | View ]

The Fine Print: The previous comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )


		"Ok guys, I'll implement focus-follows-mind next time and ship a magic patch." -- Matthias Ettrich
KDE®, "K Desktop Environment", "KDE Dot News", "got the dot?" and the KDE Logo® are trademarks or registered trademarks of KDE e.V. in the European Union, the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster. The rest: Copyright © 2000-2008 KDE e.V. for The KDE Project. For further information or comments on this site, please contact the Webmaster.