Re: Web-related IPC -- WAS: Re: Product Differentiation

Paul Prescod wrote:

> >Actually, it is a set of preferences. The APIs are for getting/setting
> >prefs (such as finding out which app is used for http),
> 
> Global shared state is handled in Windows through the global Windows
> registry. Microsoft (or a sufficiently influential ISV) announces what
> registry keys to use and everyone uses them.

He's talking about *preferences* - eg, which app the user wants
to use for "telnet", which app the user wants to use for "ftp",
the user's email address, etc. Every IC-aware app has access to this
information by using the IC api. While I may have 5 apps that can do
"ftp", I specify vi IC which one to use when I click on an "ftp://"
url, for example.

The original point of IC, I believe, was to avoid having to enter
Internet-related personal info/prefs such as email address, homepage URL,
SMTP gateway, POP mail server, etc. into every single Internet app. IC
centralizes this common information, which all IC-aware apps have access to.
Then, of course, helper applications.

> >parsing URLs,
> >launching URLs (by finding the appropriate app), etc.
> 
> These things are being integrated into Windows 95 at the very lowest level.
> You can use the same function call you use to launch a DOS or Windows
> executable or document to launch a URL. You can launch URLs from the command
> line without specifying a browser. You can launch URLs from the Start menu.

The point of an IC-like system would be to allow the user to specify
which particular app to use - and why a browser? what about
news, ftp, mail, gopher, wais, telnet? What if I want an ftp URL to
launch Netscape, but an http URL to launch IE?

> So it might make sense to port the Internet Config API, but the
> functionality is already in Windows, it just needs a cross platform wrapper.

Basically...

-- 
=(Russell Holt)====-===-==-=-=--=---=---- --- -- - -  -   -    -    -
holtrf@destinyusa.com                 http://www.destinyusa.com/russ/
"hypertext web site.. hypertext web site.. am I interactive yet?" -Zippy

Received on Thursday, 25 July 1996 03:19:35 UTC