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Dev Trends
First Look: The Curl Development Environment
11/8/2007
After installing, I was greeted with a development environment that reminded me of programming IDEs that I have used in the past, such as Visual Basic and Eclipse. Each Curl project is made of several modules containing code or graphical user interface (GUI) elements, with the entire list of modules conveniently available at all times in the IDE.
The GUI editor in particular is quite nice, with many UI control elements such as buttons, menu boxes, etc. available from a toolbar list, with attributes for each element available on another panel. These tools quickly allow a programmer to make a complicated GUI for a project, although doing it entirely from the source code interface is also an option for more advanced users. A project may be tested by clicking a "run" button on the main toolbar, just like in Visual Basic.
Although my knowledge of the Curl programming language was very limited at the beginning, I was able to make and successfully run a "Hello World" program after consulting an online tutorial. The code syntax is somewhat similar to CSS, with the document structure reminding me of LaTeX, although there are differences. The language gets its name from the use of the "{ }" curly brackets that are used to enclose each command in a Curl application.
Curl applications are designed to run within a Web browser just like regular HTML. Unlike traditional Web applications built with PHP, ASP, or Perl, part of the Curl application programming interface is executed client-side while the rest is executed on the server. Because of this, each visitor to a Curl-enhanced Web site needs to have the Curl runtime environment installed. Without the runtime environment, the Curl application simply will not work. This can alienate some users, since not everyone has software installation rights on the computers they use.
Curl has quite a bit going for it. The IDE is very elegant, and the language itself is fairly easy to understand after a quick study. However, the Achilles' heel for Curl is the runtime environment. If the runtime environment could be reworked to be completely server-side instead of having to be installed on a per-user basis, Curl would be universally accessible and would probably see increased deployment. On the other hand, Curl's main appeal is to the fat-client business application market, made up of those who need rich Internet applications enabled on the client side. Such companies would likely take the necessary steps to deploy Curl on their infrastructure, making the runtime dependency a non-issue. The runtime download is about 8 MB, according to a Curl Inc. representative.
It would be nice to see greater Linux support for distros that do not use .rpm packages natively. Aside from that limitation and the need to install the runtime individually, Curl has potential that could help expand its use into new markets.
Will Kraft is a Web designer, technical consultant, and freelance writer. His website is Pagewizard Web Design. You can contact Will at will@pagewizardwebdesign.com.
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