Reading Nigel Whitfield’s Hands on Web Development pages in July’s PCW reminded me of the constant requests (from both me and my clients) to be able to update website content simply.

Blogging solutions have been approaching this vigorously. Apart from FTP you can update content from server based text editors accessed through a web browser via a ‘backend’ webpage.

Another method is via a Firefox Browser ‘plug-in’ that provides drag and drop editing in a browser window. When the blog entry has been assembled in the editing window a button press sends the content, including HTML, text and image files, seamlessly to the server.

Akin to the last method is a standalone open source, Java-based cross-platform application called Blogg-X. At the moment it transmits blog entries only to the open source Joomla Content Management Software.

With these and other solutions like the commercial Macromedia Contribute and some more static- and page-based solutions like ‘Wikis’ I think we are approaching the paradigm envisaged by Tim Berners-Lee of an interconnected web of pages that can be simply authored, edited and updated by anyone.

While the emphasis swings back and forth between the need for semantically correct mark-up with correct meta-tagging of information and ease of update, we will never find a universal solution, but giving easy access for people to publish must be moving us down a road of universal empowerment that Gutenberg opened one of the first gates to.

Dave Spathaky