IMHO
December 4, 1997
John Swenson
MSDN Online
If you're like most PC users, you probably think of Internet Explorer as an application for surfing the Web and viewing Web sites, not as a platform for running other applications. But an applications platform is exactly what Internet Explorer is becoming, in more ways than one.
As Web sites mature, many are providing their content through Web applications. Take a look at sites such as Amazon.com (the online bookstore) or Microsoft Expedia (Microsoft's travel site). To say sites like these simply display content is a gross understatement. They let visitors tap into vast databases using sophisticated Web applications. Web sites like these are blurring the distinction between Web content and Web applications.
Web applications that require both a Web server and a Web client are the most obvious kinds of applications that run on Internet Explorer. But there's another kind of application extending Internet Explorer's role as an applications platform.
A new breed of standalone Windows applications rely on an integrated version of Internet Explorer to display the user interface and content in HTML, while using Windows for other tasks. You might not even realize you're using Internet Explorer when you fire up one of these applications since you usually can't spot the Web browser in them. You won't see any telltale browser signs, either, such as forward or back arrows. Some of the indications that you're in a Windows application might also be missing, such as dialog boxes and pull-down menus.
There are already dozens of these hybrid Windows applications on the market that use integrated components of Internet Explorer. Examples include the latest version of the Lotus Notes client, Quicken 98, and Microsoft Money 98. All use the HTML control in Internet Explorer 4.0 to display HTML content inside the application.
Game developers are helping to lead the way toward Internet Explorer integration. Many have created games for Windows 95 that use Internet Explorer as a component to enable online gaming, or to call up Web sites where users can download patches and add-ons.
The first time I saw Money 98 demonstrated several months ago, I immediately noticed something different about the application, but it took me awhile to figure out what was different. All of the screens in Money 98 look like Web pages and the program lacks the pull-down menus typical of a Windows application. But without the forward and back arrows, Favorites list, and other features of a browser, I didn't realize I was seeing an integrated version of Internet Explorer.
Clicking on application buttons in Money 98 is like clicking on a hyperlink. Instead of pulling down a menu, the buttons usually jump you to another screen. That's because most of Money 98's user interface is built with HTML. The application's rich interface is possible thanks to its integrated Internet Explorer components.
Developers who want to create applications that take advantage of the Web and the rich display capabilities of HTML and Dynamic HTML should try integrating Internet Explorer into their Windows applications, says Hadi Partovi, a group program manager on the Internet Explorer team. At Microsoft, "We're definitely moving more toward using more HTML for the user interface," says Partovi, whose job is to make Internet Explorer a better platform for running applications.
If you integrate Internet Explorer into your application, Microsoft can save you the work of tracking the ever-changing standards of the Web, Partovi says. "If HTML changes, you won't need to worry about changing your application. We'll update it for you by updating the HTML component. You won't need to track the HTML standard for every new tag," he explains.
Since the HTML component in Internet Explorer 4.0 supports advanced capabilities such as Dynamic HTML, Microsoft's browser lets developers display richer content and a richer interface for their Windows applications than HTML alone would allow.
Internet Explorer also lets developers add new features to their applications, such as the ability to link users directly to a Web site. The HTML component in Internet Explorer lets you display a Web site inside your application, rather than forcing users out to a separate Web browser.
So what happens if you create an application that uses Internet Explorer, but all your customers don't have Internet Explorer installed on their PCs? That's not a problem, Partovi says, since Microsoft allows developers to freely distribute Internet Explorer as an integrated part of their applications.
One hidden benefit to integrating Internet Explorer 4.0 is that it's a way to ensure your users have the latest Web technology on their PCs. When a user installs an application that includes Internet Explorer 4.0, it upgrades the common controls installed with Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0. With the new controls in Internet Explorer 4.0, you can add new visual effects to your application, such as the sliding directory trees.
The Web isn't the only force pushing Internet Explorer into its growing role as an application platform. There are also an increasing number of Windows applications that use the HTML component and other technologies provided by Internet Explorer. As more of these applications filter onto the market, even Windows developers who never imagined their stand-alone applications running inside a Web browser may soon discover reasons to add a dash of Internet Explorer to their software.
For technical details on how to use the services and technologies of Internet Explorer 4.0 in your applications, visit the Microsoft Internet Tools & Technologies Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/sdk/inetsdk/help/itt/internet.htm). Web developers might also want to look at Microsoft's Internet Client SDK Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/sdk/inetsdk/help/default.htm).
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