On December 7, 1995 Microsoft rushed to the Net! In a major press conference to announce their Internet vision, Chairman Bill Gates paraphrased a historical quote from the same date when he alluded that he felt as if a sleeping giant had been awakened.
He was referring both to the rapidity with which the Internet phenomenon had come upon the software industry-and to Microsoft's own lack of attention to that fact. As so many players in the software industry already consider Microsoft to be too large for its own good, the onslaught of changes being brought on by the Internet was seen by several competing companies as an opportunity to seize the initiative. One company in particular, Netscape, was (and is) doing exactly that. Until Microsoft woke up, it looked as though Netscape would dominate the Internet almost unchallenged. For example, Netscape's premier product, Navigator, is preferred by 80 percent of all Web surfers.
Users of the Internet, the Web, and Intranet technologies stand to gain a great deal from the competition between Netscape and Microsoft. The rush of both companies to bring out new and improved products is further fueling the need for trained professionals like you and me.
Because this book is about Windows NT and the Web, and because I try hard to keep abreast of all of Microsoft's product developments, I have shaped this chapter around Microsoft's recent Internet technology announcements. Its bevy of new Internet products is perhaps best summed up by the name, and strategy, of ActiveX, even though that is really only one piece of the overall Web that Microsoft is weaving.
Please understand that any perceived lack of information in this book about Netscape products should by no means be considered a vote to ignore those technologies. That would be a perilous mistake to make as Netscape will continue to influence major standards and be a preeminent force on the Web for a long time to come. I applaud Netscape for helping pave a superhighway we can all enjoy, and I celebrate the opportunity to work in an industry with innovators such as Netscape. But space and time limitations being what they are, I can only cover so much in one book.
No matter how you talk about the Internet, the conversation always winds back to the Web browser. As you have seen repeatedly throughout this book, we are living in a time when the Web browser has the potential to radically change the way we use computers. Netscape wants to own the browser market. Their Internet ally, Sun Microsystems, intends to help them reach that goal by getting everyone to use the Java language everywhere. (Java is being developed by Sun as a possible replacement for C++ and object-oriented client/server programming.) If their collective strategy works, they stand to get the largest piece of the Internet software pie. Because no one ever figured out how to cut into Microsoft's operating systems and applications pie, the thinking goes, why not just bake a new pie? In other words, client/server computing delivered through Web browsers is a way to reduce, some say even eliminate, the need for mass market desktop operating systems like Windows 95!
Microsoft realized that when it came out with Internet Explorer 1.0 at the time Windows 95 was released in August 1995. But Explorer was largely considered an insignificant free program that had no chance of competing with Navigator on features and power. Netscape had already produced many popular versions of Navigator. Navigator also ran on several operating system platforms (including Apple and UNIX), and it supported all of the Netscape HTML extensions (of course).
In early 1996, both Netscape and Microsoft released their version 2.0 Web browsers. Although Microsoft invented and supported a few interesting HTML extensions, IE 2.0 was still nowhere close to earning the popularity that the Web had bestowed upon Navigator.
Microsoft needs more than one new release of software to catch up to Netscape in browser popularity. Both Microsoft and Netscape know this fact, and software engineers at both companies are working late into the night to bring out the 3.0 versions of their respective browsers (both are expected by the time you read this).
As I put the final words into this book, both Netscape and Microsoft have released beta versions of their new 3.0 browsers. The competition continues to heat up. The June 3, 1996 issue of WebWeek magazine carries a story which points out that Microsoft has decided to integrate Macromedia's Shockwave into Explorer 3.0. In addition, with the URL parental blocking feature (useful on the corporate Intranet as well), support for HTML 3.2 style sheets, and ActiveX, Microsoft is claiming that they have the leg up. Meanwhile, Netscape has added CoolTalk (teleconferencing), LiveAudio, LiveVideo, Live3D (using VRML, or Virtual Reality Markup Language), and they have enhanced their Java and JavaScript features. (Microsoft claims that IE 3.0 will support Java, but it has yet to materialize.)
Although ActiveX is cool and it does open the door to technologies
such as the Microsoft NetMeeting collaboration application (available
for free now, possibly bundled with Explorer in the future), it
is still too early to tell what percentage of Web users (if any)
will drop Navigator for Explorer. Most likely, some users will
move over to Microsoft (especially when it becomes an integrated
piece of the Windows 95 operating system late this year), but
don't hold your breath if you are looking for any knockout punches
in the fight for browser market share. System administrators and
Web page designers will have to deal with supporting both browsers
for some time to come.
| Note |
ncompass Labs has developed an ActiveX plug-in for Netscape Navigator 2.x (and above). Basically, this helps Microsoft try to establish ActiveX as a platform that is accessible to a larger number of users than Internet Explorer would deliver by itself. That in turn, will help Microsoft convince developers to build ActiveX controls, and page designers to use those controls, as an alternative to Java applets. Visit the ncompass Web site at http://www.ncompasslabs.com/. |
While Web browsers are at one end of the client/server transaction; server software stands at the other end. Microsoft feels that Windows NT and BackOffice are uniquely positioned to help them dominate the Intranet/Internet marketplace.
Take a peek at the server components in BackOffice that deliver Intranet/Internet functionality:
Just as NT and BackOffice are designed to run the types of new Intranet and Internet server applications that are being developed around the world, Microsoft recognizes that Web page creation tools are key to the overall success of its product suite. Bill Gates and company have spelled out a three-tiered approach that looks to have at least something for everyone.
First, at the low end in both cost and features, are the series of Internet Assistant add-ons for the Microsoft Office applications. These applications include Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Schedule+. The Internet Assistants are all freely available at the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com).
The current version of Internet Assistant for Word, 2.0, requires Word 7.0 for Windows 95. IA for Word allows you save word processing documents in HTML format or load and edit HTML documents. It also includes features to preview your HTML document, insert HTML tags, and even browse the Web, if you have a connection to the Internet.
Internet Assistant for Excel is a simple macro that allows you to save spreadsheets into HTML table format. Internet Assistant for PowerPoint accomplishes the same thing for your slide presentations.
The middle layer of the Microsoft Web authoring tools consists of FrontPage (recently acquired with their purchase of Vermeer, Inc.). As far as HTML editors go, FrontPage is a much more powerful and complete package than, say, IA for Word. FrontPage includes a personal Web server so that you can test your pages. In addition to a slick HTML editor, it also includes a Web site analyzer to help check for broken URL references in your HTML pages. Microsoft has stated the price of FrontPage will be substantially reduced from the level Vermeer was charging (analysts are predicting a street price of $99). Some reports indicate it will be available as an add-on to Microsoft Office.
Internet Studio represents the high-end of the spectrum of authoring packages. Pricing, feature details, and availability have not been released as I write this, but Microsoft has stated that it will go beyond HTML authoring. Given the positioning of FrontPage, I infer that Internet Studio will be a comprehensive package for creating enterprise-wide ActiveX Web pages and client/server Intranet applications.
In February 1996, Microsoft quickly renamed its technology for OCX controls to ActiveX in an effort to boldly take on Java. ActiveX is a hot topic, which you have probably already heard about before you bought this book.
ActiveX, VBScript (see Chapter 18, "Using Visual Basic Script on the Intranet"), and HTML are closely related. ActiveX controls can be placed inside Web pages to make them more dynamic. Because ActiveX is just another name for OCX, you can take any commercially available Visual Basic 32-bit extension control, such as a data grid or a stock ticker, and embed it into your HTML code (once the vendor upgrades the software to the ActiveX model). The ActiveX control will be downloaded to any client computer that retrieves your Web page.
How does the browser know how to display an ActiveX control? After all, ActiveX certainly isn't part of the HTML standard, not even the new HMTL 3.2 standard. The answer is that only Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 knows how to do it. Well, that's only true at first glance. Actually, Microsoft is making the technology available to other browser vendors who are porting it to Internet Explorer for Macintosh, and Microsoft has even teamed up with third-parties (such as ncompass mentioned previously) to provide it as an plug-in extension to Netscape Navigator (something that Netscape probably wishes wasn't workable).
Adding OCX controls to Web pages will transform client/server computing. It provides application developers with a whole new method to quickly build network applications. Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, Delpi, and C++ are all great tools, but none of those beat the ease of programming in HTML, especially when you consider that Web page creation tools are still only in their infancy.
VBScript fits in between HTML and the ActiveX control. VBScript
is both a subset of Visual Basic and a powerful extension to HTML.
VBScript is designed to be safe to run on the client Web browser;
language commands that could be potentially damaging in the hands
of a virus creator have been removed. VBScript is designed as
a subset so that it is small and can be downloaded quickly from
the server to client. VBScript is designed to compete with JavaScript
(from SunSoft and Netscape) as an interactive Web page programming
language.
| Caution |
The question of whether VBScript is safe is still a debatable point. Some software engineers have devised ways for a malicious VBScript function to use OLE Automation to execute operating system commands on the client machine unbeknownst to the user! |
When you place an ActiveX control, such as a gauge, on your HTML page, what happens when the user clicks it? The Web browser will fire an ActiveX event into your HTML code where you can provide custom code to process the event anyway you desire. For example, you could determine whether to load a different Web page or send a collection of form data to the Web server.
Microsoft has also announced a new product that it considers to
be an outstanding example of what can be accomplished with Web
technology and ActiveX. Microsoft is developing a new application
(NetMeeting) that will provide real-time, worldwide audio and
data conferencing over the Internet. See its Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/
for more information.
| Note |
Microsoft offers several mailing lists that may be of interest to Web page authors and Intranet/Internet developers. The following topics are currently available:
For more information and to subscribe to any of these mailing lists in either regular or digest form, visit this URL: http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/resource/mail.htm |
| Note |
NetManage offers a free package of ActiveX controls for use by Web designers and VB programmers. Be sure to check out this URL: http://www.netmanage.com/ |
In addition to selling application programs and operating systems, Microsoft has always been a vendor of programming tools. They started with Microsoft Basic almost 20 years ago, and they continue that tradition today with VBScript. Visual Basic does have its limitations, however.
Visual C++ is a very powerful environment for the creation of commercial pc software. Microsoft is in eternal battle with Borland for the king of the hill position in the C++ tools arena. To aid that effort, Microsoft has just released Visual C++ 4.1 and 4.2 with a new focus toward the Internet.
The following are some of the new features in Visual C++ that are targeted at Internet programmers:
Jakarta is the code name for a new development tool from Microsoft that will function similarly to Visual C++. The difference is that Jakarta will develop Java code. Of course, Microsoft has to officially license Java from Sun first. Although Microsoft has business agreements with Sun, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will drag its feet on this one in an effort to give VBScript a chance to catch up with JavaScript. No release date has been made public for Jakarta.
Microsoft is making the following Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) publicly available for developers to help them build Internet-ready applications.
This API provides TCP/IP UNIX-style sockets on Windows platforms. NT 4.0 supports the new Winsock 2.0 standard which allows application programs to be written transparent to the low-level network protocol. Winsock 2.0 will support AppleTalk and IPX/SPX, in addition to TCP/IP.
ISAPI is the Internet Services Application Programming Interface that Microsoft jointly developed with Process Software. Process has carved its mark on the Web via their full-featured and robust Purveyor Web Server for Windows NT.
I will discuss ISAPI a bit further in Chapters 19 and 20, but basically I can say here that it is a Windows DLL version of the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). It allows Web server extension programs to achieve much greater performance on NT than is possible with straight CGI.
CAPI, or the Cryptography API, allows developers to call prewritten functions for encryption/decryption of files and messages, and to transmit and verify digital signatures. CAPI is available in NT 4 (and soon in a Windows 95 service pack).
It seems that Sweeper and WinInet API are practically synonyms for each other. Sweeper was apparently the code-word for this technology before it was released under the ActiveX umbrella.
So what does it do? It allows programmers to use HTTP, FTP, and Gopher to send and receive functionality without having to develop it from scratch on top of TCP/IP. It can be seen as one layer above TCP/IP and Winsock, and one layer below the application.
Security is very important to the mainstream success of the Web. I already mentioned the Cryptography API above, but let me also touch briefly on some of the other security initiatives that Microsoft is either making or backing.
This is another feature that is built into Internet Explorer 3.0. The idea behind it is to let the browser user know which ActiveX and Java applications will be run on their machines before they are downloaded. The user can then choose to accept software from reputable developers or reject suspicious programs before they run.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. Originally developed by Netscape, SSL has become a leading standard for credit card transactions between Web browsers and Web servers.
IIS and Internet Explorer include built-in support for both SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0. If you wish to secure transactions on your SSL Web server, you must first obtain a digital certificate from a certificate authority as outlined in the IIS user's guide.
The Secure Transaction Technology specification (STT) was developed by Visa and Microsoft for the purpose of secure credit-card transactions on the Web.
Here is a quote from Microsoft's own Web page (http://pct.microsoft.com) on their Private Communication Technology specification. pcT "...is designed to secure general-purpose business and personal communications on the Internet, and includes features such as privacy, authentication, and mutual identification. pcT enhances SSL with technology developed for STT, particularly in authentication and protocol efficiency. By separating authentication from encryption, pcT allows applications to use authentication that is significantly stronger than the 40-bit key limit for encryption allowed by the U.S. government for export."
Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) is a payment protocol designed by Visa and Mastercard for Web merchants. It is getting very hard to keep up with all this, but I think that SET will supersede STT. Whereas STT was Microsoft and Visa vs. Netscape and Mastercard (who were backing SSL), SET is the fruit of Visa and Mastercard deciding to get together to avoid the possibility of having two Internet banking standards.
The acronym PFX is supposed to stand for Personal Information Exchange. (Hmmm, it looks like the marketing folks will do anything to get an X in there.) PFX was derived from Microsoft's work on STT and pcT.
This protocol proposal has been submitted to the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) by Microsoft. The protocol is designed to let users transfer or carry personal data securely between different computer platforms. Internet Explorer 3.0 supports PFX.
The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol includes both pcT and SSL. TLS is being considered by the Internet Engineering Task Force as a potential standard.
This chapter has presented a quick overview of the vast array of Microsoft technologies aimed at the Intranet and the Internet. The discussion included everything from the Web browser to the application programming interfaces.
The next chapter, "Using Visual Basic Script on the Intranet," covers VBScript in much greater detail than was given in this chapter. I'll discuss the language elements and show you how to write VBScript into your own HTML pages.