Slashdot.org had an interesting story this morning about a new programming language called curl. curl is a Cambridge, MA startup that has spunout from the MIT Computer Science Laboratory. They have raised $50 Million in venture funding, and boast Tim Berners-Lee as a founder and now advisor.
Internet.com has a great story about how curl is different than HTML, Javascript, Java Applets. Unlike the current methods of transferring files for display on the Internet, curl servers send source code to a browser plugin, that then compiles the code on the users machine. Current systems compile the code on the server, and send this to the client to be rendered. curl should allow for the development of a richer user experience, than HTML and Javascript. curl should also provide a better development and maintenance experience than tools like Flash (don’t get me wrong Flash is a great tool, but it can be horrible to maintain code in Flash).
You can download the curl plugin at the curl corporate site and check out the interesting demonstrations that they have built.