Computer programs lost something important when displaying a splash of color stopped being one line of code. To throw a phosphorescent splotch onto the display on the Apple II required simply “plot x,y”. That’s no longer true today. When the simplicity of the one-line plotter went away, so did the delight at being so effortlessly generative—in a visual way—on the computer. The Open web, as an authoring enabler, is a compelling move back towards that lost ease.

But even as Javascript—as well as the HTML elements it has access to— continues to mature, the general perception of what these technologies enable do not. It took the Web 2.0 revolution to dispel the view that Javascript and Dynamic HTML were mainly useful for form validation and making annoying websites. With Tamarin coming to Firefox and SquirrelFish coming to WebKit, we are ready to see the next wave of projects that again expand our understanding of what is possible on the Web.

Recently, there have been three projects from Mozillians that hint at the new places the Web could go.

First, there is Mozilla Evangelism’s John Resig with Processing.js. It’s a port of Java-based Processing which is “an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. It is used by students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production. It is created to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context and to serve as a software sketchbook and professional production tool.” Processing.js is an exemplar of project that expands people’s understanding of what Javascript is capable.

Second, there is Mozilla Labs’ Atul Varma with Parchment, which is Javascript based interpreter for the Z-Machine—the platform of choice for creating interactive fiction. This enables any browser to play such timeless works as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky, and Galatea, written by Emily Short. Parchment is a great example of using open Web technologies to empower writers in new ways.

Third, there is my own ContextFree.js, which is about drawing striking images—and making art—with minimal amounts of code.

Outside of Mozilla, there are such interesting projects as Objective-J and Sprout Core that push the limits of what one can do with Javascript.

It’s exciting to see the power of Open web technologies for making graphically-enabled, compelling interaction. It’s even more exciting to imagine what’s coming next.