Protoscript
November 10th, 2009
Protoscript, is a Javascript based notation started by Bill Scott for making interactions and behaviours easier to prototype. Protoscript makes it possible to transform interface objects with a range of standard events (such as mouse clicks, hovers, keypresses, etc) and “sprinkle interactive behaviors”. So if you’re into prototyping with code, this just might be worth looking into. Although the code has not stirred in a while now, it is still very much available and hosted online over at google.
In Bill’s own words:
Protoscript is a simplified scripting language for creating Ajax style prototypes for the Web. With Protoscript it’s easy to bring interface elements to life. Simply connect them to behaviors and events to create complex interactions.
Try out the demos.
5 Responses to “Protoscript”
November 10th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
So… how is this different from reinventing jQuery for no reason?
November 11th, 2009 at 5:51 am
That same question was on the tip of my tongue as I was writing the above post. I think jQuery and Protoscript are very much similar. From what I understand, Protoscript does not aim to replace jQuery (as it actually is built on it). It does aim to make the interactions more readable in a JSON syntax. I think Bill was asked this question a number of times and here is a blog post on this: http://looksgoodworkswell.blogspot.com/2007/09/wh… (Why Protoscript).
November 13th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
That's a good read, but it seems to me that someone not interested in learning jQuery would be much better off with a non-code method of building interactions. Protscript seems like it may be attacking a middle ground that is very small.
http://www.ixedit.com/ is a good example of a wizard-style tool for non-coders to add interactions to their html, it could be used to do the sort of thing Protoscript is trying to do, but with nearly zero code knowledge.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Great attempt, but people who don't have the time to learn won't learn this. :)