Curl's language tries to cover the spectrum of needs, from basic Web page content to sophisticated programmable features. Also, the code that powers the processing for a Curl application plugs in to a user's Internet browser. This shifts the computing burden away from the site's servers onto the visitor's PC, saving network bandwidth and costs.
Curl faces the familiar chicken-and-egg problem of new technologies: No user can see a Web page written in Curl without the browser plug-in. But how do you get people to download that plug-in when no Web pages need it? And how do you get developers to work with it when there is no user base?
"It won't fly," says Dave Winer, well-known Internet software guru and CEO of Userland Software. "It's typical an idea like that would come from academics. They rarely have respect for installed bases."
Bob Young is intensely aware of such skepticism. That's why he's initially going after enterprise customers like Siemens. When a Curl application is deployed on a corporate intranet, the IT department will install the plug-in on the requisite desktops and the chicken-and-egg problem disappears. "This way, getting the company off the ground doesn't depend on critical mass," insists Young.
But that doesn't mean Curl dreams small. "Ultimately, we think it will be ubiquitous," says Young. "This could be a billion-dollar business."
Berners-Lee wouldn't agree to an interview concerning Curl. His office cited the neutrality of his position as director of the World Wide Web Consortium, the Internet's "governing body," but did confirm he has an ownership stake and acts as an adviser.
Another respected Internet programmer, Tim Bray, co-author of the original XML specification and CEO of software firm Antarcti.ca, agrees that Curl faces some difficulties. But he points out that Macromedia once jumped the same barrier with Flash. That software now comes bundled with major Web browsers and claims 97 percent Internet penetration.
"If you meet a need," says Bray, "you can get out there awfully fast."
