25 June 2014

Semantic Web Browsers

Web Browsers are still very much on the client-server approach to functionality. They do not harness the intelligence of the web. Since there is so much data on the web, a web client needs to provide more intelligent methods for navigability and semantic features. Users rely ultimately on the browser client to get at much of what is available on the web. So, it is crucial that one gets the fundamentals correct. There is also an immense need for security and responsiveness in web browsers. They also need to be able to provide intelligent filtering capabilities and understand user navigation behavior. Also, deep linking on the web can be very useful for backtracking or even to discover new links in the navigation graph. In this respect, a visual view of a user navigation behavior becomes essential. Users also want navigational assistance to be able to get at information on the web without excessive manual browsing. A lot of browsers also have hidden tools and customization options which most may never realize exist. Browsers need to unlock and make all the functionality they provide available at click of a mouse or by voice assistance. Recommendations for similar links would also help ease navigability. A browser should be able to feed off the habits of a user and use that feedback to provide better interaction. Browsers need to also amalgamate the functionality of a desktop client to that of a web client in terms of the flexibility of feature sets. Semantic web is becoming more and more the next frontier in defacing the web's uncovered truths and faults. And, as users and data become more connected there is a greater need for intelligent browsing functionality to help us find information in an ubiquitous way so as to make the use of the web a more friendly and adaptive experience for all. Web browsers are also not very aware of the types of users and this has an even greater importance in making them more accessible to all. As more standardizations are developed one has to approach web browser functionality from an integration, accessibility, and seamless portability perspective. A page that works on one browser should work the same on another. This may at times be dictated by specific rendering engines in use which vary from browser to browser. However, allowing for more plugin support entails a greater chance of convergence and provides newer browsers a chance to move towards more standardized approaches. Searching has also become a crucial aspect to web browsing. Overtime, browsing and searching may in themselves become integrated to an even greater degree. Security is still paramount in many web browser experiences and this will become an even greater necessity as users want to be able to develop a greater trust in the web and of their own profiles. There is still very much that web browsers need to tackle and it certainly helps to have a more loosely coupled architectural approach to a web browser. The complexities are huge and there is an array of possibilities on the web which can provide for an insurmountable options for progress in functionality.