I agree with you on presentation, but I'll argue quite heartily that scripting
is becoming an integral part of content.
>The document
>object model finally allows you to refer to document elements from
>*outside* your document so that you have *less need* to directly mix
>scripts and code. Using DOM I can create a client-side program that
>takes an XML instance as input and returns XML as output. I can't do
>that with JavaScript as it exists today. The JavaScript "model" is
>textual replacement (which must, by definition, be "inline"). The DOM
>model is structural processing (which can be done "remotely").
Which _can_ be done remotely - but that isn't to say that remote control is
always the best solution. OOP ticked off a lot of people when it first
appeared for suggesting that data and code might work better as a unit than as
separate parts, and I suspect JavaScript (though it's hardly OO) is going to
take knocks for a similar offense. I'm not completely sure where you're
coming from declaring the "JavaScript 'model' is textual replacement" - while
textual replacement is one part of the JavaScript toolset, it's hardly the
only piece.
As much as I hate to use them as an example, Microsoft's scriptlets are a
strong step in the opposite direction of what you would like to see.
Scriptlets combine a small amount of code and some markup to create an
interface component that can be added easily to a page. If anything, the
trend (in my feeble opinion) is toward further mixing of code and markup, not
less. Scriptlets can be quick hacks, or they can be elaborate interface
components.
As I said before, we'll see what people actually do with the stuff soon
enough.
Simon St.Laurent
Dynamic HTML: A Primer