What is wrong with CSS is the same thing that is wrong with HTML and XML. We are trying to use these things as DSLs, but they lack a core aspect of a language:

What is wrong with CSS is the same thing that is wrong with HTML and XML. We are trying to use these things as DSLs, but they lack a core aspect of a language: means of abstraction. As a result, modern website work generally involves using somebody's favorite layer on top of this web data that provides that missing aspect. Jeff's favorite ruby gem is one approach. I personally like the ideas behind languages the Lisp community is developing via Weblocks and UCW (on top of yaclml or cl-who) -- and the similar possibilities provided by perl's Catalyst::View::TD -- where you approach page design from the perspective of widgets combined on a page. Here is what is forced on us with this flat data approach: The server bears the weight of producing the flat data, and the network has the burden of carrying that large flat data from the server to the client. The client must render all that flat data. If the data had means of abstraction, the server would not need as many intermediate layers to convert it, the network would have less to transfer, and the client browser would be able to take advantage of optimizations for abstractions and parse less data. Has anyone made any real headway on getting a replacement for HTML browsing? a movement away from "pages" and more towards "gateways" or "portals" to the graphical net?