The Technology Behind the Connexions Roadmap 2.3 2001/08/19 2002/08/23 Elizabeth Bartmess bartmess@alumni.rice.edu Elizabeth Bartmess bartmess@alumni.rice.edu Allison Heath aheath@rice.edu Graham Hull grhull@rice.edu Brent Michael Hendricks brentmh@rice.edu mozilla roadmap xul XUL: The technology behind the Connexions roadmap. The Connexions roadmap was created for the Mozilla browser by taking advantage of Mozilla's specially customizeable user interface. Mozilla's user interface is written primarily in XUL, an XML language with which you can easily create and arrange various Mozilla widgets such as buttons, toolbars, and menus. XML is a markup language similar to HTML, and is relatively easy to learn. Mozilla also uses Javascript (to make things happen) and CSS (cascading stylesheets, to take the XUL and make it look visually pleasing). It can also use a number of other technologies, but XUL, Javascript, and CSS are the main ones. Using these technologies, you can create 'packages' for Mozilla, such as the Connexions roadmap, which other users can download and run. If you are already familiar with HTML, XML, Javascript, and CSS, and want to try creating a package of your own, the Main XUL Tutorial at www.xulplanet.com will walk you through creating and installing a Mozilla package. If you need to brush up on any of the above technologies, or if you want to start learning any of them, www.w3schools.com has a number of useful tutorials.