End-user programming for the Web

Abstract

On the desktop, an application can specify its user interface down to the last pixel, but on the World Wide Web, a content provider has little control over how the client will view the page once it has been delivered to the browser. This creates an opportunity for end-users who want to automate and customize their web experiences, but the growing complexity of web pages and standards prevents most users from realizing this opportunity. This thesis describes a programming system named Chickenfoot that enables end-users to automate, customize, and integrate web applications without examining their source code. It accomplishes this by embedding a programming environment directly into the Firefox web browser, where end-users can interactively develop programs that manipulate the interfaces of web pages. The design and implementation of the system's language are described, as well as the results of a user study that influenced the design. A range of applications built using Chickenfoot are also presented.