What scripting language would you use for...?

I'm seeking suggestions as to what would be a good language or technology to use to replace Adobe Flash in my project.

Features:
*extensive use of lists to store data
*some lists built on-the-fly based on names & contents of co-located directories
*said directories contain text/graphics, which are displayed based on user selection
*buttons generated on-the-fly based on the content of the lists and user selection
*launches an external web page that uses Flash, which can not be modified

Description:
The application was designed to combine super large graphics (a la zoomify) with text and normal sized grapics, which provide educational info about each super large graphic. Each super large graphic is categorized.

The list of categories is built on-the-fly based on the files in a given directory. This list generates corresponding buttons. The user selects a category.

The user then goes to a new page which displays some information, which is loaded from extenal files, about that category and a new list of buttons, which represents each super large graphic. The user selects a super large graphic from that list of buttons.

The user then goes to another new page which displays some information, which is loaded from external files, about the super large graphic they selected plus a link to the graphic itself. The user clicks the link to view the super large graphic in a new browser window. The super large graphic must, unfortunately, be displayed in its own window.

I would like to integrate this into Second Life but am obviously severly hampered by what appears to be an inability of Second Life to display Flash in any way, shape or form. I'm looking into alternative ways to program the interface...

...and that's where I need your help!

I know a little here and there in terms of other programming languages, but nothing as well as I know ActionScript. Therefore, it's difficult for me to judge the best combo of tools to use to integrate this activity into Second Life. Plus, it will take me sometime to learn new technologies/languages well enough to either reproduce the interface or discover I've made a poor selection.

It seems to me that my interface is pretty basic, and there might be a lot of options by which it can be reprogrammed and enhanced in Second Life. I'm willing to re-code and/or hard-code the entire project in order to enable this. However, for just that one last part of the activity, I can't get around having to link to that super large graphic in it's own web page using Flash.

Any suggestions??????????????

Quinn

Could you please reconcile these two statements first?

If the Flash is being opened in an external web page, then Second Life's inability to display Flash in-world is irrelevant . (And that's if the limitation is still there - I haven't played with the new media stuff.) You just use the LSL function llLoadURL, which allows the user to open an external web page, using their standard browser.

Good question!

Well, to clarify, that limitation requiring the use of Flash only effects one button/function in my program.

You see, one function of my flash-based interface is that it displays whichever super large graphic the user selects. The super large graphic is located at a particular URL, must be displayed in it's own window (due to vendor black box programming that I can't change), and just so happens to coincidently also use Flash.

||LoadURL would be one way, perhaps the best way, to implement that one function. Either way, I'm looking for options to reprogram the entire rest of the program to integrate more fully with Second Life.

Thanks for reading & responding to my question,
Quinn

For the problem of scripting things within SL, isn't the answer obvious? The only available scripting language is LSL.

Sure, that seems obvious...

But, I have seen others discussing other ways to integrate with the web at large (PHP?) And, gee, if Flash were only implemented, the possibilities IMHO would explode. I didn't know if there was something equivalent that people may use. For example, I was also considering re-programing the whole thing in JavaScript and compartmentalzing it so as to integrate more immersively within SL.

...just a thought...

Or, maybe I need to be brought back down to earth and drink the LSL kool-aid?

Comments one way or the other appreciated. Thanks, Kidd, for your perspective.

Quinn

I suppose you could make use of the in-viewer browser to create a UI, I'm not sure how scriptable that browser is, one would have to test to see what the effects of sizing and positioning via javascript has on it. Assuming that works, then you could have a pseudo HUD UI that existed as an in-viewer browser window but the communications between the browser and in-world objects would have to be done partly through LSL scripts that talked to the same server that generates your web UI.

Intriguing. Sounds like that might be a possibility...will look into it further.

Quinn