Documents ≠ Programs
The separation between documents and programs assumes we know ahead of time all the things people might want to put inside a document. The evolution of the web shows this not to be true.<p>Is Google maps a document? Obviously not. But a document can still embed a Google map meaningfully and sensibly.<p>For comparison, consider that apple just proposed adding a html tag to display 3D models, just like an image.<p>The problem is that even basic interaction with a 3d model requires complex controls. There is no single standard for materials and lighting. The going methods are optimized for photorealism.<p>So adding a model tag just means baking in a set of assumptions, and doing so before you have a good idea of the kinds of things people will want to do with it and can&#x27;t.<p>This is the real story of the web: poorly conceived standards and APIs, frozen before the medium had time to find its feet. It&#x27;s a horse designed by committee in a world of cars.<p>You could turn the question around: why should webpages be dynamic at all? Just make a dumb client that requests rendered SVGs from a server after a client tells you its screen size.<p>Oh but that can&#x27;t work because it&#x27;s not really a document, but a dynamically laid out program after all.<p>If you want to displace the single page apps of the world, design a &quot;document&quot; format actually capturing all the nuances people want from them... Or get off the pot.