I imagine this thread is pretty well dead, but I figured I'd add my two cents...
Can use XMLHTTPRequest to start programs from within your plugin...
----Create Callback in Javascript----
window.onload = function(){
document.getElementById("elementID").setCallback(callbackFunction);
}
----XMLHTTPRequest in the callback----
function callbackFunction(){
var prg_req = new XMLHttpRequest();
prg_req.open("GET", "/KARELCMD/IPL_yourProgramName", true);
prg_req.send();
}
This should work for both Karel and TP programs.