Clean web applications with Ajax
Adaptive path have created a new buzzword called 'Ajax' (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML), and they say it is 'A New Approach to Web Applications'. However I tend to disagree to a certain extent.
Web applications have been using asynchronous client to server communications for years, we have used Javascript to Java (server side) communications and Java Applet to Server side communications.
I remember working on a theatre booking website (back in 1998) where by we used an applet in a pixel wide frame, it was used to manage communications between other frames and back to the server. Looking back it was so difficult to maintain; a number of frames in a frameset all talking to one another via the main applet controller. If I remember rightly it was also rather slow.
So with Ajax I feel we are revisiting old ground, however with improved bandwidth and better implementation methods we may be able to bring this idea of web application development back to life.
To sum up, I’m still wary of maintenance issues in web applications that use Ajax. Surely by using an MVC server side framework it will be easier to maintain, as this would deter the developer from using client side logic which is so often difficult to test and maintain in the long run.
Methodologies that make up AJAX
- standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;
- dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;
- data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;
- asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest
- JavaScript binding everything together.
Related articles
- Simple Ajax Toolkit
- Simplifying XmlHttpRequest with JSON-RPC
- Building the web OS
- XMLHttpRequest Usability Suggestions
- Guide to Using XMLHttpRequest
- xmlhttpreq - developer.apple.com
- Combining XMLHttpRequest and Rails to Produce More Efficient UIs
