PHP Everywhere: Will Ajax Catch On?

Grok Headline matches for PHP Everywhere: Will Ajax Catch On?

Catch -- catch.com -- Interview: TBogg

Catch -- catch.com -- Interview: TBogg 07/18/2004 05:18 AM
interviewed by Catch .. interview

catch.com/comments/32864_0_17_0_M
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So Ajax it is...

So Ajax it is... 03/19/2005 02:31 AM
I guess I'll have to accept "Ajax" as the official term of the new breed of webapps. In Monday's Wall...

AJAX

AJAX 03/22/2005 04:58 PM

I am playing with AJAX myself but I see many problems with AJAX as the next generation DHTML application platform.  AJAX applications are more expensive to build, test, and update than traditional DHTML applications.

Frankly, I am not even sure whether current crop of popular web browsers can support AJAX because they weren't built with the expectation that a signle web page might stay up for as long as GUI applications.  When even small carefully written DHTML apps can cause enough browser resource leaks to require frequent browser restarts, I think good stable AJAX applications will be rarer than the picture recent hype paints.

And by the time engineers discover the cost of AJAX first-hand, .NET-based ClickOnce applications will look much more attractive than AJAX-based applications can ever be.

AJAX Framework

AJAX Framework 04/15/2005 03:55 PM
AJAX Framework 1.0 Released

HTML-Ajax-0.02

HTML-Ajax-0.02 04/08/2005 03:14 PM

Now just call it "AJAX"

Now just call it "AJAX" 03/14/2005 05:25 PM
Last year we wrote about how some applications -- notably Google Mail and Suggest -- were taking advantage of Javascript plus XML-over-HTTP for richer interfaces. Now Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path has written a nice summary and (perhaps more imporantly) come up with a new name for the approach: "AJAX." Some CMS vendors are beginning to use AJAX methodologies, although from what we have seen mostly in a tentative way (if you're a vendor using AJAX, do tell where and how. Asynchronous communication with the server has tremendous potential to make heretofore very linear authoring and workflow procedures in a CMS much more fluid and therefore more, well, lifelike......

Why the term Ajax is useful

Why the term Ajax is useful 04/18/2005 09:55 PM

Software design patterns are useful mainly because they provide a shared vocabulary: rather than discussing the intimate details of a three layered application architecture, we say "MVC". Rather than describing an object that tracks your progress while looping over a collection, we say "Iterator".

The same is true for Ajax. While the techniques it describes have been around for years, grouping them under a single term is extremely valuable for raising the level of discussion about them. No longer will we have to explain XMLHttpRequest / hidden iframes / crazy cookie tricks in depth when discussing sites which pull fresh information from the server without reloading the whole page. Instead, we can say "Ajax" and move on to more interesting things.

Matthew Haughey says it's all about marketing. I disagree; it's about smarter and more effective conversations.

AJAX in Flash

AJAX in Flash 03/30/2005 09:01 PM

As I pointed out in my AJAX post, I think difficulties of writing AJAX make it a poor web application platform, particularly since there are easier alternatives.

Flash, for example, is a better platform for some applications than AJAX because it offers similar capabilities (i.e. XMLHttpRequest in DHTML) and comparable, if not better, level of availability along with much better graphics capability.  Flash tool developers such as Lazlo and Xamlon makes it easy to develop interactive web application.  Just take a look at this Google Maps like demo built over a weekend using Xamlon's upcoming tool.

Note that AJAX in Flash is inappropriate for web applications that manipulate DHTML DOM extensively and has a number of issues that makes it prohibitively expensive for uses beyond demos and small tightly-focused applications.  For example, you can't built PhotoShop with it without abandoning usability.

Beyond Flash, .NET looms with superior functionalities and flexibilities.  The only thing it lacks is the availability in several sense.

HTML-Ajax-0.01

HTML-Ajax-0.01 04/01/2005 03:15 PM

Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications

Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications 03/25/2005 06:56 AM
Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications by Jesse James Garrett
http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.p hp

Ajax isn’t a technology. It’s really several technologies, each flourishing in its own right, coming together in powerful new ways. Ajax incorporates: 1) standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS; 2) dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model; 3) data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT; 4) asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest; and 5) JavaScript binding everything together. This essay by Jesse Garrett explains Ajax and what the future holds for this exciting application. This has been added to eCommerce Resources Subject Tracer™ Information Blog.

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.01

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.01 03/22/2005 10:13 PM

Will Ajax Hurt Usability?

Will Ajax Hurt Usability? 03/29/2005 01:28 AM

I'm curious what effect Ajax will have on usability. With this technique, the unspoken nature of Web apps is changing, and apps using Ajax will likely do things that users don't expect.

When I first starting using client-side HTTP requests back in 1999 (long before the snazzy name), I did it really badly. I wrote an intranet phone directory which used background HTTP calls from the browser to retrieve the data and load it into a DIV on the interface without re-loading the page. It worked great, but if the users wanted to find another phone number, they always pressed the "Back" button...and got sent backwards, out of the phone lookup system.

Web users have a "user model" of how forms work (we discussed user models in this post). Web users are accustomed to the fact that nothing happens on a form until they hit a button called "Submit" or "Save," and that this gives them a new page, so they can usually hit "Back" to get back to their form input. I broke this user model, and the user paid the price.

With Ajax, it's easy to break the model of stateless request and response that users are subconciously aware of. You shouldn't do this lightly or you're going to get some confused users.

Here's a current example:

37 Signals' great Ta Da Lists use Ajax to "check off" items in a list. If you click the box next to an item, it's immediately removed from the list in the interface and a request is dispatched in the background to change the item's status on the server.

I understand this and it's quite slick, but what about people who don't spend as much time with this stuff as I do? I know a lot of people that look at a list of checkboxes and think, "I can check a bunch of boxes, then review my selections before finding and clicking a button called 'Submit' that's got to be around here somewhere."

This is the user model that a lot of people have for Web forms. They get to do whatever they want, and nothing counts until they press "Submit." I like Ta Da Lists, but I think 37 Signals made a mistake here. I'd be curious what feedback they've gotten about it.

Where we're going with Ajax is to allow developers to really mess with the unspoken "rules" that users have gotten used to. Ajax is great and provides a revolutionary way to do things, but I know some people will take it too far, too fast. User confusion won't be far behind.

Some AJAX Information Pointers for You
and Me

Some AJAX Information Pointers for You
and Me 06/05/2005 11:21 PM
AJAX AJAX AJAX. Every time I turn around I hear AJAX. This is as bad as 2002 when every time turned around I heard RSS. Except in 2002 I had...

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.02

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.02 03/23/2005 12:21 AM

The anatomy of an AJAX framework

The anatomy of an AJAX framework 06/05/2005 11:20 PM
I just read an interesting post from Bjoern on the impact that AJAX can have on your existing applications. As I understand things, Bjoern makes two major points: That you can’t rely on AJAX being a workable solution because XMLHttpRequest requires ActiveX on Windows And that AJAX will force you to completely revise your development strategy because its [...]

Features: Errors and AJAX

Features: Errors and AJAX 06/05/2005 11:54 PM
AJAX is hot, but is it real? How mature are the techniques, and can you use them right now? Joshua Gitlin offers a method for trapping client-side JavaScript errors and logging them, server-side, with AJAX.

Catalyst-Helper-Ajax-0.01

Catalyst-Helper-Ajax-0.01 03/19/2005 02:50 AM

Will AJAX help Google clean up?

Will AJAX help Google clean up? 03/19/2005 02:41 AM

Ajax info and pointers

Ajax info and pointers 06/06/2005 12:10 AM
Tara asks: I'm looking for doofus-level (that's me!) introductions to AJAX functionality and perhaps a tutorial or two. Since this stuff seems so JavaScript heavy, and since for all JavaScript wisdom I look to Dori, I'm hoping she'll chime in...

AJAX Considered Harmful

AJAX Considered Harmful 03/17/2005 02:49 AM
I intend for this to post to be constructive, so I will focus on two specific suggestions which hopefully will serve as the seed for the development of a set of best practices for AJAX.  Here are the two humble suggestions on things that people should standardize on ...

AJAX Wrapper for .Net (v1.1) Released

AJAX Wrapper for .Net (v1.1) Released 04/12/2005 11:57 PM
Michael Schwarz, a .NET developer in Germany has released the latest version of his Ajax .NET Wrapper. This class library simplifies the use of XMLHttp by providing .NET objects that generate the necessary Javascript code.

ProNet: Using Ajax with TypeKey

ProNet: Using Ajax with TypeKey 04/12/2005 05:16 PM
Since anything worth doing on the web is worth doing with Ajax, Joe D'Andrea's written up his technique for using Ajax with TypeKey. It's a clean and simple implementation of the authentication service, and it's found a good home on...

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.03

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.03 04/01/2005 03:15 PM

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.04

Catalyst-Plugin-Ajax-0.04 04/08/2005 03:14 PM

ProNet: So you'd like to make an Ajax
map

ProNet: So you'd like to make an Ajax
map 06/06/2005 12:12 AM
Our own Mark Paschal just visited Linden Lab, the creators of the popular online gaming community Second Life, and he was inspired to create a new app called Landmarker. From Mark's description: At Cienna Rand's suggestion, I've been building a...

The Ajax reality distortion field

The Ajax reality distortion field 04/14/2005 03:33 PM

David Temkin raps it out.

WE spent five years trying to build a "Laszlo-like" rich media interface platform inside of Javascript and tehbrowser. Believe me this is one subject I know about.

I LOVE ODDpost and the Google Maps thingie and what people are doing with D HTML nowadays. Our weboutliner is in D HTML.

But lordy lordy lordy - do these folks have a reality distortion field up. David Temkin agrees. Or shall I say - I agree with him.

Ajax, Ajax, Ajax -- the buzzword has taken the Web world by storm. As it's been presented, A jax ("Asynchronous JavaScript + XML") is a new way of creating rich Internet applications by means of "standard, mature, and well-understood technologies" -- i.e., DHTML. This is the big draw of Ajax, and is the core of the hype.

It is indeed possible (and sometimes even desirable!) to create rich Internet applications using DHTML; I've been talking about this for some time. But the idea that DHTML technology is standard, mature and well-understood is accurate in only a theoretical way.

Until very recently, it was commonplace knowledge that DHTML doesn't work consistently across browsers, isn't maintainable, requires code forking, delivers limited fidelity and so on. And while perhaps this is still common knowledge among level-headed developers, somehow the introduction of the "Ajax" buzzword has induced Web-wide amnesia, and people are now under the illusion that creating full-scale applications in JavaScript is a simple proposition -- just throw in a little script here and there, and you have an app suitable for Web deployment. No new learning required, just a few clever hacks.

Welcome to the Ajax reality distrortion field.

This one post about replacing Flickr's Flash UI with a DHTML UI seems to sum up these contradictions rather concisely:

First, the developer, Neil Kandalgaonkar, writes that this DHTML version of the Flickr UI will work in more places that the Flash UI that Flickr uses:

"So what's wrong with Flickr's perfectly good Flash interface? Nothing. But maybe...you often use operating systems where Flash doesn't work, or doesn't work well."

But later in the post, Neil goes on to write:

"This is a hack that works in just one browser, Firefox. Developing cross-platform DHTML is much harder and more painful. Flash has a lot of advantages over DHTML; it's truly cross-platform, and can do much more special effects. If that works for Flickr, more power to them."

Well, that sounds rather different! Finally, when explaining why someone might be interested in what he's done, Neil writes:

"...you're a web developer and you are interested in this bleeding-edge Ajax stuff."

I'm confused. Isn't Ajax/DHTML "standard, mature, and well-understood"?

Just to be clear: I think what Neil has done is cool. But cool, bleeding edge, difficult and incompatible isn't what Ajax is supposed to be all about.

I sometimes think of how developers look at DHTML apps in terms of grading on a curve. A Laszlo-, Flash-, or Java-based RIA will typically receive all sorts of complaints from Web standards vigilantes about non-standard UI, accessibility issues, problems with bookmarking and deep linking, and incomptibility with search engine crawlers. But a similar app built using DHTML -- excuse me, "Ajax" -- elicits enthusiastic responses from the very same crowd like "Wow! Look at how cool this DHTML site is! Isn't that UI great?"

Of course a full Ajax/DHTML app has nearly identical issues with UI, accessibility, bookmarking, and search engines that other RIA technologies do; but they have the veneer of being "standard". And just to state the obvious, lest we forget: HTML as a standard for Web applications is in a precarious position, with the leading browser vendor actively working to define its own all-new markup language for networked applications, and other browser vendors creating a splinter group that diverges from the W3C to promote their own standards for Web applications.

Theoretically, DHTML is a standard. But to quote Yogi Berra: "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."

[David Temkin]

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

ProNet: Making AJAX work for everyone

ProNet: Making AJAX work for everyone 03/14/2005 06:05 PM
With all the growing excitement around AJAX web development and the new toolkits becoming available, it's important to make sure this new breed of web applications is available for everyone who uses the web. Some useful new references that can...

"XMLHttpRequest & Ajax Working Examples"

"XMLHttpRequest & Ajax Working Examples" 04/07/2005 10:28 AM

ProNet: Rico AJAX library

ProNet: Rico AJAX library 06/17/2005 02:07 PM
Sabre's development team has just released Rico, a javascript library for creating rich applications using AJAX technologies. Available under an Apache license, a lot of common visual and data-manipulation functions are bundled into this cross-browser AJAX implementation. The offering comes...

Could Ajax Wash Away 'Smart Clients'?

Could Ajax Wash Away 'Smart Clients'? 03/19/2005 03:05 AM
There's more than one way to write a powerful client app. Just ask the Google and Flickr folks.

Manipulate Your TV Listings with
TiVo+Ajax

Manipulate Your TV Listings with
TiVo+Ajax 04/17/2005 06:51 PM

ProNet: SAJAX: Simple Ajax Toolkit

ProNet: SAJAX: Simple Ajax Toolkit 03/14/2005 06:06 PM
Sometimes development trends are worth the hype. If you've been itching to play around with the AJAX approach to web applications, you'll want to grab the SAJAX Toolkit. It's PHP-only for right now, but it gives you a robust set...

AJAX encapsulation with TIBCO General
Interface

AJAX encapsulation with TIBCO General
Interface 06/05/2005 11:36 PM
With all the recent AJAX buzz, there's renewed interest in toolkits that can abstract away the inherent nastiness of that style of development. TIBCO's General Interface is one such toolkit, and today's 8-minute screencast excerpts highlights from a demo shown to me yesterday by Kevin Hakman. He's a founder of General Interface, which TIBCO acquire d last fall. ...

Perl/Ajax programmer for WebMail
application

Perl/Ajax programmer for WebMail
application 04/04/2005 11:07 PM
Calacode - Australia, NSW, Kurrajong (2005-04-04)

Sampling Ajax in a CMS -- News Article
-- CMS Watch

Sampling Ajax in a CMS -- News Article
-- CMS Watch 04/11/2005 03:49 AM
Ajax is being used in CMS products .. nice screencast

cmswatch.com/News/Article/?421
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Community News: AJAX Blog Announcement

Community News: AJAX Blog Announcement 06/06/2005 12:15 AM
For anyone that hasn't see it yet or it still looking into AJAX, the Bitflu x blog has this new post about the AJAX Blog - AJAXBlog.com.

PHPEverywhere: Adam Bosworth Reconsiders
Ajax

PHPEverywhere: Adam Bosworth Reconsiders
Ajax 06/06/2005 12:15 AM
On PHPEverywherethis new posting in which JohnAdam Bosworth's comments (A lex Bosworth's son) about AJAX and some of its c ommon pitfalls.

If you missed today?s PHP & AJAX
presentation? here are the recordings

If you missed today?s PHP & AJAX
presentation? here are the recordings 06/05/2005 11:20 PM
In case you missed our PHP & AJAX talk hosted by Joshua Eichorn, here are the recordings (note: you will need Macromedia Flash in order to play these): Part 1 Part 2 (note there is a pause of about half minute here before the recording actually starts. This is normal, don’t worry) In case you missed this, too, [...]

PHP and AJAX: Joshua Eichorn speaks in
our free webcast!

PHP and AJAX: Joshua Eichorn speaks in
our free webcast! 06/05/2005 11:20 PM
A bit of self-serving news: php¦architect just announced our new php¦symphony webcast: Building Dynamic Web Applications with AJAX, which will be hosted by Joshua Eichorn (who has done some brilliant work on the topic of AJAX and PJSpan lately) on May 26. Best of all… the webcast is completely free, so what are you waiting for? [...]
Grok Description matches for PHP Everywhere: Will Ajax Catch On?
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PHP Everywhere: Will Ajax Catch On?