Asynchronous JavaScript & XML. There seems to be quite a buzz about the 'net with this 'new' approach to web interfaces at the moment. Gmail uses this (in standard mode) which works really, really nicely - it's just as responsive as running a program such as outlook/tbird. I've yet to come across a non-google project using it though, but it wouldn't surprise me if more and more Ajax powered interfaces start appearing soon because the benefits are fairly obvious. I want to have a go at using Ajax tech when I next get the chance. Has anyone tried using this for a project of their own? How did you get on?
We're using it in two areas of our software at work. The first is a search facility, I guess a little like Google suggest. The other is for a wizard interface for data input. Next, Back, Finish, etc etc. Experiences of it so far are very pleasing and we're looking to update some existing areas with these methods for our next release (dynamic refreshing treeviews, etc).
So, I understand this is not a purchasable item, but a method of interacting with the web. Has anyone found good Ajax techniques? I would love to start using this as long as it is standards compliant. (I work at a university and sometimes with a hospital, so standards are sort of big... plus I like standards.. they make things... well... standard.) I've done stuff like this in the past, such as using javascript to reload an image that is generated by PHP, but that's about it.
Totally forgot about the other section we use it on (and probably the biggest ); flow diagrams. Very funky stuff, if not a pita to maintain the 5,000 lines of JS.
Whats the situation with this and cross browser compatibillity? Javascript has always been a pain in the arse to get working across the board...
Probably fairly bad unless you're uber experienced with JS - i.e., Google have managed to get Gmail to work flawlessly on pretty much any up to date browser and that's entirely Ajax powered.
Funny! So funny that acronyms for web technologies turn into names of things we clean with. I mean SOAP and now Ajax. Ha ha... what is the next?
I wonder what sort of impact Ajax has on bandwidth. I'd assume something as cool as google maps would drain my 5Gb/Day transfer rate if people kept moving the map around alot. Either way, I'm still trying to figure out how to use this to its full potential. Here at work we've all got graphical browsers, usually the most up-to-date version of IE (obviously I use the term up-to-date loosly here ) and a few of us use Firefox. As soon as I figure out how to make a computer-controlled telescope, I'm going to try and make it available over the web via Ajax. (maybe I'll call the project "Comet" or "Dawn" ) Javascript telescope usage would definitely rock!
Well, i guess that you only ever need to load the interface once, and then after that the bandwidth is minimal, since it would just (i think, if i understand correctly) be XML flowing between client & server. Which is a heck of a load less bandwidth than images, html, yada yada!
but surely google maps is just a load of images stitched together so doesnt that count as loads of images being transmitted all the time?? or by some magic are the pictures created through the use of xml?? if so i want to know how!!
This sounds very much like taking XML Data Islands one step further... I use XML Data Islands in a couple of intranet apps that I've built; example - user selects value from drop-down, which triggers Javascript event handler, which calls ASP page, which queries DB & responds with XML dataset. Javascript handler then uses XML to populate fields on-screen. No form submitting needed. It's a bit tricky but that might just be my pathalogical hatred of javascript getting in the way. But useful for specific cases in my apps. However, all the accessability guidlines state that applications/pages should not be wholely dependant on javascript, and if used it should degrade gracefully. Clearly this is not the case here... Chris
Yup, that's the only thing keeping me from making too many public apps with Ajax, although some things, such as maps, by nature aren't too accessible. I haven't found a good text-based map program yet, and doubt I will for a while, so when I come up with ideas that themselves aren't accessible to all, I'm fine with using javascript. (Let the content limit you, not the method, IMO)
