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Microsoft Releases Atlas

Jason Lind writes "Much earlier than anticipated, Microsoft announced the release of Atlas this afternoon at MIX 06. For those who don't know, Atlas is Microsoft's AJAX API for ASP.NET 2, which they claim will greatly reduce the effort in developing AJAX style applications on their platform."

300 comments

  1. "No Micwosoft! No!"... by pandrijeczko · · Score: 0

    ..."Welease Wobin! Welease Wobin!"

    --
    Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    1. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by sammy+baby · · Score: 3, Funny

      When do they release Thiluth, the Athyrian Thrangler?

    2. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by Duhavid · · Score: 1

      Thats "wewease".

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
    3. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK, what kinda useless M$ article is this?

      There's no way to make a BSOD joke, a chair joke, an M$ Bob joke....

      How the hell did this make it onto /.?

    4. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by jacksonj04 · · Score: 1

      No, releathe.

      --
      How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
    5. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by whitehatlurker · · Score: 1
      I believe that the last instance should be "releathe", as in "Releathe Thithyphuth"

      Of course, really it should be:
      "Weleathe Pwometheuth"

      --
      .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
    6. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by Duhavid · · Score: 1

      I just *knew* someone would come along and point that out
      just as I clicked submit. I just *knew* it. :-)

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
    7. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

      It says AJAX, .NET, AND Framework. Beat that!

      --
      I am Spartacus
    8. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by jrockway · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      > Beat that!

      OK. Catalyst (MVC framework), Prototype, and Perl. Hundreds of times more functionality, and infinitely less expensive.

      --
      My other car is first.
    9. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      I'd love to see the bench mark tests that support the smoke their blowing were the sun don't shine...

    10. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by SEWilco · · Score: 1

      You missed "It hasn't been released, they're still holding it prisoner!"

    11. Re:"No Micwosoft! No!"... by poopdeville · · Score: 1
      Hmm, I'll have to look into Prototype. I'd love to be able to write JavaScript in Perl. :-)

      Catalyst is a great tool.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  2. Microsoft learning its lesson? by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Best of all, ASP.NET pages work in all browsers - including Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

    Something from MS that works on MS competitors too? That's unusual. I mean, there's probably a catch in there somewhere, like with ActiveX.

    1. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by truthsearch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Last time I used it .NET gave 2 output options: Netscape 4.0 compatible HTML or IE-specific HTML. There was no full support for XHTML or HTML 4. That counts as working in all browsers. But the ASP.NET output I've investigated is far from the best.

    2. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Something from MS that works on MS competitors too? That's unusual. I mean, there's probably a catch in there somewhere, like with ActiveX.

      Opera is still struggling, but Firefox compatibility seems to be a priority on their new Live services as well (btw, I like that finally someone is trying to move the search ui forward from last decade, even though it takes some getting used to..)

    3. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      ASP.NET 2.0 has a lot more options, including XHTML.

    4. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 2, Insightful

      See my point is that I doubt they'd ever fully support all other browsers as well as IE, because they don't want to miss a chance to give IE another boost.

    5. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That option you speak of is just for warnings at design time. It generates compliant html javascript on the front end at run time.

    6. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by adolfojp · · Score: 1
      <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transition al.dtd">
      That is the second line that Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition will put on every ASP.NET 2.0 page by default. ASP.NET 1.0 and 1.1 controls rendered good code on IE and old code everywhere else. Then again, you can use ASP.NET without the server controls and use it like ASP classic or PHP.

      Cheers,
      Adolfo
    7. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by doubledoh · · Score: 1
      I don't get why it matters anymore what browser you run (business wise). Does Microsoft even care? If they really cared, wouldn't they have tried to compete more actively with Firefox when it was in beta almost 3 years ago? I mean, they aren't even giving IE 7 away for free (unless you have a genuine windows licence), which goes to show they are more interested in making money from their OS market than gain or maintain browser market share. It doesn't really make any difference to them at this point which browser you use so long as you are running that browser on their operating system (which they actually make money on).

      The "browser wars" are over and they aren't coming back.

      --
      I think, therefore I doh.
    8. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

      Sorry troll, you lose. If you knew anything about it you would know that AJAX is entirely browsewr based and cross platform, and ASP in all its many forms is entirely server-side.

      --
      I am Spartacus
    9. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by DigitlDud · · Score: 1

      ASP.NET 2.0 outputs XHTML 1.1

    10. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Kismet · · Score: 1

      I've tried the Atlas pre-release on both IE 6 and the latest Firefox. It worked pretty well in both browsers (so far). The samples they have aren't very polished, though.

    11. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 1

      Something from MS that works on MS competitors too? That's unusual. I mean, there's probably a catch in there somewhere, like with ActiveX.

      Actually not that unusual... Like Mac Software for the last 20 years...

      However the whole concept of Atlas and its use of AJAX is to produce advanced non-browser specific programming capabilities.

      So for it to support MS stuff only would be pretty much worthless, even to MS.

      How this does help MS is that it showcases the simplicity of ASP.NET 2.0 on the server side and how extensible it is for developers in creating stuff that does work anywhere, but with easy to use, reusable components.

      If you look back, this is where sharepoint (office sharepoint) technology started and it is now being wrapped into ASP.NET 2.0 concepts and AJAX as well. Plug in technology with advanced features that do talk with each other well, without a lot of programming having to be invested into it.

      And this time, even the non-MS world wins as well...

    12. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well why bother with anything like Atlas when we have ZK
      http://zk1.sf.net/

    13. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      XHTML 1.0 Transitional is even the default for ASP .NET at least under VS 2005.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    14. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by medarby · · Score: 1

      You need to update your web.config or machine.config file by including a browsercap section. Check out Rob Eberhardt's page explaining this.

    15. Re:Microsoft learning its lesson? by Kosgrove · · Score: 1

      You just need to add more browserCaps settings to your machine.config or web.config files to get better output on Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc. You can find them here: http://slingfive.com/pages/code/browserCaps/

      You can set your target HTML schema (HTML 4.0, XHTML 1.0, strict, transitional, whatever) as well, but exactly where escapes me at the moment. It's a project-wide setting somewhere.

  3. If it's much earlier than anticipated... by swalker42 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    then it's much buggier and less useful than anticipated. And that says a lot!

    --
    You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means
    1. Re:If it's much earlier than anticipated... by IAmTheDave · · Score: 1

      much, much better (and proven!):

      Ajax.NET

      --
      Excuse my speling.
      Making The Bar Project
  4. If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net, It will require that you use Microsoft's wonderful web technology, with __viewstates, and other wonderful features. You won't be able to customize it nearly enough to do a professional job, and will only work for really quick and sloppy applications that don't really need AJAX anyway. I use ASP.Net on a daily basis. We've found the best thing to do is to ignore all the form/component stuff that microsoft has built, and just use tools we have built ourselves, which although they do many of the same features, are much more extensible and easier to use.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    1. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      don't mistake your incompetence for bad software

    2. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by symbolic · · Score: 1

      He/she didn't.

    3. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      __doPostBack() doesn't actually do anything if the user has javascript disabled, so the viewstate crud should not be used for anything serious (eg: ecommerce). Sadly these prebuilt components are targetted at developers who don't know any better.

    4. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Slime-dogg · · Score: 0

      Hm. I'm pretty sure that Gmail is based off of ASP.NET. Windows Live Mail also is, and both work fairly well. I wouldn't call those "unprofessional," either.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
    5. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gmail certainly is not based off asp.net.

    6. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by noamsml · · Score: 2, Insightful

      GMail using ASP.NET? I don't think so. I'd guess they're using Python or Java. They couldn't use something that runs only on windows, anyway.

    7. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. ASP.NET has a lot of features that are counterintuitive to the new user

      Some examples with VS 2003:
      - You can't just copy aspx pages. The Web Application has to be built, and can only be built with VS.NET
      - When you create a new VB Web App in an existing Web Directory, it will delete everything in the /images folder
      - When adding script pages to server side aspx, it's very difficult to do. There's some sort of registration involved.
      - When adding existing aspx pages with non-standard controls (i.e. SQL Report Viewer), you have to add the control to the toolbox, then add the control to a dummy web page before any of those other pages will function. Some kind of registration involving Code Behind and Server Extensions going on there.

      It's nice that Visual Studio does a lot of things for me. The problem is that it doesn't tell me what it's doing or how to work around them.

    8. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by wanorris · · Score: 1

      Viewstate isn't useful in some circumstances, but it's hardly the only useful web technology that depends on JavaScript being enabled -- all the AJAX and Web 2.0 buzz is dependent on client-side JavaScript, as well. And you can certainly write ASP.Net code without using viewstate -- and viewstate can bloat your pages enough that you may not want to use it anyway.

      As for the prebuilt components ASP.Net ships with, some of them flatly suck, especially is you believe in proper HTML semantics over tag soup. But that doesn't change the fact that the technology is fantastic for building your own reusable components.

    9. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by msobkow · · Score: 1

      Maybe so, but you'd be surprised at what kind of limitations you can code around.

      I have to give credit to Mr. Gates & MS for finally producing something that looks like it "gets" internet programming. If they can beef up the stability and do some decent cross-platform integration, it could be a very powerful product line.

      Time will tell.

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    10. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by dwight0 · · Score: 1

      i agree. he doesent sound like he knows how to use asp.net right.

    11. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by mixmasterjake · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well .NET controls are made to be extended. If you're just ignoring that functionality, though (dealing with custom forms and parsing out the post and get values perhaps) then you're not really buying into .NET - you're just writing normal apps in C# instead of some other language. The form and component stuff is what allows you to design web pages the same way you would design an event-based windows GUI.

      The ATLAS framework, for people who do get into .NET style programming, is freakin awesome. All you have to do is drag an ATLAS panel on to your existing page, put the controls you want inside that panel, and that part of your page now refreshes via ajax. It's so simple, it almost seems like cheating.

      I would assume, but have not tested it, if the browser doesn't support ajax, ATLAS will dumb it down to regular form posts. Coding that by hand would be a huge amount of effort.

      --
      TODO: come up with a clever sig
    12. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, he was talking about getting around it, so I don't think he'd be that surprised.

      As for them making it cross-platform, that would involve standards, which .NET is a deliberate departure from, for monopolistic purposes. If you want cross-platform, stick with the standards that built the cross-platform internet to begin with.

    13. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

      I think his point was that he got OUT of .NET because it was inadequate for serious work. I haven't used .NET, but it wouldn't surprise me, based on the problems I had with ASP before I managed to get out of the crappy company that used it.

    14. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

      On the contrary; using a framework like ASP that does something in an overcomplicated, non-compliant way, when the rest of us can do it because we learned the standards properly... that's incompetence. Having the responsibility to make your products work properly with other products is competence. Unknowingly assisting a monopoly because you don't realise you're being used as a pawn... that's incompetence.

    15. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Pants75 · · Score: 1

      Oh dear.... Another person falls foul of the "It wasn't built here" mentality.

    16. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by jma05 · · Score: 1

      ASP.NET is NOTHING like ASP apart that both are from MS.

    17. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many people use ASP .Net as yet another web development languague as PHP or JSP, i.e., as just a dynamic HTML constructor. They are dead wrong, and this is a symptom of a lack of capacitation and experience. The asp .net framework is a component oriented framework, that means that you have to write as little code as possible, and get as much benefits as possible from the framework.
      By writing your own "components", you are just reinventing the wheel, and by the way, introducing many many errors and bugs into your application.
      I strongly suggest that you to, either buy a professional capacitation course for you and your team (believe me, it's worth it) or hire experienced web developpers, or just abandon the asp .net framework and go back to reinvent the wheel in php. Many people have chosen that last option, they will all agree that it's easier in PHP, unluckly, their approaches are all incompatible.
      For example, the javascript versioning and browser incompatibilites are completely handled by the framework, as long as you _use_ the framework. If not, of course, it doesn't perform magic if you don't want it to...

    18. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Maian · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure most people realize that MS has ulterior motives - it's just that they don't care. Nothing to do with incompetence there - just apathy.

    19. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

      Wrong. For one thing, VB.NET is basically VB6 with a new runtime and the object orientation problems addressed (I gather they weren't completely fixed, from other slashdot comments). It may have new things, but don't try to claim there's no similarity.

    20. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by Slime-dogg · · Score: 1

      Gotta love the mods around here. I've seen IIS errors coming from Gmail.com before. Then again, Netcraft doesn't say anything towards one end or the other.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
    21. Re:If it's anything like the rest of ASP.net... by jma05 · · Score: 1

      First, the comment is about ASP.NET, not VB.NET.
      ASP.NET != VB.NET
      ASP.NET is a framework. VB.NET is one of the gazillion languages that can be used to program ASP.NET. Don't confuse languages and frameworks.

      Secondly, you couldn't be more wrong about VB.NET. Don't learn about languages by reading Slashdot comments. VB.NET is a completely different language from VB6. It is basically Java or C# with VB keywords. You will find articles explaining 'minor' differences between C# and VB.NET. People criticized MS that for all the marketing that .NET supported many languages, they came out with languages that are pretty much the same. Only now is MS actively supporting other programming paradigms on .NET framework (F#, IronPython, C# 3.0).

      VB6 was not fixed, it was replaced (and good riddance). VB6 folks complained about the change so much that there should be enough complaints in VB6 forums if that is where you get your facts from.

  5. easier? by Douglas+Simmons · · Score: 3, Insightful
    which they claim will greatly reduce the effort in developing AJAX style applications on their platform

    ... provided you buy and use their coding gui frontend ware?

    1. Re:easier? by szembek · · Score: 1

      Or you could use the express edition for free. You can find it here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vwd/. I've only used the full versions, but I have heard from others that the express edition was fine for them.

      --
      nothing
    2. Re:easier? by Sqwubbsy · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm pretty sure the Express Edition just lacks a lot of the server integration/front end deployment capabilities. Which, of course, is a lot.

    3. Re:easier? by nixkuroi · · Score: 1

      Actually no. You can incorporate their library files in a PHP app. It requires a little more setup (like your own browser compat and postback handlers), but the page construction stuff is free to use from anyone.

    4. Re:easier? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, no, if you're genuinely interested you can download and try out their free IDE.

    5. Re:easier? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unsurprisingly, you're 100% wrong. Alas, such ignorance is common among the knee-jerk anti-MS dumbasses like yourself out there. Visual Web Designer has full deployment capabilities.

      The Express editions are *full* IDEs, folks. They lack only "enterprise-oriented" features, like source code control, remote debugging, code coverage and unit testing. They're aimed at the hobbyist programmer -- runny-nosed geeks like yourself still living in their parent's basement and working at McDonalds.

      They're free *now*, but they might not always be so. Enjoy them while you can.

    6. Re:easier? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The VS 2005 Express Editions will *always* be free. The announcement was make a few weeks ago.

  6. Ajax is a flash in the pan by jimmyhat3939 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Personally I think the whole Ajax thing is overblown and will die down in the next year or two.

    Are there good uses for Ajax? Sure. Google Maps is probably the single best example out there at the moment, and I would expect some more to show up soon.

    BUT, will Ajax supplant the client app as the workhorse of productivity applications? Not a chance:

    • Ajax requires all communication be serialized using a Javascript callback scheme that requires extensible but ultimately limiting xml communication between client and server.
    • To get good performance, Ajax forces you to code a front-end application using JAVASCRIPT. Now I've coded some pretty complicated Javascript stuff, but it's just not the right language for writing full-featured applications. It's barely even object oriented, weak typed, etc. And debugging it is a disaster.
    • If instead you decide to have the server make all the UI decisions for you ("put this text here, that box there"), that's fine except you'll see lag anytime you do anything. Imagine trying to update an entire column of data in Ajax Spreadsheet. The server has to send down exactly what to put in each cell and do all the computations for you before you see anything. Google Maps has this problem - I often see white boxes, unrefreshed boxes, etc. and I'm using the latest Firefox!

    The funniest thing for me about Ajax is it basically is just doing what Java Applets can do, only Java is better. WTF?!?!

    --
    Free Conference Call -- No Spam, High Quality
    1. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      alert( "Mod Parent Up" );

    2. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      My thoughts exactly. I cringe to think to what it would be like to maintain an entire web application that did everything in AJAX. Even with a development environment that was built to support AJAX, I think it would still be a nightmare. AJAX is good for little features within a web application, but is not the best way to do the entire application.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by jbplou · · Score: 1

      I agree with you. Its hard to believe the future of the web is going to be Javascript passing XML. Sure it makes the UI seem fast but at the cost complexity. Plus I have to believe there is a model that is better for performance, I mean XML is is too repetive all that meta data comes at a cost.

    4. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 1

      It seems more and more like Ajax is the new Flash.

      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    5. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Skreems · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, there's always Javascript Object Notation Language...

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    6. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Interesting

      My thoughts exactly. I cringe to think to what it would be like to maintain an entire Unix application that did everything in X11. Even with a development environment that was built to support X11, I think it would still be a nightmare. X11 is good for little apps like calculators and graphical terminals, but is not the best way to do the entire application.

      Or, on the other hand, maybe we could make widget libraries that do all the heavy lifting of X11 for us? Then we could program to the widget libraries rather than the uber-complex X11 drawing library! Genius!

      The same is true of AJAX. Right now, everyone is programming at the lowest level. What AJAX needs is a higher level set of widgets that can accelerate development. Mozilla took the XUL path, but that won't work for cross-browser applications. We need a general-purpose widget library written using the standard HTML DOM. Then AJAX will become a quick and easy option.

      Unfortunately, Atlas isn't it. This is just a collection of custom tags to simplify and standardize ASP programming.

    7. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 2, Informative


      While I agree that JavaScript is not the ideal candidate for developing any system, much less a web app it is what we are limited to. Java Applets et. al. are DOA, unsupported or don't fit within the model of web application development. For better or worse those are the breaks.

      I differ with you on the presumption that AJAX is irrelevant, as recently as a few months ago I would have concurred with this notion and would have agreed that it was a new spin on some simple technologies. That was until I found the Echo2 framework, it is an Open Source Java framework built on top of the servlet API it is the first comprehensive Ajax framework that I have found and the component model is both flexible and intuitive. It is the first framework where I have not felt the restrictions of the web metaphor creeping into design decisions. It has changed my idea of what Ajax web apps are capable of in terms of usability, speed, code reuse and overall system design.

    8. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by modmans2ndcoming · · Score: 1, Informative

      hmm... you mena like Rico or mochi kit?

    9. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Skreems · · Score: 1

      For the record, most of what Google Maps does is NOT ajax. Setting image sources and dragging them around is just DHTML.

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    10. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Yes. The only problem is that these toolkits are still highly incomplete. They define a few cool widgets and APIs, but certainly nothing on the level of a full GUI toolkit. Progress is being made, though. :)

    11. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by liliafan · · Score: 1

      I disagree, I have used AJAX a little and I was quite impressed the javascript isn't the whole application, it is just a means to link to a backend application and return results, the application I wrote just populated dropdown menus based on the users previous input but it made a massive difference to the loading page of the site, the site previously had all these inputs hardcoded and had all the logic on which fields to display written in complete javascript, the new method send input to a php script which queried the database and return the list to be displayed, at the end there was less total code being sent to the end user, less javascript on the page and less potential for errors. For the record the application was a mortgage application which a whole bunch of user input.

      --
      GeekServ Unix Consulting Services (http://www.geekserv.com)
    12. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by pnatural · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ajax requires all communication be serialized using a Javascript callback scheme that requires extensible but ultimately limiting xml communication between client and server.

      False. The web server can return text, plan old xml (POX), or JSON or anything that can be encoded over HTTP.

      To get good performance, Ajax forces you to code a front-end application using JAVASCRIPT. Now I've coded some pretty complicated Javascript stuff, but it's just not the right language for writing full-featured applications. It's barely even object oriented, weak typed, etc. And debugging it is a disaster.

      False. You're mixing concepts here (performance and client scripting language). Further, EMCAScript isn't OO and shouldn't be: it's a prototype based language. And any developer tackling this problem in today's world should use one of the many freely available JS libs (Dojo, MochiKit, Prototype, etc). Hell, MochiKit has a built in debugger.

      If instead you decide to have the server make all the UI decisions for you ("put this text here, that box there"), that's fine except you'll see lag anytime you do anything. Imagine trying to update an entire column of data in Ajax Spreadsheet. The server has to send down exactly what to put in each cell and do all the computations for you before you see anything.

      Knock, knock, web server calling. HTML UI decisions start on the server and get modified locally by the client. This is the nature of HTML and always has been.

      Google Maps has this problem - I often see white boxes, unrefreshed boxes, etc. and I'm using the latest Firefox!

      Oh, lordie. You realize that Google maps doesn't use Ajax, but instead makes heavy use of IFRAMES? (last i checked, this was true). And you realize, of course, that your connection speed might be to blame?

      You've painted AJAX with a pretty broad and off-base brush. Better luck explaining it to the ignorant.

    13. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by SerpentMage · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Considering I wrote a book entitled Ajax Patterns and Best Practices the mistake made by many is the fact that Ajax is not about extending the current Web paradigm. Ajax when done properly includes REST, Web Services and a decoupled architectured. This means the client is not dependent on the server and vice versa. Granted the client makes Web Service calls, but the client does not know the technology used to implement the Web Service.

      What makes me laugh about many vendors in contrast to the community is that they simply don't get it. Microsoft and co think Ajax is a "style" of programming by extending and locking the client to the server. This is plain simply wrong, wrong, wrong!

      Now to address to your questions:

      1) First Ajax does not require XML, but relies on the Permutations pattern. The Permutations pattern is a REST style web service that says the content sent and received by the client and server depends on the needs of the client. That might be JavaScript, XML, bitmap images or even HTML.

      2) Coding a front end in JavaScript is not a problem. Coding everything with JavaScript is a problem. Just like coding everything with Java is a problem. Writing a good Ajax applications means creating a client that calls a server using Web Services.

      3) To address your problem you use the Infinite Data pattern that uses callbacks that sends data to the client as it received.

      Again, part of the problem is that many are considering Ajax as an extension of the current Web Paradigm. Ajax is not that. Ajax is a SOA client that makes Web Service calls. Granted I will give you that companies like Microsoft confuse the issue by creating stuff that completely breaks REST, and Ajax design concepts.

      If you want more information feel free to check out my site http://www.devspace.com/ as I have some prototype implementations of the Ajax and REST patterns that I was talking about (inc source), and look at the Ajax QA. And if you have any further questions just send me an email and I will be more than happy to answer your questions.

      --

      "You can't make a race horse of a pig"
      "No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
    14. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by foniksonik · · Score: 1

      Applets are embedded objects... AJAX is inline. Big difference. I can't degrade gradefully from Applets... either they work or they don't... AJAX let's me add user experience if it's supported and degrade back to a less nice but still functional user experience. Sure the current stuff available is being rolled out quickly and haphazardly without a fallback state being defined but this will not be the case for long. This is the same reasoning for why I prefer AJAX over Flash for interactive UI elements... though adding Flash to the User Experience level as the highest possible is an option, with AJAX as a fallback and plain html w/ forms as the lowest.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    15. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 1

      Considering that Microsoft invented AJAX, I'd say that your rather presumptuous (and vapid) claims are pretty silly. More than that, OWA, the original 'AJAX' client, is also the example of the first truely REST-ful web service, up to using complex GET-based queries to specify parameters.

      But don't let the facts muddy a good story. This *is* /., after all.

    16. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by MobyDisk · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's a great analogy, but there is one crucial difference between X11 and Javascript: X11 was designed in an academic environment, while JavaScript + AJAX evolved in a de-facto way alongside HTML.

      You could write Widgets to run on AJAX just like you could on X11, but it will be really tough since AJAX is not a standard, and it wasn't intended for that purpose. It's just not a solid basis. I'm not saying it won't happen, but it won't be pretty. I'm not sure that such a widget library will ever be truly reliable given the willingness we've seen of browser manufacturers *coughMicrosoftcough* to blatently disregard standards.

    17. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by oever · · Score: 1

      Parent mean JSON and she should me modded up.

      --
      DNA is the ultimate spaghetti code.
    18. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 5, Informative

      see my other post http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=180 799&cid=14959879 it already exits it is called Echo2 it is a open source Java web framework. AJAX is integrated seamlessly into the component model. It is the most comprehensive toolkit I have found. I have been researching them for my new project for several months now and Echo2 is leaps and bounds ahead of the other competing projects.

    19. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Run4yourlives · · Score: 2, Informative

      um... in case you haven't noticed, google is updating those images on the fly... which is a textbook definition of how to use ajax...

    20. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Niiicccce. I'm going to have to look into this one. The "next page" part in the email app means there might be a lot of room for improvement (Rico, for example, has a live data grid), but it looks like an otherwise excellent start! Thanks for the tip!

    21. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Slime-dogg · · Score: 1

      If I'm not mistaken, IFRAMES are used when a browser doesn't provide the XmlHttpRequest object (or MS equivalent).

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
    22. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by DigitlDud · · Score: 1

      No, IFRAMEs are always used, its necessary to make the browser back button work correctly.

    23. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by manthrax3 · · Score: 1

      Java applets are "better" just as a native thick client application is "better".

      It's about the right tool for the job.

      AJAX is actually quite nice until its snappy, light-weight nature is bloated away. Then it's time to refactor into a java applet. If that gets too gross, then it's time to refactor into a java application or a native app.

      I am actually quite happy with most of my ajax applications:

      -gmail
      -gtalk inside gmail
      -google maps
      -digg

      All of these sites are much improved because of their use of AJAX. They're quick to download because it's all text, and they have really responsive interfaces where I'm not thinking "WAIT A MINUTE THIS IS AJAX!" But rather, "this is a nice interface. I wonder how they did that.. oh, AJAX".

      There are definitely out of control ajax apps that shoot your firefox memory up to 200M faster than its built in "feature" of a memory leak, sure. Those apps will die, but ajax won't.

    24. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Skreems · · Score: 1

      Is Google downloading the image data with XmlHttpRequest and parsing it using xml? No? Well, then, it's DHTML, not AJAX. Changing the source of an image has been around since the early 90s. It's sort of asynchronous, although the client code doesn't actually do any processing on the result so even using the term is debatable. Not everything interactive on a web page is AJAX, and this is a perfect example of something highly interactive that is NOT.

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    25. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by nightsweat · · Score: 1

      Check out comments on DailyKos. Very well done AJAX app. It gets out of your way while still enforcing preview, etc...

      --

      the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
    26. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      it will be really tough since AJAX is not a standard, and it wasn't intended for that purpose.

      AJAX is certainly standardized. There's even a W3C standard being worked on that would make XMLHttpRequest official. The rest of the DHTML stuff is all part of the DOM Level 2 standard. (A standard that is several years old.) Even Microsoft supports the standard, with the exception of DOM Events. (I always have to patch their $@#$! browser on the fly to make it fully standards compliant.)

      AJAX may be overhyped, but it is a real technology that can work across all browsers. Just code to the standards, and you'll do just fine. :-)

    27. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by PitaBred · · Score: 1

      Did you have a link to that, or at least somewhere to point me? I didn't know (and scarcely believe) that MS 'invented' AJAX.

      But don't let supporting evidence get in the way of fanboyism. This *is* /., after all.

    28. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Did you have a link to that, or at least somewhere to point me? I didn't know (and scarcely believe) that MS 'invented' AJAX.

      Yes, it's true. All decent articles/blogs detailing the history of Ajax should tell you this, but here is one: Microsoft invented Ajax: Let's give credit where it's due

    29. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Jayzz · · Score: 1
      Further, EMCAScript isn't OO and shouldn't be: it's a prototype based language.

      Prototype based languages are as OO as class based languages. They just use a different method for inheritance.
    30. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What drivel! M$ "invented" Ajax?!

      Your own link demonstrates that M$ did no such thing!

      http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/ar chives/000385.php

      It quotes Jesse James Garrett as coining the term...although leave it to M$ fanboys to attempt to steal yet another idea/technology and try to pawn it off as their own...

    31. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by pnatural · · Score: 1

      Prototype based languages are as OO as class based languages. They just use a different method for inheritance.

      You're correct of course. Many developers I know are like me in how they conceptualize prototype based languages -- they tend to forget that prototype is a different approach to OO because it's so different from class based OO (and because outside of JS, it's uncommon in mainstream languages).

      Thanks for keeping us all honest.

    32. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by misleb · · Score: 1

      I agree with you that ajax applications will not supplant your average desktop app, but I think you ave this point wrong:

      If instead you decide to have the server make all the UI decisions for you ("put this text here, that box there"), that's fine except you'll see lag anytime you do anything. Imagine trying to update an entire column of data in Ajax Spreadsheet. The server has to send down exactly what to put in each cell and do all the computations for you before you see anything. Google Maps has this problem - I often see white boxes, unrefreshed boxes, etc. and I'm using the latest Firefox!

      I don't think a web based Ajax spreadsheet would be using the server to store the state of your spreadsheet such that you would h ave to to make an xml request for every cell action. It would probably do almost everything clientside (in javascript, yuck) and just use the server for storage. But either way, the whole model is messed up. What would be the poitn in running a browser based spreadsheet if the entire app ran in the browser with very little server logic? Why not just use the regular spreaksheet app and just save your documents to a network (or internet based) storage system?

      What is so funny about this Ajax craze is that people are trying to reinvent Java applets... which for the most part failed to catch on for various reasons. These desktop killing ajax applications will only be slower and LESS compatable that applets.

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    33. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by misleb · · Score: 1

      Worse. Ajax is the new java applet! ;-)

      Well, it doesn't have to be, but that's what some people are trying to make of it.

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    34. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by RalphSleigh · · Score: 1

      So I took a look and indeed all it appears to do is request a file /mt with the ilocation in the query string, google then returns an image/png. No XML there.

      Here take a lookie at a single image

      Maps image

      So no its not AJAX, just AJAPNG maybe, but whos gonna argue?

      --
      Come as you are, do what you must, be who you will.
    35. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by misleb · · Score: 1

      The same is true of AJAX. Right now, everyone is programming at the lowest level. What AJAX needs is a higher level set of widgets that can accelerate development. Mozilla took the XUL path, but that won't work for cross-browser applications. We need a general-purpose widget library written using the standard HTML DOM. Then AJAX will become a quick and easy option.

      Four counter points:

      1) The difference between programming at the lowest level of X11 and the lowest level of AJAX is that X11 is fast. Widget libraries built on X11 are fast. AJAX is slow. JS widgets built on AJAX are even slower.

      2) X11 was designed to support applications. HTML was not.

      3) X11 has the ability to be extended as necessary to gain access to things like 3D hardware. HTML and Javascript are very static and still have problems with cross-browser compatability.

      4) X11 is stateful. HTTP is stateless. It is MUCH easier to build an application on a stateful protocol because you don't need to poll the server constantly.

      -matthew

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    36. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by vcv · · Score: 1

      1997 IE 4.0 introduces ability to modify the UI via the DOM and client-side script
      1998, 2000, and 2004 W3C releases or updates standards on the DOM
      1999 Internet Explorer includes XMLHttpRequest

      Also, just search google for it man.

    37. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhh...sorry, but the guy who coined the term "Ajax" in the first base does NOT describe it as an SOA client that makes web service calls.

      See:
      http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/ar chives/000385.php

      I will agree however that that is potentially the best use of it.

      That being said, why would I bother learning a brand new technology which has nothing to offer over either a java or .NET thick client?

    38. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by wanorris · · Score: 1

      I'm no MS fanboy, but since when is coining a term the same thing as inventing a technology?

      The XMLHttpRequest object -- which is the technical basis for AJAX -- was developed by Microsoft years before the name AJAX was coined. The style of coding that uses asynchronous javascript requests to return XML data for live updates instead of page refreshes was first used in the web version of Outlook.

      From Wikipedia:

      The object was originally developed by Microsoft Corp., available since Internet Explorer 5.0 as an ActiveX object, via JScript, VBScript, or other scripting languages supported by the browser. Mozilla contributors then implemented a compatible native version in Mozilla 1.0. This was later followed by Apple since Safari 1.2, Opera Software since Opera 8.0 and iCab since 3.0b352. Additionally, Open Laszlo added support in version 3.1.

    39. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by dcam · · Score: 2, Funny

      plan old xml (POX)

      Is it just me or is that acronym a little too accurate. pox = Syphilis

      --
      meh
    40. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      cool so by your definition all I have to do is come up with a new name for an existing technology and I can then claim I invented it. MS DID invent AJAX, The name was coined by Jesse James Garrett but so FRIGGING WHAT. So you would rather credit someone that spent 5 minutes coming up with the name than the company that spent the dollars and years of dev creating it and then call others fanboys for stating the facts lol.

    41. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by SeeMyNuts! · · Score: 1


      What about an AJAX page that loads a Java applet that implements Flash?

    42. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by BarryNorton · · Score: 1
      "Ajax requires all communication be serialized using a Javascript callback scheme that requires extensible but ultimately limiting xml communication between client and server."

      False. The web server can return text, plan old xml (POX), or JSON or anything that can be encoded over HTTP.

      Slashdot - bringing you the same damned discussion every day for the past year (and marking it maximally 'insightful')...
    43. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The exception test in the ECHO2 demo made made FF hang what the f...

    44. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by gavri · · Score: 1

      1) I don't think Google considers gmail to be an SOA client that makes web service calls.
      2) Gmail is an AJAX application.

      Your skewed perspective is very attractive though.

    45. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      If your browser is hanging it is a bug with the browser and not the framework. Simply put if Java Script, XML or DHTML (the standard components of a client side web framework) crashes a browser it is the fault of the browser. A browser should be able to handle each of these basic elements and their exceptions with no problem and without freezing. That is like blaming a Java app and not the JVM for a memory leak. Sure there are sometimes poor coding standards that can cause such occasion to rear it's head but in the end a managed platform such as a browsers scripting runtime or the JVM should account for said exceptions. In the end the browser provides a scripting runtime and it is the sole responsibility of the browser to ensure that that runtime does not lock the entire process. If it does it is a bug in the browser. That being said many times developers can work around a known bug. Submit your findings to the developers and help them out.

    46. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by vhogemann · · Score: 1
      Mozilla took the XUL path, but that won't work for cross-browser applications.
      I like to think that someday Mozilla will release a XUL plugin that will fix that. And actually there is alredy something on the way, take a look at XUL Runner for example.

      From the site:

      XULRunner is a single installable package that can be used to bootstrap multiple XUL+XPCOM applications that are as rich as Firefox and Thunderbird.
      So, yes... I can picture a future where XUL has replaced all this AJAX stuff.
      --
      ---- You know how some doctors have the Messiah complex - they need to save the world? You've got the "Rubik's" complex
    47. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by GoatMonkey2112 · · Score: 1

      There is really no reason that you have to use XML. It can be plain text in any format you want that is passed back from the server.

    48. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      > 1997 IE 4.0 introduces ability to modify the UI via the DOM ...

      Actually (in theory) you could do that in 1996 with Nutscrape 4's proprietary Layers DOM. Although in practice, it was too buggy to use.

      Nutscrape and Microsoft also had a AJAX-ish Java Applets before MS introduced the XMLHTTP COM object.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    49. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by will_die · · Score: 1

      Been using AJAX for close to 3 years in the form of a href="http://www.ashleyit.com/rs/main.htm">JSRS which is basicly AJAX without the xml, it uses CSV. Before that have used iframes, and java applets to perform the same capability.
      It is not meant to totally replace front in clients but as a suppliment to current HTML form. There I have never had problems with the items you mentioned. Debugging is no worse then standard Javascript, no major network problems, since it does not do much more then pass messages between the client and server the code is only as bad as your javascript.

    50. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      > If your browser is hanging it is a bug with the browser and not the framework.

      That's nice, but has never been a legitimate excuse in professional web development. Either the feature works as advertised, or you work around the bugs, or you don't use it.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    51. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by misleb · · Score: 1

      Sicko.

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    52. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by jbplou · · Score: 1

      Well that is true. But that wouldn't really be AJAX.

    53. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by Zebra_X · · Score: 1

      First Ajax does not require XML

      Wait, what? AJAX: Asyncronous JavaScript and XML.

      Ajax when done properly includes REST, Web Services and a decoupled architectured.

      AJAX: Asyncronous JavaScript and XML - no web services and no decoupled architecture. It quite tightly coupled, considering that each subsequent trip to the server updates specific pieces of a browser based UI.

      Ajax is a SOA client that makes Web Service calls.

      No. AJAX stands for Asyncronous JavaScript and XML. To further define AJAX have a read here (i have a feeling that you already have): http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/ar chives/000385.php

      AJAX is not based on SOAs, it never will be because the client will always execute asyncronous javascript calls (read, browser) and it will (happen) to use xml as the data structure to return the information.

      You seem to be pretty good with buzzwords, you should invent a new one that more aptly describes the concept you are trying to convey. AJAX was coined (by AdaptivePath) to refer to a specific style of web application in which the browser does not refesh the entire contents of a page, this in turn enhances the usabilty of the interface. AJAX was *not* coined to refer to a variety of applications that have the ability to exchange arbitrary data via WS, XML encapsulated in HTTP transmitted with TCP/IP.

      It sounds like you are on to something, just stop calling it AJAX.

    54. Re:Ajax is a flash in the pan by vcv · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Except java applets are crap with much more overhead and confined to a window within the browser view.

  7. Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.... by everphilski · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Easy Programming Model ASP.NET makes building real world Web applications dramatically easier. ASP.NET server controls enable an HTML-like style of declarative programming that lets you build great pages with far less code than with classic ASP or technologies like PHP or JSP. Best of all, ASP.NET pages work in all browsers - including Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer... from the official website. Sounds kinda cool.

  8. AJAX is bad by jjeffrey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I really dislike AJAX, for the following reasons:

    1: Does anyone know of any significant javascript code which works on two different browsers without having to have conditionals based on the user agent?

    2: Most AJAX applications break accessibility rules, which are law in many countries (including the UK, where I am).

    3: AJAX provides another attack vector on websites. Look at the myspace worm. I know that comes down to bad programming, but still it's another chance to miss something.

    4: A number of companies block javascript at the firewall - trust me, it's true. Imagine how well an AJAX site will work there!

    5: Javascript is not available in all UA's (e.g. Lynx) - I firmly believe that no website should ever NEED javascript - in fact in my sites I avoid it all together.

    I wish people would forget about stuff like this and concentrate on at least getting VALID html and CSS in their sites, preferably using at least semi recent standards like XHTML 1.0. Eh slashdot coders? I mean you!!!

    1. Re:AJAX is bad by Anonymous+Crowhead · · Score: 1

      4: A number of companies block javascript at the firewall - trust me, it's true.

      LOL, what?

    2. Re:AJAX is bad by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      1. You shouldn't be testing for a UA, but for object support.

      2. You can build accessibility into an AJAXified application, but it will take more work. I find that the people who care enough about accessibility on normal websites are the people who are also willing to put in the extra work making applications accessible.

      3. Another attack vector? Sure, but introducing any technology introduces new risks. That doesn't mean you should dismiss it entirely. Bad code is bad code - no matter whether it's AJAX or PHP or Ruby.

      4. This goes back to accessibility. If a client doesn't have Javascript at all, you need to account for that. If you're writing an app that absolutely requires Javascript, then you need to accept that some users won't be able to use the site.

      5. This is the crux of your argument, I think. Some applications are dependent upon Javascript for a good reason - they aren't normal websites. The example I use is of a university that has thirty or so platform and browser combinations to support. Deploying an internal desktop app is expensive, difficult to support, etc. But a web app can be brought up on all of the supported environments - which means you can build for those and ignore anything that's unsupported (like Lynx). We're talking about interfaces which replace a desktop app - but still need comparable functionality, speed, and interfaces.

      The web has always been a quickly changing landscape. AJAX is a feature on that landscape, not the future of it. Like anything else it has its valid uses and invalid uses, can be abused, and can be done poorly. But so far, none of this is a reason to dismiss it entirely.

    3. Re:AJAX is bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Note: I don't use AJAX, just regular Javascript.

      Does anyone know of any significant javascript code which works on two different browsers without having to have conditionals based on the user agent?


      Of course, mine works fine in the 5 big browsers for Windows (IE, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera) and presumably the KHTML derived ones should handle it as well. It's more a matter of testing for function availability than it is trusting a browsers string.

      I wish people would forget about stuff like this and concentrate on at least getting VALID html and CSS in their sites, preferably using at least semi recent standards like XHTML 1.0.


      See, this bothers me because I come from a HTML 4.0 and "tables for layout" background. It's worked just fine for years and years. Went to XHTML when it was proposed, saw zero benefit (lots of deprecatied stuff though) and stopped keeping up with it. Then my job finally forced me to get serious about CSS and it was beyond frustrating.

      You try fighting 3 or 4 modern rendering engines' screwed up implementations of CSS for hours or days, with little more than a prayer that it'll look half as consistent as Netscape 4's parsing of the HTML you wrote over lunch. I eventually did succeed (partially, some tables had to stay) after alot of frustration but I'd hardly call it time well spent.

      And you want us to ditch everything Javascript has to offer because of support/compatibility issues? Are you insane?
    4. Re:AJAX is bad by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Interesting
      1: Does anyone know of any significant javascript code which works on two different browsers without having to have conditionals based on the user agent?

      As someone else pointed out, you test the function or member to see if it exists. If not, you patch the browser on the fly. The only IE specific code I have is code to patch it for DOM Events and up-to-date String functions. This is possible because you can do something like this in Javascript:
      if(!String.prototype.slice)
        String.prototype.slice = function(start, end) {...};
      These sorts of patches are only necessary for IE (Opera, Safari, and Mozilla all seem to follow standards), and will automatically deactivate if Microsoft ever fixes their out-of-date-and-can't-even-support-a-ten-year-old- standard browser.

      2: Most AJAX applications break accessibility rules, which are law in many countries (including the UK, where I am).

      If by "most" you mean "Google", then I agree with you. It's not necesary to break accessibility rules, though many text-to-speech browsers are so far behind that it's nearly impossible to support them with anything newer than Netscape 3.0 code.

      3: AJAX provides another attack vector on websites. Look at the myspace worm. I know that comes down to bad programming, but still it's another chance to miss something.

      JavaScript exploits are nothing new. You might be vulnerable even if your site doesn't use a shred of JavaScript itself. i.e. It's entirely a problem with the browser -> site communication, and what your site allows/disallows.

      4: A number of companies block javascript at the firewall - trust me, it's true. Imagine how well an AJAX site will work there!

      Say, wha? That's the first I've ever heard of such draconian restrictions. Such firewall rules would break a large chunk of the internet for their users. I sincerely doubt that this will be a major problem.

      5: Javascript is not available in all UA's (e.g. Lynx) - I firmly believe that no website should ever NEED javascript - in fact in my sites I avoid it all together.

      I hate to break it to you, but apps designed to use AJAX are too complex for Lynx to render effectively anyway. When you make an AJAX app, you make a thin-client application that's intended for delivery over the Internet. The 0.001% of the net that refuses to surf with anything other than Lynx will simply have to not use your site. The rest of the world will be reaping the benefits of thin client applications.
    5. Re:AJAX is bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not the OP however access for our users is via a proxy and we strip all script. Allowing 3rd parties to execute script on hosts behind the corporate firewall is simply irresponsible.

    6. Re:AJAX is bad by jjeffrey · · Score: 1

      >You try fighting 3 or 4 modern rendering engines' screwed up implementations of CSS for hours or days, with little more than a prayer that it'll look half as consistent as Netscape 4's parsing of the HTML you wrote over lunch. I eventually did succeed (partially, some tables had to stay) after alot of frustration but I'd hardly call it time well spent.

      This is where I believe XHTML (1.1 at least) has the most to offer.

      When working with HTML 4 I've had to spend a huge amount of time trying to make the site look the same in multiple browsers - then I switched to XHTML 1.1, and all of a sudden most of that work disappeared.

      >And you want us to ditch everything Javascript has to offer because of support/compatibility issues? Are you insane?

      I've no objection to javascript for input validation and UI enhacement if is it 100% optional, and the site is unaffected if it is unavailable. Also, it has to be done properly - 3 out of the lat 5 ecommerce sites I tried to use failed in Firefox (Windows) due to javascript errors, and I had to switch to IE. In firefox it was completely impossible to use the sites.

      My objection to javascript with AJAX is it becomes compulsory for the functioning of that application.

    7. Re:AJAX is bad by ScienceofSpock · · Score: 1

      I really dislike AJAX, for the following reasons:

      1: Does anyone know of any significant javascript code which works on two different browsers without having to have conditionals based on the user agent?

      How about DOM based javascript? I'm currently writing an ajax RPG and with several thousand lines of JS written, the only cross browser code I've had to write deals with keypress events. The game runs in IE5.5+, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Safari, etc...

      2: Most AJAX applications break accessibility rules, which are law in many countries (including the UK, where I am).

      The same can be said for most websites. That's the fault of the author, not the implementation.

      3: AJAX provides another attack vector on websites. Look at the myspace worm. I know that comes down to bad programming, but still it's another chance to miss something.

      Again, this is a case where the author is at fault, not the implementation.

      4: A number of companies block javascript at the firewall - trust me, it's true. Imagine how well an AJAX site will work there!

      Sucks to be them...

      5: Javascript is not available in all UA's (e.g. Lynx) - I firmly believe that no website should ever NEED javascript - in fact in my sites I avoid it all together.

      Well, if the site you want to visit uses javascript, I would suggest not using Lynx. "No Javascript" is fine if you're writing a information website. What about a web application or a browser game?

    8. Re:AJAX is bad by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 1

      Most AJAX applications break accessibility rules, which are law in many countries (including the UK, where I am).

      Ok, yes it 'could' and there are a lot of early and current uses that do not adhere to accessibility.

      However, go look at MS's vision on this, they are one of the strongest proponents of accessibility on the Web - at least on the development side, even if some of the MS divisions themselves don't always fall in line.

      So I just don't see MS putting a lot of faith in making these technologies (which are not even under their control) successful if they were not addressing accessibility.

      Sure a lot of the UI items and constructs that can be made available would not fit the normal mold for accessibility, but that does not mean they don't offer alternatives.

      Dragging and dropping predefined database bound components on a page does not inherently say, this eliminates accessibility use. There will always be limitations, like dragging the components around, but a screen reader and the 'buttons' and 'links' would work just fine, as they are browser standard, and could have the extra 'accessibility' tags added to them as well.

      One of my companies divisions works in limited mobility fields, so trust me when I say, AJAX itself does not break any implementation of the requirements or violate legal requirements, unless the developers of the components and the pages themselves don't address the issue, it has nothing to do with AJAX.

      A number of companies block javascript at the firewall

      That is lazy or ignorant IT administrators, not a problem with AJAX.

      There are also companies that have only a set of 'internet' sites/tools the employees are allowed to access or use, so if you are off checking posting pictures on a personal page with AJAX, that is their right to keep you from using it.

      Also, being involved in a LOT of sites around the world, do you realize the number of sites that completely fail where javascript is blocked?

      Slashdot would not even display properly with Javascript disabled, so stating this an AJAX problem is way off target.

      Javascript is not available in all UA's (e.g. Lynx) - I firmly believe that no website should ever NEED javascript - in fact in my sites I avoid it all together.

      And again, you can't even post on Slashdot without Javascript. Are you sure you understand what javascript is?

      Does anyone know of any significant javascript code which works on two different browsers without having to have conditionals based on the user agent?

      99% of all Javascript code I have worked with, overseen projects that use, etc never require conditionals, with the only exception is some of the older browsers and formation of the 'document' object constructs.

    9. Re:AJAX is bad by uradu · · Score: 1

      > We're talking about interfaces which replace a desktop app - but still
      > need comparable functionality, speed, and interfaces.

      I think AJAX will become particularly popular in intranet environments (once the developer drones wrap their minds around it), especially in larger enterprises. Enterprises have always been wanting web applications because of the ease of deployment, but with all the bells and whistles of desktop apps. Until fairly recently that could be quite hard to provide, and sometimes even harder to explain why it wasn't always possible. But with AJAX and DHTML you can come pretty close to fooling people into thinking they're using a "heavy" client. What's more, it can be quite trivial to migrate legacy apps to the web, sometimes practically copying and pasting big chunks of existing data access code into a web service, and feeding a web front-end from this with very little change. In our ASP/VB environment it can take very little time to copy VB6 code, massage it into VBScript format and have a working web service. People are particularly impressed when you provide the kinds of features that were traditionally very hard to to on the web, such as progress updates during a lengthy operation, and in particular "interruptability"--cancelling the operation gracefully before it is completed. It's just a matter of structuring the web service around a particular "unit of work" and updating the interface after each unit. Sounds trivial, but it can make a world of usability difference, and it's so much more elegantly done in AJAX than with autorefresh.

    10. Re:AJAX is bad by lmlloyd · · Score: 1

      Woah there, slow down a second! In point #5 you just toss out the little tidbit that "Deploying an internal desktop app is expensive, difficult to support, etc. " Now I would absolutely love to hear how you figure that developing a desktop app is in any way more expensive, or more of a support headache than a web app?

      Back when I was doing corporate work, I headed up quite a few projects that were internal company programs, some of them were web apps, some of them were HD-based, some of them were CD-based, and some of them used some combination of all three. I can not see any way in which you can make a blanket statement that an AJAX app is somehow magically easier to support, and cheaper to develop than a desktop app. If you were talking about a simple website that had guaranteed cross-browser compatibility, you might have a point, but as soon as you walk into AJAX land, you are going to have to spend just as much time testing with different browsers, and different net connections as you would need to in order to develop a desktop app. Hell, depending on the app, you could very quickly find yourself in a position where implementing an AJAX app, with attendant infrastructure, was astronomically more expensive than throwing together a little desktop program.

      I have seen a lot of projects go seriously over budget, and massively over schedule because of exactly this sort of thinking. There are a lot of people out there who really like to push web technologies as the magic bullet to solve every problem, and make comments just like the one you just made about how it has to be cheaper, easier, faster, and better, because it uses the magic web technology. In reality, you have to look at every project as an isolated case, and figure out the best technology for that situation.

    11. Re:AJAX is bad by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 1

      I agree that it's a case-by-case situation. But in some of those cases, it's clearly cheaper and faster to build a web app than desktop apps. Building to work with a wide range of browsers is very easy for me. I don't know how easy it is to build and support a similar range of OSes, but in my limited experience with developing for Windows, Mac, and Linux environments it was hell.

      When I made that statement I was thinking of the apps my undergraduate University built/bought. At the time, most of these were desktop apps. You either supported Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix - a total of maybe 15 variants, or you required everyone to use a certain platform. Both of these happened, and neither one was particularly successful. The speed with which the desktop development cycle moves is particularly at fault - even when you discover bugs, you can't just fix them overnight. Often, these problems would remain for years simply because the fix was too large an undertaking. I frequently build and roll out web apps in weeks or a couple of months. If there's a bug, the client lets me know and I usually have it fixed within a day or two.

    12. Re:AJAX is bad by lmlloyd · · Score: 1

      What you are comparing isn't an issue that is endemic to a particular technology, but rather an issue of the responsiveness and competence of the developer. I have seen as many as three new build of complicated apps like a video game get put out in a single day, during the testing phase. It all depends on the developer, and how they are developing the application. There is absolutely nothing that keeps you from fixing bugs overnight with a desktop app. I have worked with some really gifted programmers who would start digging into the code and fixing it while you were describing the problem! I was working on one game project that was for Windows, Mac, Xbox, PS2, and GameCube, and between the all the versions, the testers found over 100 bugs. Overnight the developers fixed 90% of them.

      Realistically, in a corporate environment, you are highly unlikely to ever see more than three OSs. In fact, the most common case is only having to support two OSs, and there are many clients who just don't care about anything but Windows. There are a plethora of tools that make coding for Windows/Mac/Linux a fairly straightforward proposition, and everything else comes down to the responsiveness of the developer.

      As I said, there are certainly situations where a web tool is the best choice, but there are also situations where a desktop app is the best choice. Sure, if you have to support 18 different OSs (by the way, are there even 15 versions of UNIX left on the market these days?), then a web tool,might be the best approach. However, don't confuse the difference between a good developer and a bad developer with some technical limitation of the tools they use.

    13. Re:AJAX is bad by jjeffrey · · Score: 1

      Yes I'm pretty sure I know what Javascript is - and I just posted this comment with Javascript turned off.

      Are you sure you know what it is? :)

      J

    14. Re:AJAX is bad by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 1

      Yes I'm pretty sure I know what Javascript is - and I just posted this comment with Javascript turned off.

      Are you sure you know what it is? :)


      I suggest you keep it turned off too, it is evil... Just like those electric lights, pure evil, wax candles work just fine, we don't need electric lights.

      WTF... You act like running JavaScript is 'bad', when it just adds more funtionality to the Web and browsing. And if you think it is a major security risk, you need a bigger tinfoil hat.

      If we don't standardize on Javascript, what do you suggest? No interactive Web sites, HTML forms only? Give me a break, this is the 21st century, 10 year old technology should not scare people...

      And ya, you can post on Slashdot with Javascript off, but Slashdot still uses Javascript for part of the functionality of the site, so you get a messed up view of the page with Javascript off.

  9. Mythology, lol by tehshen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In mythology, Atlas and the Titans revolted against the Olympians, lost, had his brothers betray him, and was punished to carry the world. Is this some sort of metaphor for the IE development cycle?

    --
    Guy asked me for a quarter for a cup of coffee. So I bit him.
    1. Re:Mythology, lol by Tackhead · · Score: 1
      > In mythology, Atlas and the Titans revolted against the Olympians, lost, had his brothers betray him, and was punished to carry the world. Is this some sort of metaphor for the IE development cycle?

      Could be worse, what if they'd picked some other literary reference?

      *shrug*

      "Who is Bill Gates?"

    2. Re:Mythology, lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually yes, if you think about it:

      Microsoft made IE the centerpiece of their efforts to control the Internet (after they failed to render it irrelevant). Now much of what you can do with Windows machines (including downloading updates) has a dependence on IE, which everyone knows is bug ridden and backwards. The integration of IE with Windows has made updating of IE much much harder than if it were a truly separate component. Thus IE, and soon, things like Windows Live will be "carrying" the Windows monopoly on their backs, making Microsoft less flexible when it comes to network based solutions.

    3. Re:Mythology, lol by DaggertipX · · Score: 1

      Hrrm... after giving it some thought, I actually think it's more difficult to properly support IE than it is to carry the earth.

    4. Re:Mythology, lol by Sqwubbsy · · Score: 1

      Some of us just shrug, though.

    5. Re:Mythology, lol by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 1

      It makes perfect sense. After all, isn't Microsoft known for holding up most of the world? And getting away with it?

      --
      It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  10. Key words are... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The key phrases here are 'claim' and 'their platform'. What about cross platform web applications I ask you?!

    "which they claim will greatly reduce the effort in developing AJAX style applications on their platform."

    How about ACID2 complicance in IE7 or implementing the features developers are asking for:

    http://annevankesteren.nl/2005/03/ie7-wishlist
    http://news.com.com/Next+Explorer+to+fail+Acid+tes t/2100-1032_3-5813897.html
    http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/03/09/391362 .aspx

    1. Re:Key words are... by nixkuroi · · Score: 2, Informative

      After having watched the guy put together an Ajax application in 10 minutes (typing in all the code right in front of all 1700 of the people in the room) and then watching him open the exact page he created in Safari on a mac, I can pretty well assure you that it DOES work the way MS claims. Now that isn't to say that they haven't built any non-compliant components into it, but what I saw today will handle MOST of the basics of what you'd want on a data driven site without difficulty.

      How about we stop trolling and actually check it out before tearing it down.

    2. Re:Key words are... by gentlemen_loser · · Score: 1

      As with most MS development tools, the application that he put together fits into a particular framework. If you actually need to develop something that MS did not think of in advance - good luck.

    3. Re:Key words are... by cyfer2000 · · Score: 1

      they said "their platform" not "their platforms". I think you've got the answer.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
  11. Not to muddy the waters with facts... by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 2, Informative

    But this is the March CTP for Atlas, not the final release.

    1. Re:Not to muddy the waters with facts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Production ready release, see http://www.nikhilk.net/Entry.aspx?id=112

    2. Re:Not to muddy the waters with facts... by Shemmie · · Score: 1

      I was wondering about that. I downloaded it a few days back, and so when I saw the headline, I was pretty shocked it'd gone from the release I've got to final in a matter of days. Between this and the "Firefox 2.0 released!" - a bit of an over reaction.

    3. Re:Not to muddy the waters with facts... by xazos79 · · Score: 1

      Correct. It simply has a Go Live license attached with it now. Still a CTP release.

  12. ATLAS "Release" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its a CTP that now features a 'Go Live' license (you can use it on your site). Not quite what I consider a 'released' product. More like an ongoing beta.

  13. Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by endrue · · Score: 0

    Give me a break. There is nothing new about asyncronous calls to the server via javascript. I have used many different Ajax libraries on several platforms and I cannot imagine that Atlas will offer anything groundbreaking. Ajax.NET is an excellent library for ASP.NET applications.

    Microsoft is trying to jump headfirst into the Web 2.0 pool and coming this late to the party makes them look pretty stupid. Also can we all stop saying Web 2.0, podacst, blog, and mashup?

    Perhaps someone oud introduce a Web 2.0 killer, that would be excellent...

    -Andrew

    --
    I meta-moderate because I care.
    1. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by ad0le · · Score: 1
      Microsoft is trying to jump headfirst into the Web 2.0 pool and coming this late to the party makes them look pretty stupid

      You do realize Microsoft pioneered what we today call AJAX, way back in the day with their Office product, right?
      --
      My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.
    2. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by endrue · · Score: 1

      Yes, that is my point. They develop the XMLHTTPRequest and then wait until everyone and his brother has used it to write an Ajax library until they release Atlas.

      - Andrew

      --
      I meta-moderate because I care.
    3. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know it doesn't fit with the "Fox News"-like sound bites so many keep repeating on Slashdot, but Microsoft invented XMLHttpRequest (which makes AJAX AJAX) and used this in Outlook Web Access long before anyone else.

    4. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by Zerbs · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, only a few more years of this thin client, rich client stuff and we'll find ourselves all going back to the traditional n-tier client/server models.

      --
      "22 astronauts were born in Ohio. What is it about your state that makes people want to flee the Earth?" Stephen Colbert
    5. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by modmans2ndcoming · · Score: 1

      Web 2.0 == Buzzword Podcast == a thing Blog == a thing Mashup == anoying as fuck.

    6. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by RoadDogTy · · Score: 1

      Perhaps someone oud introduce a Web 2.0 killer, that would be excellent...

      Actually, Microsoft is working on this as well, it's called Avalon (aka WPF). Although it will be a few years until it hits critical mass, it should offer developers the ability to write a single interface for traditional client apps & server/web apps.

    7. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by Forbman · · Score: 1

      Microsoft is trying to jump headfirst into the Web 2.0 pool and coming this late to the party makes them look pretty stupid. Also can we all stop saying Web 2.0, podacst, blog, and mashup?

      Maybe to you, and most other non-ASP/ASP.Netters, but to them, who have equally been as "What is this Rails bullshit?" and head-in-the-sand, they can now rejoice because they can play in this new game too.

      Except it's like inviting NY Yankee fans to watch baseball over if you're not a NY Yankees fan yourself...

    8. Re:Web 2.0!!!!!!1111ONEONEONE by handslikesnakes · · Score: 1

      It already exists and it's called XUL.

  14. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

    It sounds kind of cool, But I don't think it will work out that way in practice. As it stands now, I remember hearing that even the old ASP.Net had issues with different browsers, and had problems with certain devices (handhelds) and viewstates where if the viewstate was too big then the application wouldn't work.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  15. Well, actually... by Poromenos1 · · Score: 1

    Actually, he was punished to carry the Heavens to keep them from shagging.

    --
    Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
  16. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by truthsearch · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The official website, just like Microsoft's regular website, is full of meaningless rhetoric. I can write complete crap HTML that works in every browser. That definitely doesn't make it good. And less code than "classic" ASP, PHP, or JSP? Not once when I worked with ASP.NET for 2 years did I find reduction of code compared to other options. Maybe there are some cases I didn't see, but a blanket statement like that is just wrong.

    The only people who back up this rhetoric are Microsoft employees on their blogs and those who haven't tried any alternatives.

  17. Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 0, Troll

    For those who don't know, Atlas is Microsoft's AJAX API for ASP.NET 2, which they claim will greatly reduce the effort in developing AJAX style applications on their platform.

    Really? I thought it was a rocket.* </sarcasm>

    Sorry, but I'm decidedly unimpressed. I was sitting here thinking that Microsoft might be in a position to nail the AJAX market with ASP.NET. If so, then there would need to be an immediate cross-platform response. As much as I'd like to be releaved that Microsoft hasn't taken the lead, I'm finding myself shocked at how absolutely terrible this library is. There's not a shred of AJAX to be found.

    In a nutshell, this library is a collection of ASP custom tags (similar to the ones that have existed in JSP for half a decade or so) that produce common controls like buttons, advertisements, tables with data, and a few other bits and pieces. There is no XMLHttpRequest communication that I can find, and precious little DHTML. Unless I'm missing something, this library is a wash.

    Is Microsoft really having that much trouble understanding a concept that they invented? Because this library certainly suggests this is the case.

    * Sorry for the sarcasm, it's not directed at the poster. Just my own annoyance at Microsoft polluting the technology sphere with such nonsense.

    1. Re:Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      s/releaved/relieved/g

    2. Re:Where's the beef? by earache · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Are you completely retarded?

      How this got moderated up is beyond me. It's obvious that you haven't used Atlas, much less even LOOKED at it.

      The whole point of the library is to hide away the details, so XMLHttpRequest and it's ilk are tucked away neatly in the variety of external scripts that ship with Atlas.

      There are only 4 or 5 controls that come with Atlas, and they're mostly non-visual anyways. The UpdatePanel is a "panel" like control that can automatically reload it's contents on a postback sent via xmlhttprequest. You don't need to do a thing.

      Whomever moderated this all the way to +5 is just as retarded as the original poster.

      It is Slashdot though ...

    3. Re:Where's the beef? by dedazo · · Score: 1
      I think this sums it up quite well - you're just engaging in your usual I-bash-Microsoft-because-I'm-so-cool routine that for some weird reason always gets you modded up.

      "This library is a wash", that's precious.

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    4. Re:Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I was hoping someone would prove me wrong. I just couldn't believe that Microsoft would call it AJAX without it being AJAX! Your mention of "UpdatePanel" did the trick. I couldn't find it in the API anywhere.

      Microsoft needs to be modded -5 bad site design. So if you go to atlas.asp.net (from the summary), does it take you to atlas? No. I was looking at the standard ASP controls that you can get to through the "Tutorials" link. No wonder I was confused! Atlas is actually located here.

      The "real" atlas looks more interesting. Half the documentation is broken (e.g. all the "controls" point to the System.UI.Button docs), and I've already managed to find at least one IE-only example, but this is a bit more of what I had in mind.

      The whole documentation is so rushed at the moment that it's hard to make a reasonable evaluation. But from what I can tell, Microsoftt is a lot closer, but not quite there yet. We'll have to keep an eye on this one. :-)

    5. Re:Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Informative

      More likely, the summary is screwed up. It takes you here when you need to go here. I discussed this a bit more in my response to someone else.

      This is one of those times that I am actually happy to be wrong. With all the nonsense surrounding AJAX as it is, all we needed was Microsoft throwing fuel on the fire.

    6. Re:Where's the beef? by Forbman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you know how ASP/ASP.Net work? the server-side code spits out a bunch of JavaScript code to the client page. This client-side JavaScript is what talks back to the server. Hmm... AJAX.

      MS got bitch-slappedn in the ASP days because its server-side objects (even though you're invoking them from VBScript, you're invoking COM objects) were emitting browser-detecting code and not playing nice with Not-IE, or emit Not-IE hostile JavaScript (i.e., MS' DOM model). With work, it is possible to get around this.

      The really hard part is getting an ASP/ASP.Net page to POST to a 3rd-party server, say, like if you're trying to send an XmlSignature to a 3rd-party...

    7. Re:Where's the beef? by dedazo · · Score: 1

      So you're bashing Microsoft ("this library is a wash" | "Microsoft throwing fuel on the fire") because the Slashdot submitter added an extraneous dot at the end of a URL?

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    8. Re:Where's the beef? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course, because everything wrong in the world is Microsoft's fault.

    9. Re:Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      No, I was bashing Microsoft because I thought I was looking at the Atlas page. Got a problem with that? Yes? Too damn bad.

      The information presented was WRONG. Thankfully, I managed to provoke someone into posting a reply that set me on the right track. Now this thread records that I was wrong, and I'm happy to be wrong.

      Feel free to scream and yell about all the Anti-Microsoft trolls all you want. You won't find any listeners here.

    10. Re:Where's the beef? by dedazo · · Score: 1
      Well, aren't you quite the piece of work. I don't know why you whine like that if your fanboys still managed to get you some karma, as always.

      It was fun to point out that you are full of it, though. Next time think before you type?

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    11. Re:Where's the beef? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      ???

      You might find this useful:

      "Jealousy is an ugly and self-destructive attitude"

      You aren't doing yourself any favors with your anger and envy. I think you'll find that in trying to hurt others, you are primarily hurting yourself. You may also find that you'll be a much happier person in life if you try to work with others rather than tearing them down.

    12. Re:Where's the beef? by dedazo · · Score: 1
      Jealousy

      C'mon now, do you think I'm 12 or something? You must be mistaking me for one of the people who post inane comments to your blog. It's simply amusing to see how you've become some sort of weird darling of the moderation system, and it's equally amusing to see you shoot from the hip like you did with the comment that generated this thread. That's all. It's hardly my fault that you popped a coronary back there. Though you might want to reconsider the "internet tough guy" 'tude. It's really ridiculous.

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
  18. that's why we need a toolkit by penguin-collective · · Score: 3, Insightful

    All of those problems can be addressed by creating a good AJAX toolkit; a toolkit can fall back to plain HTML when Javascript isn't available, it can do the right per-browser customizations, etc.

    However, from an interaction point of view, AJAX is enormously useful and a big advance over plain HTML pages. It's unfortunate that the underlying technologies are so ugly (Javascript, XML, ...), but, again, with a good toolkit, you don't have to ever think about that.

  19. Google Maps Killer!!! by Galston · · Score: 0

    Don't tell me that I am the only one that thought that this was Microsoft's Google Maps Killer when they read the title.

  20. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by bedroll · · Score: 1
    "And less code than "classic" ASP, PHP, or JSP? Not once when I worked with ASP.NET for 2 years did I find reduction of code compared to other options. Maybe there are some cases I didn't see, but a blanket statement like that is just wrong."

    Well, what they're not saying is that it's less code but more markup. If you use their controls then you put all the properties in the .aspx file as an XML object, but you're hardly saving time by setting properties in there vs setting them in code like you used to.

    Also, with Atlas you have less of your own code but more of theirs, because you have to use their libraries for all the AJAX functionality. Most people that I know who've been doing things with AJAX already have their own libraries of js written to re-use.

  21. Why the un-searchable names? by hazem · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What is it with Microsoft and its penchant for product names that are virtually useless for doing searches?

    Access
    Word
    Windows
    Excel
    Publisher
    Sequel

    Contrast that with:
    linux
    mozilla
    firefox
    mysql
    php

    At least with these, you have a reasonable chance of finding what you're looking for without a ton of other non-related crap.

    1. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by andrewzx1 · · Score: 1

      Try searching on "microsoft atlas", use the quotes in google.

    2. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Fhqwhgadss · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're not supposed to search for support. You're supposed to buy support.

      --
      How does a 7-person democracy cut a pie? Into 4 pieces.
    3. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, maybe you should try sql rather than sequel and you'd have better results. Just a suggestion...

    4. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I think php usually returns a bunch of bogus results. Anything with url with .php usually shows up. I think the one you missed that is the most apparent is .net. Trying to find stuff on .Net is usually quite hard.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    5. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is it with Microsoft and its penchant for product names that are virtually useless for doing searches?

      Google for "Microsoft Access"
      Microsoft Office Online Home Page is 1st result

      Google for "Microsoft Word"
      Microsoft Office Online Home Page is 1st result

      Google for "Microsoft Excel"
      Microsoft Office Online Home Page is 1st result

      Google for "Microsoft Publisher"
      Microsoft Office Online: Publisher 2003 Home Page is 1st result

      Google for "Microsoft Windows"
      Microsoft Corporation is 1st result
      Microsoft Windows Update is 2nd result

      Google for "Microsoft Sequel" unsurprisingly turns up no decent results, because you should be searching for "Microsoft SQL" in the first place
      Microsoft SQL Server Home is 1st result

      Maybe you'd like to brush up on your search tips or, at the very least, locate the double-quote character on your keyboard.

      Just saying.

    6. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by cpeterso · · Score: 1


      I think php usually returns a bunch of bogus results.

      This is so true.

    7. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Microsoft products are for normal people. Linux etc are for nerds.

      Try ask your girlfriend to pronounce "mysql".

    8. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by ctstone · · Score: 1
    9. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by FriendOfBagu · · Score: 1

      Don't forget COM and .NET. Technologies that share their names with TLDs are quite annoying to search for. Atlas isn't nearly as bad.

    10. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by hazem · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I usually don't want to get Microsoft's webpage when I search for these things. I can just as easily go to Microsoft's page and search if I want their page.

      But, often I'm looking for reviews, example code, "how-to"s, etc. People with good information don't always put a "Microsoft" in front of "Access" when they write about it. And will "Microsoft Access" turn up results for a page that only ever says, "MS Access"?

      And like someone mentioned before, try doing a search for anything meangful for .net.

      The names they pick can often make it difficult to find meaningful information about the products or using the products because you have to wade through tons of other stuff to find it.

    11. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by booch · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Um, I don't think Microsoft sells a product named Sequel. I think you're thinking of "SQL Server". Most people like to pronounce the "SQL" as "sequel". And other non-Microsoft technologies are problematic to search for: C, C++, shell, Mac, IP, Excite, log files.

      But you're right -- it does make it hard to search for many of the most popular Microsoft products. The sad thing is that Microsoft most likely chooses generic names on purpose. They want to take advantage of (embrace and extend) existing language. I'm glad their "Digital Nervous System" term never caught on. It's bad enough that I have to deal with 3 possible meanings of IP (Internet Protocol, Information Protection, Intellectual Property).

      --
      Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
    12. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by inKubus · · Score: 1

      Try here.

      Cheers,

      --
      Cool! Amazing Toys.
    13. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by hazem · · Score: 1

      You must work for Microsoft tech support. While technically correct, the answer was useless. /sarcasm

      Searching for non-MS sites about Access and .net are pretty difficult just because there are so many non-related sites that come up. Sure, I can filter out some of the stuff I don't want, but it's hard to make know if I flitered out stuff I might have wanted.

    14. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by EoN604 · · Score: 1

      I take it you guys are being sarcastic? Because PHP related searches return incredibly accurate results first time almost every time in my experience. Very often directly from php.net itself which has most of the answers you'll need. Shame there's no .NET/Ajax/AtlAss/MS/garbage equivalent!

    15. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Searching "MS Access" usually gets pretty good results. And yes, the Microsoft site itself is not much use because usually you are looking for workarounds for bugs that MS say are features.

      Huge victory for marketing over usability, the lot of them.

    16. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      Actually, Google seems to understand ".net" just fine. Search for "ajax .net" (without the quotes) and most of the results are relevant.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    17. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Enrico+Pulatzo · · Score: 1

      Some of those names existed before the 'net came about, so searching wasn't a consideration for those product names. (think Lotus Notes, if you search for Notes, you'll be SOL)

      Publisher is a poor program with a perfect name: an untrained user can probably guess that Publisher is used for some sort of desktop publishing.

      And of course, "Sequel" isn't a product any more than "SQL" is a product that Microsoft sells. SQL Server (which is a perfectly cromulent name to search for).

    18. Re:Why the un-searchable names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think he meant that PHP itself is garbage, not that googling for PHP was difficult.

  22. Atlas? by TellarHK · · Score: 4, Funny

    *shrug*

    1. Re:Atlas? by skingers6894 · · Score: 1

      "Where do you want to go today?"

      Ugh.

  23. Well, Here We Go by MikeyTheK · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, the AJAX wars have started, and M$ maybe just got off the first shot. We'll see. With http://www.morfik.com/'s public beta just around the corner the RAD IDE AJAX tools are finally coming on scene. We'll see what people can do with these tools, and whether AJAX is REALLY as overrated as some are claiming. Personally I'll bet that once people can get their hands on tools that let them build web apps as easily as they can desktop apps (and unplug them, i.e. run them locally or over the 'net, as you can with Morfik) you'll see a huge increase in web applications.

    The number of AJAX tools that are on their way is staggering. http://www.tersus.com/ is one designed for the absolute noob, and http://www.backbase.com/ is also a potential option.

    --
    Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
    Never forget: 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
    1. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      Well, the AJAX wars have started, and M$ maybe just got off the first shot.

      Microsoft did not fire the first shot Next App has had a mature Open Source Java Servlet / AJAX framework called echo2 and eclipse plugin for quite some time now.

    2. Re:Well, Here We Go by MikeyTheK · · Score: 2, Informative

      Frameworks aren't the same thing as IDE/RAD tools. http://www.axaxian.com/ discusses lots of frameworks every day. Ruby on Rails does AJAX. However, this isn't the same thing as having a complete integrated tool that does it all for you. Any geek can spank out httpRequests, but this next generation of tool should make rich web apps a lot eaiser to build, which means that a lot more creative people will be building them.

      --
      Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
      Never forget: 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
    3. Re:Well, Here We Go by dedazo · · Score: 1
      OTOH, Microsoft had the first shipping, fully functional AJAX app (before someone came up with that acronym) in the Exchange OWA... circa 1999.

      Kinda funny, but if you think about it Google Mail (the app that pretty much launched the current AJAX craze) was essentially four years behind the curve, at least client technology-wise.

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    4. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      Did you look at the link I provided? They have an integrated Eclipse RAD tool for those so inclined. As far as my research into web frameworks Echo2 is the most comprehensive both in supporting architecture and development tools.

    5. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      I concur 100% this has been going on for quite some time someone just put a fuzzy name on what developers have been using for years. Its like LAMP development, what the hell is that? what if I use PostreSQL am I not in the LAMP club? the acronym stuff is getting crazy.

    6. Re:Well, Here We Go by omega9 · · Score: 1
      I thought it was pretty universally accepted that Microsoft originally created the XMLHttpRequest object for apps like OWA, and it wasn't until much later that the greater web community popularized it, eventually leading to the AJAX concept.

      It may be a point that Microsoft never released any sort of available API for use outside their corporation, but they seem to have been taken off-guard by the whole popularity off it. It's not suprising that it's been until now for them to release any sort of toolkit. It's also not suprising that it's tied with ASP.NET. But that's been their signature all along, to tightly integrate all their technologies together to trap you in their system. So that bit isn't shocking at all.

      Also, this is so far your second post in this thread and both have mentioned echo2 from NextApp. Your first post claims you descovered echo2 "..as recently as a few months ago.." and now this post touts it because it's been around "for quite some time now". While both cases can certainly be true, your authority over your own opinion is now somewhat dead. Mental bullet points include:

      • All posts in thread mention the product. You could be an employee or otherwise related to NextApp. You're interested more in the product then the technology.
      • Independant developer. Freshly discoverd NextApp recently though they've been around for a bit. It's a little quick to drink the koolaid and provide them so much attention and props.
      • Troll, albeit a subtle one. Every knows Java servlets suck and you may just be looking to hook responses.
      • You could be a small tea biscuit, in which case it's fantastic that you're communicating at all.
      --
      I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.
    7. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      Independant developer. Freshly discoverd NextApp recently though they've been around for a bit. It's a little quick to drink the koolaid and provide them so much attention and props.

      So what of it, They have been around for a while and I have already said that I had discovered them a few months ago. They originally developed the Echo Framework which was a standard request response framework Echo2 extends their component model to support AJAX type communication. I like the framework allot and like supporting open source development so if I can give someone credit for developing a good open source product I am going to take every opportunity to do so. I will probably pimp it some more before this thread is through .

      Every knows Java servlets suck and you may just be looking to hook responses

      What other Java option is there JSP / JSF laughable at best.

    8. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      While both cases can certainly be true, your authority over your own opinion is now somewhat dead

      Why because I have been doing web apps since CGI/Perl and have worked with almost every web framework under the sun? or because you say so? None of my post support your conclusion. Just because I have recently discovered a framework does not mean that I am not (or am for that matter) an authoritive source on web application development. It merely means that in two months I have deduced that it is the best thing available for Java specific web frameworks. If anything it represents my ability to comprehend the technology at hand in a short timeframe nothing more can be inferred from my posts.

    9. Re:Well, Here We Go by MikeyTheK · · Score: 1

      Huh. I followed the link. I must have missed the RAD part. I'll take a look again in a little while. I know that Eclipse was a Java-based AJAX framework, but I didn't see the integration tools. Thanks for the reply. I'll try again later.

      --
      Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
      Never forget: 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
    10. Re:Well, Here We Go by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      Here is a direct link to the RAD tools http://www.nextapp.com/platform/echo2/echostudio/

    11. Re:Well, Here We Go by msormune · · Score: 1

      That's because the whole AJAX thing is not new and it's real simple. I have personally done the same thing in web application using the IFRAME/ILAYER trick since 2000. It has worked very well. Now suddenly everyone is talking about this like it's somehow "new" technology, because this kind of functionality is now officially supported by the big companies.

      I guess it's nice to ride the hype wave.

  24. Watch the video by LibertineR · · Score: 0, Troll

    A lot of responses, not a lot of information. Some of the more troll-like comments are addressed in the video demo at : mms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uifx/asp_net_atlas.wmv

    1. Re:Watch the video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have to admit I liked the demo - but I'm VERY curious as to what the EULA.rtf was in the "default" project....

      EULA with "open" web standards... that just scares me

    2. Re:Watch the video by LibertineR · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft was Starbucks, there would be a EULA printed on every cup. A lot of EULA madness going on there. I dont know what that was all about.

  25. malfunction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft... release... much earlier than expected...

    BRAIN ASPLODE

  26. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by Sqwubbsy · · Score: 0, Troll

    Actually, from personal experience, some of the code we've been mucking with using ASP.NET 2.0 has been just fine regardless of browser. Not bad considering Safari's lack of standards compliance.

    To your original point, any system generated code is potentially fraught with peril...question is, how easy is it for you to muck by hand and clean it up. That is one of the big advantages of Ruby on Rails and it seems like the same deal with ASP.NET 2, although there are a lot more layers and code libraries with ASP.NET.

  27. Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I have NO idea WHATSOEVER what Ajax is, does that make me an incompetent computer science student? :)

    1. Re:Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only if you don't go and find out what AJAX is!

  28. Standards Compliant by Landak · · Score: 2, Informative

    Standards Compliant Hmn?

    Try the CSS one for a real laugh :).

    --
    My UID is prime. Is yours?
    1. Re:Standards Compliant by nberardi · · Score: 1
    2. Re:Standards Compliant by Inner_Child · · Score: 1
      I got the following unexpected response when trying to retrieve http://www.slashdot.org/:

      403 Forbidden
      Some dirty secrets the coders don't want the public seeing?
      --
      Today is red jello day - all workers must eat all of their red jello. Failure to comply will result in five demerits.
  29. I misread the headline.... by deviantphil · · Score: 1

    I thought it read:

    Microsoft Releases [Longhorn] At last

  30. Did you guys even read TFA??? by moochfish · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm not really a fan of MS, but I recognize they have a lot going for them. I'm a PHP developer so please don't assume I'm defending it because I like ASP. Really, I don't.

    I think a bunch of people commenting read the press release and made their judgements without actually investigating how incredible the technology is. There was even the flamebait who posted something about cross browser compatibility. Well, watch the freaking demo video before you go trolling. You can find their first of many such demos here:

    mms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uifx/asp_net_atlas.wmv

    Maybe I find it amazing because I'm not that used to ASP development, but I'm thoroughly impressed how far MS has come in making developing for their platform easy. The demo I pasted above shows him making a pretty standard data grid. That part is cool, at best, to anybody familiar with ASP, and flat out amazing to anybody who's never seen ASP sites being developed. About 2/3 into the video he busts out the new Atlas code (so fast forward to there). It was maybe 3 additional ASP tags to implement full asynchronous functionality plus one more to setup a "updating..." dialog. Suddenly, a page that required refreshes on any action could add, edit, and *sort* paginated data without any refreshes.

    And then he fires up the same code in Firefox and goes to show that it works exactly the same in both browsers. 3 ASP tags.

    I'm sorry, but how can you blindly bash that? Sure there's equivalent technology in the works out there (such as rails), but it doesn't make this any less amazing. If there was a development platform as complete as MS's offering but based on Python/PHP, people would be pissing their pants. To ASP developers, this will make creating AJAX functionality unbelievably easy.

    MS just scored major Hype 2.0 points today. But the hype isn't all unjustified. Again, go learn about this before you bash it.

    1. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Just for the record, ASP and ASP.NET are two very different things.

      "ASP" and "development" really don't fall into the same sentence. It's almost like "Volkswagen" and "driving" - you can do it, but people will be pointing fingers at you, laughing.

    2. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >"ASP" and "development" really don't fall into the same sentence. It's almost like "Volkswagen" and "driving" - you can do it, but people will be pointing fingers at you, laughing.

      No more than php and development belong together jack. Both are kiddie scripting languages.

    3. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? by Cyno · · Score: 1

      ...go learn about this before you bash it.

      First, I don't have the time.
      Second, I use Linux...

      #!/usr/bin/perl
      use web;
      my $self = new web;
      $self->body($self->textarea("Hello World:", 'id="textarea" onkeyup="ajaxfunc(['textarea'],['textarea'])"'));
      my $ajaxfunc = sub { my $text=shift; return localtime() . $text; };
      $self->ajax('ajaxfunc', $ajaxfunc);
      $self->render or $self->nph;

    4. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? by glyons · · Score: 1
      It's almost like "Volkswagen" and "driving" - you can do it, but people will be pointing fingers at you, laughing.
      My Fast is getting angry
  31. It's like YELLING. by jeblucas · · Score: 1
    I'm surprised the article summary made it through the lameness filter. Here's a metasummary:
    Microsoft Atlas at MIX 06; it's their AJAX API for ASP.NET 2.
    I don't think "O RLY?" has ever been a more appropriate comment.
    --
    blarg.
  32. Ajax Is a Flashpoint by umbrellasd · · Score: 1
    BUT, will Ajax supplant the client app as the workhorse of productivity applications? Not a chance.
    You might be right, but I've spent the past 3 years migrating client applications to .NET and XmlHttp data-brokered solutions. Ajax was not a popular term when we started doing it. This is a company of 3,000 employees with many clients all over the state and all of them now have rapid web-based access to a variety of analytic tools, reports, and raw data.

    There are some very compelling reasons for suffering through Javascript-enabled web applications and many of them relate to platform independence and rapid deployment. I can deploy a new version of a web application targeted at multiple browsers and versions, with significant updates, all by dropping the files into the production environment. And they're off running with it.

    The funniest thing for me about Ajax is it basically is just doing what Java Applets can do, only Java is better. WTF?!?!
    No, applets are not better. Applets are fatter, you've got client-side sandbox security, and you need a Java VM (not everyone wants to run one of these on their client machines, trust me). Whereas Ajax sits upon dirt simple well established web standards. If Applets were better, Ajax would not have generated the buzz it has. Ajax may not solve the problem as well as it should, but it absolutely points to an as yet unaddressed shortcoming of other available solutions including Java and Java applets.

    I think you're right about the transient nature of Ajax, however, because it is a transitionary technology. Ajax has opened up a Pandoras box of, "Hey, we can develop web applications with this level of interactivity in a seamless way. Too bad it's a little icky to do. Let's see, what can we do about that?"

    In other words, Ajax is a bit like a proof of concept project that will drive some good innovation and web standardization as we move forward so that you can get the nice things of Ajax with a better development model.

  33. DWR is a real, available ajax api by irritating+environme · · Score: 1

    It's only for Java-land, but it automates huge swaths of AJAX overhead and allows you to directly call java classes (yes there is a security model controlling what can be invoked).

    DWR handles:
    - the xml http connection cross-browser
    - "marshalls" between Java objects/parameters and JavaScript objects, including javascript mock-ups of Collections, beans, arrays, lists
    - adds a bunch of useful JS utilities as well

    Now, keeping state between the instantiation of objects is a bit of a pain, but still, this is as easy as it gets. For enterprise web apps, this is an enormously powerful tool. Enterprise web apps can enforce the use of a modern browser. People can stick their heads in the sand all they want, AJAX is here and its changing web development. AJAX is also forcing the web browsers to conform more since AJAX is so JS and CSS heavy. Until MS tries to destandardize it, but what's the difference in appraoches between XAML-IE and XUL-Mozilla? Both are/will be browser-specific. And that's why both will be limited outside of most web development.

    Now, I don't want my endorsement of AJAX to bleed into the idiots marketspeaking about Web 2.0. That's a bunch of BS.

    --


    Hey, I'm just your average shit and piss factory.
    1. Re:DWR is a real, available ajax api by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has DWR fixed the issue with startup times? Last time I looked, they generated all their javaScript at startup which meant that with an application that had 30+ remoted beans, startup time was horrible. Have they figured out a way to pre-generate all the javaScript or is it still basically unusable for any decent-size project?

    2. Re:DWR is a real, available ajax api by irritating+environme · · Score: 1

      I don't actually use that many beans, but I haven't noticed many problems. I'm using v1.1, what version were you using?

      --


      Hey, I'm just your average shit and piss factory.
  34. loading... by ricepudd · · Score: 0

    If this is what they used to create 'loading...'^H^H^H^H live.com, then I might be giving it a miss... at least for now!

  35. ATLAS Homepage by HeyBob! · · Score: 2, Informative
  36. Cool by carrier+lost · · Score: 1

    So now someone can displace Microsoft Office 12 / 2006 / Vista using Microsoft Ajax.

    I like it.

    MjM

  37. It's not actually released yet. by pkulak · · Score: 1

    Am I really the first one to notice that this is just another CTP, not at all unlike the three previous?

  38. Won't lack of XSLT 2.0 support impact usefulness? by darthlurker · · Score: 1

    I've read that MS won't support XSLT 2.0. Now I have not tried my hand at a real AJAX program. But what I've heard is that AJAX and XSLT go hand-in-hand. With processing occurs totally/primarily on the client-side.

    The first article linked to notes ATLAS being "for AJAX-style development." Won't lack of XSLT 2.0 features, like regular expression, limit what ATLAS can do? And will the limitation be to the point where you're better off writting a standard ASP.NET page?

  39. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by rainman_bc · · Score: 1

    than with classic ASP or technologies like PHP or JSP

    JSP? Are you sure you're comparing apples and oranges here? JSP is just one part of J2EE, and the combination as a whole is competitive with .Net... PHP and Classic ASP, perhaps, but JSP, I think you're mistaken.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  40. Microsoft Releases Atlas by dstewart · · Score: 1

    Google Releases Prometheus.

    Clash of Titans to Follow.

    --
    Not every argument requires reduction to absurdity.
  41. MS encouraging me to use BSD license? by Precipitous · · Score: 1

    As part of their release, they have a contest with some useless prizes. The interesting bit is that they are encouraging me to use open source licensing (see "Rules" section):

    In addition to submitting your Mash-Ups via the submissions process described above, you must host the source code for each of your submitted Mash-Ups.... You may make the source code for your Mash-Ups available under the license of your choice. However, we encourage you to make the source code available under a BSD-style license, such as the Academic Free License, the Apache License 2.0, the New BSD license, or the MIT license...

    Anyone care to explain the term "mash-up" to me?

    --
    My motto: "A cat is no trade for integrity."
    1. Re:MS encouraging me to use BSD license? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone care to explain the term "mash-up" to me?

      Obviously you have never worked at the Microsoft campus. This is the official method for developing code at Microsoft. You simply mash the keyboard with your fists and the compilers clean it all up for you. This highly inovative method speeds production, which is why Microsoft always gets products out ahead of schedule!

      Be sure to attend the Vapor Ware 2.0 conference this year in the Lost City of Atlantis, where you can find out more about AJAX, Atlas, and Web 2.0!

  42. Microsoft turns to firefox internally? by ThePedanticPrick · · Score: 1

    Browsing the Atlas tutorials, I find that the examples work in Firefox, but not IE (syntax errors, mostly), which raises an interesting question: Do developers at microsoft not use IE? Seems like it's time for them to eat their own dog food

  43. Paco by SuperGhost · · Score: 1

    AJAX has potential but it is still an infant. If you want to build a true web application, well hello Java. I must give credit to ASP.NET for allowing direct programmable access to events on HTML objects.

  44. Released? Or just another preview? by xbrownx · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The article doesn't say, but the official site seems to make it sound just like the March CTP (Community Technology Preview) has been released... ..In other words, not the final version, which makes this headline incorrect.

  45. Atlas License by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    MICROSOFT PRE-RELEASE SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
    MICROSOFT ASP.NET CODE-NAME "ATLAS" MARCH GO LIVE CTP
    These license terms are an agreement between Microsoft Corporation (or based on where you live, one of its affiliates) and you. Please read them. They apply to the pre-release software named above, which includes the media on which you received it, if any. The terms also apply to any Microsoft
    updates,
    supplements,
    Internet-based services, and
    support services
    for this software, unless other terms accompany those items. If so, those terms apply.
    BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THEM, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE.
    If you comply with these license terms, you have the rights below.
    1. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS. You may install and use any number of copies of the software:
    to design, develop and test your programs for use with the software; and
    in a hosted environment to allow your customers to use, via a web interface, your programs that need the software to run.
    2. TERM. The term of this agreement is until August 1, 2006, or commercial release of the software, whichever is first.
    3. PRE-RELEASE SOFTWARE. This software is a pre-release version. It may not work correctly or the way a final version of the software will. We may change it for the final, commercial version. We also may not release a commercial version. You are fully responsible for any and all damages that may result due to any failure of the software; and you will notify your users that your web programs rely on pre-release, unsupported software that may not operate correctly.
    4. INDEMNIFICATION. You agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Microsoft from and against any claims, allegations, lawsuits, losses and costs (including attorney fees), that arise or result from the use, deployment or distribution of your programs that use the software.
    5. FEEDBACK. If you give feedback about the software to Microsoft, you give to Microsoft, without charge, the right to use, share and commercialize your feedback in any way and for any purpose. You also give to third parties, without charge, any patent rights needed for their products, technologies and services to use or interface with any specific parts of a Microsoft software or service that includes the feedback. You will not give feedback that is subject to a license that requires Microsoft to license its software or documentation to third parties because we include your feedback in them. These rights survive this agreement.
    6. Scope of License. The software is licensed, not sold. This agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights. Unless applicable law gives you more rights despite this limitation, you may use the software only as expressly permitted in this agreement. In doing so, you must comply with any technical limitations in the software that only allow you to use it in certain ways. You may not
    disclose the results of any benchmark tests of the software to any third party without Microsoft's prior written approval;
    work around any technical limitations in the software;
    reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software, except and only to the extent that applicable law expressly permits, despite this limitation;
    make more copies of the software than specified in this agreement or allowed by applicable law, despite this limitation;
    publish the software for others to copy;
    deploy the software on a standalone basis for others to access;
    distribute the software;
    rent, lease or lend the software; or

  46. When will they ever learn... by Eric+Damron · · Score: 1

    From the article: "Microsoft is highlighting its upcoming tool for AJAX-style development, code-named Atlas"

    AJAX "style development." I take this to mean Microsoft isn't following standards in an attempt to hijack yet another technology. When will they ever learn?

    --
    The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
  47. Microsoft's talking points by roca · · Score: 1

    > "Certainly one thing is clear--even with Atlas, the browser's
    > capabilities simply don't match those of Windows itself," Lhotka
    > said. "The more you want your Web pages to act like Windows, the
    > more expensive it becomes. Atlas helps ease some of that cost and
    > pain, but my feeling is that ultimately Atlas is a bridge between
    > simple HTML and WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation], filling an
    > important niche."

    I've been in his shoes ... the PR people write the quote for you and ask, "is this OK?"

    Microsoft's campaign to replace the Web with WPF has begun.

  48. Wrong Direction? by localman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But isn't one of the coolest things about AJAX the fact that it's pretty much platform independent? Why would anyone want to tie it to a particular platform? Didn't Java already try that?

    Cheers.

    1. Re:Wrong Direction? by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 1

      In your statement, s/AJAX/HTML/ yet people still code to IE. If you have 90% of the market, you can code to a single platform, and not lose much.

      Microsoft's line in this, is it's server side and the serverside components write client specific markup. They want to be seen as saying "if you want quecker development, use AJAX on ASP.NET, and your client will be fine". Somehow i dobt it.

    2. Re:Wrong Direction? by _newwave_ · · Score: 1

      Try actually reading about it before you spout some lame comment:

      From http://atlas.asp.net/Default.aspx?tabid=47

      However, "Atlas" isn't just for ASP.NET. You can take advantage of the rich client framework to easily build client-centric Web applications that integrate with any backend data provider.

  49. Nothing New by brunes69 · · Score: 0

    Just so you know... nothing in that video is using AJAX. Every thing you change re-posts the form and causes the page to reload. It is just going really fast because he is running it un his local machine.

    Also you can do that kind of WYSIWYG editing in JSP/Eclipse, it's not constrained to ASP.Net development.

    In summary, nothing new in that video. Now, I can't find the video on Atlas anywhere, but that could be interesting, depending how well it integrates. Personally, I already use JSON-RPC for my AJAX stuff, so it integrates with Java pretty well to begin with.

    1. Re:Nothing New by moochfish · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you didn't catch the part where I said watch the video from 2/3 marker. He doesn't use AJAX until that point.

      Watch the video very carefully and you will see this. Up to that point, everytime he does an action, the colored bar at the top blinks so you know it is doing a fast refresh. But after he tosses in Atlas, the page is no longer, in fact, reloading. He even puts in a 2 second delay at one point and then you can really see that the page is truly not refreshing.

      Like I said, the first 2/3 of the video is him doing standard ASP.NET stuff. It's the last 1/3 that's interesting.

    2. Re:Nothing New by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhh...did you watch the video?

      mms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uifx/asp_net_atlas.wmv

      I'll agree, the first half or so is about standard .NET 2.0 development.

      Once he starts adding the "atlas" tags onto the page though, the page no longer reposts and everything is asynchronous.

      It is unfortunate that it ties the client presentation layer with a MS proprietary web server...but it is Microsoft after all..

      It'd be nice if the two could be independent

    3. Re:Nothing New by wanorris · · Score: 1

      It is unfortunate that it ties the client presentation layer with a MS proprietary web server...but it is Microsoft after all..

      It'd be nice if the two could be independent


      It's not any different than the nifty Ajax accelerators that ship with Rails -- the whole point is that it's coupled with the server development platform, because the idea is to let you seamlessly use one development platform for both the client and server work.

      If you want server-independent client-side JS libraries, there are several good ones, such as scriptaculous. This is something different.

  50. Exactly why you should try Atlas by spideyct · · Score: 1

    You just listed out EXACTLY why someone would want to use a tool like Atlas.

    We don't complain about writing GUI applications because its too much work to manipulate every different pixel on the user's screen. We have tools and a technology stack that abstract all of that for us so that we can work with widgets.

    That is what Atlas is all about. It gives you the desired functionality of AJAX, without the pain normally required when dealing with the low level details (XML, extensive Javascript, etc).

  51. Go Ahead... by stu42j · · Score: 1

    Go ahead and see if you can count the number of times he says "go ahead" in that video.

    Actually it was pretty interesting to watch the video in comparison to all the "20 Minute Wiki" style videos that RoR has made so popular.

  52. Greatly reduce any competition too by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 2, Funny

    apparently, this would be a preliminary step in the right direction to "Fucking kill google" .. and anything not Microsoft Ajax (tm) http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/03/05 15250&from=rss

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  53. Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I code Javascript, no two web browsers seem to be able to use the same Javascript and you have to rewrite them for each browser. Then there are those who use web browsers without Javascript like Lynx, or people who disabled their Javascript for fear of Spyware/Adware infecting their system via their browser. Ajax uses Javascript. ASP.NET is supposed to have been designed to be able to run scripts at the web server without running scipts on the client, yet it fails to do this. My old employer tried to switch to ASP.NET when 1.0 was beta back in late 2001. They are still having problems getting ASP.NET working with different browsers that various clients of theirs use, that are not under their control.

    My solution was to use Java, instead of client-side scripting in Javascript and VBScript. Then any browser that supports Java can run a Java servlet and it can be programmed to be easy to use. Just make sure that their JRE version matches the one we use to develop the web applications for and everything should work out. I even worked out XML transfers to be used between the corporate web server and the client web server. We only need write one version of the Java application, instead of several versions of the Javascript support for each web page. The time we would have saved on production would have allowed us to do other things. But, nooooooooooooooooo, they went with ASP.NET because Microsoft promised them the moon, and now they are making posts to Microsoft's Newsgroups asking why ASP.NET is not working as Microsoft said it would. I am just sitting back and enjoying the fireworks and relaxing and being glad I am no longer one of those programmers being lead by Managers who have no idea how technology really works.

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    1. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by MickDownUnder · · Score: 1

      My solution was to use Java, instead of client-side scripting in Javascript and VBScript. Then any browser that supports Java can run a Java servlet and it can be programmed to be easy to use. Just make sure that their JRE version matches the one we use to develop the web applications for and everything should work out

      Just make sure the JRE matches..... Thats a pretty big just. You do realise that as of Windows XP, windows doesn't even ship with Java ?

      Your solution would have resulted in half your users having to download and install Java, and the other half calling your support hotline... I really don't think there would be that many people out there seriously considering client side Java on a new project for the web, if I were one of your managers I might be thinking you were going out on a bit of a architectural limb here too (depending on the target market for your application).

      I think every solution out there has it's draw backs. ASP.NET is just a server side technology for outputting HTML. HTML is HTML no matter what technology you use to generate it... Anyhow ASP.NET works, tens of thousands of companies out there use it. I know many sites which use it and get thousands of hits a day, with no down time.

      Using any technology to create a major web site that creates a good user experience is not easy, no matter what technology you use, not everyone can do it. However creating a solution that works on your PC with a single user hitting is pretty easy and creating hypothetical solutions that are never implemented, is even easier, pretty much anyone anyone can do this.

    2. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by jrumney · · Score: 1
      Just make sure the JRE matches..... Thats a pretty big just.

      And usually not neccesary, mostly it is the developer's laziness in testing the application on different JVMs that causes them to try and force a specific version.

      You do realise that as of Windows XP, windows doesn't even ship with Java ?

      When was the last time you saw a new PC ship with vanilla Windows XP? Every new PC I've seen has the latest Sun JRE preinstalled, along with Nero (or equivalent), a trial version of McAfee, Acrobat, a couple of alternate media players, some form of office suite (MS Office for overpriced "business" PCs, MS Works for "home" PCs from the big manufacturers, or Open Office from your local Mom and Pop computer store) and a load more software.

    3. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by MickDownUnder · · Score: 1

      Well... I don't know where you're buying your PC's from... Here in Australia I've never seen a PC pre-loaded with any of the software you've listed other than MS Works.... and even that is optional.

      In any case... JRE... swing... it's so cludgy... Java is a dated, proprietry architecture. ASP.NET produces simple HTML and Javascript. No-one coding ASP.NET uses client side vb script unless they're building an intranet application for a company running on MS Windows. Therefore ASP.NET is more compliant with open standards than client side Java.

      For someone to boast about what a poor decision it is to choose ASP.NET over client side Java, is pretty ridiculous, at best it's a pretty grey area, I know many people who would laugh at such a proposition. What I was getting at here, is that it's pretty easy to slag off someones architecture, its a lot lot harder to come up with your own.

    4. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I am just sitting back and enjoying the fireworks and relaxing and being glad I am no longer one of those programmers being lead by Managers who have no idea how technology really works.

      So, tell me -- how's the unemployed life treating you?

    5. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      But Java works, ASP.NET still has a lot of issues and compatability problems with different browsers. My former employer still cannot get ASP.NET working the way they want it to.

      Downloading Java is not that hard, http://www.java.com/ click on the automatic install button, wait. The JRE even asks the user to update itself after being installed. When I made the Java suggestion it was 2001, back when Microsoft had a JVM on every Windows PC, so it made sense back then.

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    6. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      Not so good, since 1998 my employer had harassed, abused, and threatened me via employees. I got very sick, I made the suggestion in 2001 before I went on a short term disability leave. When I returned to work, I was learning ASP.NET and willing to do it the employer's way, but I was told that they would hire someone who doesn't get sick and that programmers are a dime a dozen anyway. They went through several people trying to replace me, and none of them could do the level of quality and productivity that I was able to do. The replacements wrote sloppy code and could not get ASP.NET working the way the employer wanted it to work.

      I worked for another employer in 2002, before getting sicker and went on disability.

      In 2003 I went back to college to earn a bachelors degree and I just graduated with a 3.91 GPA. I researched a lot of new technologies on my spare time and I have found ASP.NET to be lacking in many things, and does not live up to the promises that Microsoft made for it.

      I had recevied a lot of job offers from 2002 to 2006, but I had to turn them down because I was not medically cleared to work yet. I had heart and knee surgeries last year, and I am recovering from them.

      I did research into a lot of niche markets and did analysis and design and research into a lot of potential software solutions. I have plans of starting up a small business with a possible OSS business model. I got tired of making others rich, and I thought maybe I'd work for myself for a change. Like use a BSD license and charge for modifications for custom versions of the software, tech support, documentation, training. I could also release the code I write to a commercial license and have a commercial version.

      For example I used to work in a law firm and medical companies, and I have experience writing applications for those areas. I have law firms and hospitals that have already expressed interest in custom made applications for their companies. Not just in the USA, but Internationaly as well.

      If all goes correctly, I should earn more money that my former employers paid me, which was a lot anyway, possibly more than an anonymous coward earns. :)

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    7. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by MickDownUnder · · Score: 1

      My former employer still cannot get ASP.NET working the way they want it to.

      I think that'd have more to do with your former workmates understanding of HTML, javascript and ASP.NET than the architecture of ASP.NET. ASP.NET allows you to render HTML in a number of ways, if you want to you can completely customise the way HTML is rendered. Basically if you can hand write the HTML you want ASP.NET to generate you, you shouldn't have too much trouble with ASP.NET. However if you don't know how to write cross browser compliant HTML, then there's a strong likelihood you won't be able to get ASP.NET to do it for you either.

      Downloading Java is not that hard, http://www.java.com/ click on the automatic install button, wait

      A while back my mother lost about 3 months worth of work out of Excel because the system crashed, it turned out she hadn't shut down the computer, closed Excel, or even saved during that whole period. Each day she just turned off the monitor.....

      You like most slashdot readers really over estimate the average user's ability by an extremely large magnitude.

      When I made the Java suggestion it was 2001

      Round that time I was at a company using JSP (very similiar to ASP.NET) to generate HTML for a web application, they had explored client side java quite seriously, having developed an application in it from 1996-1998. They dropped client side java in 1998 after that project for a whole number of reasons, such as performance, memory requirements, Suns inability to standardise the language, the kludginess of swing, plus the end result looked ugly, it looked like a step backwards from windows not forwards.

      Everyone's entitled to their opinion. A tip for you, in a professional situation, making statements like yours is pretty unwise, because you end up looking like twice the schmuck if/when the day comes that you're given your chance to proove your argument, and it ends up being just as problematic or even more so than the original system you slagged off. In that situation it won't matter what the cause of the problems might be, people will have their knives out for you, and will be more than keen to return the favour you did them.

    8. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      Microsoft tells people that ASP.NET will solve all their problems and work with any browser. I feel that the people I worked with knew how to code HTML for different browsers. That was not the issue. The issue was having Javascript work the same way with several different browsers without having to write several different versions of it.

      Java has improved much since 1998 when you quit using it. Around 2001 it had improved and became a lot better. In fact Java 2.0 was released to address those issues you talked about way before 2001. In fact, J2EE was released in 2001 with a lot of improvements.

      Everyone is entitled to their opinions, yet others can freely say their opinions without recourse, but if I say mine I get attacked. Trust me, I've had more than my own share of knives I had to pull out of my back from 1998 to 2000 even when I did agree with using Microsoft technologies and I backed up everything management decided with. All because I had gotten pay raises for doing a better job than most of my coworkers. I even offered to help coworkers who struggled and I did actually help a few of them. I even lead a team to develop integrated Intranet programs. I've been stabbed in the back countless times, and it is one of my reasons for trying to form my own business. What they did to me makes my posts here look like nothing.

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    9. Re:Microsoft Atlas Shrugged! by Phil+John · · Score: 1

      Like use a BSD license and charge for modifications for custom versions of the software, tech support, documentation, training. I could also release the code I write to a commercial license and have a commercial version.

      If you want to go down this road, I'd suggest using a dual GPL/Commercial license (ala Trolltech QT) as with BSD, there's nothing stopping anyone taking your code and using it commercially, whilst keeping to code closed and not giving you a cent. With GPL/Commercial, if the don't buy commercial, their product must also be GPL, if they buy commercial, they can stay closed source.

      If you look at the companies that have a successful OSS business model, most of them use GPL rather than BSD.

      --
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  54. Java Competitor by coldtone · · Score: 2, Informative

    If your using Java and want a good Ajax framework. Check out Icefaces

    It's currently in alpha release.

  55. Mod Parent Up - He's Right! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's absolutely right about companies filtering Javascript - and it is becoming more and more commonplace. Writing pages w/o any Javascript may not produce the flashiest site but always works and gets through the firewall.

  56. See OpenLaszlo new DHTML demo by hqm · · Score: 1

    OpenLaszlo is a high level toolkit for writing GUI apps in the browser. Supports Flash and DHTML is in the works. www.openlaszlo.org click on the DHTML demo.

    1. Re:See OpenLaszlo new DHTML demo by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      OpenLaszlo ... Supports Flash

      Flash is evil. :-P

      Seriously, I am highly disappointed in Lazlo. It could have been a great platform if it had compiled all its widgets in AJAX. (And yes, that is possible.) Instead, it copped out and used Flash. Given the number of people who block flash or otherwise hate its guts, that's simply not an option.

  57. holy semantics... by Run4yourlives · · Score: 1

    Ya know, they call it a "buzzword" for a reason.

      I'm not sure what kind of XML parsing you'd suggest they do on an image to have google maps qualify your strict definition of AJAX, but for 95% of the world, (those would be the not-so-anal people) it's a great example of an AJAX app in action.

    Rest assured though, for your needs you can simply insert "Google Suggest" for "Google Maps" and life won't be so hard on you.

    1. Re:holy semantics... by Skreems · · Score: 1

      Asynchronous operations by definition involve a callback when the request has completed, for the code to resume processing. XmlHttpRequest meets this definition, but when you set an image source in JS, there is no callback. There's no asynchronous aspect to the client-side Javascript. And yes, Google Suggest does qualify, because the client-side code resumes processing once the request has completed. It IS a buzzword, and people tend to apply it to a bunch of stuff that it just doesn't actually describe.

      I think our site would be really neat if it had a movie player in the corner showing sports highlights. We can use AJAX to make that happen, right?

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  58. Microsoft Atlas by UberDork · · Score: 1

    Is this their answer to Google Maps? *ducks*

  59. URL is broken by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  60. You're right, but... by Jerk+City+Troll · · Score: 2, Insightful

    [JavaScript is] just not the right language for writing full-featured applications. It's barely even object oriented, weak typed, etc. And debugging it is a disaster.

    Actually, EMCA Script is perhaps one of the most object-oriented languages in use today. Absolutely everything is an object and there are no primatives. And as for debugging, Venkma is probably one of the most powerful debugging environments I have ever used for any language or platform?

    As for your comment regarding Java Applets, it is really a matter of ubiquity. Every browser (for our intents and purposes) has ECMA Script support. However, not all of them have the Java Runtime Environment plug-in.

  61. I'm pretty sure that Gmail is based off of ASP.NET by EoN604 · · Score: 1

    lol.

  62. Component frameworks by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1
    The major problem of ASP.NET (and JSF, which offers a similar approach in the Java world) is that it essentially replaces a large number of HTML elements with its own. This means that your HTML designers have to relearn, and that the tools they used to write and preview HTML will no longer work unless they are updated to support the technology in question.

    Yes, in ASP.NET you can use "HTML server controls" rather than "ASP.NET controls", thus retaining HTML compatibility. But you miss so many features by doing so...

  63. Why did I care to read comments here... by Over00 · · Score: 1

    Only good web page to the average Slashdot troll is a blank web page. That or a web site coded on a typewriter.

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    1. Re:Why did I care to read comments here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the best comment I have ever read on slashdot :)

  64. Write AJAX apps in Qt-style GUI programming by xynopsis · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've read the previous comments that AJAX apps won't cut it because of its dependency on complicated Java and that programming complex UI logic in Javascript is a bad idea.

    We've been working on a toolkit called Wt that solves this problem among other issues when attempting to do AJAX. Best of all, it is pattterned on Qt and allows you to design webapps as you would in any desktop Qt application. The event mechanism is handled using signal and slots, allowing the same programming elegance found in Qt-based software. It allows you to focus on the design and logic of your program in one place and one place only! Quite similar to how Qt hides the details of the underlying window system from the programmer. Please check it out!

    1. Re:Write AJAX apps in Qt-style GUI programming by xynopsis · · Score: 1

      >> dependency on complicated Java

      Oops! A typo! What I meant there was Javascript not Java! No offense to Java developers!

  65. Re:Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    ... Safari's lack of standards compliance.

    I want what he's smoking!.

  66. so let me get this straight by michaelnz · · Score: 2, Funny

    They've named their development tool Atlas and their search engine and map tool Windows Live. Good job marketing department!

  67. Oh boy... by rayvd · · Score: 1

    Rand McNally is going to be pissed!

  68. Think about their target audience... by TiggertheMad · · Score: 1

    Asp.net is less code and is faster if you do a few select things: Grab a complex dataset and do a lot of fance processing on the client. For 90% of the stuff an average person would do, it is a complete wash. Saving the current viewstate is kind of handy, I guess, but that only took a line of code to do in classic asp anyway, so who cares? Most of the time I have 'saved' is usually wasted looking up some esoteric class member that you now have to use becuase you are using asp.net objects.

    God have mercy on your soul if you try to do anything non-standard with a Datagrid, because asp.net won't...

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    1. Re:Think about their target audience... by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      You could persist form values with one line of code in classic ASP? Hmm.. I seem to remember reams and reams of boilerplate form processing code. Even the 'framework' ASP code I used required more setup code. Eliminating that stuff is basically the upside to ASP.NET ... the datagrid and other controls are more or less a wash.

      --
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  69. compatibility by cyfer2000 · · Score: 1

    By providing a compatibility layer, their products may actually be compatible with other browsers.

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  70. Do you know what you are talking about? by Phil+John · · Score: 1

    no two web browsers seem to be able to use the same Javascript

    It used to be like that, but hasn't for a while. Since EMCA script became a standard and the current raft of browsers was released it's been a much more level playing field.

    As long as you code to the standards, 99% of the time everything works as it should, cross browser. I'm not just talking things like alert('hello world!'), but serious, manipulating the DOM, fancy effects like no-refresh tabs that use sliding images for the background. There's no denying that browser manufacturers could do a bit more, for instance I keep running into a ghost form element problem on Safari (remove an input item from the DOM, dissapears from screen but still gets posted back) but these require just minor tweaks to fix.

    then any browser that supports Java can run a Java servlet and it can be programmed to be easy to use.

    First of all, Applets run in browsers, not servlets. Secondly, I've not looked into it for a while, but is usability for the disabled of applets still a problem? If so that's a big problem right there, no gov or public sector contracts (in the UK at least, Disability Discrimination Regs).

    As far as ASP.NET (at least 2.0) goes, everything seems to work as advertised, validators do their thing client side, and then server side when postback occurs (except in "Downlevel" browsers which only use the server side validators). There should be no denying ASP.NET had flaws in v1/1.1, it didn't output the best html (still doesn't, but it's a lot better) and a lot of things were very IE specific, but they've listened to the critics (most of whom were dyed in the wool MS developers and MVP's who wanted dearly to use ASP.NET for gov contracts but couldn't) and created something that's a joy to use.

    --
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    1. Re:Do you know what you are talking about? by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      I'd like to see evidence of that 99% compatability rate, I think you pulled that number out of thin air. You will note at least 1% incompatability is enough to force developers to write different Javascript for different browsers and cause a failure in the beginning.

      I think I got confused there I was talking about JSP and servlets on the server end, and Java applets on the client end, and somehow my words got jumbled.

      Even PHP seems to be a better platform than ASP.NET is right now.

      Disability should be built into Java now as far as I have heard. Go ahead and try it for yourself.

      While ASP.NET 2.0 has improved over 1.0/1.1, it still does not do everything it promised and it still seems to render HTML with issues and still requires some client specific issues that cause some problems.

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    2. Re:Do you know what you are talking about? by Phil+John · · Score: 1

      The 99% rate is a rough guesstimate from work I've done over the past year.

      As an example, the js file that's used in the admin interface of our e-Commerce software. It's 890 lines long (excluding comments) and weighs in at around 34k.

      I wrote it to target firefox first, and then would make any tweaks needed to make it work cross browser. The only tweaks I needed were in a little bit of DOM munging and were:

      • "Safari Ghost Node Fix", whereby you set the name of an input element that's been removed from the dom tree to nothing as otherwise it still gets submitted with the form.
      • When assigning an onlick from javascript, assigning a function (e.g. node.onclick=function() { do onlick stuff here }; as internet explorer didn't like it otherwise.

      That was all the tweaks I had to do, I coded to the standards (e.g. things like document.getElementById()). The script isn't doing trivial things either, it allows adding, removing and sorting rows in a "product options" sub-form (all the dom munging), turning fieldsets dynamically into a tabbed pane interface (if the browser is up to it), client-side form field validation, postbacks for forms within forms...and lots more besides.

      I use a third-party Cross Browser XMLHTTPRequest library for the AJAX parts of the admin interface (used for getting the fields required by kelkoo for a specific product category), but even that is small (240 lines including copyright attribution) and mostly of that is for opera versions that don't support a native XMLHTTPRequest object.

      Granted, if you are doing XMLHTTPRequest (AJAX) you need to do some browser specific stuff, but for an awful lot of things if you stick to the standards you'll be ok.

      As far as ASP.NET as a platform goes, true, there are still issues, but they are being worked on and there's no denying 2.0 is a lot better than 1.0/1.1. As far as comparing it to PHP, it's like comparing Apples to oranges. ASP.NET is an entire event driven framework for web application development. You no longer need to write/provide all that repetetive code for things like validation, data display etc. it's mostly taken care of. PHP is a web scripting language - a blank canvas that does very little for you, hence the big push for enterprise frameworks (Prado, Zend Framework etc...). I'm not knocking PHP, our main flagship products are built on top of it, albeit with our own framework that's built over the last 5 years. I've almost finished a big ASP.NET 2 app and was able to get going much quicker and therefore complete it on a very tight budget, I don't know if I could have done the same in PHP.

      I can see why some people don't like the way ASP.NET forces them to work. You have to be content with giving up a little control, but it means your productivity skyrockets as you're no longer dealing with nitty gritty things. And if a certain control doesn't work the way you want, extend or replace it with a Custom Web Control (like I've done for rendering table-less menus).

      --
      I am NaN
    3. Re:Do you know what you are talking about? by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      I did not say that ASP.NET was useless, I just said that it does not always work as promised. Microsoft knows this and is constantly adding things like Atlas to try and fix it, so it can do what Microsoft promised it could do. If it did what it promised to do, there would be no need for Atlas, now would there?

      PHP has a ton of libraries written for it, and actually might have more third party support for it than ASP.NET has. That is because PHP has been out before ASP was developed.

      Still in the example I gave in 2001, the main problem was to make several different web browsers work with Intranet applications. We had been using ASP 3.0, ActiveX controls, VBScript, and other companies using OS/2, MacOS, Linux, etc could not work with our Intranet. I suggested Java technology as a solution, because all of those platforms had a Java runtime on them. Management wanted to go to ASP.NET 1.0 Beta. I knew that ASP.NET 1.0 had issues and I documented them. At the time, going to Java seemed like the better idea. That is what I was trying to say.

      ASP.NET 2.0 has a lot of improvements over 1.0 and 1.1, but I still do not see it as being there yet. I have no doubt that the tools and framework Microsoft .NET 2.0 gives makes people more productive in creating ASP.NET applications.

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  71. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by bit01 · · Score: 2, Informative

    ... incredible ... amazing ... thoroughly impressed ... cool ... flat out amazing ... amazing ... unbelievably ... major ...

    Lying astroturfer, fraudulently misrepresenting company propaganda as objective third party opinion.

    • First paragraph gives fake credentials to suck wary reader in. Check.
    • Rest of article in hype overdrive. Check.
    • Claims alternative points of view are troll/flamebait/bash. Check.
    • Article is a disorganised mishmash of "positive" points. Check.
    • Claims that making the equivalent of a procedure call to existing code is amazing. Check.
    • Claims functionality that's been available for years under other names is somehow new. Check.
    • Take home point links to further marketing drivel. Check.

    It appears to have been mod'ed up by sock puppets too.

    Don't think it's an astroturfer? Learn more about undercover marketing, M$' astroturfing history, non-M$ astroturfing, net astroturfing and non-net astroturfing.

    ---

    The majority of modern marketing is nothing more than an arms race to get mind share. Everybody loses except the parasitic marketing "industry".

  72. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could you possibly be any more paranoid? Just becuase someone supports a MS solution doesn't mean they are working for MS. Man, what a troll post if I've ever seen one.

  73. TBH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  74. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by bit01 · · Score: 1

    Yes, marketers love calling people who spot their lies "trolls" or "paranoid" or something similar.

    That's because if you can't counter an argument with facts a good alternative is a negative emotional association, in this case an association with immaturity. No potential customer likes to be associated with immaturity.

    Incidentally, the original post is probably only the most obvious piece of astroturf here, there's likely to be several others which are more subtle.

    Marketers aren't stupid. They know they're not wanted and will use every trick they can think of to get under people's radar, including fake conversations, strawman arguments, Dorothy Dix'ers, post flooding, article submission flooding, emotional distractions and anonymous no-username posts. The no-username posts are used when they don't want to endanger their slashdot karma as it's needed for mod points to mod their propaganda up. And occasionally, for something particularly important, to mod the competition down.

    ---

    Marketing talk is not just cheap, it has negative value. Free speech can be compromised just as much by too much noise as too little signal.

  75. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by Khalid · · Score: 1

    Thanks a lot for this thoughtful answer, there are times I really regret not having moderation points. Alas this kind of posts is becoming more and more common in Slashdot, because its moderation is flawed and is clearly showing its limits.

    What we need now is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_resistant_trus t_metric like the one implemented in Advocado for instance.

    Sadely Wikipedia itself is starting to have the same problem, its high visibility is attracting lots and lots of spammers and people quietly pushing their ideology agenda and Marketing.

  76. microsoft and innovation by chrisranjana.com · · Score: 0

    It is innovations like these that keep m$ ahead of the rest. Also regarding the official definition of atlas as per microsoft website "Atlas" is a free framework for building a new generation of richer, more interactive, highly personalized standards based Web applications." atleast microsoft is giving something for free !! Ajax rules and framework using AJAX rule more.

    --
    Chris ,
    Php Programmers.
  77. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If this sort of post bothers you, I can't imagine how you can deal with any of the comment forums on this site. The Apple Topics in particular are choked with "appleturf", as are any "free software" or EFF topics. The moderation system in general encourages and rewards "Party Line" posts so that's what you get.

    --
    Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
  78. Oh brother by jav1231 · · Score: 1

    "Microsoft today announced Atlas: An effort to infect the largely FOSS platforms collectively known as AJAX with Microsoft's own ASP technology. One spokesman said, 'We've been largely left out of the AJAX party. Maybe they think that's why its successful, but for who? Not us! WAAAAH!'"

  79. Anything "non-standard" in ASP.NET by truthsearch · · Score: 1

    God have mercy on your soul if you try to do anything non-standard with a Datagrid, because asp.net won't...

    I found that to be the case with anything not in Microsoft's anemic samples. It seems if you don't fit into the specific profiles Microsoft planned for you're in for a hell of a time. The fact there are so many web pages about how to get around .NET's limitations is testament to that fact.

    I just noticed we have god, hell, and testament all in one post, yet the post is about .NET. I don't know what that means but it scares me.

  80. AJAX is simple by SilkBD · · Score: 1

    Try this... very simple.  (works definately in IE.. having issues in Firefox)

    <html>
      <head>
        <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
          var xmlHttp;

          function GetXmlHttpObject(handler)
          {
            var objXmlHttp=null

            if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Opera")>=0)
            {
              alert("This example doesn't work in Opera")
              return
            }else

            if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("MSIE")>=0)
            {
              var strName="Msxml2.XMLHTTP"
              if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 5.5")>=0)
              {
                strName="Microsoft.XMLHTTP"
              }

              try
              {
                objXmlHttp=new ActiveXObject(strName)
                objXmlHttp.onreadystatechange=handler
                return objXmlHttp
              }
                catch(e)
              {
                alert("Error. Scripting for ActiveX might be disabled")
                return
              }
            }

            if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Mozilla")>=0)
            {
              try {
                netscape.security.PrivilegeManager.enablePrivilege ("UniversalBrowserRead");
              } catch (e) {
                alert("Permission UniversalBrowserRead denied.");
              }

              objXmlHttp=new XMLHttpRequest()
              objXmlHttp.onload=handler
              objXmlHttp.onerror=handler
              return objXmlHttp
            }
          }

          function makeRequest(url)
          {
            xmlHttp = GetXmlHttpObject(processData);
            xmlHttp.open("GET", url, true);
            xmlHttp.send(null);
          }

          function processData()
          {
            if (xmlHttp.readyState==4 || xmlHttp.readyState=="complete")
            {
              document.getElementById("results").innerHTML = xmlHttp.responseText;
            }
          }

        </script>
      </head>
      <body>
        <input type="button" value="Microsoft" id="display1" style="border: 1px solid #000;" onclick="makeRequest('http://www.microsoft.com')"/ >
        <input type="button" value="Yahoo" id="display1" style="border: 1px solid #000;" onclick="makeRequest('http://www.yahoo.com')"/>
        <input type="button" value="Google" id="display1" style="border: 1px solid #000;" onclick="makeRequest('http://www.google.com')"/>

        <div id="results"></div>
      </body>
    </html>

    --
    00101010
  81. Re:Did you guys even read TFA??? - ASTROTURFER by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 1

    I find your ideas intreaguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

    --
    We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.