Cutting Through the Ajax Hype

An anonymous reader writes "If you're thinking about building an Ajax application of your own, this article would be a good place to start. It's an introductory-level guide about when and how to implement Ajax. It provides a balanced discussion about where exactly using Ajax makes sense, and where it does not."

Comments

Isn't it sort of saddening...

[urbanradar]

...how much time passed in between stories about said AJAX hype hitting Slashdot and stories about "Cutting through the AJAX hype" hitting Slashdot?

Ajax Hype

[John Sokol]

Oh man, I had written a chat room in back 1996 using what I called server push Java Script and nobody paid much attention, although it was on many adult video chat sites. Example at http://www.videotechnology.com/chatroom.html

    We did many of the same things using that technique that people are doing now in Ajax, interactive games, and database etc using it.

  Suddenly some marketing guy calls it "Ajax", which is almost doing the same thing is all the rage.

Ajax is no easy substitute for good design

[EraserMouseMan]

The thing that made AJAX catch on is that a few of the very first notable web apps were very heavy on graphic design and well-thought-out layout.

So now everybody thinks that if their website can just be written with AJAX technology it will automatically come with a smooth, user-friendly and beautiful interface.

AJAX is just one technique. You still need to be highly skilled at all the other web-coding disciplines else to end up with a great web app.

Re:AJAX's hatred of the middle-click.

[Bogtha]

With Firefox and Opera, one is able to open a link in a new tab by middle clicking on it. But unfortunately, many AJAX-enabled Web apps disallow such functionality, for whatever reason.

It's not Ajax per se that disallows it. The problem is that a lot of developers use <a href="#" onclick="..."> and don't provide an actual URI to open.

GMail is a major culprit.

Yes, it is, and I've said as much in the past. It's actually even worse than the average clueless developer, because it doesn't even use <a> for links - it uses <span> and click handlers to provide really, really crappy emulated links. Of course, doing so immediately throws the normal link handling your web browser provides out the window, including (but not limited to) opening them in new tabs or windows.

Basically every AJAX site I've tried has interfered some way with traditional ways of browsing. I don't know if it's an inherent limitation with AJAX

It's not. It's usually either developer ignorance or developer apathy - they either don't know how to do it or they don't care.

Re:This article is moot

[Scrameustache]

the days when ajax was just a household cleaner. *mumble*hero of the battle of Troy*mumble*