[FX.php List] Ajax/LAJAX's JavaScript requirements

[Joel Shapiro]

Thanks Steve and Dale

All your links are really helpful.

I guess it may take me some time to figure out when it would be best  
to use AJAX, but Man! The Possibilites!

(And I'll just get clients' input on whether they'd like me to use  
AJAX, balancing all its benefits against the possibility of disabled  
JS.)

-Joel


On Oct 18, 2006, at 3:42 PM, Dale Bengston wrote:

> Joel,
>
> My sites are all closed-loop corporate solutions, so lack of  
> JavaScript support is not something I have to deal with.
>
> I don't know what the differences are between LAJAX and what's more  
> commonly referred to as AJAX. Basically, I'm using XMLHttpRequest  
> to harvest data from user input and submit it to a PHP page, which  
> uses FX to act on FileMaker and return some data to the same page  
> without reloading the page in the browser. A lot of my sites allow  
> users to customize a printed piece, review proofs on the screen,  
> and then create final art that then goes directly into a print  
> shop's workflow.
>
> You can see a simple, raw prototype of my approach (written about  
> two years ago) on my web site:
> 	<http://www.streamline-studio.com/studio.php? 
> cat=demos&loc=stationery>
>
> I would not use AJAX to post my accounts payable or to retrieve or  
> manipulate a list of thousands of records, but for collecting user  
> input and acting on it, I can see no real limitation in  
> functionality here. In fact, it opens up the possibilities, like  
> allowing basic manipulation of a list of records all at once, which  
> is not really possible with a form-submit-reload-page scenario.  
> (Well it is, but it's pretty nasty.)
>
> When I first tried it, I wanted to do everything in AJAX. Then I  
> rolled back and almost walked away from the technique altogether.  
> Now I do the stuff that makes sense in AJAX and save the rest for  
> traditional form posts.
>
> Dale
>
> On Oct 18, 2006, at 4:56 PM, Joel Shapiro wrote:
>
>> Thanks Andy and Dale for your responses.
>>
>> (Andy, I knew you were using it quite a bit on FMPug -- I think it  
>> was the first place I saw it in action ;)
>>
>> Are either of you dealing with users having disabled JavaScript?
>> On FMPug, nothing happens on those pages when JS is disabled.  I'd  
>> imagine some sites are more likely to attract users with current  
>> browsers (like FMPug), but I wonder about sites that are likely to  
>> draw people that may have older computers?
>>
>> In general, I suppose as long as security issues aren't dependent  
>> upon JavaScript, the biggest problem would just be limited  
>> functionality.
>>
>> Out of curiosity, are you both using LAJAX or some other version  
>> of AJAX?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Joel
>>
>>
>> On Oct 18, 2006, at 2:42 PM, Dale Bengston wrote:
>>
>>> I am using AJAX extensively in production; it is a major  
>>> component of my development at this time. AJAX is a great tool.  
>>> There are some things I will never go back to doing with form  
>>> submits. And it's wicked fast - even with FM6.
>>>
>>> Dale
>>
>> On Oct 18, 2006, at 2:28 PM, Andy Gaunt wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Joel,
>>>
>>> We are using it on FMPug and also on a couple of client sites.
>>>
>>> On FMPug we are using it in the News Area, the Feature Requests, The
>>> Pawfolio's and Business Directory that are public facing.
>>>
>>> We also use it for chapter admins for the creation of meetings etc.
>>>
>>> Oh, and also for all non FMPug coordinators they have an AJAX  
>>> interface to
>>> update their details on both FMPug and also the FileMaker.com  
>>> user group
>>> listings (all housed in our FileMaker database)
>>>
>>> It makes for a very clean user interface and enhances the use of  
>>> the sites.
>>>
>>> Andy Gaunt
>>> Office: 321.206.3658
>>> Mobile: 407.810.4722
>>> andy at fmpug.com
>>> http://www.fmpug.com
>>>
>>> On Oct 18, 2006, at 4:19 PM, Joel Shapiro wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi all
>>>>
>>>> I've just been playing w/ LAJAX and it's very cool, but I'm  
>>>> wondering how practical it is to use in a real site because of  
>>>> its JavaScript requirements (this would be for anything using  
>>>> Ajax).  I doubt many people these days disable JavaScript on  
>>>> their browser, but because it's a possibility, it seems you'd  
>>>> need to test for it first and then provide other options for  
>>>> when JS is disabled (or provide instructions for the user to  
>>>> enable it).  Also, I notice that LAJAX requires JavaScript 1.2,  
>>>> but that seems likely a non-issue since that came out in 1997  
>>>> (or is it?).
>>>>
>>>> How are people dealing with this?  Anyone using it in production?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> -Joel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Joel Shapiro - FileMaker Pro Database Design
>>>> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>>>> joelshapiro at jsfmp dot com
>>>> http://www.jsfmp.com
>>>> 415-269-5055
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> FX.php_List mailing list
>>>> FX.php_List at mail.iviking.org
>>>> http://www.iviking.org/mailman/listinfo/fx.php_list
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> FX.php_List mailing list
>>> FX.php_List at mail.iviking.org
>>> http://www.iviking.org/mailman/listinfo/fx.php_list
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> FX.php_List mailing list
>> FX.php_List at mail.iviking.org
>> http://www.iviking.org/mailman/listinfo/fx.php_list
>
> _______________________________________________
> FX.php_List mailing list
> FX.php_List at mail.iviking.org
> http://www.iviking.org/mailman/listinfo/fx.php_list