[FX.php List] AJAX Big Picture

[Dale Bengston]

Hi David,

I learned the concepts of AJAX from this tutorial on Apple's web site:
http://developer.apple.com/internet/webcontent/xmlhttpreq.html

The gist of it is, you're using JavaScript to formulate urls/queries  
to your web server which pass in behind the scenes, without reloading  
the current page. The target URL, in our world, would be a php file  
that knows what to do with the parameters it receives in the URL, just  
as a traditional link or form submit would send $_REQUEST data to  
another page. Our php page would then return some amount of  
information back to JavaScript, and the JavaScript would know what to  
do with it: redraw part of the page, update a status, change a color,  
etc.

The biggest differences in using ajax are (in my opinion) user  
experience and interface issues. If your users are in the habit of  
seeing a page redraw when they submit a form or click a link, you have  
to manage new expectations.

Once you start sending and receiving data with AJAX, it will alter  
your brain forever. You will go through a phase where you will want to  
do everything with AJAX, but eventually this wears off and you'll find  
a balance between traditional HTTP requests and AJAX requests.

We currently use Prototype/Scriptaculous for our AJAX stuff. Others  
use JQuery. There's also Lajax, Lance Hallberg's libraries, which are  
closely tied to FX since he's a FileMaker developer. (Might be a good  
place to start.) I also have a serious eye on Adobe's new Spry  
libraries.

Which one's right for you? It depends. Most of the time it comes down  
to how it "feels" to use the code, how well it's documented - extra  
important as you're starting out, and whether it all works on the  
platforms and browsers you support. (Unfortunately, I have not been  
able to get Bob Patin to lend me his new iPhone for six or seven  
months so I can test our AJAX stuff there!)

Give yourself ample time for experimentation, and be prepared to toss  
one AJAX library out and try another if it doesn't feel right.

Also, we have found Firefox with the Firebug plug-in to be very  
helpful in debugging AJAX calls. I don't know how I ever got along  
without it! We use Macs; I don't know if there's a PC version of that  
plugin as well.

I hope this helps. Sorry it's all over the place.

Dale


  --
Dale Bengston
Partner, The Whole Brain Group, LLC
thewholebraingroup.com

On Jul 24, 2008, at 10:26 AM, biscuit technologies wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> I've just gotten approval to start folding in AJAX queries to  
> improve the existing interface of a FX project.
>
> If anyone could point me to some kind of basic tutorial or a sample  
> file with simple FX examples using AJAX I would really appreciate  
> it. I have limited experience with this stuff and can use all the  
> help I can get.
>
> Thanks,
> David
>
> On Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 11:57 AM, Jonathan Schwartz <jschwartz at exit445.com 
> > wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> It was great meeting up with fellow fx.phpr's Bob Patin, Chris  
> Hansen, Michael Ward, David Ness, Steve Winter, Alex Gates and Joel  
> Shapiro at DevCon. (Did I miss anyone?)
>
> If you weren't there...trust me...we included you in our  
> conversations. ;-)
>
> With so many choices for implementing AJAX-type content, I'm losing  
> track of the options.
>
> Would someone care to take a stab at summarizing the Big Picture,  
> with Pros and Cons?
>
> Here are the basic terms that I'm looking to develop perspective on,  
> and which are alternatives for which.
>
> AJAX
> JQuery
> Prototype
> Spry
> Flex
>
> Thanks
>
> J
> -- 
> Jonathan Schwartz
> Exit 445 Group
> jonathan at exit445.com
> http://www.exit445.com
> 415-370-5011
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