[FX.php List] AJAX Big Picture

Thu Jul 24 11:59:29 MDT 2008

Hi,

I've pretended to be a developer for many years now.  I've fumbled  
with many of the libraries out there as well as doing some straight  
AJAX (no Prototype, MooTools, jQuery, etc.)

As folks have already commented, you can bounce around quite a bit as  
some libraries handle some particular task with little effort, and  
others seem more cumbersome - but do something else as elegant as ever.

I, for one, have pretty much settled on jQuery (http://jquery.com/).   
Unless you KNOW Javascript (can write code all day without losing  
yourself), I found jQuery to be the easiest to grasp, implement,  
experiment with, and really use in a useful way for many projects.   
It's great for effects, changing CSS on the fly, sliding/showing/ 
hiding things, and of course AJAX.

There are at least two books already out for jQuery, there are heaps  
of plug-ins that probably already do what you're looking to do, and  
lots of resources as well as pretty solid documentation and a super  
developer community.

So, don't commit to it completely right way, but certainly take a  
look.  I'm starting to see some pretty big sites out there  
implementing jQuery:

http://www.84bytes.com/2008/06/04/examples-of-popular-sites-using-jquery/

HTH,

Michael

On Jul 24, 2008, at 1:26 PM, Dale Bengston wrote:

> 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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