Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

[MCWebsite.Staff]

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
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[Guest.Visitor]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
Regarding your comment about some people turning off Javascript and their characterization as paranoid; Yes, there is malicious code that can update your computer if Javascript is on and you simply enter a web site without clicking on anything. My Norton Antivirus occasionally takes off, warning me that it prevented one nasty or another from loading. Sometimes one after the other in rapid succession. All I did to merit the attack was click on a link on a benign page that would not otherwise have led me to believe I was in for an attack. Turning off Javascript is a good way to avoid problems. It is not paranoid. CSS can do a lot of what Javascript did previously with respect to dressing up pages. Server pages in one language or another are common, as we all know. I think AJAX will end up as a good idea that, after evaluation and initial enthusiasm, went away. Sorry.

[D.Kenzie]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
Just about any commercial site you visit requires some Javascript. While I agree with you about the power of CSS, there are some features of CSS that general require control using Javascript. For example, the ability to hide or show a section of a page requires script to flip a CSS style setting from display:block to display:none. The only other way to do this is by implementing CSS behaviors, or by making an unnecessary server call and reloading an entire page. Also - Javascript is not the only way for hackers to create 'unsafe' pages - ActiveX controls or fake images are other ways, not to mention faked URLs. I'm not sure I understand your comment about 'server pages in one language or another are common' - what do you mean by that? Also, I respectfully disagree with you about the lasting impact of AJAX. If you try Google Maps, for example, you'll see how this application would be much less powerful without AJAX. Duncan

[J.Pluta]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
Duncan's right in that the technology behind AJAX is not going away anytime soon. I'm less certain about AJAX itself; AJAX is simply another acronym for a basic function. As Duncan points out in his articles, the real genie in the bottle behind all of this is XMLHTTP, and that particular technology is nearly ten years old already; it was the backbone behind Outlook Web Access. Now, if the DOM 3 model gets ratified in our lifetime and XMLHTTP becomes standardized, then it may become a part of our lives. At the same time, people are already finding that programming using the XmlHTTPRequest object is not that simple; it's event-driven multi-tasking and a lot of people have problems writing for a single task. Joe

[R.Daugherty]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
All modern browsers support JavaScript, and the majority of users allow JavaScript to run in their pages. I keep Javascript turned off except for when it's required to do something useful. Everything works just fine, and I don't miss whatever it's not doing, which as far as I can tell is mostly popups and bad things that turn me and/or my PC into a zombie. ...but only really paranoid users will do that. Why is everybody always talking about me? rd

[Guest.Visitor]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
I have been writing web pages and web applications that displays AS/400 data for years. I have dreamed of a way for a program to "read" a URL allowing me to access any internet resource as a data input to my program. I now have AJAX running in a test program. WOW! To me this is as important as being able to retrieve data with SQL into a HTML. Now I can write routines to fill a list as the user types part of a key, build selection lists based on prior selections. This is great! Thank You! KJ

[bstox@dkintl.com]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
Your line "alert("An error occurred" + http.status)" should be "alert("An error occurred " + xmlhttp.status)".

[D.Kenzie]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
Thanks for pointing this out. You are correct.

[J.Wells]

Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2

** This thread discusses the article: Use AJAX for Bright and Shiny Web Apps, Part 2 **
AJAX has been on my "someday" list for some time now. Thanks to your article, I can now cross it off the list! This will really enhance our user's web "experience". Thanks! Joe Wells