Posted by Tomi Holger Engdahl on 09/19/05 11:45

Erwin Moller <since_humans_read_this_I_am_spammed_too_much@spamyourself.com> writes:

> Yarco wrote:
>
> > I want to know whether "Ajax" do have the ability to instead the normal
> > web programming.
>
> Well, AJAX only gives you a clientsolution.
> Like replacing pieces on a document with fresh material that is delivered
> without a full page rebuild.
> If you need databasequeries and the like, you still need to make the scripts
> on the server.
> I have looked at AJAX, but I don't see the point really. :-/
> (I guess I am an oldfashioned guy.)

I many traditional web applications I don't see much point in
trying to push AJAX to them. But there are applications that
can be built in more user friendly way using AJAX.
The examples that I can think of are some web based user
interfaces. You can nicely get live updated from certain
inforamtion form the device being controller, and update
them on the fly to the visible web page without disturbing
other things done on the web page at the same time.
And those updates can be performed on mahy web brosers withotu seeing
that "flashing" that happens often when you reload the page.

AJAX technologies have already applied in such nice services
like Google Mail (www.gmail.com) and Google Maps (maps.google.com).
Their user interface made in AJAX way is much more "slick" than
what coudl be done with traditional web interface.
I have used several web base map services and e-mail services
built using traditional web technioques, and their user
interface is not that good as in those "state of the art"
AJAX applications.

There are places where AJAX can help to make better user interface.
Lots of potential to help situations which are not well done
with traditional web.

But AJAX is not for everything and should
not be pushed for every application because some developers think
that it is "cool". Ajax is not perferct and has it's problems.
I will expect to see AJAX to be musused in very many situations
in the applications where is not really needed and does not
make things any better (easily worse if not used properly!).
This has happened already for other new web techniques,
and I expect tha history repeats itself.

Ajax Mistakes
http://sourcelabs.com/ajb/archives/2005/05/ajax_mistakes.html
"Ajax is an awesome technology that is driving a new generation of web
apps, from maps.google.com to colr.org to backpackit.com. But Ajax is
also a dangerous technology for web developers, its power introduces a
huge amount of UI problems as well as server side state problems and
server load problems."

> Maybe when you have a very heavyly filled page it makes sense to replace
> just a part of it.

There are applications where this makes sense.

Using AJAX is not the only way to replace just part of a web page.

> Some people claimed AJAX could prevent others from 'stealing' your content,
> but that is not true. (It only makes it a little more work.)

I don't see how AJAX could prevent other people from 'stealing' your
content. Using AJAX might make stealing a little bit harder on
some cases for some users when technology is new, but I think
that the effect of it as protection will soon drop
(similar protection level like with other Javascript trics
that are not really secure). Using AJAX as the only way to
get to the content might also stop some legitime users from
getting to you content (AJAX does not work on every
browser in the world and Javascript needed in AJAX is disabled
by the user in the web browser for security reasons).

--
Tomi Engdahl (http://www.iki.fi/then/)
Take a look at my electronics web links and documents at
http://www.epanorama.net/

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