Thoughts on Ajax
I was recently asked about my thoughts on Ajax, and I thought my response would make for a good, though-provoking post. Here’s how I responded:
Ajax strikes me as one of those fads that pops up from time to time. The difference here is that we’ve had the technologies to use what is now known as Ajax for years—it’s just that now it has a snazzy name and some people are doing very cool things with it (i.e., Google Maps). The other difference is that Internet accessibility has vastly improved: browsers today are more standards-compliant and have greater support of Javascript/DHTML and XML; more people are connected via broadband connections than ever before. So, we can no longer say that people on dial-up or people using old browsers are holding us back from making use of this technology.
Hmm… I think I’ve just convinced myself that it’s here to stay.
However, if it is just a fad, then it hasn’t yet peaked. I think we’ll at least see some very cool things come out of Ajax use over the next couple of years before Ajax itself evolves into something else. Hey, if anyone thought that DHTML had come and gone, then take a look at Ajax—it’s really what DHTML is evolving into.
In just a few short months, Adaptive Path has coined a new term and managed to create a frenzy around this “new” technology that’s already about eight years old. I find this in and of itself utterly amazing! The term Ajax has become a meme among Web developers.
Still, the introduction of the name seems to have created a bit of confusion among the developer community over what it really is, as evidenced by some of the questions from the Ajax Q&A.
What are your thoughts on Ajax?
For more reading on Ajax, check out the following blog posts:
1 Comment
What is more interessting, the xhttpreaquest, wchi ie. google map is using or the way how they got this message throught the whole network of web developers.
The company which I'm working for used this technologies already in year 2000 for theyr content management system Tool1. This CMS is acctualy outdated, because of browser incompatibility, but it was there, and they developed a realy similar technologie just from scratch...
I think the big diffrence today about xhttprequest is not the technologie it self, it is the environment which is needed for this technologie. As you sead now we'v got millions of broadbandusers (about 107 million DSL connections worldwide) and we'v got browsers which are compatible enough to handle some javascript good enough to develop a crossbrowser webapplication which makes use of a little javascript....
But what I'm realy impressed about, is how easy it is to use. I just hacked a little Chat application within about 30 minutes. Just 10 lines of PHP and about 30 lines of Javascript, which actualy won't grow that much if you like more functionality.
I think it will be especially for collaboration software a advantage, and of corse for all kind of administration interfaces, ie content management systems etc. It could also serve higher performance for applications like deviantart, where only the image paths would have to change...
But pleas don't use it for publishing big bunchs of information without any alternative output, what of corse a lot of people have already done with printable versions...
It's like every technology, use it at the right place and because you need it, and damn don't use it just because its funny :)