AJAX gives software a fresh look

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Yes... and no

1. Most Anti-virus software blocks...

Yes it can but no, it doesn't. If this was true, most pages with scripting would fail already and its use would be very limited.

2. Many corp. proxies block client-side script features

Not in my experience, but even so, web applications that replace Office functionality will operate either within the firewall or with clients external. The web application aspect is not intended to be used from inside to outside (thought that will work very well in general anyway).

3. Most of the OLDER browsers...

Not really relevant. There are plenty of new, free browsers that support all required technologies. The only browsers that don't support them have less than 5% usage in total.

Besides, this is not a 'mission critical' thing, that stuff will stay as platform-specific client applications or traditional client/server.

4. Both IE and Mozilla support completely different ways of using AJAX

Not really. The calls to XMLHttpRequest are different, but that's just a few lines of code. Nearly everything else is the same now that Microsoft has committed to supporting W3C and Mozilla has put in a lot of MS extensions (heck, they're even supporting modal dialogs!).

5. Thistechnology adds ten-fold the size of Kbytes downloaded...

Not necessarily. The idea is you only download the bits you need. There is no need to download the entire application (or data) in one go. Besides, broadband access is reducing the impact of 56k networks on internet-based applications.

6. 11% of users world-wide, according to what Ive read, TURN OFF JAVASCRIPT

Again, not relevant. 10% aren't running Windows either, yet Office is a virtual monopoly. This doesn't need to be compatible with 100% of computers.

7. Nearly ALL mobile devices and micro-browsers fail to support javscripting

That accounts for a bout 0.1% of web traffic. Anyhow, an increasing number of devices do. Look how many have adopted Java for games - they just need a compelling reason to support.

JavaScript 1.5 has been around for a very long time (since 1999) and DOM 2 since 2000. That is all that is required (though DOM 3 would be nice).

Most WAP proxies strip out Javascript because of this, its extra size, security reasons, and support of the technology.

That will change. JavaScript presents zero security issues, it is not necessarily bloated any more than HTML is, and support will increase as more content uses it.


this technology is nothing new, nothing special, and doesnt add ANY NEW VALUE to the web beyond visual circus tricks

Not new, yes. Nothing special, maybe. Doesn't add value? Complete rubbish. Scripting is already very widely used, if it added no value then it wouldn't.

...write articles about truly new technologies that make a difference, like XML and XSLT that are really and truly changing the world wide web presently

Excuse me, but XML is part of AJAX (though probably the least important part) and XSLT is confined almost exclusively to the server for many of the reasons you state above.

Yes, AJAX is a buzzword and is a munge of quite old, existing technologies. But never-the-less, it's easier to say than 'JavaScript, XML, DOM and XMLHttpRequest'.

What makes it 'new' again is the availability of clients to actually deliver web applications (i.e. fast processors and graphics) and broadband networks to make interactivity reasonable (though nowhere near LAN client/server speeds).

It will not completely replace Office or other application suites, but it will greatly reduce the need for such applications for typical domestic and many bespoke commercial situations.

Posted by: Fred Fredrickson   Posted on: 10/03/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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