Comments on: Ajax gives software a fresh look

Messaging company Zimbra is one of several companies betting that Ajax-style Web development will shake up the PC software market.

AJAX - Concept Originates from Microsoft

Nice article but does not indicate anything about critical aspect - "WHO INVENTED IT ORIGINALLY"

Microsoft invented this concept in 1996 and is still used under the term XMLHTTP. Jesse James coined the term AJAX for the same methodology.

The reality is rest of the world is using it and getting all the hype too late. Some did good implementations of the same like Google Maps.

By 1997 there were several implementations of this technology, along with samples and case studies. So in short Microsoft is not catching up, rest of the world is...

I see mention of usability a lot in relation to Movable Buttons etc, but that all has to do with CSS and JavaScript. XMLHTTP (AJAX as it is being called now) is simple HTTP call to retrieve XML (for that matter it could even be CSV, or plain text data) and then leveraging JavaScript to render it on browser as needed.

Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX link for more information.

Last thing any company should do is to plan how to make money with this technology rather than plan to beat the inventor (Microsoft) itself.

no one invented anything... hardly

hypercard had some third party products that allowed remote database support... this was before hypertext

AJAX - Concept Originates from Microsoft

Nice article but does not indicate anything about critical aspect - "WHO INVENTED IT ORIGINALLY"

Microsoft invented this concept in 1996 and is still used under the term XMLHTTP. Jesse James coined the term AJAX for the same methodology.

The reality is rest of the world is using it and getting all the hype too late. Some did good implementations of the same like Google Maps.

By 1997 there were several implementations of this technology, along with samples and case studies. So in short Microsoft is not catching up, rest of the world is...

I see mention of usability a lot in relation to Movable Buttons etc, but that all has to do with CSS and JavaScript. XMLHTTP (AJAX as it is being called now) is simple HTTP call to retrieve XML (for that matter it could even be CSV, or plain text data) and then leveraging JavaScript to render it on browser as needed.

Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX link for more information.

Last thing any company should do is to plan how to make money with this technology rather than plan to beat the inventor (Microsoft) itself.

no one invented anything... hardly

hypercard had some third party products that allowed remote database support... this was before hypertext

The Compelling Business Case

Actually, I think that the licence cost element will just be a bonus of the business case. I agree that a wholesale shift away from the MS Office will happen very slowly and only with very good reason. StarOffice is providing an increasingly viable like for like alternative for MS Office. I think the real driver will be what the web brings. The collaborative aspects of creating and editing documents that everyone can see and being able to access your material from multiple light-weight platforms facilitating mobile and flexible working.

Lightweight Web-based Apps

I tend to agree that collaboration and mobility will turn out to be the secret sauces that drive major change. I've started using a lot of lightweight web-based apps like Writeboard and Backpack and will be delving into many others as part of my research for a conference on collaboration (ctcevents.com) and I find them very compelling. What's tricky is that Microsoft is very much on the collaboration bandwagon as well, albeit in a different way, and with Ray Ozzie there now they may well get ahead of the curve. The other problem with the lightweight apps is the annoyance of signing into so many different accounts in so many different places to access your work. It ends up being very fractured, and if Microsoft can offer the same experience but put it all in one place for you, they will have a real advantage.

RE: The compelling busines case

Very rightfull observation. The ability to use the web to add and manage content is more than compelling. Right now there are several sites, applying the AJAX technology to build and manage web documents and even whole sites -
http://www.sitekreator.com is just one example.

The Compelling Business Case

Actually, I think that the licence cost element will just be a bonus of the business case. I agree that a wholesale shift away from the MS Office will happen very slowly and only with very good reason. StarOffice is providing an increasingly viable like for like alternative for MS Office. I think the real driver will be what the web brings. The collaborative aspects of creating and editing documents that everyone can see and being able to access your material from multiple light-weight platforms facilitating mobile and flexible working.

Lightweight Web-based Apps

I tend to agree that collaboration and mobility will turn out to be the secret sauces that drive major change. I've started using a lot of lightweight web-based apps like Writeboard and Backpack and will be delving into many others as part of my research for a conference on collaboration (ctcevents.com) and I find them very compelling. What's tricky is that Microsoft is very much on the collaboration bandwagon as well, albeit in a different way, and with Ray Ozzie there now they may well get ahead of the curve. The other problem with the lightweight apps is the annoyance of signing into so many different accounts in so many different places to access your work. It ends up being very fractured, and if Microsoft can offer the same experience but put it all in one place for you, they will have a real advantage.

RE: The compelling busines case

Very rightfull observation. The ability to use the web to add and manage content is more than compelling. Right now there are several sites, applying the AJAX technology to build and manage web documents and even whole sites -
http://www.sitekreator.com is just one example.

[adunne3]

Forget terrorist attacks - what if my corporate network goes down?

I was encouraged by the AJAX-based applications I saw at Web 2.0 earlier this month. However, like the previous comment, the thought that my productivity would be tied even more closely to my corporate LAN's uptime gives me cause for concern. And it's not so much the thought of a terrorist attack that frightens me -- it's my company's LAN/Internet access, which fails for 30 min here and there on an almost monthly basis.

I assume large companies that feature redundant servers and well-staffed IT departments wouldn't be as concerned about Internet accessibility, but for SMBs with less predictable network uptime, I can assure you that AJAX-style applications will be perceived a bit more cautiously.

[adunne3]

Forget terrorist attacks - what if my corporate network goes down?

I was encouraged by the AJAX-based applications I saw at Web 2.0 earlier this month. However, like the previous comment, the thought that my productivity would be tied even more closely to my corporate LAN's uptime gives me cause for concern. And it's not so much the thought of a terrorist attack that frightens me -- it's my company's LAN/Internet access, which fails for 30 min here and there on an almost monthly basis.

I assume large companies that feature redundant servers and well-staffed IT departments wouldn't be as concerned about Internet accessibility, but for SMBs with less predictable network uptime, I can assure you that AJAX-style applications will be perceived a bit more cautiously.

[wiley14]

Actually, it goes back further than that...

Microsoft's remote scripting toolkit used a Java applet in place of the XMLHTTPRequest object.

[wiley14]

Actually, it goes back further than that...

Microsoft's remote scripting toolkit used a Java applet in place of the XMLHTTPRequest object.

AJAX benefit

What makes AJAX so special is the fact that a line of javascript code can return data from a server and use it in a browser to do any number of things- change the appearance, functionality, etc., all without reloading the whole page from the server. This is what makes it closer to being like a native app on your computer.

So, when you drag Google's map around on your screen, the javascript can simply get the new needed map sections to load, not a whole new page.

Any web developer will tell you that it is a relatively simple matter to run a web server on your system that only serves locally, not out to the internet.

Web apps can be developed that allow snapshots of files and data to be cached on the local system, as well as getting data from a remote server, so that 100% uptime by a server is not so necessary, if you also have the option of running a simple local service.

The point is that there is a lot of flexibility here, and the lines are getting ever grayer.

If the idea of running a local server seems too foreign, think about the distinct possibility that you are already doing so. Run a spyware check recently?

AJAX benefit

What makes AJAX so special is the fact that a line of javascript code can return data from a server and use it in a browser to do any number of things- change the appearance, functionality, etc., all without reloading the whole page from the server. This is what makes it closer to being like a native app on your computer.

So, when you drag Google's map around on your screen, the javascript can simply get the new needed map sections to load, not a whole new page.

Any web developer will tell you that it is a relatively simple matter to run a web server on your system that only serves locally, not out to the internet.

Web apps can be developed that allow snapshots of files and data to be cached on the local system, as well as getting data from a remote server, so that 100% uptime by a server is not so necessary, if you also have the option of running a simple local service.

The point is that there is a lot of flexibility here, and the lines are getting ever grayer.

If the idea of running a local server seems too foreign, think about the distinct possibility that you are already doing so. Run a spyware check recently?

[tomyeh]

Don't forget the development cost

As AJAX gives Web applications a fresh look, the cost of developing AJAX applications is threatening its success.

That is the reason we founded the ZK project: make AJAX transparent to app developers.

ZK is an open-source Web framework ( http://zk1.sourceforge.net ), and Live Demo at http://www.potix.com/zkdemo/userguide.

ZK has the following characteristics.
* XUL-based Components and Markup Language.
* Event-Driven Model.
* Server-Centric Processing.
* Script in Java and EL Expressions.

[tomyeh]

Don't forget the development cost

As AJAX gives Web applications a fresh look, the cost of developing AJAX applications is threatening its success.

That is the reason we founded the ZK project: make AJAX transparent to app developers.

ZK is an open-source Web framework ( http://zk1.sourceforge.net ), and Live Demo at http://www.potix.com/zkdemo/userguide.

ZK has the following characteristics.
* XUL-based Components and Markup Language.
* Event-Driven Model.
* Server-Centric Processing.
* Script in Java and EL Expressions.

[triexel]

AJAX huh?

I thought Ajax was a dishwashing detergent. Maybe i'm wrong.

[triexel]

AJAX huh?

I thought Ajax was a dishwashing detergent. Maybe i'm wrong.

[vipinc007]

There is an alternate way to implement ajax technique.
Please check the link for the new technique
http://vipinc007.blogspot.com/2008/09/by-now-nearly-everyone-who-works-in-web.html