Tutorials, Training & Tips

Style sheets are gaining importance in many websites and online applications. Because of its ability to provide real time data with little to no effort, it has become a very powerful tool by developers who wanted interactive online applications. As long as CSS is properly implemented, developers and users can expect a powerful application with highly efficient data retrieval capability. But aside from client side programming languages, developers could also opt to implement CSS in non-interactive websites. Even HTML based websites can use CSS so that it could update users on the data they need in their website.

The language attribute in JavaScript is probably one of the most ignored attribute in an Ajax based application. This form of attribute has become so familiar that developers have started to ignore it. The language attribute in JavaScript may just look like a simple command for the browser but without it, the application will not work. This basic function will practically set the stage for other codes to be interpreted in the browser. As JavaScript and Ajax increases its functionality, the importance of properly using language attribute in these types of application is also realized.

jQuery is a well-known and famous lightweight, fast and concise JavaScript Library. jQuery simplifies various task for us like HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. jQuery is great library to reduce our JavaScript coding so they quote "jQuery: The Write Less, Do More". jQuery was released on January 2006 at BarCamp NYC by John Resig under the MIT License and the GNU General Public License, jQuery is free and open source software. jQuery is very versatile and easy to use, provides great flexibility in designing and development. Considering such great features of jQuery both Microsoft (jQuery will be distributed with Visual Studio) and Nokia (jQuery to develop applications for their WebKit-based Web Run-Time) are taking the major step of adopting jQuery as part of their official application development platform.

When it comes to uploading files, users expect visual feedback, usually in the form of a progress bar. The problem is that PHP doesn't offer a way to track file uploads in progress by default. Fortunately, there is an extension that enables this functionality and this tutorial will show how it can be combined with jQuery UI to create a progress bar.

The Work Around in Content Loading for Faster Performance It is always a challenge for developers to establish an application wherein all functions should be able to execute not just well but fast. This is even more challenging for Ajax based developers since as an RIA, it has to provide optimum user experience and the only way to do that is to develop an efficient and fast application. That is possible when all functions load up really fast. If one function load less faster than others, it will not perform as expected. ASP.Net Ajax has provided a smart way of accelerating the speed of content loading. In gist, you can accelerate the speed of content loading when you control each function so that the server could focus on each function. Instead of dividing the server to different functions, this simple trick lets the server focus on a single function and executes faster than the original plan.

In this quick tutorial we will show how-to create such an Ajax upload form using the jQuery Form plug-in and our easy upload class.

Catalyst Resources and Backbase Announce Business Alliance to Deliver End-to-End Solution for Design and Development of Enterprise RIAs Web 2.0 Expo, San Francisco, CA - Catalyst Resources, a leader in rapid application design and Backbase, the leading provider of enterprise software for creating AJAX-based Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), announce an alliance to provide an end-to-end design and development solution for rich Customer Engagement and Enterprise AJAX applications.

Qooxdoo was released in the first quarter of 2006, Qooxdoo differs itself from other Ajax enabled frameworks because it uses JavaScript as its tool for development. Most Ajax based framework that we know of either uses other Java or other languages since its primary aim is to help developers build an Ajax based application or framework. This framework uses JavaScript. It does not apologize in doing so for one good reason: this framework is geared to build an effective client side application. Somehow, this is a refreshingly unique framework when compared to different frameworks that we use today

Telerik, a leading vendor of developer tools and components for .NET, is excited to unveil RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX Q1 2008 (formerly �Prometheus�). Q1 2008 is a landmark release for Telerik�s next-generation web components suite, as it drops its beta tag and �Prometheus� codename, and officially becomes RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX � a complete and mature AJAX-based collection.

Developers using ASP.Net could easily establish and Ajax based application through two functions in ASP.Net. Developers could either go for the ASP.Net Timer wherein the update is made automatically. The information is feed to the user without the need for use actions.

Loading an application online is done through the reliable HTTP. Though this is a slow method, the definite process of loading the application is important for Ajax since HTTP sports a stateless feature. In ASP.Net HTTP is able to accept any feature of most web development application it could launch. For Ajax, it is the event driven applications that are very important in most Ajax based application are loaded in HTTP. V

Ajax based applications and websites have the ability to update specific parts of the webpage without changing the whole content. Using JavaScript as the language for development, developers are able to send information to the server-side faster with lesser bandwidth. But still Ajax is just like most web development application. The connection from the server to client and vice versa has to be completed before another request could be done. Developers have found a work-around this situation by installing timer in some functions to delay its execution, but it still has to wait for the first queued function to complete before it starts another function.

In a regular HTML-based webpage, from the time the webpage is loaded in the browser and every time a user clicks on a link, a page is loaded and a new impression is made on the ads. When your business is online and part of your revenues come from ad-impression and earnings per leads, every time a webpage is refreshed means a new impression and eventual revenue in your end. Online companies, for example Google offers incentives for web creators and administrators for ad impressions. Small online advertising companies seek out different popular websites and pay not only per lead but also per impression.

MarkItUp! is a lightweight yet very efficient JavaScript plug-in for developers who want to build an Ajax based website. The plug-in could be integrated easily in a jQuery library � upgrading the libraries already extensive list of functions. This plug-in was developed by Jay Salvat and it is available for free - MarkItUp! is used to be called the jTagEditor during its beta version but was eventually changed to markItUp! when released as a stable plug-in for jQuery library.

ASP.Net is one of the most powerful frameworks used by developers to create a highly interactive website. Building an Ajax based website is very easy with the use of this framework as it offers a control toolkit for Ajax. With little to no knowledge of JavaScript, developers can easily build an Ajax based website and application. This control toolkit could be used to control specific parts of the webpage. A small part of the webpage could refresh without changing the whole webpage � thus building a website that loads faster than full-page refresh website.

JavaScript, whether in Ajax or any web development application has the tendency to be heavier even when coded at its barest. The complexity of the language always requires developers to build lines after lines of commands especially in Ajax. When this language is paired with XML, HTTP or another language needed by developers, there is a tendency that the end product is a very heavy website that could take time to load. The culprit is not necessarily in JavaScript but with the way it is coded.

The asynchronous function in Ajax establishes a single point connection from the server to the user interface in the browser. Developers have to work with this setting despite the number of functions that it has to execute �at the same time�. For the users, the function is executed at the same time but they are actually written asynchronously and are being lined up for execution when triggered by the user.

We have been writing a lot about different frameworks for an Ajax based application. It has certainly eased the struggle for most developers since it will not require them to learn JavaScript extensively. Depending on the framework, developers could use Java, PHP and even C++ and let the framework translate the coding into JavaScript and build a good Ajax based application. But whatever the framework is, the desired end result is to give the users a good experience of the application.

Ajax has been riding the waves of popularity since it was conceived. Almost any application, frameworks and languages are now upgrading towards Ajax. Even mobile phones are upgrading towards this application and website development technique. The obvious reason for this of course, is to provide better looking and well functioning website. Ajax is the first web development technique that enables developers to update certain parts of the website without refreshing the whole webpage. When properly coded it has proven to be faster and creates a better looking application or website.

XML is one of the most important tools in Ajax development. This mark-up language is more than just a simple carrier of information as it can practically take the center stage in an application. When you are running in a database intensive application, XML becomes the most important part of the Ajax based application. One of the biggest reasons why most developers have opted to use XML for Ajax is its ability to be used freely in any languages. That means XML could easily be integrated in any languages and development techniques.