Ajax framework

Continuing on my write up on Ajax, this post is going to deal with Ajax framework. After the framework posting is over, there will be one more poston this topic of web 2.0.

The AJAX Framework is a cross browser framework that allows developers to quickly develop web pages that can call web services, web pages and other types of content through JavaScript without having to submit the current page. The AJAX Framework Supports both GET and POST and works with Internet Explorer 6+, Opera 8+, Safari 3+, Firefox 2+, Google's Chrome and other Mozilla based browsers.

The AJAX Framework was developed by Jason Graves and is free to use under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

http://www.godlikemouse.com

Ajax framework is an engine and is intended to suppress the delays perceived by the user when a page attempts to access the server. A framework eases the work of the Ajax programmer at two levels:

1. on the client side, it offers JavaScript functions to send requests to the server.
2. On the server side, it processes the requests, searches for the data, and transmits them to the browser.

Some frameworks are very elaborate and provide a complete library to build web applications.

Types of frameworks

Ajax frameworks can be loosely grouped into categories according to the features they offer and the skills required of the user:

Direct Ajax frameworks

These frameworks require HTML, CSS and Ajax expertise: as a developer is expected to author pages directly in HTML, and framework APIs deal directly with HTML elements. Cross-browser APIs are provided for a variety of purposes, commonly including communications, DOM manipulation, event handling, and sizing/moving/animating HTML elements. While these frameworks are generally smaller, they are commonly used for a web site such as a shopping experience only

Ajax component frameworks

These frameworks offer pre-built components, such as tabbed panes, which automatically create and manage their own HTML. Components are generally created via JavaScript or XML tags, or by adding special attributes to normal HTML elements. These frameworks are generally larger, and intended for web applications. Some component frameworks require the developer to have extensive HTML/CSS/Ajax experience and to do cross-browser testing. For example, grids, tabs, and buttons may be provided, but user input forms are expected to be authored directly in HTML/CSS and manipulated via Ajax techniques. Other frameworks provide a complete component suite such that only general XML and/or JavaScript abilities are required.
Ajax component frameworks can enable more rapid development than direct Ajax frameworks, but with less control, hence it is key that an Ajax component framework provides the following:

• customization APIs, e.g., an event that fires when the user stops editing within a grid
• skinning facilities, where appearance can be changed without affecting behavior or layout
• programmatic control, e.g., dynamically adding tabs or dynamically creating components based on user data
• extensibility—creation of new components based on other components, so that the benefits of a component-based framework are not lost

Server-driven Ajax frameworks

Several frameworks offer a server-side component-based development model with some degree of Ajax support. Components are created and manipulated on the server using a server-side programming language. Pages are then rendered by a combination of server-side and client-side HTML generation and manipulation. User actions are communicated to the server via Ajax techniques, server-side code manipulates a server-side component model, and changes to the server component model are reflected on the client automatically.
These frameworks offer familiarity for server-side developers at the expense of some degree of power and performance. Ajax frameworks that handle presentation completely within the browser offer greater responsiveness because they handle many more user interactions without server involvement. The main disadvantages of the server driven model is the number of network requests and the inability to provide offline support. However, this approach is followed where the ajax architecture cannot be utilised to the maximum.

The following webpost from Minidxer details out a list of ajax framework and a brief writeup of each of these frameworks.
http://ntt.cc/2008/02/13/the-most-complete-ajax-framework-and-javascript-libraries-list.html

In my next post I will write in detail about the Microsoft, google and adobe frameworks available for the developers.