Rob Gonda's Blog

DOM Builder: Less inhuman

So everyone that have met me, knows that JavaScript is less than pleasant :) but anything that we can do to make it suck less is welcome ... DOM is inhuman ... there's a reason why we write html pages using tags and not DOM ... but anyways, sometimes, especially when you're writing AJAX applications you may need to use some JS and DOM, and the DOM builder may come handy.


var html = DomBuilder.apply();

var form = html.FORM(
  html.DIV(
    html.INPUT({type : 'text', name : 'email'}),
    html.INPUT({type : 'text', name : 'password'}),
    html.INPUT({type : 'submit'}),
  )
);

Ajax toolkits and frameworks links

Max Kiesler gathered information on 50 Ajax toolkits and frameworks and the post if getting lots of attention lately ... I know because ajaxCFC happens to be the first framework he lists and I'm getting numerous hits through his site.

My only complaint is the font size he uses, hehe, I'm looking at it in my 27' flat screen and it's HUGE! Anyways, I digress... In the same token, check out the Osaf Ajax libraries wiki page... it's not new, but contributors have done a great job pointing pros and cons of many of today's leading Ajax frameworks.

MVC'ing and Ajaxifying BlogCFC : interest?

I know Ray just announced the development of BlogCFC 5.0, and I really admire and respect Ray for his contributions to the CF community. I just came up with the idea of porting blogCFC to an MVC framework, not Model-Glue, but a methodology that I use every day and it has proven to be extremely scalable to me. I also use ajaxCFC with my framework, and will be adding Ajax components to the blog; it won't be a one page RIA, but only small usability elements that would be nice to have.

So the question is ... should I wait until Ray released blogCFC 5, or should I branch it to a new version, using MVC and Ajax, branch a new open source project, and write a journey of my project ... again, just like Ray did with the Model-Glue series .. you see Ray! You're an inspiration :)

I'll take votes, hehe ... I know I want to write this, but I'm skeptical about missing some nice additions once the new version is out. It will be impossible to migrate those without rewriting them too.

Who votes for branching now and says wait? please back your side...

Ajax toolkit brainstorm

so I'm reading this blog about how Rail doesn't have a chance or simply won't go mainstream, and I actually agree... RoR has two sides... one, it is just another MVC framework, this time for Ruby instead of other languages... this is nothing new, they come and go and I don't see why it would have more attention than any other... the second part is its Ajax compatibility, using prototype and scriptaculous. so it now combines too nice aspects. We're only debating that part now ... this leads me to think who/what would go mainstream? Well, Avalon and XAML will probably penetrate hard and catch all the .net developers' attention ... Laszlo couldn't compete with Flex, but does it have a chance in the Ajax world? Zimbra, Tibco, Yahoo Patterns, IBM Open Ajax efforts ... which framework or toolkit is going to get more attention ... or is it even important? Maybe there will be no mainstream, and Ajax will just become another technique that's just assumed to be known by any and every web developer. I think that these toolkits are targeting more RIA development using JS/DHTML more than Ajax. So now a framework has to contain a nice solid MVC server side, Ajax scripting, and an IDE, possibly Eclipse based... wow ... who dares to predict it?

DWR 2.0 milestone 1 does reverse Ajax

Joe Walker announced today that DWR 2.0 has reached milestone one ... among other things, DWR now does reverse Ajax, Comet, or server polling, however you wish to call it ... what that means is that you can leave a number of long lived http open calls and the server can push data to the client at will ... The idea is great, but I am a little concern about the server side performance ...

And yes, you guessed it right ... you will see a CF version when time permits :)

Script.aculo.us 1.6 Released

Script.aculo.us is a low level dhtml effects library, mainly used by the Rails framework. Version 1.6 was just released, and among the main changes is depends now on Prototype 1.5, instead of 1.4.

The Ajax Experience Agenda

You must check out this amazing hands-on agenda... There's almost too much content to grasp in a single event. The Ajax Experience is a must-assist event for the West Coast. Unlike Sys-con's Real World Ajax Seminar more generic level sessions, which are great btw for management level delegates, the Ajax Experience is geared towards developers with 90 minutes technical sessions.

see you all there.

ajaxCFC suggest example

I've been saying I'll post this for far too long ... The code is still not at the point I would like it to be before it's released, but it's working and the community could make use of it; plus, as usual, you can suggest changes and fixes ...
I added a suggest example and sample code in my ajaxCFC project page. Enjoy.

**Special thanks to John Schroeder for his contribution to this code.

Aha! I do make a difference

I just thought I'll post a couple of links to reviews of my presentations, seminars, or conferences. If you have others, please comment below.

Backbase review of the Real World Ajax Seminar
Bill Scott (Yahoo) review of the Real World Ajax Seminar
Ajaxian review of the thel Wolrd Ajax Seminar
Dave Crane's weblog
stardotstarcomics review of the SEOMUG Spring Conference

by the way, this last link is enough inspiration to keep speaking and contributing to the community... what some nice words. Thanks!

SEOMUG Pictures

Rob Gonda in Ajax101 session

Rob Gonda in AJAX101 session. This was the first session in room 135. This was originally a lab, but man, they did a great job with it some this conference. Two huge screens, perfect quality, built in mics, and room for over 100 people...

Rob Gonda in AJAX301 session

Rob Gonda in AJAX301 session. This was the second session in lobby area... It wasn't as nice as the first room, the sound has having issues,  there was too much bright for the  screen,  oh yeah, and it was right after lunch :) but anyways, the delegates were great, they asked good questions, and the conference as a whole was great! I'll definitely be there next year too.

yeah, I know ... those are the two best pictures, trust me... I was hoping to get more, but at least I'm glad we could salvage these ones.

More Entries

This blog is running version 5.9.003. Contact Blog Owner