There is a lot of talk these days about rich web client interfaces with AJAX, and I’ll admit I find it exciting. However, there is an alternative
called OpenLaszlo. It has the same goal as
AJAX (desktop feel and response time in a web application), but uses Flash
instead of JavaScript/DHTML. While most web developers know JavaScript
already, the advantage here is that you only have one target platform:
the Flash plugin. The word from the trenches is that it’s very
difficult to overestimate the amount of time you need to test AJAX apps,
especially cross-browser. And I hate testing. Another advantage for bigger web
shops is that the backend/middle tier guys rarely do the front end
stuff, as they’re tied up with business logic and data access issues,
which is quite a handful already. For these apps, they have to master
XML and/or web services, too. At the same time, your front end guys are
often professional graphic designers who know Flash about as well as
they know JavaScript, if not better. So OpenLaszlo can help leverage
your existing skill mix.
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp AJAX is not without support, though. There is a JavaScript
library called Rico (developed by
Sabre Airline Solutions) to help developers get up and running. It was a
Sabre lead who made the comment about the difficult testing, so it looks
like they’ve open sourced their framework to get the community to help.
I don’t know if you want to open source a competitive edge, but the rest
of us are the better for it. I’ve also heard good things about DWR, but it’s a Java library.
My current goal is still to concentrate on the middle tier,
getting up to speed on Spring and Hibernate. I figure once I’m
comfortable with those technologies, my choice for a rich client will be
obvious (or simply won’t matter).