With the emergence of HTML5, a lot of people are wondering “what does this mean for Flash?” Until now, Flash has really been the only technology available to deliver RIAs (rich internet applications). And to be truthful, no one has been complaining because Adobe has done such a great job with it. As great as Flash had been for us, Google think that it’s time for a new era in web development. The purpose of this post is to define how each of these technologies work, explore the implications of HTML5, and predict how these technologies will evolve in the future.
Posts Tagged ‘Javascript’
Automating your Web Experience with Bookmarklets and Browser Macros
Posted on August 25th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Have you ever found yourself repetitively filling out the same forms, navigating to the same pages, clicking “OK” dozens of times, and checking countless flags? Perhaps you’re using a poorly designed web application on a daily basis at work, or maybe you have a great client who owns a not-so-great website. Ever wish you could just make a macro to automate repetitive tasks on the web? Well you can! The purpose of this post is to outline two major methods for automating tasks online, and then help get you started with a more efficient and time saving user experience.
HTML 2-Way Buffered Grid Using Javascript
Posted on July 9th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
The purpose of this post is to explore a special area in HTML and Javascript development called buffered grids. In particular, I wanted to share some code that I came up with that generates a 2-Way buffered grid which performs very well even if the data in question has hundreds of rows and columns.
HTML5 Notification Example
Posted on May 31st, 2010
by Eric Rowell
HTML5 Notifications are yet another great addition to the new HTML5 specification. The API allows websites to send notifications to your desktop. Don’t be surprised if you see social networking sites or microblogging sites like Facebook or Twitter utilizing the new feature very soon. For example, let’s say that someone on Facebook sends you an instant message. Currently, if you’re viewing another website in a different window while Facebook is open, and a user sends you an instant message, Facebook will alert you by updating the webpage with AJAX, causing the associated browser tab to flash. With HTML5, Facebook could now send an alert directly to your desktop with an embedded instant message. The purpose of this post is to explain how to use HTML5 notifications while providing a concrete example for using them in your own website.
IE JavaScript Performance Boost with Google Chrome Frame
Posted on May 17th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Microsoft, no longer will you hinder the web with your slow, out-dated, archaic web browsers. Until recently, web page loading times and JavaScript performance has been bottlenecked by IE6, IE7, and IE8. Thankfully, Google has taken things into their own hands and “fixed” Microsoft’s browsers themselves by creating the Google Chrome Frame plugin which basically enables web pages to load and run inside an IE browser as if it were running inside Google Chrome (the fastest browser on Earth). Websites are now leveraging the Google Chrome Frame plugin to speed up JavaScript performance for both HTML4 and HTML5 websites.
HTML5 Canvas: Shape Drawing
Posted on May 12th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Finally, with the new HTML5 specifications, we can draw shapes on the screen with Javascript like we can with Flash. In addition to HTML5 game development, this enhancement has countless opportunities to enrich the user experience with respect to visualizing data. The purpose of this post is to explore the new canvas tag and how to use it with HTML5.
When Should You Use ICEfaces?
Posted on April 28th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
After my last post about ICEfaces, I received a lot feedback that my views weren’t quite correct (thank you for those comments by the way!) As a result, I took a step back and reevaluated my perspective on ICEfaces. In my last post, I stated that it’s never appropriate to use ICEfaces because in my experience, it usually hinders developers more than it helps them. This perspective was based on the assumption that most web project teams have ample Javascript experience, and are also building highly complex, customized features that most other website’s don’t have.
The Power of AJAX and How to Use It
Posted on March 30th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Since its conception in 2005, AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) has changed the web world as we know it today. It’s helped websites evolve into RIAs (rich internet applications) by allowing webpages to make direct requests to a web server without reloading the page. This capability is vital in replicating the rich user experiences achieved in client applications. The purpose of this post is to help newcomers understand the different ways that AJAX can be used to create RIAs.
Javascript Objects
Posted on March 27th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
In Javascript, it’s often times useful to create objects for complex data structures being stored and manipulated on the fly. Understanding Javascript objects is critical in developing RIAs (rich internet applications) in which the model and view components of MVC architecture are being stored in the browser.
Automating your Web Experience with Bookmarklets and Browser Macros
Posted on August 25th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Have you ever found yourself repetitively filling out the same forms, navigating to the same pages, clicking “OK” dozens of times, and checking countless flags? Perhaps you’re using a poorly designed web application on a daily basis at work, or maybe you have a great client who owns a not-so-great website. Ever wish you could just make a macro to automate repetitive tasks on the web? Well you can! The purpose of this post is to outline two major methods for automating tasks online, and then help get you started with a more efficient and time saving user experience.
HTML 2-Way Buffered Grid Using Javascript
Posted on July 9th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
The purpose of this post is to explore a special area in HTML and Javascript development called buffered grids. In particular, I wanted to share some code that I came up with that generates a 2-Way buffered grid which performs very well even if the data in question has hundreds of rows and columns.
HTML5 Notification Example
Posted on May 31st, 2010
by Eric Rowell
HTML5 Notifications are yet another great addition to the new HTML5 specification. The API allows websites to send notifications to your desktop. Don’t be surprised if you see social networking sites or microblogging sites like Facebook or Twitter utilizing the new feature very soon. For example, let’s say that someone on Facebook sends you an instant message. Currently, if you’re viewing another website in a different window while Facebook is open, and a user sends you an instant message, Facebook will alert you by updating the webpage with AJAX, causing the associated browser tab to flash. With HTML5, Facebook could now send an alert directly to your desktop with an embedded instant message. The purpose of this post is to explain how to use HTML5 notifications while providing a concrete example for using them in your own website.
IE JavaScript Performance Boost with Google Chrome Frame
Posted on May 17th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Microsoft, no longer will you hinder the web with your slow, out-dated, archaic web browsers. Until recently, web page loading times and JavaScript performance has been bottlenecked by IE6, IE7, and IE8. Thankfully, Google has taken things into their own hands and “fixed” Microsoft’s browsers themselves by creating the Google Chrome Frame plugin which basically enables web pages to load and run inside an IE browser as if it were running inside Google Chrome (the fastest browser on Earth). Websites are now leveraging the Google Chrome Frame plugin to speed up JavaScript performance for both HTML4 and HTML5 websites.
HTML5 Canvas: Shape Drawing
Posted on May 12th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Finally, with the new HTML5 specifications, we can draw shapes on the screen with Javascript like we can with Flash. In addition to HTML5 game development, this enhancement has countless opportunities to enrich the user experience with respect to visualizing data. The purpose of this post is to explore the new canvas tag and how to use it with HTML5.
When Should You Use ICEfaces?
Posted on April 28th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
After my last post about ICEfaces, I received a lot feedback that my views weren’t quite correct (thank you for those comments by the way!) As a result, I took a step back and reevaluated my perspective on ICEfaces. In my last post, I stated that it’s never appropriate to use ICEfaces because in my experience, it usually hinders developers more than it helps them. This perspective was based on the assumption that most web project teams have ample Javascript experience, and are also building highly complex, customized features that most other website’s don’t have.
The Power of AJAX and How to Use It
Posted on March 30th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
Since its conception in 2005, AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) has changed the web world as we know it today. It’s helped websites evolve into RIAs (rich internet applications) by allowing webpages to make direct requests to a web server without reloading the page. This capability is vital in replicating the rich user experiences achieved in client applications. The purpose of this post is to help newcomers understand the different ways that AJAX can be used to create RIAs.
Javascript Objects
Posted on March 27th, 2010
by Eric Rowell
In Javascript, it’s often times useful to create objects for complex data structures being stored and manipulated on the fly. Understanding Javascript objects is critical in developing RIAs (rich internet applications) in which the model and view components of MVC architecture are being stored in the browser.