Ajax Librairies ??

[Mel Smith]

Hi:

I'll soon be designing/building a web app with (I believe) a lot of
Ajaxing involved.

I've heard of and visited the www.backbonejs.org site but was confused
by this packages terms: 'Models', 'Collections' (??), and 'Views'

Is there any other simpler AJAX library that I can use to:

- Send client-entered data via charcter strings to my server
databases (which are xBase and not SQL).

- Receive data from my server and populate fields on my client's
browser window.

- I run my own Apache Server, and have a lot of expertise in my own
particular database structures and use. My server itself manipulates my
databases easily, quickly, regularly.

Two years ago, I tried doing this with my own (simplistic) AJAX
routines, and it worked (barely). But this time I wish to move up to a solid
Ajax library, that I can use at arm's length, and have less worry about
uncaptured errors, unreceived packets, etc.

So, I'd appreciate some Ajax library suggestions please. (or should I
just keep doing my own Ajax stuff ?)

Thank you.


--
Mel Smith

[Cezary Tomczyk]

W dniu 2012-11-18 19:58, Mel Smith pisze:
[...]

> So, I'd appreciate some Ajax library suggestions please. (or should I
> just keep doing my own Ajax stuff ?)

Try this one: http://www.cinsoft.net/mylib.html

--
Cezary Tomczyk
http://www.ctomczyk.pl/

[Evertjan.]

Make your own routines.
You will know exactly what happens.
You will be able to do your own debugging.
You will sleep better and be nicer to your partner.

--
Evertjan.
The Netherlands.
(Please change the x'es to dots in my emailaddress)

[Eric Bednarz]

"Mel Smith" <med_cuto...@aol.com> writes:

> I'll soon be designing/building a web app with (I believe) a lot of
> Ajaxing involved.

Don't you think it's better to have the requirements straight before
choosing the tools (a wildly unpopular concept these days, I know)?

> I've heard of and visited the www.backbonejs.org site but was confused
> by this packages terms: 'Models', 'Collections' (??), and 'Views'

Somebody really oughta coin the term Pigeon MVC. :-)

> Is there any other simpler AJAX library

Backbone.js delegates that problem domain to either jQuery or Zepto.
That was simple enough, wasn't it.

[Mel Smith]

Cezary said:
> Try this one: http://www.cinsoft.net/mylib.html

I'll look at that

Thank you.

-Mel

[Mel Smith]

Evertjan said:

> Make your own routines.
> You will know exactly what happens.
> You will be able to do your own debugging.

Evertjan:

That *does* have some appeal !

I'll delay my decision until I really come close to using Ajax again for
my upcoming app.

Thanks,

-Mel Smith

[Evertjan.]

I guess most programmers, using myself as an N=1 statistic [an inferior
habit but often a necessarily one in decision taking path of single
humans], don't need all the in's and out's possible with xmlhttp that are
envisioned with full-blown Ajax-containing libraries, and just want
["need"??] some form of one-way or two-way communication between the
browser-page and the server, that would be just as possible with repeated
form-submission and reloading of that page, but for speed and/or
smoothness of the intended action.

Clientside programmed intelligence as offered by clientside Javascript
makes such on-page communication possible cross-browser-wise in
interaction with whatever one fancies as a serverside programming
language/engine.

In the contect of this NG, I would fancy serverside Javascript for the
NG's sake also also because some functions can be written for both
serverside and clientside in one go, for instance validation routines.

So why not build your own clean and lean code for the problem at hand?
And improve on your code only the next time you need the functionality?

There must be some joy of programming left even in the most desillusionned
of programmers.

=======

In general, this not needing all the in's and out's possible, is a prime
argument against general libraries in this multi-engine landscape of
cross-browser [not forgetting aberrant IE and the miriad of mobile
browsers] and each of these browser's cross-version "needs".

The patchwork necessary to allow for this landscape, and updates needed to
cover up the unforseable present needs and earlier sloppynesses, without
disabling user-programmer code that even made use of such earlier errors,
makes it advisably so important to steer free from al this general-library
nonsense.

The good usability of lean libraries in a single compiler environment,
where only the executable is distributed to the users, is quite another
matter, however residual sloppyness would be a danger here too.

[Mel Smith]

Tim said:

> Exactly - and is just what I did here:
>
> <http://www.clothears.org.uk/examples-ajax.php>
>

To Tim:

I just copied your page, and will 'take it to bed' with me :))

You provide the serverside php code, but in my case I use a C-based
language called eXtended Harbour (i.e., xHarbour) for all my serverside
work. That is, Harbour is my CGI app, and my database engine, and it does
everything else too).

However, your client side code is precisely what I need to improve my
understanding of Ajax. Everyone at my level should read it !

To Evertjan who said:

/*

In the contect of this NG, I would fancy serverside Javascript for the
NG's sake also also because some functions can be written for both
serverside and clientside in one go, for instance validation routines.

So why not build your own clean and lean code for the problem at hand?
And improve on your code only the next time you need the functionality?

There must be some joy of programming left even in the most
desillusionned
of programmers.

*/

I've never used serverside Javascript. I spend 95% of my time at the
Command Prompt on my dev machine developing Browser pages, and then
adding/editing Harbour code for the changes I make on the pages for my
clients, then testing, re-tedting, crashing, etc. Then, re-testing on
Chrome and FF and Safari, etc.

But, I guess I've decided to continue to build my own code -- incl Ajax.

OT: My daughter called last nite and wants advice on how to initiate
and improve her IT/IM credentials (she's a lawyer by training and Privacy
expert by experience, and is currently a Manager of Privacy in a Canadian
Health Authority network). She wanted advice on how to get credentials as
an IT manager. She mentioned Java and Python and asked for my opinion if
they were useful for her to look into. Since I used Harbout for
*everything*, I couldn't help her : ((

Anyway, thank you both for the guidance.

With Tim's code as a crutch, I'll start building my app.

-Mel Smith