Skip to main content

Prototype, Dojo, Script.aculo.us (JavaScript Framework)

These three famous Javascript frameworks are certainly in the top list of every web developer. They are a proven help in developing dynamic and creative web portals. Without their birth, how in the earth “google” could produce a fanstatic portal such as “igoogle” ( hhmmmm have you thought of it? ).


Now, if you are just starting to explore the usage and advantages of either of these frameworks, let me give you a little hint of the best tool to use in your application (*wink).


Advantages …


1. AJAX Function


All of these frameworks enable you to deal with AJAX with ease and they are also cross-browser compliant. Besides simple requests, they also provide various ways to handle the response from the server, either through XML, JSON or plain text. My advise here, if you only need a way to use AJAX functions and customized UIs is not a concern, use the primitive framework – prototype. Prototype is the best tool to use as it is just a one file function compared to the other two customized, bulky in size frameworks, and if you are the type of developer who codes their way to customize, prototype is the most flexible.


Sample Code 



new Ajax.Request('your_url’,
  {
    method:'get',
    onSuccess: function(transport){
      var response = transport.responseText || \"no response text\";
      alert(\"Success! \n\n\" + response);
    },
    onFailure: function(){ alert('Something went wrong...') }
  });

Expandable Code



new Ajax.Request('your_url’,
  {
    method:'get',
    onSuccess: transport,
    onFailure: doError
  });

Functions “transport” and “doError” must be declared somewhere in your code. This way, codes are more flexible and expandable. Do something like this 



function transport (x) {
          loadXML( x.responseText );
         …
}

2. Widgets


Script.aculo.us and Dojo are add-on libraries to the Prototype framework primarily for visual effects and interface behaviors. Several widgets, DOM utilities, and animations can be found here. These are actually the highlights of the outset of prototype where group of individuals created and customized the prototype framework to produce dynamic and ready to use widgets.


You can find various component animations in Script.aculo.us such as different effect combination, draggable objects, movie effect and etc. Click here for more reference and see their DEMOs.


To date, DOJO seems to be most useful for corporate websites. It can cater large dataset to be turned into a displayable grid without performance penalty. It also has the most wanted charting utility for your reports. It is fully internationalized, DOJO comes with translations supporting over 100 languages, even scripts like Arabic and Hebrew.


The latest tools I have used in DOJO are the TAB enabled div, drag and drop, and the package loading. All these helped me developed the site I wanted. Here are some sample screenshots and codes.


dojotab


The code 



<div  dojoType=\"dijit.layout.TabContainer\" refreshOnShow=\"true\" style=\"height:450px;\">
<div dojoType=\"dijit.layout.ContentPane\" title=\"Equipment Registration\">…</div>
<div dojoType=\"dijit.layout.ContentPane\" title=\"Equipment Update\"> … </div>
<div dojoType=\"dijit.layout.ContentPane\" title=\"Configure\"> … </div>
</div>

draggable


Refer to the official DOJO site for more codes and demos.


I hope this post helped you somehow.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating Bottom-up Web Service (WSDL)

This post will primarily show you how to create a simple Web Service application through Apache Axis in Eclipse , and will not dwell on explaining the background or functionality of a Web Service. Yet, it’s a de facto to at least give a little definition. WSDL or the Web Services Definition Language is just another specification to describe network XML-based services. It supports message-oriented and procedural approach XML technologies. (for further reading click here ) 1. Preparing the web application a. Create a new web application and name it as “SimpleWebService”. b. Download and add “axis.jar” ( download here ) to the application libraries. c. Edit and add this following configurations to the web.xml file. AxisServlet org.apache.axis.transport.http.AxisServlet AdminServlet org.apache.axis.transport.http.AdminServlet 100 AxisServlet /servlet/AxisServlet AxisServlet *.jws AxisServlet /services/* *Note: spa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reviewing the BASICS

Right knowledge in OOP makes your code and implementation more reliable. This can be achieved by correct coding practice and methodology. However, there will come a time that you’ll be affront with confusion of concepts and implementation of what OOP objects to use in right and efficient way. You’ll be stuck if you’re not well equipped. In this article, I’m hoping to aid newbies in this context, familiarize you with the basics of OOP that i think you need to know to get all throughout a smooth coding spree. Here are some common discussions found in development forums that you might find useful resource. Static vs Non-Static Static members : Act like global variables. There is only one instance of it in the entire program execution. They can be used with the class name directly and shared by all objects of a class. Example on referring a static method or data member. class A { static int firstInt; static int secondInt; static void i...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to get rid of VB Script Just-In-Time Debugger Error

Lately i have been pestered with a lame error every time my Windows starts up. The “VB Script Just-In-Time Debugger Error” shows up and it would terminate the explorer.exe process upon clicking OK. Somehow something went wrong in the system but the error does not specifically says what it is. I don’t have a clue how to resolve it. We all know explorer.exe is critical for all windows to work, thus leaving me no choice but to run it manually. For normal users who do not know how to run the explorer.exe manually, they will be paralyzed. They won’t find their way to work it except to ask for help, which sometimes can be so annoying specially when you’re up to finish a deadline. Luckily, i was so persistent enough to search for a solution. Though no one gave the exact process of eliminating this error, I come up to finally solve it through my compilation of readings and i’ll share it with you. Here's how to get rid of this error: 1. Open Regedi...
Post a Comment
Read more