Ajax| Program
first, the introduction
There is a lot of controversy over whether Ajax can replace desktop applications. These two camps are now evolving. In this article, my view is that Ajax cannot replace desktop applications, but it will lead to the emergence of a new type of software application. Most AJAX programs should be tools of production, collaboration, and business applications.
Many desktop applications will no longer be present, and of course most applications will not be able to leave a strong and comfortable desktop environment soon. I think the next phase of software development should be that desktop apps are unlikely to all go away; By contrast, it is more likely to be a modest regroup, with the result that various applications thrive in the areas that are best suited to them.
Ajax-oriented Web applications follow you closely, just like all Web applications. Most of us have at least one friend in the rest of the world and keep in touch with the account via email, such as Hotmail or Yahoo email. In fact, these browser-based email interfaces greatly help drive the use of e-mail for personal adoption. Today, the more traditional HTML interfaces used for business-type e-mail are gradually no longer practical. For some reason, Outlook Web Access (OWA), although it has a great Ajax interface, is no longer as popular as it used to be, but Gmail and Zimbra are emerging And Zimbra is trying to completely replace outlook and exchange-to fully implement UI representations through browsers. What Microsoft deserves to be praised for is that the advent of live.com is creating a new type of AJAX email client--if it looks like OWA, it will be easier and better to use than Hotmail. If you look at the CRM world, you'll notice that Web apps seem to have taken over their main functions. For example, Salesforce.com is an obvious example, and MS CRM is implemented over the years through a Web browser.
what are the areas where Ajax-based Web applications will replace desktop programs?
AJAX-based Web applications are logical natural selection for certain applications-in which the latest and shared information is critical, such as logistics, finance, and CRM systems. A regular Excel workbook, as a way of distributing prices and customer lists, will naturally go to the corner of history. Timely business data is a key component of modern business software, and Web applications are inherently data-centric. Ajax simply puts a UI on top of the application, which doesn't cause them much trouble when the user waits for a page refresh between the mouse clicks.
Many applications rely on Web services and disparate data sources such as mapping services to combine multiple, large data sources to maintain relevance and usefulness. In addition, many enterprise systems based on service-oriented architecture (SOA) become the perfect candidate for AJAX applications that have the benefits of distribution and usability. A rich client that is distributed through the browser will help reduce licensing costs for a single set of software, such as in enterprise reporting applications. A recent CTO at a large SOA software vendor asked me how to enforce a single set of software license agreements on AJAX-based UI clients. The short answer to this question is that it cannot be the same path as most of the previous client programs. This fact will lead to a quicker migration of software vendors to new ways of software licensing, but will not reduce consumer demand for their favorite rich client software.
Obviously, the main benefit of the software depends mainly on the market demand. Many software, as a service, is still being applied by application service providers because the application is still being routed through the web and Web browsers. A waste of time. The benefits of browser-based applications are silly; however, it is important to note that Ajax makes browser-based applications quite easy to use. These usability benefits can be measured in terms of saving a lot of time when interacting with a faster user interface. Alexei White has explored the issue in detail in his "measuring the benefits Ajax" article. For these reasons, Ajax will be a big winner in online application software-where users are always doing a lot of repetitive tasks-such as call centers and financial institutions. In places where you have a lot of the same tasks, application software and information workers are often able to use AJAX Web applications skillfully.
Applications that have been constantly evolving and changing will benefit from it. Users migrating to new applications will have no side effects. In addition, Ajax technology helps to improve the quality of applications that are already based on HTML interfaces or have an SOA architecture. This is an attractive development team that has been looking for increased availability.
Another area where Ajax will prevail is in business-where users are distributed across different geographic areas and support multiple Web browsers and their Internet connections are expensive.
Where is the desktop program going to stay dominant?
What is particularly worth the developer's attention is how desktop apps will not be replaced by rich web apps, because even the largest AJAX evangelist will tell you how far we can go with this technology. Let's analyze several aspects of Ajax that are not well implemented:
· Browser customization: Add buttons, toolbars, bookmarks, icons, and Change browser behavior.
· Local file access: reads and writes files on the user's hard disk.
· Sound playback: Music and sound effects.
· Rich graphics: Provides rich dynamic variations in graphics. (This application is evolving as SVG is slowly introduced to some browsers, but it does not currently match desktop graphics.) )
· Keyboard shortcuts: Provides a full range of keyboard shortcuts to avoid conflicts with your browser's own keyboard shortcuts.
· Hardware access: Input devices such as microphones, webcams, and gamepads, output to devices like printers and portable gadgets.
· Extended communications: From the client machine to the location beyond the base server location, and the use of other than the normal legacy HTTP protocol other than the Protocol.
· Operating system Interaction: Buffering events, changing configuration, pop-up warnings, and reading hardware information.
Of course, Ajax does not support video or audio, so video conferencing, VoIP, and rich media applications are not yet available. But as Flash joins the UI development technology, the rich media will be integrated into an Ajax interface. In addition, Ajax technology is not appropriate for other applications that are concerned about the processor and the programs that consume large amounts of memory. We also see that a class of applications such as video editing, photo manipulation, and video games are quite appropriate to appear in a Web browser for some time to come. For now, I've never seen anyone playing a quake-style first-person shooter game with JavaScript technology. In fact, its significance is not big.
What aspects of desktop software will make use of the advantages of Web technology?
The world of desktop applications will greatly benefit (and have benefited) from the use of Web services and SOA, and we will continue to see more integration between the two worlds. Today, we have seen desktop applications using the rich content of the Internet, such as itunes and desktop applications that integrate with Ajax based services online, such as live.com and Ms Office.
Ajax is popular in terms of penetration and acceptance rates for new applications (web-based). No other technology has ever had such a small impediment-all you need is a browser and an Internet connection. And since new software is able to embrace this technology so quickly, many AJAX applications will experience the benefits of networking more quickly than client applications.
where does Ajax create new service opportunities?
Let's analyze Google Maps first-no users can have all the maps, images, and business/address directory data on their local desktops. The mashups of this concept is a Web site or Web application that seamlessly integrates content from multiple data sources into a complete experience. This program does not work if the user has to install a plug-in or some program when they want to combine different datasets. Even if a client application owns this data, they cannot keep it up to date as easily as the Web-centric application.
Collaboration will be added to the application, which has never been before. Systems like writely, once incorporated into practice, will change the way we look at office-type applications. From the start, all applications have a common browser platform and use a common language (xml,html, etc.). This means that as these small applications evolve, it becomes easier to integrate them. Current MS Office is well integrated with itself and is pretty good for teamwork if you use SharePoint. However, this relies on installing huge amounts of software on each client and starting a sophisticated server infrastructure. But Web applications should improve this experience and Ajax will make these Web applications extremely usable.
With powerful data services on the web, combined with the power of rich Ajax UIs, real-time collaboration applications will change forever.
Vi. Conclusion
What will the future of software look like? I think that this is going to be a huge change in our generation. Thanks to the increased availability of Ajax, there is no doubt that there are a large number of new web-based applications. And because as the developer community continues to work together, we are sure to make a lot of significant improvements in the technology that Ajax relies on today. Now, we just saw the tip of the iceberg. However, I think the power of desktop applications will continue to dominate certain application areas and may actually never disappear.
