Development » AJAX

Horde open source groupware preps version 4 release

The Horde open source messaging and groupware project is gearing up for the first major release of its application suite and development environment in years with version 4 due in mid-2010.

By Rodney Gedda | 06 April, 2010 11:44

Tags: ajax, caldav, groupware, horde, open source, php

A future without programming

A few years ago, self-proclaimed non-developer Kevin Smith worked for a software company that tried to build a project tracking tool using Microsoft .Net. Some 15 developers spent a year with little success. "After burning though a million dollars and still without a product, the company called it quits," says Smith, now managing partner of NextWave Performance, a consultancy in Denver, Colo.

By Tom Kaneshige | 21 November, 2008 09:59

Tags: programming

Who needs an enterprise AJAX solution?

One thing that the AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) development community has aplenty is choice. Want a free, open source AJAX framework? We have (alphabetically) Dojo, Ext, Google Web Toolkit, jQuery, MooTools, OpenRico, Prototype, Scriptaculous, and the Yahoo User Interface Library, and frankly they're all pretty good. There are hundreds more, but unfortunately I can't keep up with them all.

By Martin Heller | 30 October, 2008 08:42

Tags: ajax, programming

Application builders in the sky

The power of Web-based applications continues to burgeon as they take on the art of application building itself. In a number of online tools, the old compile-link-deploy loop disappears, and editing a Web application becomes as simple as editing a comment for Slashdot. (Notice I used the word "edit," not "program.") Just click a few times in the browser and your application is up and running.

By Peter Wayner | 23 September, 2008 08:21

Tags: CRM, programming

PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Perl, Python, and Tcl Today: The State of the Scripting Universe

The former second-class citizens of the programming world have leaped to the fore, changing the face of enterprise software development. With the rise of Web 2.0, scripting languages (also called dynamic languages) are now often considered important tools in a developer's arsenal. That's a far cry from than their old reputation as lesser tools for those who can't handle "real" programming.

By Lynn Greiner | 01 September, 2008 14:45

Tags: perl

Online office apps get real

Web-based office suites are coming into their own at last. For quite a while, Web-based suites -- which offered word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and other tools associated with desktop office suites -- were extolled not because they did these things well, but because they could do them at all. But the three major competitors, Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Zoho, have all made major improvements in recent months. They're becoming both broader, with more applications, and deeper, with more features and functionality in existing apps.

Microsoft's future No. 2: The 'slow decline' scenario

Bill Gates retired from Microsoft a decade ago, yet his ghost still loomed large, in the form of a persistent effort to continually extend the reach of Microsoft into every nook and cranny possible. And that ghost inhabited a company increasingly focused inward on its own view of what users should want and do. Like Windows Vista and Windows 7 before it, Windows UT (Unlimited Technology) captured a smaller share of upgrades than its predecessor. Ditto with Office UT. Even though Microsoft paid attention to hardware resource requirements in UT and didn't wield the new software as a way to force users to buy new hardware as its last several versions had done, feature fatigue had set in. For most people, Office 2000 and Windows XP did the job they needed, and learning a new UI every few years was simply not in the cards for a user base that had long thought of technology not as a shiny toy to play with but instead as a tool that needed to get the job done and stay out of the way.

Scripting languages spark new programming era

The era of scripting languages is opening up programming to the masses and extending the Web as an application platform.

The Test Center guide to rich Web app dev tools

Rich Internet applications, or RIAs, comprise a spectrum of application types and technologies. The lightweight end of the spectrum has seen most of the attention in recent months, with Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's AIR (Application Integrated Runtime) getting attention as the new kids in town. But AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is still where most of the lightweight action resides. And despite the recent focus on lightweight app dev, significant developer focus remains on the heavyweight tools in the Microsoft .Net and Sun Java worlds.

Book review: Ajax Construction Kit

If you'd like to get started with Ajax, I highly recommend Ajax Construction Kit by Michael Morrison. It's terrific. Morrison's writing is clear, strong, and informative. The sample projects are practical applications that make great starting points for real-world applications. He thoroughly explains the stuff you need to know and doesn't get bogged down in the stuff you don't. Plus he includes just enough humor to keep things light and fun.

Google, IBM, Sun cite developer outreach

Officials from Google and IBM detailed efforts Tuesday to extend their platforms to developers via APIs and Web 2.0 technologies. But a Sun Microsystems executive cautioned that openness offered via forums such as blogs can have negative consequences if not managed well.

10 things IT needs to know about Ajax

The introduction of any new Web technology will affect a network's infrastructure in ways that range from inconsequential to earth shattering. Ajax is one of the more disruptive new Web technologies traveling across networks today. To help you minimize future surprises on your network, we've outlined the 10 things you should take to heart about Ajax.