Re: AJAX vs. Xforms

On 11/7/05, Kelly Miller <lightsolphoenix@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Actually, for the most part, both HTML forms and XForms are pretty
> useless without some kind of server-side component.  Why go to the
> trouble of putting together a decent form if you're only going to
> manipulate it with Javascript?
>
> I was under the impression that both form libraries were created because
> it became necessary for the user to input information on a web page for
> server-side programming to work with.  Personally, the only 100%
> client-side uses of forms (period) I've ever seen have been insanely
> basic; generally, the complicated logic is kept on the server-side.

Now there's a blanket statement if I ever saw one.  'Server-side
programming' is a bit vague, depending on what processing you have in
mind you can get plenty mileage at the client side.  I would argue
that if you find you need to make multiple trips to the server to do
the heavy weight lifting (for any browser-based application) that you
aren't taking advantage of the your ability to manipulate data at the
client side - if your reasons for doing so are security then thats a
different matter (but suggesting that client-side web application are
light-weight at most demonstrates a lack of understanding of the
architectural aims of XForms and related standards).

  XForms emphasizes client-side capabilities that have been available
for some time but not in any portable way (multiple DOM
implementations, browser-specific javascript caveats, etc..) and
requires that developers of web applications rethink their deployment
strategy from what has been the norm: Servlets, JSP, adhoc DOM
manipulation, etc...

The idea that trips to the server are neccessary for any form of
serious data manipulation reflects a lack of appreciation for the
mechanisms at the disposal of a web application at the client side: 
Event based processing, declarative data manipulation, standardized
submission of content, MVC architecture, etc...

Received on Tuesday, 8 November 2005 01:22:25 UTC