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Ajax, part 2
Posted by davidrupp on May 23, 2005 at 07:32 AM | Comments (5)
I think it's time we made the painful admission that Sun is no longer the 800-pound gorilla of the Java world. It's not even a gorilla. It's a 90-pound chimp, dancing around just beyond the reach of the 800-pound gorilla, waiting for it to drop the Java bone and hoping there's still some meat left on it when it does.
So who is the reigning 800-pound gorilla? Let's look at some of the candidates.
Microsoft? Bwah hah hah hah hah. Hah. Microsoft is another 90-pound chimp -- the one that's off in the corner by itself, playing with its .NET. Oh, sure, it's only natural, and you can let your kids watch if you want to, but you're going to have some explaining to do. Probably better to ease them down the path to Reptile World.
Who else is there, you ask? IBM? Not a bad choice. IBM was at one time on its way to being the 800-PG, but it's stalled out at about 500 pounds. Big enough to block out the sun? Yes. (BTW, anyone still think the name "Eclipse" is a coincidence?) But there's something even bigger that's eating its lunch. What might that something be?
Google.
Google can (apparently) do no wrong. Google has the Midas Touch. Google's got legs, and it knows how to use them. Google can take a nothing date and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile. [Author's editor's-note-style note: Yes, I'm aware that my metaphors are now totally out of control. I'll switch to decaf as soon as I'm done.]
The frustrating thing is this -- it's what Google is doing without Java that's holding Java back. And it's not just Ajax. I'll bet if Google started implementing web apps in Fortran, people would stand around, nodding and stroking their chins sagaciously and saying, "Hmm. Yes. Fortran. Brilliant."
So now that Ajax is on the Google Map, what's going to happen to Java?
I think in the end Java will be just fine. I think Java will be like those kids at the end of "Revenge of the Nerds". Sure it'll have a swirlie, and it'll be nursing those noogie-bruises for a while, but it'll still have stolen the quarterback's girlfriend. It'll still have wowed us with its enterprise-class concert at the talent show. And, most importantly, it'll still have launched the rich and diverse movie careers of Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, and That Guy Who Played Booger And Fifteen Other Characters Exactly Like Booger. If those guys can survive, so can Java.
I think our Java's gonna make it after all.
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Comments
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Corpulent primates aside,
AJaX handles the client side, but something has got to handle the server side.
Posted by: johnreynolds on May 23, 2005 at 10:56 AM
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If you ask me, IBM and Oracle are part of what's keeping Java healthy. Without the support of those two then Java would definitely be limping a bit. The support of large companies whose main business is NOT Java and are also watched by the industry and media is critical to keeping momentum. Interestingly enough, neither IBM nor Oracle are sponsors or even exhibitors at JavaOne this year, based on the big conference magazine I got in the mail the other day. Both can change directions any time they want to, and if they start recommending NOT to use Java, then that's a big ouch. As for Google and AJAX, they're whole business is based on the browser and exploiting it to the fullest for the widest number of "customers". Nobody else has had a good enough reason to explore AJAX, and Google has taken it and not just run with it but sprinted out of the gate. John is right, though, something has to handle the server side. But it shore would be nice if something truly Java was on the UI client side. I think our best hope is if Firefox marketshare keeps increasing even after IE 7.0 comes out, because then we have at least a reasonable entity to work with in updating the browser to support Java UI's in a new, non-applet way.
Posted by: gerryg on May 23, 2005 at 12:49 PM
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The biggest problem with applets was really that they were rather poorly integrated into web pages; AJAX doesn't have that problem. There were other problems, too: the massive hack that you had use to get Netscape and IE to display an applet, the fact that you couldn't do very much within the applet sandbox, the fact that VERY FEW people thought of anything actually interesting to do with applets.
But the biggest technical problem was integration.
The biggest problem facing AJAX will be, I believe, security. I really don't want to think about Javascript making connections to arbitrary sites, particularly in a browser that's riddled with security flaws to start with.
Posted by: mikel on May 24, 2005 at 07:05 AM
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I agree with the posts here with concerns on security. I have few questions on the similar line.
1. Is AJAX meant for general purpose applications like Maps and E-mail or business applications say in financial domains, too?
2. Since AJAX is combination of technologies more than a single one. Who will rule the AJAX in future and help in maturing it?
3. Can AJAX based application work seamlessly with different server side technologies without any code change?
This is becoming new technology of choice in coming years and would like to know expert comments on my questions. Thanks
Posted by: swarraj on June 07, 2005 at 03:04 AM
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Well, I'm no expert but I'll take a shot.
1. Yes. If you can reasonably develop a webapp for a domain, then Ajax can probably help you develop a better one. By "better", here, I mean "providing a more seamless user experience". By "probably", I mean you still need to be careful about things like security, breaking the back button, etc.
2. Google has made a strong bid here, by virtue of their success in developing applications like Maps and GMail. For some good websites dedicated to the issues involved with Ajax-specific development, see Adaptive Path and Ajaxian.
3. That's an open-ended question, so I'll give an open-ended answer: it depends. On what? The specific server side technology, browser support for XmlHttpRequest, etc. This is one of the questions that remains to be answered about Ajax in general.
The buzz is there. The developer interest is there. The corporate backing will probably follow soon. I expect a rash of Ajax development, some of it good, some of it bad, all of it educational.
Posted by: davidrupp on June 07, 2005 at 09:56 AM
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