how to select the right ajax product

How to Select the Right AJAX Product

By Jep Castelein, Technical Marketing Manager

For sound, please dial

+1-605-772-3434, Access code 491-901-147

For questions, please use the Question &

Answer box on the right-hand side

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What we’ll cover in this webinar:

• Do you need AJAX?

• How to make sense of 150+ AJAX frameworks

• Defining AJAX Selection Criteria

• Backbase AJAX Software

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• Do You Need AJAX?

• Framework or Custom?

• Classifying AJAX Approaches


• Backbase AJAX

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Is it too Early to Use AJAX?

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Determine High-Impact Apps

Source: Forrester 2006

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Low Frequency, Low Complexity


Example: Corporate Websites

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BEA

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Medium Frequency & Complexity


Example: Self-Service

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Dell

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High Frequency & Low Complexity


Example: Portals

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Protopage

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Low Frequency & High Complexity


Example: Mapping

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Google Maps

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High Frequency & High Complexity


Example: Desktop-type Apps

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Yahoo! Mail Beta

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Examples of Application Types

• Self-service

– Often externally focused (customers, partners)

– Either selling something, or providing service

• Application Modernization

– Often internal applications

– Often the type of application that used to be client-server, or first-generation HTML

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• Backbase AJAX

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Expert’s Opinion

• Michael Mahemoff, AJAX Patterns:

– “There was kind of a running joke at The Ajax Experience about how each speaker at some point exhorted people to take advantage of frameworks/libraries. (…) the message to use frameworks and libraries will become more clear in the next 12 months.” – May 2006

http://ajaxian.com/archives/134-ajax-frameworks-and-counting

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Ajaxian User Research

• Survey with 865 participants, who visited Ajaxian during 1 week in September 2006:

– “25% of you eschew frameworks and work with XMLHttpRequest directly”

– That means that 75% uses some kind of framework or toolkit

http://ajaxian.com/archives/ajaxiancom-2006-survey-results

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Reasons to Use a Framework

• Better browser compatibility

• Many utility functions (e.g. XHR abstraction)

• UI Widgets

• Pre-built Behaviors (e.g. drag & drop)

• Client-server integration

• Better tooling

• …

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• Backbase AJAX

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How many AJAX packages are there?

• Over 150…

• http://ajaxpatterns.org/Frameworks

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Gartner Defines Four Levels

Four Levels of AJAX

1. Snippets

2. Widgets

3. Client-side Engine

4. AJAX Framework

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BEA: 4 Axes of AJAX

Server-centric Client-centric

Open Source

Commercial

Comprehensive framework

Individual components

Procedural

Declarative

Source: BEA, Gary Horen, Brian Harrison

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BEA: Server- vs. Client-Centric

Java / C# UI + Java/C#Client-centric

FrameworkJavaScript

Server-centric Client centric

•DWR

•Prototype

•Sajax

•JavaScript event handling, plumbing, and UI layout

•Backbase Client Edition

•Dojo

•OpenRico

•Framework for page layout

•JavaScript event handlers

•Backbase JSF Edition

•MyFacesTomahawk

•Atlas

•UI Tags

•Java event handlers

•Google Web Toolkit (GWT)

•Java UI definition


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OpenAjax: Single vs. dual-DOM

Source: http://www.openajax.org/whitepaper.html

Single-DOM (Client-side) Dual-DOM (Client-side)

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InfoWorld Criteria

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AJAX Architecture

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Let’s look at a couple of examples…

• Snippets: Netflix

• Widgets: Google Suggest

• AJAX Engine: Yellow Pages

• AJAX Framework: RSS Reader

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Netflix: Snippets

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Netflix

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Google Suggest: Widgets

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Google Suggest Movie

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RSS Reader: AJAX Framework

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RSS Reader Demo

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• Backbase AJAX

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Selection Criteria

- Features

- Security

- Performance & Testing

- Non-Product features

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Features: SPI & MPI

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Features: AJAX Engine

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Features: Support Web Features

• Back-forward button

• Bookmarking / send-to-a-friend

• SEO

• Print

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Features: UI Components & Behaviors

AdvancedDesktop Functions

Pre-build & ExtensibleUI Widgets

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Features: Accessibility

• Keyboard shortcuts

• Focus model

• Tab trough the UI

• Section 508 compliance

• Productivity

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Requirement : Accessibility

• Keyboard shortcuts

• Focus model

• Tab trough the UI

• Section 508 compliance

• Productivity

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Features: Server Integration

• Based on Existing Standards

• Client- and Server-side Event Handlers

• Client- and Server-side Data Binding

• Client-Server State Synchronization

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Server-Side Integration with JSF

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Features: Development Tools

IDE integration360 DegreeDebugging Tools

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Client-side Tooling Example

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Security

IT Observer Top-5 AJAX Security Tips:

• Good planning & use standard response format (e.g. XML)

• Follow best-practices, for example from OWASP Top-10 (http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10)

• Add final server-side rechecking of Access Control and Input Validation

• Client-side obfuscation does not protect

• Tight coordination within Dev team

Source: IT Observer (http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1062/ajax_security/)

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Performance & Testing Tips

• Consider application usage patterns

• Latency is more important than bandwidth, you notice this if:– You do many server calls

– You load too many image

• Manipulate data in the background, and then refresh the DOM

• Use GZip compression

• Don’t use too much custom JavaScript

• Try to automate testing

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Non-Product criteria

Documentation + Examples Developer Community

Training Courses

Licensing Technical Support

Mentoring

Is a Company backing it? Solid Roadmap? Customer References?

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• Backbase AJAX

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How is Backbase Classified?

Gartner’s Four Levels of AJAX

1. Snippets

2. Widgets

3. Client-side Engine

4. AJAX Framework

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Backbase on the BEA grid

Server centric Client centric

Open Source

Commercial

Comprehensive framework

Individual components

Procedural

Declarative

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BEA: Server- vs. Client-Centric

Java / C# UI + Java/C#Client-centric

FrameworkJavaScript

Server-centric Client centric

•JavaScript event handling, plumbing, and UI layout

•Framework for page layout

•JavaScript event handlers

•UI Tags


•Java UI definition


Backbase

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OpenAjax: Backbase uses dual-DOM

Source: http://www.openajax.org/whitepaper.html

Dual-DOM (Client-side) Dual-DOM (Server-side)

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InfoWorld Criteria

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Backbase Products

• AJAX JSF Edition:Based on JSF, includes Eclipse plug-in

• AJAX Struts Edition:Based on Struts

• AJAX Client Edition:Client-only, server-agnostic

More info + trial: www.backbase.com

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Backbase AJAX Architecture

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Backbase AJAX Customers

Financial Services

Federal Reserve

New York

ISVs Other

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Backbase Professional Services

• AJAX Scan:Kick-start your AJAX project, clarify requirements and determine the impact

– AJAX Usability Scan, 3-6 days

– AJAX Technical Scan, 3-6 days

• AJAX – Other Services:

– Training

– Mentoring

– Technical Support

– Consulting

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Backbase Benefits

• Easy-to-use

• Comprehensive

• Open Standards

• Full Support

XML, XHTML, CSS,

JavaScript, XSLT, XPath

No plug-ins needed

Leveraging existing IDEs

and existing skill sets

50+ widgets, mature AJAX

engine, developer tools,

server-side products

Leverage JSF, JSP, Struts,

and JEE skills, cross-

browser compatible,

excellent documentation and

support

Assistance for every step of

your development process

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Q&A Session

• Questions?

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