Tagged: ajax

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 2.40pm.

Douglas Crockford
Security design is an important, but often neglected, component of system design. In this session, Douglas Crockford, creator of Javascript Object Notation, will outline the security issues that must be considered in the architecture of Ajax applications.
The design of the browser did not anticipate the needs of multiparty applications. The browser’s security model frustrates useful activities and allows some very dangerous activities. This talk will look at the small set of options before us that will determine the future of the Web.
During this session, attendees will:

• Learn why effective security is an inherent feature of good design;
• Experience a real-time demo of a Ajax client/server system based on sound security principles
• See how to apply secure design to rich web applications.

See the slides and hear the podcast »

A presentation given at at Web Directions User Experience, Melbourne Town Hall, May 16 2008, and Web Directions Government, Old Parliament House, Canberra, May 19 2008.

While elections can be exciting times, the underlying data - swings, booth counts, and the like is probably only riveting to psephological tragics. Yet the ABC’s election web site managed to take this raw data and make it attractive, compelling and interactive.

In this session, the ABC’s Andrew Kesper takes us through the election site, looking at the design decisions, and uses of technology like Ajax, Flash, and interactive maps - tools which have wide applicability for government sites looking to present data in more user-friendly and attractive ways.

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A presentation given at Web Directions North, Vancouver Canada, January 31 2008.

Security design is an important, but often neglected, component of system design. In this session, Douglas Crockford, creator of Javascript Object Notation, will outline the security issues that must be considered in the architecture of Ajax applications.

The design of the browser did not anticipate the needs of multiparty applications. The browser’s security model frustrates useful activities and allows some very dangerous activities. This talk will look at the small set of options before us that will determine the future of the Web.

See the slides and hear the podcast »

A presentation given at Web Directions North, Vancouver Canada, January 30 2008.

It seems like there’s a new Ajax library or JavaScript framework coming out every week, and there probably is! Which is the best one to pick? Will you be up the creek without a paddle if you choose the wrong one?

“Working with Ajax Frameworks” will delve into some common Ajax design patterns and how various frameworks can be used to meet those needs. We’ll also take a look at how we can keep our own code flexible as we bridge the gap between it and the various frameworks.

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A presentation given at at Web Directions North, Vancouver, February 8, 2007.

Mashups are the hottest web development topic today. Hear about the front-end, back-end, and business issues of mashups with these two experts who know more about them than just about anyone.

Kaitlin Sherwood: Overview of Maps Mashup Technologies

In the past two years, there has been an explosion of tools for conveying geographic information to the masses. In this talk, Kaitlin Duck Sherwood will introduce major concepts and issues, and discuss the pros and cons of each of the major mashup frameworks. Attendees will gain an appreciation for their mapping options, and information to help them better choose between them based on their particular needs.

Steffen Meschkat

A central topic of “Web 2.0” is browser-side web application programming interfaces (APIs) and the specific type of web application they give rise to: mashups.

Using the Google Maps API as an example, I put this development into a perspective that allows one to appreciate how this, on the one hand, is a natural and coherent evolution of the Web that, on the other hand, significantly alters the ways of organizing the world’s information that the Web makes possible. I also discuss the specific technologies that web APIs for mashups are based upon, and their sometimes challenging idiosyncrasies.

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A presentation given at at Web Directions North, Vancouver, February 8, 2007.

Web apps are an intimate marriage of back-end systems and client-side interaction, but it takes two very different skill sets to build robust scalable application platforms and create smooth user interfaces that work in multiple browsers.

In this session, George Oates and Paul Hammond consider the development process from the perspective of both back- and front-end developers, and the cooperation required between them. They’ll discuss how simple architecture choices, development patterns and — above all — good communication are key to making the relationship work.

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A presentation given at at Web Directions North, Vancouver, February 7, 2007.

Traditionally, CSS has been the domain of designers while JavaScript was for programmers, but these technologies can and should work together to improve your visitors’ experiences. After all, you can do amazing things with CSS, but when you start to use CSS in concert with DOM Scripting, there’s almost no limit to what you can achieve.

MOD-ern web designer Andy Clarke and DOM/Ajax developer Aaron Gustafson will take your CSS skills and supercharge them with JavaScript magic, exploring how you can make CSS and JavaScript work together to make beautiful (and functional) results.

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A presentation given at at Web Directions North, Vancouver, February 7, 2007.

Where can you find Ajax enlightenment? At the mystical point where a kick-ass application connects perfectly with the Flow of the best user experiences. Let Masters Jeremy and Derek guide you there.

You seek to infuse your work, whether an app or a web site feature, with the power of Ajax. But, taking the wrong path at the beginning of your project will lead to frustration for visitors, rather than a graceful, intuitive experience. True Masters start with the right questions: When is Ajax an enhancement? When is it a hindrance? How can its energy be channeled elegantly? This insightful session will be grounded in real-life examples and demonstrations, revealing the impact of the choices we make. Above all, you’ll learn the strategical thinking and higher perspective that will ensure a brilliantly user-centered web site.

Where can you find Ajax enlightenment? At the mystical point where a kick-ass application connects perfectly with the Flow of the best user experiences. Let Masters Jeremy and Derek guide you there.

You seek to infuse your work, whether an app or a web site feature, with the power of Ajax. But, taking the wrong path at the beginning of your project will lead to frustration for visitors, rather than a graceful, intuitive experience. True Masters start with the right questions: When is Ajax an enhancement? When is it a hindrance? How can its energy be channeled elegantly? This insightful session will be grounded in real-life examples and demonstrations, revealing the impact of the choices we make. Above all, you’ll learn the strategical thinking and higher perspective that will ensure a brilliantly user-centered web site.

See the slides and hear the podcast »

A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2007.

When Version 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is finally released, the status of Javascript will be quite different to that assigned to it in Version 1.0 back in 1999. Back then, Javascript was to “degrade gracefully”. Currently AJAX offers increased usability for visual users, but may detract from accessibility. In future, use of JavaScript will be encouraged but, of course, must enhance rather than detract from accessibility. During this presentation, Andrew and Grant will demonstrate how Javascript, when implemented well, offers enhanced accessibility. By way of balance, they will also present examples of scripting that causes problems. Importantly, they will provide corrections to the errant coding.

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A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2007.

Forms. We all have to make ‘em, but few of us love ‘em. Aaron Gustafson believes that this is because we don’t understand them. In this session, we will explore forms from top to bottom, examining how they work and how their components can be incorporated with other elements to maximize accessibility, improve semantics, and allow for more flexible styling. You’ll get to see the complete picture with forms, including error, warning and formatting messages, styling and its implications, as well as best practices for manipulation with Javascript and Ajax.

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A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 27 2007.

The web is finally moving beyond simple html. How can you make rich web-based user experiences that don’t surprise or aggravate your users? When should you use AJAX, when should you use Flash, and when should you mix the two? What are the opportunities and pitfalls when creating richer web interfaces? In this talk, Jonathan will argue that Flash and AJAX are complementary tools in the web developers’ toolbox, and that building effective web experiences often requires a blending of the two technologies.

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A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.

Hijax is all about applying progressive enhancement to Ajax. In the Hijax model, JavaScript isn’t used for advanced intensive processing. Instead, the XMLHttpRequest object acts like a dumb waiter, passing information backwards and forwards between the client and the server. By hijacking the regular functionality and replacing it with an enhanced Ajax version, you can be assured that your website will work with or without Ajax.

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A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.

Apart from being the buzzword de jour, what is this Ajax stuff that everyone is talking about? Take a look at some implementations out there and start thinking about how Ajax can add value to your site.

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