Year round learning for product, design and engineering professionals

Alex Mackey – Harden Up Your Ajax

Some solutions for dealing with common Ajax related issues such as timeouts & loss of connectivity. And if this floats your boat, you need to get along to the Engineering Track at Web Directions 2014.

Patrick Lee – JavaScript Sprachraum

Patrick Lee PortraitIn this session Patrick will be looking at JavaScript outside of the browser, focusing on how to use it for web server applications. Starting with the old in Helma and progressing through various usages to the most new and exciting with node.js, Patrick will talk about why JavaScript on the server matters right now and show you how to get started using it.

Tania Lang – Using AJAX to enhance UX

Tania Lang PortraitAJAX is changing the way that users interact with websites – it has the potential to provide richer and more interactive online user experiences but also introduces its own set of usability and accessibility problems. This session will present views from leading usability experts from around the world from an experienced practitioner workshop conducted at the Usability Professionals Conference in USA.

Douglas Crockford – Ajax security

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

Douglas Crockford PortraitSecurity 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.

Panel – Javascript libraries – putting the cross in cross-browser compatible

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 1.40pm.

No longer are search engines the main contenders when you’re shopping for JavaScript solutions. For sophisticated, cross-browser effects which degrade gracefully and don’t impede accessibility, libraries are the new heavy weights. But which library do you want in your corner?
The crop of polished, opensource libraries bring a vast array of visual effects and functionality to leverage in your projects and we’ll introduce you to the power houses. We’ll run jQuery, the YUI, and Prototype up against pure Javascript in a tag team event that will challenge even the hardiest code warriors.
In this special 2 hour session local and international developers will run libraries through their paces giving you real world insights in to how a library can help you knockout the toughest scripting challenge.

Andrew Kesper – ABC’s election site: making the most of dry data

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.

Andrew Kesper PortraitWhile 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.

Douglas Crockford – Ajax security

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.

Jonathan Snook – Working with Ajax Frameworks

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

Jonathon Snook Portrait 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.

Kaitlin Sherwood & Steffen Meschkat – The Business and Technology of Mashups

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.

George Oates and Paul Hammond – Web Apps: Developer to Designer

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.

Aaron Gustafson & Andy Clarke – Transcendent Design with Javascript and CSS

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.

Jeremy Keith & Derek Featherstone – Web Apps – Ajax Kung Fu Meets Accessibility Feng Shui

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.

Andrew Downie and Grant Focas – Javascript and other coding for good or evil

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

Andrew Downie PortraitGrant Focas PortraitWhen 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.

Aaron Gustafson – Learning to love forms

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

Aaron Gustafson PortraitForms. 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.

Jonathan Boutelle – Ajax or Flash: what’s right for you?

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

Jonathan Boutelle PortraitThe 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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Thoroughly enjoyed Web Directions — met some great people, heard some inspiring presenters and added a whole bunch of things to my to-do list.

Joel Roberts Web Developer