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This is an old revision of AjaxIntegration made by YodaHome on 2006-02-28 17:40:31.

 

AJAX and Wikka Wiki: some exploratory thoughts


AJAX (or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) applications have become a largely discussed topic these days. Basically, AJAX provides enhanced interactivity by using a combination of JavaScript and XMLHTTP.

AJAX and wikis

There are many possible ways of integrating AJAX technology into a wiki, the most basic of which is probably autocompletion: in any case in which a username, a pagename or a category name is required, AJAX scripting can be used to "suggest" a list of keywords retrieved from the database. See, for example, this form autocompletion demo.


Apart from that the important thing on AJAX is the first A for asynchronous: It means that (without using server side includes!) you can load nearly any kind of data in the background without disturbing the user. Furthermore you can reload parts of your site without reloading everything. The basic behaviour of PHP (and most other SSIs) is that you change some state and reload the page to see the results. Using AJAX brings more of the usual application-like behaviour to the browser by keeping elements that you don't interact with and loading only the data that is actually needed when it is needed. You probably know that from the Google Apps like the Personalized Google, GoogleMail and GoogleMaps. The user doesn't need to wait for the loading to finish.

AJAX and accessibility

One of the major issues in implementing AJAX applications in a content management system is the fact that very often they result in inaccessible interfaces. To respect accessibility requirements, AJAX applications should always provide a fallback for browsers not supporting JavaScript (like textual browsers) and alternative for those who cannot work with an Ajax interface, for instance people using a screen reader. In this sense, they should aim at providing facilitating tools, not replace basic functionality.

A simple test

Wikka with LiveSearch



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