Hi all,
This is my first post to the list but I have enjoyed this thread so wanted to contribute. I’m an ASP.NET developer and I’m heavily involved with the Microsoft Development community (and I’m writing this on a Mac just to prove I’m not some heathen ;))
I think before going any clearer it’s important to break down the jargon and define what each chunk of terminology means when I talk about it: -
What is AJAX?
This is a browser only technology, in that it’s only available in browsers. AJAX as a term encompasses hundreds of different AJAX frameworks that are all designed to communicate with remote servers “behind the scenes” using _javascript_ (hell or even _vbscript_ if you’re a bit weird) and the Xml Http Request components which ship with most modern browsers. The technology which enables this is nothing new, however the mass market usage of it is – Google popularized it however it’s been around for some time, the Microsoft Outlook Web Access application is a prime example of a complete AJAX implementation of Outlook.
Third parties are starting to produce their own AJAX toolkits which can be used with their web site or services – such as the Google Maps API.
AJAX overcomes the following issues and problems: -
- Users can have real time feedback on what they’re doing – they don’t have to manually post data back to the server to check if it’s “right”.
- Users don’t have to manually “save” items, the client side can do this for them (in a similar way to most desktop applications with a background save.
- Rich “interactivity” with access to back end data stores can be easily achieved (think Google Maps)
AJAX cases some more issues and problems: -
- It’s browser dependant – there are vague standards but each browser is different.
- AJAX functionality 99% of the time will only work when a user is online and has a high(er) speed connection
- It’s new and scary, users are used to the “white flicker” as the page posts back, and they’re used to waiting – when things happen quickly some users don’t believe it’s “finished”.
- AJAX functionality is incredibly difficult to harness on external sites without full programmatic API’s and sets of web services being exposed.
- Not all browsers support the functionality and those that do support it to varying levels.
What are Web Services (With SOAP)
A Web Service is a standard way of interfacing with something else, think about a three pin plug that we use here in the UK – we know it’s a three pin plug not one of the scary Continental jobbys, we know we can use it to connect to our shiny Macs and PC’s to the power supply. The “power socket” Web Service advertises what kind of interface it has by the holes on the socket and the configuration of those holes, we know if we want to plug something into it we need to find a corresponding plug.
In the Web world, these services are used to expose information in a standard and repeatable format, for example, I can query the Amazon web services and (if they’re working which is a minor miracle in it’s self) pass it an ISBN and it will return me all the information about the book in a standard format. A BBC web service might take a program name in such as “Walking with Dinosaurs” and return to me a list of times and on which channels the program airs.
The thing that makes web services really cool is that “on demand” I can lookup information about something from my own applications and then combine that information with my own.
Web Services overcomes the following problems and issues: -
- Data is advertised in a format that can be reused by other applications – meaning the data has much more reach than it ever had.
- Developers can combine their own data with the remote information stored in someone else's system to bring a much more meaningful set of information to users.
- Web Services can be continually updated added more and more “methods” to them so that more information can be retrieved.
- They bridge the gap between programming languages – a Microsoft Server can talk to an IBM server quite easily.
Web Services cause the following problems and issues: -
- You have to be a developer to use them because they’re programmatic access into remote systems.
- Web Services only work when the systems are online.
- There are different “standards” and implementations of portions of Web Services which can cause issues between developers at both ends.
What is RSS
The BBC does a great job of describing RSS already: -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3223484.stm
RSS Feeds are similar to web services in the problems and issues they raise, however they’re becoming more and more integrated into browsers and e-mail applications so much so that I’d say the technical gap that used to exist for RSS is being bridged very quickly. RSS can be used by both Developers to consume remote data and by users to subscribe to “feeds” of information.
What’s User Experience (UX)
User experience is a very interesting one because it covers all of the above areas as well as a whole lot more. Essentially it’s “does the application feel right and do I find it easy to use”.
Each of the above has a different target audience – but they can also be used in combination by “power user” or developers.
How will things happen going forward?
I predict the following: -
- More Third Party sites will produce AJAX toolkits for their sites and services.
- More Web Services offering data will be exposed.
- Rich Media and Content will become the display mechanism of choice.
- Content (Text) will still be one of the most important aspects of “the web”, but it will be integrated very closely with audio and video.
- Interlinking of content between sites will become more important. “Search” is not the future ;-)
- Users want something that works well. If it looks great, that’s a bonus, but look at sites like eBay – it’s a horrible design, but it works well.
Web Site developers need to keep the above in mind with what they’re doing. The actual implementations will vary from site to site as it is relevant. Some sites will have just RSS feeds, others might expose their content via Web Services, others might just want a bit of AJAX functionality to give the user something to play with.
What should be the same across all sites is a consistent message – “shared information” and “ease of use”.
What the BBC does is obviously up to the BBC, however the more they share, the more that will get used – we have no idea how people will use the data – but they will use it.
There, what started a a quick note to say “Hi” has turned into a 30 min e-mail!
Cheers,
Phil.
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