Well, as with everything there is a time and place, even for real time record updates.
I have a project I had to work on where that was a requirement because of the fact that they want the user to be able shut down the browser at any moment and have the app persist their progress through an audit up to the point they closed the browser. So if they are in the middle of the fifth field and decide to get out of the browser by hitting the close button, well I have to save the half filled in fifth field so they can resume at their leisure. There are definitely problems with using this approach all the time (In fact I wouldn't under 99% of the situations i develop for) but there are times where using the xmlHttpRequest object for this is a real boon. Bill On 1/13/06, Jason Daiger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > After reading this multi-headed discussion filled w/ great info there is on > thing I just can't shake and that is the notion of using AJAX for data entry > forms to create a more 'desktop like' experience. Bryan Kaiser & Michael > Haynie's Episode 10 podcast (found at http://www.coldfusionpodcast.com/) > also discussed having users making item (i.e field) level changes and having > them update in real time to a database and what power that brings. Although > very cool in concept to me it illustrates a common failure we as developers > often make and that's doing things b/c we think their cool or just because > we can. Time and place are everything and not allowing users the options of > making and correcting a mistake before it is submitted and saved is a great > example. I see AJAX as great tool when used properly, such as search pages > like cfquickdocs (http://www.techfeed.net/cfQuickDocs/), or on data entry > pages for validation (and there are certainly many many more places as well) > but I would disagree with using it to trigger actions that persist > individual updates in real time. Cool in concept but I personally would not > call it user friendly. > > People are creatures of habit and used to editing and then saving files, > pictures, emails, whatever and most users do not feel secure what they have > done was been saved until a program tells them it was. We must always be > mindful not to create a negative 'transfer of learning' with our designs for > the sake of coolness. > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > You are subscribed to cfcdev. To unsubscribe, send an email to > [email protected] with the words 'unsubscribe cfcdev' as the subject of the > email. > > CFCDev is run by CFCZone (www.cfczone.org) and supported by CFXHosting > (www.cfxhosting.com). > > An archive of the CFCDev list is available at > www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://blog.rawlinson.us If you want Gmail - just ask. ---------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to cfcdev. To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected] with the words 'unsubscribe cfcdev' as the subject of the email. CFCDev is run by CFCZone (www.cfczone.org) and supported by CFXHosting (www.cfxhosting.com). An archive of the CFCDev list is available at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
