Dave wrote:
MSN web messenger uses Web Browser to display message, but it does not
refresh whole message area, just adding new messages. I am trying to
understand how it works using HTTP web browser. It is great for many
applications, for example, Email web client show up new messages without
refreshing the whole message list window. Is it possible with JSF?
There are several ways to achieve this:
* Use HTML frames. Only one frame needs to be reloaded
* Use an applet to display the varying data
* Use an ActiveX control or similar
* Use the AJAX approach
I would guess that MSN are using AJAX. Modern browsers provide an
XMLHttpRequest object that javascript can use to send a message to a
server and receive a response. The javascript can then update the page
by manipulating DOM objects. Effectively, you can write traditional
client-server applications using HTML/Javascript as the front end.
Writing apps in the AJAX manner is pretty new, so docs and tool support
is uneven. There are a few JSF tags that generate AJAX style code; check
the myfaces site.
Google for AJAX for more info.
Regards,
Simon
