In Webcredible's article AJAX accessibility for websites, a list of recommendations is presented for creating accessible Ajax web pages. In this podcast, Dennis and Ross discuss the accessibility issues and benefits of Ajax, and the recommendations from Webcredible which are: Inform users early in the page that dynamic updates will occur Highlight the areas that have been updated Don't change the focus Offer the option to disable automatic updates Ensure the site works if JavaScript isn't enabled Download Web Axe Episode 63 (Reviewing Accessible Ajax Recommendations) News & Events Refresh Detroit meeting April 23 (demo night) Accessible Online Learning Accessible Data Visualization with Web Standards Guide to semantic use of HTML elements / Why use semantic XHTML Everything I know about accessibility I learned from Star Wars (MP3) (Derek Featherstone at SXSW) Less

Previously, Dennis and Guest Mark McKay began the discussion on nearly taboo subject of AJAX and web accessibility in Podcast #49: AJAX and Accessibility. Now in Part 2, Dennis and Ross discuss the problems and solutions in greater detail. Download Web Axe Episode 57 (AJAX and Accessibility, Part 2) The Problems & Solutions Notifying screen readers updated content For JavaScript disabled browsers, use Hijax and progressive enhancement The dreaded alternative page The future? AJAX Links Hijax: Progressive Enhancement with Ajax The Hows and Whys of Degradable Ajax How to: Get Google and AJAX to Play Nice Book: Bulletproof AJAX by Jeremy Keith AJAX and Screenreaders: When Can it Work? Making AJAX work with Screen Readers News NFB vs Target All Flash, No Standards (GraphicPush.com) Mentioned, 456 Berea St Web Form Design Announcements Web Axe 2-Year episode thank-yous Attended An Event Apart, SF 07 Dennis got a motorcycle Less

miniAJAX.com -36 проÑ?Ñ‚Ñ‹Ñ… Ñ?криптов, позволÑ?ющих Ñ?делать ваш Ñ?айт более интереÑ?ным Google Maps поймали крылатую ракету на лету ПользуÑ?Ñ?ÑŒ пиратÑ?кими программами, милициÑ? закон не нарушает ИтальÑ?нÑ?каÑ? учительница отрезала Ñ?зык непоÑ?лушному школьнику Президент-бандит ("The Washington Post", СШÐ?) Мой WordPress Студент оÑ?ужден на год  (уÑ?ловно) за иÑ?пользование пиратÑ?ких программ Microsoft Digg может потерÑ?Ñ‚ÑŒ Ñ?вой домен КомпаниÑ? Adobe Ñ?обираетÑ?Ñ? в ближайшие 6 меÑ?Ñ?цев выпуÑ?тить "онлайн" верÑ?ию Фотошопа Ð’ РоÑ?Ñ?ии переÑ?тали покупать автомобили Ð?втоВÐ?За Less

Author, developer, musician and WaSP DOM Scripting Task Force co-lead Jeremy Keith sits down with me (and a live microphone) at the recent Web Directions North conference in Vancouver and shares how he got started as a web developer, as well as his formidable expertise on Javascript best practices, how to approach DOM scripting as a web designer, thoughts on frameworks and libraries, and some information on his new book “Bulletproof Ajax”, a sequel of sorts to his popular tome on DOM Scripting. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Sullivan) Less

The fourth episode of PodDev: - JotSpot’s support headaches - Yahoo forgos RSS, can it be accepted in the enterprise? - Wii’s browser (the web in new places), how will this affect webdev? Interview: Narendra Rocherolle Less

Agile, Ajax, AjaxPatterns, Firebug, Firefox, DHTML, IE, Javascript, TDD, Venkman, Web, Web2.0 Welcome to Ye Olde Ajax Patterns Podcaste, the final in this series that began twelve months ago. 3+4+4+1 = 12 podcasts in all, covering 71 patterns (the 70 patterns in the the book as well as Dyanmic Favicons). Find them all on the podcast category - http://www.softwareas.com/category/podcast/ or subscribe to the podcast feed at http://www.softwareas.com/podcast/rss2. Thanks for listening! This podcast covers eight patterns on debugging/diagnosis of Ajax Apps, as well as testing Ajax apps, and I’m joined by Craig Shoemaker from Polymorphic Podcast, also a co-author of “Beginning Ajax with ASP.NET”. After some announcements, the interview begans at 6:00. The podcast overall is 60 minutes. Ajax Diagnosis Patterns: Logging Debugging DOM Inspection Traffic Sniffing Ajax Testing Patterns: Simulation Service Browser-Side Test Service Test System Test With the series now complete, the podcast will now resume regular Sotware As She’s Developed topics including but not limited to agile development, Ajax, the web, and usability. Also, more conversations - please drop me a line at michael@mahemoff.com if you’d like to come drop in for a skype chat. As always, credits on this podcast to My Morning Jacket for the lead-in track, “One Big Holiday”. All podcasts in this series licensed under CC. Audio Note: Sorry about the noise at some stages in this recording - I now know a lot more about audio levelling (the problem of keeping both ends at the same level), but at the time this was recording, it turned out I had set Craig’s end at too low a volume. I used Levelator to level each end, leading to too much noise…next time I’ll need to pump up the volume at each end from the start. I’m also looking forward to resuming use of Bias SoundSoap, but there’s no easy way to get this running on an Intel Mac for now! Download Standard Podcast Less

This podcast includes Grails News, AJAX with Grails and a summary of Chapter 7 of the book Getting Real by 37Signals: Staffing. News includes the Grails Testimonials Page, Contribute a Tag, Jira Update and more. Enjoy, Sven Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DHTML, Encryption, Javascript, Security, Web, Web2.0 This is the fourth and final podcast in the series on Ajax functionality and usability patterns (Book: Part 4, pp 327-530). This 54-minute podcast covers seven patterns of Ajax Architecture (Book: Chapter 17, pp 473-530): Lazy Registration Direct Login Host-Proof Hosting Timeout Heartbeat Unique URLs Dynamic Favicons Dedicated to the Nitobians, whose last podcast inspired me to crank another one out again. Recent events suggest it may cost me $5000 to appear on their podcast again, and as Andre points out in this podcast, the same applies for them appearing on my podcast. Thus, my simple proposal would be: Each of us appear on the others’ podcast, at $5000 each. Actually, let’s make that $50k each. Cancel the debt Now each of us can claim our podcast attracts guests who pay $50k to appear. Enough to cover headsets ($20), bandwidth ($10/month with Libsyn), and assorted beverages (name your price). … Profit!!! Soon I’ll be publishing the final podcast in the overall series, which has already been recorded, and then I’ll be taking it in a more general direction akin to the topics on this blog - talking about agile, programming (Java/Rails/etc), usability, Web2.0, as well as Ajax and the coming revolution of real-time webapps. If you have a skype account and you’d like to join me sometime, drop us an email (michael@mahemoff.com). Also feel free to suggest any topics that would be good to cover. Download Standard Podcast Less

This week we try and take an objective approach to where and when to use Flex, Ajax, and the two together. We also point you to some blog debates over the topic. Also this week we run down some good news items. Charlie Arehart's Blog: fusiondebug Ajaxian » Why Ajax? ReadWriteWeb: Webified Desktop Apps vs Browser-based Apps Rey Bangos Blog: Flex vs. Ajax: Which is Better? Check this out MX Traveler: Please stop the AJAX FUD and focus on the facts Ryan Stewart - I Promise, I Do Not Hate Ajax CFSilence: 123 TSQL UDF's Rob Gonda: Ajax for ColdFusion Developers Breeze Presso next week (9/13) Damon Cooper: Adobe ColdFusion Team Member Blog Listing Ray Camden: ColdFusion Quick Reference Sheet Mike Nimer: ColdFusion FDS Docs CF Silence: Beginners Guide To CF: Complex Objects - Part 1 ColdFusionusers.com: Introducing the cfQuickDocs Firefox Search Plugin Adobe - ColdFusion TechNote : Recommended supported configurations for ColdFusion MX 6.1 and 7.0 Server CFDan.com: Securing your URL Variables Remote Synthesis: What's New In Mach ii 1.1.1 Presentation Recording DopeFly: Nathan Strutz: It's at the bottom... Running Time: 53:31 Listen Less

This week we try and take an objective approach to where and when to use Flex, Ajax, and the two together. We also point you to some blog debates over the topic. Also this week we run down some good news items. Charlie Arehart's Blog: fusiondebug Ajaxian » Why Ajax? ReadWriteWeb: Webified Desktop Apps vs Browser-based Apps Rey Bangos Blog: Flex vs. Ajax: Which is Better? Check this out MX Traveler: Please stop the AJAX FUD and focus on the facts Ryan Stewart - I Promise, I Do Not Hate Ajax CFSilence: 123 TSQL UDF's Rob Gonda: Ajax for ColdFusion Developers Breeze Presso next week (9/13) Damon Cooper: Adobe ColdFusion Team Member Blog Listing Ray Camden: ColdFusion Quick Reference Sheet Mike Nimer: ColdFusion FDS Docs CF Silence: Beginners Guide To CF: Complex Objects - Part 1 ColdFusionusers.com: Introducing the cfQuickDocs Firefox Search Plugin Adobe - ColdFusion TechNote : Recommended supported configurations for ColdFusion MX 6.1 and 7.0 Server CFDan.com: Securing your URL Variables Remote Synthesis: What's New In Mach ii 1.1.1 Presentation Recording DopeFly: Nathan Strutz: It's at the bottom... Running Time: 53:31 Listen Less

In the second episode of PodDev, the team recaps the news in a “Browser Bonanza”. We discuss the compliancy of IE7, Microsoft and Mozilla’s new partnership, and the privacy browser Browzar. We have a lengthy debate as to whether Technorati or Google is more important. Peter’s “Techno Learning” teaches us about the technology combination that’s all the rage – AJAX. Our guest is Chris Pearson, a designer famed for his work with sites such as The Blog Herald as well as his inciteful posts on website development. Absent from this week’s hosting roster is Jacob Peddicord. Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DragAndDrop, DHTML, Javascript, Podcast, Portlet, Software, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0, Widgets This is the third in the four-part series on Ajax functionality and usability patterns (Book: Part 4, pp 327-530). An audio discussion of visual effects is ideally short and sweet, so this podcast is but 13 minutes long. This 13-minute podcast covers ten patterns of Ajax Architecture (Book: Chapter 16, pp 445-472): One-Second Spotlight One-Second Mutation One-Second Motion Highlight Download Ajax Visual Effects Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DragAndDrop, DHTML, Javascript, Podcast, Portlet, Software, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0, Widgets This is the second in the four-part series on Ajax functionality and usability patterns (Book: Part 4, pp 327-530). The guest for this week is Dave Johnson of Nitobi (the Ajax component developers formerly known as E-Business Applications), widget guru and author of the upcoming Enterprise Ajax book. Dave helps me walk through the patterns and offers plenty of great insights along the way. We mention Dave’s recent presentation a couple of times; here’s the PDF. This 54-minute podcast covers ten patterns of Ajax Architecture (Book: Chapter 15, pp 389-444): Drag-And-Drop Sprite Popup Malleable Content Microlink Portlet Status Area Update Control Virtual Workspace Download Ajax Functionality and Usability Patterns - Podcast 2 of 4: Ajax Page Architecture Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DataGrid, DHTML, Javascript, Podcast, ProgressIndicator, RichTextEditor, Search, Slider, Software, Suggestion, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0, Widgets And so, a new series begins, based on the Ajax functionality and usability patterns (Book: Part 4, pp 327-530). We’ve already looked at the technical details, now we’re looking at what Ajax can do for users and how to implement these features. I’m asking guests to join me for most of the remaining Ajax Pattern podcasts. Seeing patterns from someone else’s perspsective will make the discussion richer and hopefully cover more questions you might have as you’re listening to the podcast. The guest for this week is Andre Charland of E-Business Applications, widget guru and author of the upcoming Enterprise Ajax book. This 83-minute podcast covers nine patterns of Ajax widgets: Slider Progress Indicator Drilldown Data Grid Rich Text Editor Suggestion Live Search Live Command-Line Live Form Download Functionality And Usability Patterns Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DHTML, Javascript, Optimisation, Optimization, Performance, Podcast, Software, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0 The fourth and final podcast in this series of Ajax Programming Patterns. As always, the patterns are online at AjaxPatterns.org and covered in the book too, now available at Amazon. This 33-minute podcast covers seven patterns of Performance Optimisation: Browser-Side Cache Maintain a local cache of information. Guesstimate Instead of grabbing real data from the server, make a guesstimate that’s good enough for most user’s needs. ITunes Download Counter, GMail Storage Counter. Multi-Stage Download Quickly download the page structure with a standard request, then populate it with further requests. Predictive Fetch Anticipate likely user actions and pre-load the required data. Fat Client Create a rich, browser-based, client by peforming remote calls only when there is no way to achieve the same effect in the browser. Pseudo-Threading Use a timer and a worker queue to process jobs without the blocking application flow. Code Compression Compress code on the server, preferably not on the fly. (Note that the last two are recent additions to the wiki and just stubs at this stage.) Okay, here endeth the series. I will soon be starting up a new series on the next group of patterns (Part 5 in the book): Functionality and Usability Patterns. There will be a change in the format, one I hope you’ll enjoy! Download Standard Podcast Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, Cross-Browser, CrossBrowser, DataIsland, DHTML, DOM, Javascript, Maintainable, Podcast, Portable, Software, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0, XML, XSLT The third podcast in this series of Ajax Programming Patterns. The 29-minute podcast covers five patterns. As with the previous podcast, there is reason for concern about the audio quality herein. Firstly, three patterns on DOM population - taking server response data and displaying it or storing it in the DOM: XML Data Island Retain XML responses as “XML Data Islands”, nodes within the HTML DOM. Browser-Side XSLT Apply XSLT to convert XML Messages into XHTML. Browser-Side Templating Produce browser-side templates and call on a suitable browser-side framework to render them as HTML. The second group of patterns (representing a different chapter in the Ajax Design Patterns book) are a couple of generic Javascript patterns to make the code more maintainable and portable: Server-Side Code Generation Automatically generate HTML and Javascript from server-side code. Cross-Browser Component Create cross-browser components, allowing programmers to reuse them without regard for browser compatibility. Download Standard Podcast Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, Cross-Domain, CrossDomain, DHTML, Javascript, Polling, Podcast, Proxy, Throttling, Software, Tutorial, Web, Web2.0, XML Continuing from the previous podcast (*cough* 12 weeks ago), more programming patterns. Unfortunately, this recording (and the next one) went pear-shaped. Sorry. I do, however, recommend them to those of you who’ve been wondering what an Ajax talk would have sounded like in crackly 1930s recording technology, and one in which the speaker has a severe cold. FYI The level was too low and it didn’t correct very well…maybe one day, I’ll re-record, but for now I’d prefer to just get them out there as they have been sitting in the libsyn archive for many weeks. The 40-minute podcast covers the following patterns: Call Tracking Accommodate busy user behaviour by allocating a new XMLHttpRequest object for each request. See Richard Schwartz’s blog entry.Note: Pending some rewrite to take into account request-locking etc. Periodic Refresh The browser refreshs volatile information by periodically polling the server. Submission Throttling Instead of submitting upon each Javascript event, retain the data in a local buffer and upload it periodically. Explicit Submission Instead of submitting upon each Javascript event, require the user to explicitly request it, e.g. submit upon clicking a button. Distributed Events Keep objects synchronised with an event mechanism. Cross-Domain Proxy Allow the browser to communicate with other domains by server-based mediation. This podcast covers six patterns on Browser-Server Dialogue: Call Tracking, Periodic Refresh, Submission Throttling, Explicit Submission, Distributed Events, Thanks for your feedback since last time. Good, bad, or ugly, it’s all welcome - in the comments for this podcast or michael@mahemoff.com. Download Standard Podcast Less

I turn the mic on Adobe’s Jorge Taylor, engineering manager for the newly released Spry framework for designer-friendly AJaX development. Why did the Dreamweaver engineering team decide to enter another player into the AJaX framework game, and what’s the real skinny on Spry itself? Tune in and find out. Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, DHTML, Javascript, JSON, Podcast, REST, RPC, Software, SOAP, Tutorial, Web, WebServices, Web2.0, XML Whereupon a new podcast series begins … As promised, a new series of Ajax pattern podcasts. This is the first of four podcasts on the Ajax programming patterns. In this 73 minute podcast, we look at the seven patterns of web services as they relate to Ajax clients. RPC Service Expose web services as Remote Procedural Calls (RPCs). (Note: In the book and wiki, REST appears before RPC.) (6:55) RESTful Service Expose web services according to RESTful principles. (13:25 ) HTML Response Have the server generate HTML snippets to be displayed in the browser. (44:45) Semantic Response Have the server respond with abstract, semantic, data. (49:00) Plain-Text Message Pass simple messages between server and browser in plain-text format. (56:05) XML Message Pass messages between server and browser in XML format. (57:20) JSON Message Pass messages between server and browser in Javascript Object Notation (JSON) format. (59:55) Thanks for your feedback since last time. Good, bad, or ugly, it’s all welcome - in the comments for this podcast or michael@mahemoff.com. Less

Ajax, AjaxPatterns, Comet, DHTML, HTTP, Javascript, Podcast, Push, Pushlet, Streaming Here’s a podcast about Comet - exploring the two-way web with Ajax. From my Ajaxian post earlier today: Alex Russell has coined a term for a flavour of Ajax that’s been getting more attention of late. Comet describes applications where the server keeps pushing - or streaming - data to the client, instead of having the browser keep polling the server for fresh content. Alex identifies several buzzworthy examples: GMail’s GTalk integration Jot Live Renkoo cgi:irc Meebo This is an important article because it captures a growing trend in Ajax, a trend I had in mind when I said we expect to hear more about “Push and the Two-Way Web” in the next twelve months, on the occasion of Ajax’s birthday. There will, of course, be people saying “there’s nothing new here”, and that’s presumably all too obvious to Alex himself, who has worked with these ideas for a long time. But as with Ajax, it’s the power of a name. I don’t think these ideas can adequately be described as Ajax, because Ajax changes a lot about the browser whereas Comet fundamentally changes the nature of browser-server communication. I see Comet as part of the overall Ajax trend, complementary to the UI aspects of Ajax. People may also say there are existing names like “Push”. True, but they have baggage - I think it’s useful to have a name for this architectural pattern in light of the relationship to Ajax. Anyways, I wanted to expand on some of the thoughts in the article and after the recent Basics of Ajax Podcast, I’m in the mood for more audio rambling. So here’s a 56-minute discussion about Comet and the general trend of push and streaming within Ajax. Shownotes… It's the Duplex, Stupid! Push or Pull - it doesn't matter so much. What's critical here is the focus on the two-way web. Applications - Chat - Wiki - News - Current events, sport, financials, etc - Trading and Auctions - Real-time control and logistics - File transfer (combine with local storage) - Any other genre you'd care to name Vanilla Ajax: Await the User Comet Ajax: Keep Pushing Polling Ajax: Keep Pulling Benefits of Comet - Responsive: data pumped out immediately - More stable profile - Less overhead of establishing connections Benefits of Polling - Browser memory - Can run on any standard server; Comet requires suitable server - Can upload at the same time - Can run on - with Comet, XHR and IFrame won't always reflect changes while the connection's open - Being more standard, works with existing infrastructure. Comet is vulnerable to middle-men dropping the connection. - Simpler architecture - only the browser's in control - Easier to test - More familiar architecture - Less programming effort - with Comet, must watch for changes on the stream - More efficient for infrequently accessed data - Leverages caching Maybe Comet causes more pain, but if it keeps the user happy ... Questions and Trends - Which to use. Variables include: frequency of updates, importance of updates, server capabilities, target browsers - Dealing with incoming messages, e.g. Distributed Events pattern, Event bus (browser or server?), etc - Workarounds for throbber, status bar, clicking sound, etc. - How often to drop connections - How browsers can accommodate it Proof-Of-Concept Demos - Wiki using Periodic Refresh/Polling - Wiki using HTTP Streauh, Comet (Actually, this is only a very basi implementation - there’s no use of events, just custom handling of HTTP. Related Patterns - HTTP Streaming - Periodic Refresh (aka Polling) - Distributed Events As always, feedback is welcome - michael@mahemoff.com Less