A typical Java developer knows that when you need to develop a GUI for a Java
application, Swing is the tool. Eclipse SWT also has a number of followers,
but the majority of people use Java Swing. For the past 10 years, it was a
given that Swing development wouldn't be easy; you have to master working
with the event-dispatch thread, GridBaglayout, and the like. Recently, the
NetBeans team created a nice GUI designer called Matisse, which was also
ported to MyEclipse. Prior to Matisse, JBuilder had the best Swing designer,
but it was too expensive. Now a good designer comes with NetBeans for free.
Why even consider Flex for developing Rich Internet Applications (RIA)?
First, we'll give the short answer. Just look at the code in Listing 1. This
code compiles and runs in the Flash player and produces the output shown in
Figure 1. Yes, it's a tree control with several no... (more)
The publicity that AJAX grabbed over the last half a year is based on closing
the gap between the Web applications and the desktop applications, combining
the "reach" and "rich." At the same time, the gap between the technological
level of AJAX and what corporate developers expect in their modern arsenal is
really astonishing. After all, AJAX is neither a tool nor a platform. There
is no AJAX standards committee or community process in place. While software
vendors are crafting proprietary development platforms on top of AJAX (which
pretty much means "from scratch"), early adopte... (more)
In any GUI tool, one of the most popular components is the one that shows
data in a table format like JTable in Java or Datawindow in PowerBuilder. The
Adobe Flex 2 version of such a component is called DataGrid. In any UI
framework, the robustness of such a component depends on formatting and
validating utilities as well as a whole suite of data input controls:
CheckBoxes, ComboBoxes, RadioButtons, all sorts of Inputs, Masks, and so on.
Using theatrical terminology, the role of the king is played by his
entourage. Practically speaking, touching up the DataGrid is touching up a ... (more)
Browser-based applications are widely used and we like the fact that we can
access them from anywhere. But from the users' perspective, the productivity
level of Web applications still doesn't approximate the productivity of
desktop programs. The good news is the gap is closing: the accumulated
potential of multiple technologies has boosted a whole new breed of
HTML-based apps that are as powerful as the desktop ones. Meet AJAX.
What Is AJAX?
The name stands for Asynchronous JavaScript + XMLHTTPRequest and means you
can establish socket communication between browser-based JavaScri... (more)
Browser-based applications are widely used and we like the fact that we can
access them from anywhere. But from the users' perspective, the productivity
level of Web applications still doesn't approximate the productivity of
desktop programs. The good news is the gap is closing: the accumulated
potential of multiple technologies has boosted a whole new breed of
HTML-based apps that are as powerful as the desktop ones. Meet AJAX.
What Is AJAX?
The name stands for Asynchronous JavaScript + XMLHTTPRequest and means you
can establish socket communication between browser-based JavaScri... (more)
Anatole Tartakovsky is a Managing Principal of Farata Systems. He's responsible for creation of frameworks and reusable components. Anatole authored number of books and articles on AJAX, XML, Internet and client-server technologies. He holds an MS in mathematics. You can reach him at atartakovsky@faratasystems.com
David Lucas
Cathy Lopez
Shaul Efraim
Terence Martin Breslin
Cory Marchand
David Hughes
James Carlini
John Iffert
Dan Stolts
Joe Zeto
