AJAX critique or reasons why Ajaxium has been created

AJAX-armed Web browsing reveals not only its benefits but also its imperfections. Below we list top 10 imperfections in traditional AJAX-based applications that Ajaxium helps to eliminate.

(1) Ajax application breaks the back button

Users expect that clicking the back button in their web browser will undo their last state change. For Ajax applications this might not be the case since the page has been modified dynamically. Due to the dynamic nature of page updates the back button click returns the user to the previous page breaking the expected behavior.

Ajaxium offers two ways to make the browser history more user-friendly:

• Since Ajaxium has been created for ASP.NET developers, the first solution is about the ASP.NET nature and specific ASP.NET problems related to the back button behavior. ASP.NET uses page postbacks to update page content, thus putting each update to the browser history. With Ajaxium there are no additional entries in the browser history. So even if the user plays with page controls for a long time, browser history will never be filled by one page at different stages.
• Another way to make the browser history more user-friendly is based on the fact that one can always combine AJAX-based postbacks and traditional links or page redirects in one application. Moreover, if need be, the developer can make a traditional postback instead of the AJAX one. Ajaxium design allows choosing between AJAX-based page updates and traditional ASP.NET postbacks on both client and server sides at any moment.

(2) Ajax applications do not give immediate visual cues after widget clicking

Users expect that each page update triggered by clicking buttons and links activates standard browser visual cues such as the progress bar, downloading notification in the status bar, etc. When the Ajax application starts an update the user does not receive any visual cue feedback.

• With Ajaxium you can show a "page is loading" message to notify the user that work is in progress. As an option, Ajaxium can also block input controls for the postback period and notify the user that the web application is busy by setting the mouse cursor to the waiting stage (usually displayed as a small clock near the mouse arrow) just the way traditional desktop applications do.

(3) When Internet connections are very slow, users feel fidgety constantly checking for updates.

Those who use very slow Internet connections usually manage various Websites, switching from one to another when the browser notifies them that the navigation has been completed. Since automatic browser notifications don't work with AJAX applications and are unable to notify the user that the update is over, users have to return to the page from time to time, to check if the server has issued a response

• The first important thing that Ajaxium does about it is a compression of the server response so that the data transfer takes much less traffic and time than a traditional page update. With Ajaxium empowerment, one has to have a really dead-slow Internet connection to find oneself in a situation as above. But even in this unfortunate situation users can benefit from Ajaxium - the developer can put a button somewhere on the page which turns off AJAX for such users to allow an automatic downgrade to be performed and permit them to see a traditional non-AJAX Website with browser notifications working.

(4) Ajax applications often send sensitive information in the clear

Security of AJAX applications is subject to additional review - once any application starts talking asynchronously to the server, it is easy to make a mistake and write a code so chatty that it creates a potential insecurity.

• Ajaxium acts as an extension of traditional ASP.NET. So if you're following common ASP.NET security guidelines while developing your web application you can be sure that your security is not compromised.

(5) A lot of Javascript code causes considerable visitor browser slowdown

Usually just a few lines of the Javascript code run when a traditional page update is performed. AJAX applications do page updates in the Javascript code, and visitors may notice an increase in the CPU load.

• For users with extremely weak CPUs, developers equipped with Ajaxium can create a special button, which turns Ajaxium off so that such users can continue working in a traditional Website mode.

(6) AJAX applications depend on Javascript availability

According to the W3C browser usage statistics, 11% of all visitors don't have any Javascript options. Since AJAX applications are wholly dependent on Javascript, they find themselves cut from a tenth of a total number of prospective visitors.

• Ajaxium is browser-neutral and works transparently performing graceful fallback for the visitor in case of incompatibility. So if the visitor's browser is not Javascript-equipped, Ajaxium-empowered Website works exactly like a traditional ASP.NET Website. This principle also applies if the visitor has his/her Javascript completely disabled for security reasons, or if the browser's Javascript engine doesn't support all the features required to perform dynamic page updates.

(7) AJAX applications don't contain links that the visitor can bookmark or pass to his/her friends

All traditional Websites commonly offer this feature that allows visitors to bookmark their favorite links or pass them on to their friends. AJAX applications cause huge problems in this regard - the page is generated dynamically on the client side instead of the server side and all too often the URL cannot be used as a navigation link.

• With Ajaxium it is easy to construct permanent links which guide exactly to the page opened. So if the ASP.NET page is accessible for the visitor by a link, it is just as accessible when Ajaxium is enabled.

(8) AJAX applications can't be indexed by search engines

AJAX applications manipulate page content without page transitions and thereby cause big problems for search engines. Most of search engines completely ignore all Javascript actions and, as a result, are totally unable to index the content of the AJAX application.

• Ajaxium views a web crawler as just a browser with no Javascript support, so Ajaxium automatically and gracefully degrades back to standard web pages. Thus Ajaxium-empowered Websites will always be indexed by search engines exactly the same way as in the case of conventional ASP.NET sites.

(9) AJAX applications have a habit of changing parts of pages unexpectedly for visitors

When an AJAX application performs an asynchronous update, the page layout may change bringing some controls and texts in and removing others. It is irritating for a user reading one part of a page to break his/her reading flow because of a change in the other part due to an abrupt alteration in the page layout. This annoying issue could erode any advantage offered by AJAX applications.

• Ajaxium doesn't force the developer to apply nothing but asynchronous page updates. He/she can combine traditional links and controls, enabling AJAX for some of them and disabling for others. This approach offers full control over page updates. It is often more convenient to transfer the user to another Website page using a traditional hyperlink while simultaneously retaining all AJAX features in other parts of the page.

(10) AJAX applications often produce print problems

Many browsers cannot print AJAX pages properly - either a part of a page is printed or nothing is printed at all or parts of page content get lost or cut off. Also, it's not uncommon that a printed AJAX page comes out with an incorrect layout, or takes up more space than it does on the screen.

• If there is no special printer-friendly version which is a standard recommended even for traditional Websites, Ajaxium can refresh the page turning off all AJAX features just before the printing starts. So the page will be printed exactly as a traditional ASP.NET page. If there is a printer-friendly version installed, Ajaxium is easily turned off to ensure a trouble-free page printing.