Building Ajax Applications Using SXML

Proper data handling in Ajax is always the primary purpose of developers in looking for ways to effectively develop the application. The different data formats are usually judged not only how they could be seamlessly implemented from the source but also on how the data format would be successful in returning data.

Considering browser incompatibilities, security and ease of manipulation, developers are usually choosing a different data type to effectively implement their application. For Ajax, the most popular data format is XML – a lightweight data format that could easily move within browsers, most developers have come to prefer this specific data format because it can be used in most situations.

Considering SXML

There are developers who wanted more that just simple data processing from XML. XML maybe able to help developers in most of their data needs but there are certain situations that XML may not help.

For example, developers might have trouble using XML if they are looking for a straightforward application. XML is practically a data format without any additional features and will need more functions for the data to be properly used.

That is where SXML comes in. In gist, this type of data format is a favored alternative for developers who wanted to build a smaller application without the heavy burden provided by XML. This type of data format is smaller in terms of required lines in implementation.

The “S” in XML stands for S-expression which explains at great length the advantages and the disadvantages of SXML. To understand further S-expression, S or symbol is used as an expression but would still remain readable not only by machine but by humans as well.

From this standpoint, you can easily identify how SXML will fare in some areas compared to XML.

Advantages of SXML

• Ideal for Smaller Applications – As already indicated, SXML is perfect for developers who wanted to build small Ajax based applications. Since it uses symbols more compared to XML, it can work faster compared to XML.

• Surprisingly Simple – The best part of SXML is that it has a familiar look of XML with very few changes especially on data handling. It sues () as its data controller instead of <> and the tag for SXML starts with (@ command. Everything else is almost the same.

• Integration of Function – The “challenging” part for SXML is on its straightforward behavior. Aside from focusing on data, the data structure could be integrated with SXML. This means developers could easily interact with SXML on the application as it could be immediately understood.

Disadvantages of SXML

• Too Limiting – The advantage of using symbols for SXML is also its disadvantage. Although symbol could easily shorten the commands and increase readability, it might not work well in other programming languages especially for those that are not built for the client side.

• Simplified DOM and XPath – Although SXML could work with JavaScript, it can only work in standard functions for DOM and XPath.

Even with these shortcomings, SXML is still a viable option especially if you are looking into simple Ajax based applications.