Data Portability in Frameworks

Data processing is often the most important part of an Ajax based application. Interaction with the user often deals with data processing. Users access Ajax based applications online with the hope of accessing information they seek or they already have a preconceived information and use the Ajax based application to process or transform the information to their preferred type of data. These processing could be for leisure, business or other personal reasons but the data is still king when it comes to data processing.

For that reason, proper use of XML in Ajax based applications should be observed the entire time. The coding of XML will determine the efficiency of the application. Although there are a variety of codes wherein a developer could use to command XML, each version has a corresponding speed. A developer should always seek the faster possible technique they could use to ensure that they are building the best possible Ajax based application.

XML in data portability is only part of the problem. Developers still have to work with JavaScript so that it could properly interact with XML and eventually have a proper output. The client side execution of JavaScript should be considered all the time as the user commands are entered through JavaScript. If the developer is only relatively familiar with commands in JavaScript he or she will have a tough time configuring the processes for an Ajax based application.

That is why it is recommended for those developers who are just beginning in JavaScript to use frameworks instead. There are frameworks today that were specifically built for any programming language. But in terms of data portability, developers have to look for frameworks that can handle Java as their main programming language. Java may require users to download Java environment first, but its efficiency in data portability especially with XML is undeniable.

Since there are users who don’t have Java, it’s best to use a certain framework who could work with Java for data portability. For example, developers can use Dojo or GWT (Google Web Toolkit) in building efficient Ajax based applications. Dojo transforms Java into JavaScript while GWT also transforms Java into JavaScript but will still enable developers to use Java in maintaining website functions. These frameworks will translate the application into JavaScript therefore; users will never have to download Java just to interact with the application.

The only challenge for developers in using frameworks is on properly configuring JSEs or Java Servlet Engines. Although these servlets could generally interact with popular frameworks, the expected output of the servlet engine might not be achieved. Servlet engines are very important to a Java application since these serve as containers of functions or even complete processes for Java.

That is why GWT have opted to use Java as a remote control tool for JavaScript counterpart instead of totally converting Java into Ajax. Instead of developers changing the whole application, developers could just work on servlets and execute the framework to reinterpret the application. This will save time and reduces bug fixing in building an Ajax based application.