Degradable Ajax

There are hundreds of frameworks out there that are aimed in helping developers who are not familiar with JavaScript to build an Ajax based application. Some of these frameworks are just drag and drop so you won’t even have to sweat so much in building an Ajax based website. These frameworks are free and with any language that you fancy, Ajax has the corresponding frameworks that you can use. With the use of frameworks, Ajax development becomes an easy task.

The core of every framework is still JavaScript. Most of the frameworks just translate the original coding into JavaScript so that Ajax could be created. There are also frameworks that use the original code as a remote control for the Ajax based functions. Basically, without JavaScript you can’t build Ajax.

When the user turns off the JavaScript in their website, they won’t be able to see the website or they will not be able to interact with the functions of the website.

But some developers cannot just live with the fact that users who switches off the JavaScript cannot interact with Ajax based websites. After all, everyone has to enjoy the Ajax – with or without JavaScript.

That is where degradable Ajax was born. This type of coding as the title says is not for the faint of heart, it requires concentration and a lot of time in developing your Ajax based application, this type of coding is as robust as it can be.

Some will say that degradable Ajax is nothing more than a glorified Hijax – a website converted with JavaScript which will eventually lead to Ajax. But degradable Ajax is actually more. With Hijax, developers convert the website completely. It can only revert to the original site if the original page is still available. If the “Hijaxed” site switches of its JavaScript it will no longer work. Degradable Ajax on the other hand does not convert any webpages but instead builds a brand new site and enables the functions even without the use of JavaScript.

But do you really need to have degradable Ajax in your website? Some would say it is just a waste of time since JavaScript is a client side scripting that could be easily launched in any browser.

On the other hand, JavaScript is not available in some users. Although there are less than 10% of the users in the world today do not have access to JavaScript its still worth working on it.

The best thing about degradable Ajax is that it enhances the features even without a strong bandwidth. It could be even used in websites that are optimized to be accessed in mobile devices. Although Ajax based applications is possible through WiFi in mobile phones, access to degradable Ajax is easier even when you are using your mobile phone to access websites through dial up connection or GPRS. It may be very complicated but this complication enables access to almost anyone in every device.