Reducing Code Size of Ajax Applications

Building an Ajax based applications is mostly difficult due to the fact that codes are usually rendered longer. Because different web developments are used in building an Ajax based applications, developers have to combine these codes so that they can achieve the asynchronous function of Ajax. If the web browser is not updated and the client’s bandwidth is not strong, these long codes in Ajax will never be read. The result is an online application that freezes before it is completely loaded.

Also part of the “freezing” problem in Ajax applications is the parsing of the codes. If the application could be loaded successfully in the client’s browser, parsing takes over so that information will be slowly loaded as requested by the user. For the online application to successfully run, loading and parsing should be successfully implemented.

Fortunately, some of the codes could be compressed so that some of the functions will be lightweight. But not all codes could be compressed as some codes should be able to support the function successfully and being compressed will not be able to do that.

So instead of compression, here are some tips so that you can reduce the code size of your Ajax based application:

1. Write less code – Less is always more in an Ajax based application. There are actually codes that shouldn’t be there since they can only be the “eye-candy” of the Ajax coding. Some of them could help but they are only minimal but most of them are intrusive since bandwidth that should have focused on the essential functions of Ajax has been grabbed by “eye candy” coding. Reducing the Ajax application to its bare essentials may result to a bad looking website but that’s a small sacrifice in order to have a highly efficient Ajax application.

2. Use libraries – Libraries are always the developer’s best friend. Instead of writing a code, there are libraries that contain code of functions that could be used in building an Ajax based application. Because of the popularity of Ajax, JavaScript libraries are on the rise so searching for a specific function for your Ajax application is possible. Libraries are optimized so that lesser codes are used and they are universal in the sense that it could be integrated to most web development languages. There are even developers who rely in libraries in order to build an Ajax based application and come up with a great looking website.

3. Split JavaScript files

– For a very long code, split the JavaScript files so that your bandwidth could “breathe”. When loading JavaScript into smaller files, parsing and script compilation is easier since they would read faster. Firefox recommended this since a very long code will usually freeze the website. Splitting files on JavaScript is often a very tedious task since a single function could be split into two and synchronization is a requirement. But this extra task will ensure that the Ajax application will load without any problem in any bandwidth and in most modern browsers.