The AxsJax Option

Screen readers for Ajax based application continue to be the goal of most developers. They have to ensure that their Ajax based application is a lot more than just a fancy application accessible for some users but an application that would be available for everyone.

Screen readers will have the ability to improve the Ajax based application’s readability which will naturally result to more users.

But implementing screen readers is not as easy as it looks. It will require additional time and effort as each function would have to be reconfigured with according to the specification of the particular screen reader mode.

That challenge is actually half the story – the selection of screen reader mode would have to correct or else the developer will end up with a totally useless application.

But that does not mean you cannot do much for screen readers if you are unable to figure it out. There is a tool that you can use while building an Ajax based application to make it fit for screen readers.

Called AxsJax, this open source framework helps developers build screen reader friendly Ajax based application. But aside from using this framework from the scratch, this could also be used in other Ajax based application.

The key to the efficient performance of AxsJax for reconfiguring the Ajax based application is based on its interaction with DOM.

When building the application, AxsJax will be working directly with DOM so that basic functions will eventually be implemented according to screen reader specifications.

It looks remarkably easy which is the reality – AxsJax will be working with DOM as a bookmarklet. Because it works as a bookmarklet, it comes in a very small function but would transform the entire application.

The mere fact that DOM dictates every action in an Ajax based application makes the bookmarklet highly efficient.

The efficiency of AxsJax is also on its ability to interact with LiveRegions. This is actually very challenging since LiveRegions are continuously fed with new information.

The framework could easily work well with LiveRegions – it is a simple task for the framework but very challenging if you want to do it manually.

On the side of stability, AxsJax would have to be efficient as it will be hosted by none other than Google. As an open source framework, Google has extended their help in this screen reader framework. The internet giant even used the framework so that their Google Reader and Google Search would be screen reader friendly.

Naturally, AxsJax would require additional technical requirements from its developers and users. The framework will only work with Firefox 2.0 and other browsers which has the same update. Considering that AxsJax would require additional functions, it is just natural that it will require more from its users.

The beauty of AxsJax is based on the fact that it is lightweight and open source. Developers could easily use this to implement their Ajax based application that will be available for everyone. The challenge now is for the open source community to improve the framework further.