[Zope3-dev] Zope 3 lacks Ajax capability?

[Fred Drake]

On 5/15/06, Jeff Rush <jeff at taupro.com> wrote:
> I got the definition from Wikipedia:
>    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX
> "Ajax, shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript+CSS+DOM+XMLHttpRequest, is a Web
> development technique for creating interactive web applications."
>
>  From the page of the guy that coined the name:
>    http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php
>    "The name is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML".

Yes; we agree on this definition of AJAX, I think.  :-)

> The key points re Zope3 are:
>
> (1) a piece of Javascript downloaded with a page request turns around and
> issues an HTTP GET back to Zope3 such that that connection is kept open
> indefinitely, and the thread within Zope3 that is servicing that request hangs
> around and periodically shoves bits of data (XML, JSON, whatever) down that

This is where we get a disconnect.  I've certainly never heard that
AJAX specifically requires a server thread to remain dedicated to a
particular client.  This is fundamentally unscalable, and
architecturally fragile at best.  The JavaScript in the browser can
try to keep an existing connection open using standard HTTP connection
controls, certainly, but those never come with a guarantee.

Several of us at Zope Corp. have created AJAXian interfaces with Zope
on the server side, so I think it's safe to say Zope can do this just
fine.  The TCP connection itself, however, isn't so precious as you
indicate; the ordinary HTTP request/response model is the foundation
for AJAX services, and works just fine with Zope.


  -Fred

-- 
Fred L. Drake, Jr.    <fdrake at gmail.com>
"Education is hanging around until you've caught on." -- Robert Frost