[Zope3-dev] Re: Zope 3 lacks Ajax capability?

Paul Everitt paul at zeapartners.org
Mon May 15 15:19:02 EDT 2006


Jeff Rush wrote:
> Benji York wrote:
>> Zachery Bir wrote:
>>
>>> I think Benji's commenting on the fact that you're creating a  
>>> synchronous connection when you hold it open like that.
>>
>> Exactly.  As Jean-Marc noted, Jeff's talking more about "streaming" 
>> than "asynchronicity" (is that a word?).
> 
> Well the connection itself is synchronous but that data flowing over it 
> is async in that the server can send something to the client at any time 
> w/o regard to the usual REQUEST/RESPONSE cycle.  I guess I didn't think 
> of it as streaming because I wasn't sending a large quantity of data 
> over the connection, just many small chunks representing Javascript 
> fragments to be invoked within the client.

The "A" in Ajax refers, I believe, to the .async property on the 
XMLHttpRequest, not in how the server communicates with the client. 
"Ajax" processing happens in the browser background and doesn't lock up 
the browser.

>>> FWIW, I've been using MochiKit's Async package for writing Zope 3  
>>> apps with AJAX.
>>
>> MochiKit is one of life's little joys.
>> (And I'm not being sarcastic, ask hard to believe as that is.)
> 
> I looked at MochiKit and studied the Async package, but perhaps I didn't 
> understand it.  I only saw ways for the client to sneak HTTP REQUESTSs 
> to the server behind the user's back, but nothing for the server to 
> reach out and shove something into the client whenever the server, not 
> the client, decided it was time.  I'd rather not have the client polling 
> the server for said data with HTTP REQUESTs.

Mozilla has some support for keeping the server connection open and 
pushing messages to the client:

   http://www.xulplanet.com/tutorials/mozsdk/serverpush.php

Two asides:

1) Is this better for zope3-users?

2) Benji, I've been working with MochiKit and agree that it's a real 
joy.  Can't wait for 1.4 to get spun up.

--Paul



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