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by Matt Raible.
Original Post: Ajax webapps are cool, but non-javascript versions still needed
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I think we can all probably learn a lesson from Google. I've heard that GMail is the "gold standard" for Ajax applications. If that's the case, then you should note that they've recently added a "basic HTML" link to the bottom of their pages. With this link, you can view your e-mail using the old way: Yahoo-style, no-JavaScript-needed. My guess is they added it because of demand, or simply to compete with other providers who have this feature. I think it's a good lesson though: use Ajax features in webapps where appropriate, but don't make JavaScript necessary to use your app.
A couple of Ajax features I've been thinking of developing:
Saving forms with XMLHttpRequest: just display a success message at the top, and switch the "Cancel" button to "Done". Since the form's content doesn't change, this seems like a reasonable use of the technology.
Switching out entire "content" <div> elements. Most of my apps have a <div id="content">, so it'd probably pretty easy to just replace that in response to button and link clicks. Of course, the hard part is having the requested server-side object load the view template, process it, and send back the content. This is probably more trouble than it's worth.
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