Best Places To Use Ajax

1. Form driven interaction.

   Forms are slow. Very slow. Editing a tag (the old way) on a del.icio.us bookmark? Click on the edit link to load the edit bookmark form page, then edit the field and hit submit to wait for the submission to go through, then return to the previous page and scroll down to find the bookmark to see if the tags look right. Ajax? Click on the edit link to instantly start changing tags, click on the submit button to asynchronously send off changes to the tags and quickly see in place what changed, no reloading the entire page.

   1. Form driven interaction- Subset:Linked Select Menus.

      Imagine a T-Shirt with 3 options; Size, Color, and Style. When tracking inventory for your product, you know you have Large, Red, Polo shirts in stock, but you’re out of Small, Blue, T-Shirts… It is frustrating to the user to pick this combination and then receive an error on the checkout page stateing that you are out of stock… and then have to go back to the selection process and reconfigure the item… Using AJAX, you can check the stock of the options as the user picks them and only return or show the items which are in stock.

   2. Form driven interaction- Subset: Autosave.

      Think of someone writing in Word. Which button do they use the most? Save.

      With javascript you can do one better. Not only can you have a save & continue that works just like the del.icio.us forms – you can autosave! Remember to tell the user this, as simply knowing this relaxes quite a lot of people. Properly explained count-down clocks are prefered, for obvious reasons.

2. Deep hierarchical tree navigation.

   First of all, applications with deep hierarchical tree navigation are generally a nightmare. Simple flat topologies and search/tagging works very well in most circumstances. But if an application really calls for it, use Javascript to manage the topology ui, and Ajax to lessen the burden on the server by lazy loading deep hierarchy data. For example: it’s way too time consuming to read discussion threads by clicking through and loading completely new pages to see a one line response.

3. Rapid user-to-user communication.

   In a message posting application that creates immediate discussions between people, what really sucks is forcing the user to refresh the page over and over to see a reply. Replies should be instant, users shouldn’t have to obsessively refresh. Even Gmail, which improves on the old hotmail/yahoo mail ‘refresh inbox, refresh inbox’ symptom, doesn’t really push Ajax far enough yet in terms of notifying new mail instantly.

4. Voting, Yes/No boxes, Ratings submissions.

   It’s really too bad there are no consistent UI cues for Ajax submission, because submitting a vote or a yes/no response is so much less painful when the submission is handled through Ajax. By reducing the time and impact of clicking on things, Ajax applications become a lot more interactive – if it takes a 40 seconds to register a vote, most people would probably pass unless they really care. If it takes 1 second to vote, a much larger percentage of people are likely to vote.

5. Filtering and involved data manipulation.

   Applying a filter, sorting by date, sorting by date and name, toggling on and off filters, etc. Any highly interactive data manipulation should really be done in Javascript instead of through a series of server requests. Finding and manipulating a lot of data is hard enough without waiting 30 seconds between each change in views, Ajax can really speed this up.

6. Commonly entered text hints/autocompletion.

   Entering the same text phrases or predictable text phrases is something software/javascript can be good at helping out with. It’s very useful in del.icio.us and GMail, for quickly adding tags/email addresses.

7. Interactive Errors

   If someone is entering complicated data, it doesn’t make sense to tell them they have failed only after a lengthy submission process. Ajax can speed up this workflow by quickly letting the user know of an error condition before they try to submit. Example: a username chooser, instead of making the user submit the entire form, try a new name and repeat, or keep trying a ‘is this name chosen’ form, the username chooser can simply indicate to the user whether the username is unique or not, while the user is still typing it.

8. Long Running Queries/Remote Calls

   If a query or a call to a remote webservice is going to take a long time that cannot be avoided, Ajax works well to manage the time a user waits for the call to return. For example, SWiK uses Ajax to fill in results from webservices detailing new projects: a user doesn’t have to wait for Google webservice to return before starting to edit a new project

9. Computationally Expensive Operations

   Unfortunately, Javascript has a tendency to be quite slow. Complex math or number crunching just isn’t Javascript’s forte. Additionally, heavy Javascript computation can slow the basic user interface to a crawl. An XMLHTTPRequest call can be helpful here, pushing expensive computations to beefier remote servers.

10. Server Savings

Sometimes, a process users do over and over on a site requires only a small amount of new data to be sent over the wire, but loading entire new pages can be a strain on the servers in bandwidth and resources. Ajax can be used to load pages more efficiently, as seen in various tests. Of course the ease of making new or multiple requests from the server using Ajax also means that it’s easy to overtax server resources as well.

11. Interactive Panning And Moving Over Data

Moving and scanning over large data sets makes it impracticable to pre-load all of the data. Loading the data just ahead an just behind the user gives the appearance of the entire data set being accessible, and helps eliminate loading times. A great example of this is Google Maps’ scrolling tiles system that gives the effect of moving over a map by picking up tiles behind and placing them ahead of the user, filling them with new data requested via Ajax.

Best Top Ten Open Source,Ajax/DHTML Librearies For Web Developer

Hi, Frnds...I made a list of the top 10 libraries that I have come across or that I personally use. Libraries can be best for a web developers friend. They are great resources to learn from and can save hours and hours of time. These libraries include JavaScript, Ajax, Colors, PHP, and CSS. These should be in any web developers bookmarks, so go ahead and look through these libraries and bookmark your favorite ones. The list is in no particular order.

1) Moo.fx - A superlightweight, ultratiny, megasmall javascript effects library, written with prototype.js. It’s easy to use, fast, cross-browser, standards compliant, provides controls to modify Height, Width, and Opacity with builtin checks that won’t let a user break the effect with multiple crazy clicks. It’s also optimized to make you write the lesser code possible.

2) Rico - An open source JavaScript library for creating rich internet applications. Provides full Ajax support, drag and drop management, and a cinematic effects library.

3) Swat - Developed by silverorange, Swat is an open source web application toolkit built with PHP.

4) ColorCombos - Who would’ve thought a color library would end up mixed in with a bunch of JavaScript and PHP libraries? Well they do have a pretty sweet little color library for finding color combinations, all you do is select the color and they show you some nice combos that work with that color.

5) script.aculo.us - Provides you with easy-to-use, compatible and, ultimately, totally cool JavaScript libraries to make your web sites and web applications fly, Web 2.0 style. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say this library is my favorite.

6) Mochikit - A kick-ass lightweight JavaScript library that will help you get shit done fast.

7) Dynamic Drive CSS Library - Here you’ll find original, practical CSS codes and examples such as CSS menus to give your site a visual boast.

8) PEAR - A framework and distribution system for reusable PHP components. PEAR provides the above mentioned PHP components in the form of so called “Packages”.

9) DHTML Goodies - A good sized library of DHTML and AJAX scripts.

10) dojo - Open source JavaScript toolkit that makes professional web development better, easier, and faster.

Honorable Mentions

11) Cross Browser | Toys - Huge JavaScript library.

12) Yahoo UI Library - The Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library is a set of utilities and controls, written in JavaScript, for building richly interactive web applications using techniques such as DOM scripting, DHTML and AJAX. The YUI Library also includes several core CSS resources.

Big thanks to all of those who have help in anyway to put one of these libraries together.

I hope you find this list helpful. Keep in mind there’s hundred of libraries available online, I don’t know all of them and I’m sure I missed a few good ones, feel free to add your favorites in the comments below.

Want to Learn that How to Make Money By Blogging !!!!!

There are two major types of business models that entrepreneurs use to make money blogging. The first and most common way to turn a blog into a profit making machine is to sell advertising to different companies and brands who want to reach that blog’s readers. The second kind of money making blog is one that helps a single brand improve its image by creating positive associations between the blog and the product in the mind of consumers. Both kinds of blogs can make a lot of money, especially if the creator has a keen mind for marketing.

If you are blogging with the goal of selling advertising, there are two basic ways that you can go about recruiting sponsors who want to put ads on your site; you can let someone else do all of the legwork, or you can do the work yourself and keep all of the revenue.
Within the first group, many people make money blogging by selling space through Google’s AdSense program. The advantages of this program are numerous, as it requires very little effort on the part of the blogger or webmaster to begin raking in profits. However, most people discover that they make less money through this method than they had hoped that their blog would earn.

Selling advertising directly to companies who want to put banner ads or sponsored links on your blog can take quite a bit of time, but it is often fairly lucrative. If you have a lot of contacts in industries that are related to the topic of your blog, you may want to try to go this route. People who have a strong background in sales and are experienced at pitching proposals can make quite a bit of money by renting blog space to interested companies.
The most serious problem with this model is that you often have to build quite a sizable readership before you can attract advertisers, which can mean that you have to do several months of work before you start to make money blogging.

As blogging becomes a more and more lucrative business, a lot of established companies are considering how they can get into the action. One way that companies are capitalizing on the blog movement is by having blogs that provide a kind of friendly face for their corporation. Often, a company will employ an established blogger to create a weblog designed specifically to appeal to that company’s customers and to create positive associations with the brand in consumers’ minds. More than one writer who never
even dreamed that he or she could make money blogging has been approached by a company and offered quite a pretty penny for this kind of gig.

Income Streams for Bloggers

Advertising Programs - Perhaps the most obvious changes in the past few months have been with the addition of a variety of viable advertising options for bloggers. No longer are bloggers only presented with the Adsense and/or BlogAds choice - instead they now have a massive array to choose from. Getting the most publicity recently have been Chitika’s eMiniMalls of course but there are just so many other options now that also include:

Adgenta, CrispAds, Text Link Ads, Intelli Txt, Peak Click, DoubleClickTribal Fusion, Adbrite, Clicksor, Industry Brains, AdHearUs, Kanoodle, AVN, Pheedo, Adknowledge, YesAdvertising, RevenuePilotTextAds, SearchFeed, Target Point, Bidvertiser, Fastclick Value Click and OneMonkey (to name just some of the options - I’m sure I’ve forgotten some) and there is a smorgasbord of options. Of course there is more to come with MSN Adcenter and YPN both in beta testing and with a variety of other advertising system currently in development (so I hear).

RSS Advertising - The past 12 months have seen some advances in RSS Advertising also. I’m yet to hear of any bloggers making big dollars through it to this point - but as improvements are made to the ad programs exploring this I’m sure we’ll start to see examples of it being profitable.

Sponsorship - In addition to the array of advertising programs that are available to join there is a growing awareness in the business of the value and opportunity that exists for them to advertise directly on blogs. I’m hearing more and more examples of this and have been fortunately to have a couple of ad campaigns of my own in the past month - one with Adobe a couple of weeks ago and another just completed with Ricoh for a new digicam over at my Digital Camera Blog. These are not isolated cases - as I say I know of many blogs exploring sponsorship with advertisers at present and suspect we’ll see more of it in the year ahead. Sponsorship is also happening on a post by post basis with some bloggers being paid to write on certain topics by companies - either in one off or a regular fashion.

Affiliate Programs - There are larger affiliate programs like Amazon, Linkshare, Clickbank and Commission Junction but also literally thousands of others from the large to the very small.

Blog Network Opportunities - with the rise in popularity of Blog Networks - bloggers are also being presented with more places to earn an income from their blogging - by writing for and with others. While it might be difficult to get a writing gig with one of the bigger networks - there are plenty who are always asking for new bloggers to join and who are willing to pay bloggers using a variety of payment models. While there are distinct advantages of blogging for yourself - blogging for an established network who will handle a lot of the set up/promotion/admin/SEO etc has it’s advantages also. More and more bloggers are combining writing for themselves on their own blogs with taking on blog network blogs as additional income streams.

Business Blog Writing Opportunities - as blogging has risen in it’s profile as a medium more and more businesses are starting blogs. Many of these companies have internal staff take on blogging duties - but an increasing number of them are hiring specialist bloggers to come on and run their blogs. I know of a number of bloggers who in the past month or two have been approached for such paid work. Check out Bloggers for Hire if you’re looking for this type of work.

Non Blogging Writing Opportunities - Also becoming more common are bloggers being hired to write in non blogging mediums. Manolo’s recent coup of a column in the Washington Post is just one example of this as bloggers are increasingly being approached to write for newspapers, magazines and other non blog websites. Along side this is the rise of bloggers as published book authors - this is to the extent that one blogger I spoke with this week complained to me that they were one of the few bloggers than they knew who didn’t have a book deal!

Donations - Tip Jars and donation buttons have been a part of blogging for years now but this last year saw a number of bloggers go full time after fundraising drives. Perhaps the most high profile of these was Jason Kottke of kottke.org who through the generosity of his readership was able to quit his job and become a full time blogger.

Flipping Blogs - Also more common in 2005 was the practice of ‘Blog Flipping’ - or selling of blogs. This has happened both on an individual blog level (I can think of about 20 blogs that sold this year) but also on a network level (the most obvious of these being the 8 figure sale of Weblogs Inc to AOL).

Merchandising - My recent attempt to sell ProBlogger.net T-shirts wasn’t a raging success, but it is an example of how an increasing number of bloggers are attempting to make a few extra dollars from their blogs by selling branded products through programs like Cafepress (although I have to say they’ve lost one of my own orders and are being quite unresponsive to my requests to follow it up at present). While I didn’t have a lot of success with merchandising - quite a few larger blogs are seeing significant sales - especially blogs with a cult following. I’m not at liberty to discuss details - but I know of one largish blog which will see sales over $20,000 in merchandise for the calendar year of 2005.

Consulting and Speaking - While it has been popular for established consultants to add blogs to their businesses we’re also starting to see bloggers with no consulting background earning money by charging readers for their time in consulting scenarios BECAUSE of the profile that their blogs have built them. Blogging has the ability to establish people as experts on niche topics and we all know the value of being perceived as an expert. I spoke to one blogger last month who charges himself out at over $200 an hour for speaking and consulting work - his area of expertise was something that he knew little about 18 months ago - but through his blog he’s become a leader in his field and a minor celebrity in his industry.

As time rolls on there are more and more blog earning opportunities opening up. Feel free to suggest your own ideas in comments below.