Java Symposium: Web development issues raised

Hmm, looks as if I am not the only one out there with the Ajax solutions being trumpeted right now. Nice to see that I am not alone…

Obstacles to developing Web applications were on the minds of Java developers at TheServerside Java Symposium on Thursday.

Web application development technologies include scripting offerings, such as Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), and frameworks like JavaServer Faces, Struts and Tapestry. During an opening interactive session, audience members and panelists focused primarily on issues with AJAX, although a need to boost programmer productivity in Java in general was also cited.

One attendee said AJAX and Plain Old Java Objects would make a big difference in building of Web applications. Also, symposium panelist Patrick Linskey, an engineer at BEA Systems Inc., predicted that this year someone will find a meaningful way to wire up a server-side AJAX framework with a nonbrowser-based client side. “That’s where I think Web 2.0 starts to get really interesting,” said Linskey, who had been the chief technology officer at SolarMetric Inc., which was acquired by BEA.

But another audience member questioned the viability of running multiple AJAX applications in a browser, which could result in crashes. “How much can you load into a browser?” the attendee asked.

A rush to AJAX was also a concern. “We’ve noticed major architectural decisions that were very poorly thought-out,” because of rushing to AJAX, an audience member said.

AJAX also lacks good tools, according to panelist Cedric Beust of Google Inc. “Writing AJAX applications is a lot more challenging than writing client applications, mostly because of the tools,” Beust said. Source: Computer World

[tags]java,ajax applications,web browsers,symposium panelists[/tags]