Author Archive

Google has released its Google Web Toolkit (GWT) for the Mac. Version 1.2 now works on OS X as well as Linux and Windows.

I haven’t used it yet, so I can’t really attest to its capabilities. Basically, though, it allows you to write and debug AJAX web apps in Java and compile them to browser-compliant JavaScript and HTML.

As they phrase it on their site, GWT “makes writing AJAX applications like Google Maps and Gmail easy for developers who don’t speak browser quirks as a second language. Writing dynamic web applications today is a tedious and error-prone process; you spend 90% of your time working around subtle incompatibilities between web browsers and platforms, and JavaScript’s lack of modularity makes sharing, testing, and reusing AJAX components difficult and fragile.”

There’s also a Google Web Toolkit blog where you can follow the Toolkit’s development progress.

PS> This is my first post to Clientside since it went public to the world, so I thought that I should, like Aaron, also throw out a “hello world.”

I’m Mark Bult, an Art Director at CNET Networks, currently working on redesigns of Webshots.com, UrbanBaby.com, and Consumating.com, three of CNET’s community and lifestyle properties.

I also blog about Mac and graphic design stuff (and personal stuff, so you’ve been warned that a lot of it’s boring) at enews.org.

A lightweight JavaScript / CSS crossfader that the author claims is “one hundredth of the size of the scriptaculous library…”

> Brand Spanking New

by Douglas Crockford (Yahoo!)
June 14, 2006 from 6 - 9:30 p.m.
6 p.m. - Reception; 7 p.m. - Presentation

JSON is rendering the “X” in AJAX superfluous. JSON or JavaScript Object Notation is a universal data format. It provides an uncommonly effective bridge for moving data between systems and between languages. JSON is also really simple. In fact, many of the Yahoo! Web Services provide JSON as an alternate output format to XML. | Read the rest »

I’m not geek enough to tell whether this article’s points are credible enough or not (I’m just the design guy), but I thought I’d pass it along just in case.

Need a spinner or something to indicate “loading, please wait”? Ajaxload.info allows you to customize background color in hex, icon/image color in hex, and to select from several images.

Venue Update:

Yahoo! Sunnyvale Campus
701 First Avenue
Building C, Classroom 5
Sunnyvale, CA
6-9PM, April 12, 2006

WebGuild Silicon Valley presents

Designing for Ajax: Patterns and Principles for Rich Design

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Date & Time:
April 12, 2006
6 - 9:30pm

Venue:
Google Inc.
900 Alta Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94043
Map & Directions

Agenda:
6pm : Food & Drinks
7pm : Presentation

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Overview:
With the advent of Ajax, new patterns have emerged for designing web applications. Yahoo! has recently released its design pattern library where it has begun the process of cataloging these emerging patterns. The patterns form a vocabulary for both designers and developers. However, patterns by themselves are not enough. In this talk Scott will discuss the Yahoo! Design Pattern Library, the Yahoo! User Interface Library and present a set of design principles for applying patterns to your web designs. Each principle is explored with illustrating patterns along with a discussion of specific design caveats for each. | Read the rest »

Sorry about the non-annotated linkdump. Aaron’s always after me to post stuff here instead of emailing him links to new things I find, but I just don’t have time to describe all these sites. At least I categorized them… | Read the rest »

Along with the release of its User Interface Library, Yahoo! has compiled their Design Pattern Library for designers and UI developers. “A pattern describes an optimal solution to a common problem within a specific context,” reads the section on the Yahoo! Developer Network. The site offers best practices and examples of patterns such as breadcrumbs, drag-and-drop customization, module tabs, and auto-complete, among others.