Real World Computing
Restore to basic backup
As we were discussing how to make this work, we realised the customer really wanted something that looked and felt very much like a desktop application. These days, that isn't a problem, as we're well versed in technologies such as Ajax (heck, I teach a course on the subject) and we understand issues like latency and the need to avoid over-straining the database with too many ridiculous simultaneous requests, and so on and so forth. What we really wanted was to make this application seem as desktop-like as possible without needing too much extra graphic design, as it's this sort of activity that, we've found, eats up budget and timescales like nothing else.
Enter Ext JS, our new favourite open-source JavaScript framework. JavaScript frameworks are suites of tools that provide features like tabbed windows, dividers, sortable tables, easy Ajax functionality and many more similar tools. There's no shortage of JavaScript frameworks out there, and probably the most popular are Prototype and jQuery, but Ext JS, now just into its version 2 release, is one of the most fully featured we've found. It provides a huge number of incredibly professional-looking tools - from tables with built-in sorting of columns, adjustable rows and flicker-free Ajax updating, through tabbed toolbars and tree displays of data, all the way to a complete desktop emulation in your browser window. Quite simply, if you're developing websites, you owe it to yourself to check out Ext JS.
Not that it's all sweetness and light, however: the full library is a pretty hefty initial download for a visitor to the site, but you can choose to download only those parts of the library you need at any one time. And either way, the benefits you get are - we think - well worth the trouble. We'll be using Ext JS to develop our client's campaign-management system, and we reckon we'll be able to save ourselves several months of development time by doing so, which means a faster turnaround, a lower cost to the client and an extremely professional-looking end product.
