Alex Russell has posted slides from his first talk on Mobile AJAX at EuroOSCON.
Read post:
http://alex.dojotoolkit.org/?p=586
Download slides (PDF):
http://alex.dojotoolkit.org/06/EuroOSCON/MobileAjax.pdf
With the widespread implementation of Web 2.0 technology in just about every new and mainstream web application, we have to remind ourselves that it was less than two years ago when its essential components (DOM and XMLHTTP in particular) were popularised under the term “AJAX”. While the terminologies were new, the technologies themselves were not - many web developers to this day protest the pop culture phenomenon over programming approaches that have been around for half a decade.
The situation is somewhat different for the embedded browser scene, where the integration of web browsers in devices such as mobile phones and set-top boxes (STBs) is itself a relatively new development (ignoring the mess of WAP). As such, the Web 2.0 has yet to translate itself to the mobile/device scene, until recent developments.
Opera announced support for AJAX operations on the mobile implementation of its browser end 2005, and finally delivered with its latest mobile version. This is a very exciting development as Javascript has become a much more viable if not robust option for development on phones, competing against J2ME, C++ and Symbian native applications.
Nokia has announced it is investigating its own options using AJAX. It’s S60 series of phones bundles a Safari browser which already supports AJAX operations.
Middle this September, SoonR released a beta version of it’s AJAX-powered remote desktop services client that interfaces mobile devices with applications running on a personal computer connected to the internet.
The biggest hurdle of AJAX implementation facing the mobile development community maybe the web development baggage associated with rampant Web 2.0 adopted on the Internet. Developers will, no doubt, worry about memory leaks and network response lag.
Yet, AJAX support for mobile devices may result a form totally different from web counterpart. Specifically, it holds the prospect of pure client-side application development, may not even need interaction with an external web service. Indeed, the biggest contribution AJAX brings to the mobile development scene may not be XMLHTTP object transactions per se, but better control over presentation elements behaviour (using DOM) and an OO programming environment that is robust yet highly accessible to the programmer.
It may turn out that not only will AJAX supplant client application frameworks for mobile devices; it will have a bigger impact on mobile arena than it’s already had on the Internet.