In a recent article Dion Hinchcliffe wrote about Which One [Ajax framework] Is Right For You?, today Musings from Mars puts another great post analyzing some Ajax libraries/frameworks. Both articles are great and detailed but there is one problem with them. They are comparing two different things: Ajax RAD IDE tools with JavaScript libraries. I have nothing against those Java Script libraries – script.aculo.us, prototype, dojo, etc. Some are great, some are not, that’s not the point. The point is there should be at least 2 categories: one about RAD tools such as GI from Tibco, Atlas from MS and JST from Morfik, and second about libraries and frameworks! Because the two things are just not in the same category to be compared.
If you see my previous post, about WebOS AppsBuilder working together with script.aculo.us, you will see what I am talking about. There I’ve used effects.js from script.aculo.us to put some cool effects on WebOS AppsBuilder visual controls. You can see it in action here (via Morfik Labs)
So how you can compare two things that interact? The one is great java script library, the other is RAD AJAX IDE plus JST plus database access and a LOT more? Small libraries and frameworks (and not just small) can be used in those IDE’s in conjunction to build great web applications. They are not competitors!
And please, Musings from Mars, since you have included Atlas and Tibco’s GI in the list, it will be fair to put Morfik in the list too.