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.
July 6th, 2006 at 3:47 am
Hi Stoicho,
I just left this in reply to your comments on the Musings from Mars website, but thought I’d pass them along to you directly as well…
I’ll be happy to add Morfik WebOS AppsBuilder to the list. You’re correct that there are several different classes of products included in the list, and I’ll think about possibly separating products that also include a RAD-type GUI builder from those that are “build your own” products. The ratings are the same, however, in that they do not judge the quality of the GUI tools or the ease of server-side installation (if server components are involved), or ease of deployment, etc etc… in other words, the ratings here are not concerned with the products as software development tools per se. Rather, the ratings judge the ability of the tool to deliver browser-neutral web applications, regardless of how those applications were built.
Most of the products–including Atlas and Tibco–include JavaScript libraries as part of their overall product design. Even if they don’t, as is the case with Echo 2, TK, and, apparently, Morfik, the product websites provide examples of Ajax applications or demos of Ajax controls that are the product of the libraries or app builder tools the company is selling. The ratings reflect the degree to which those Ajax end-products work in a wide variety of browsers on Windows and non-Windows platforms.
As a heads-up, you should know that Morfik’s tool would not rate highly at the moment, since your primary “demo”–the Morfik website itself, which you advertise as being a product of Morfik’s app builder–does not work at all in Safari on Mac OS X. Apparently, this is caused by a rather lame user-agent detect script, which simply refuses to display the site to Safari users (or perhaps it just doesn’t include Safari among the known “Ajax-capable” browsers). I deduce this because when I have Safari masquerade as IE 6 on Windows, the site works (for the most part). You might want to clean that up before I visit again to look at Morfik in more detail.
Cheers,
Leland
July 6th, 2006 at 3:54 am
Oh, one other note… it’s too bad your product–a rarity among Ajax tools at the moment, including those that provide RAD IDE’s–only works on Windows systems. Otherwise, I’d be interested in trying it out. Aside from Microsoft and Tibco, virtually all the other IDE-type products work as Eclipse plugins, which means they can be used on a variety of platforms. Since a huge percentage of the Ajax apps being built today are built by Mac OS X developers, you’re missing out on impressing a pretty influential bunch of geeks by sticking with the Windows OS. (For example, in case you weren’t aware of it, the developers who built prototype.js, script.aculo.us, dojo, jQuery, and many other top Ajax libraries are all Mac OS X guys.)
Leland
July 7th, 2006 at 1:03 am
Leland thanks for the replay.
(It’s a little weird, but I will cross post too)
About browser support - I think that Morfik people should have a really serious thought about bringing Safari, and generally khtml support (nokia too pushes the KHTML engine for their s60 series mobile browsers). It will be a definite hit! Not including a product for not having your favorite browser supported is a fair choice - I can understand that! But doing so, and then including a product, which support only one (1) browser - IE, is an intersting decision.
I really hope, next time you make an update, you would think about dividing the tools in different categories.
And one note about OS X support: Did you know the WebOS AppsBuilder can target Mac OS X as a target server environment?