Language Learning & Technology
`http://llt.msu.edu/vol9num2/emerging/
`
`
`May 2005, Volume 9, Number 2
`pp. 8-12
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`EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
`Ajax and Firefox: New Web Applications and Browsers
`
`Robert Godwin-Jones
`Virginia Comonwealth University
`Five years ago (May, 2000), this column dealt with "Web Browser Trends and Technologies." Ten years
`ago marks the arrival of several major Web players including Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon. It was also in
`1995 that the red-hot Netscape IPO ignited the start of the tech bubble in the U.S. Stock Exchange that
`burst in 2000. Given the anniversaries, it seems like a good time to revisit the topic of Web technologies,
`especially since some significant changes are underway. Alternative browsers are gaining significant
`market share, and both Apple and Microsoft are releasing OS upgrades which portend some interesting
`changes in Web development. Of particular interest for language learning professionals may be new
`developments in the area of Web browser based applications, particularly using an approach dubbed
`"Ajax."
`
`New Browser Wars?
`In the spring of 2000, Netscape had just released the beta of Netscape 6, to a largely indifferent Web
`community. This spring, Netscape has again released a beta, this time of Netscape 8, which uses a
`dramatically different approach, based largely on a popular new browser, Firefox. In 2000, several
`browsers had been newly released: Opera and iCab. Today Safari (from Apple) and the open-source
`Firefox (from Mozilla) are the new players and are attracting considerable interest. The increasing
`popularity of Apple's Safari is understandable, given Microsoft's decision not to update the aging IE for
`the Mac, while Apple regularly updates its browser with new features and capabilities. It is Firefox,
`however, that has made the biggest splash in the media, with a cover story, for example, in a recent issue
`of Wired Magazine. This is largely because for the first time the number of users of Microsoft's
`überbrowser, Internet Explorer (IE), has begun to decline, in response to wider use of alternative
`browsers. One statistical count points to a current browser market share of IE at 84%, down from a high
`of 94%.
`The decline in IE use does not just derive from the availability and attractiveness of new browsers but
`perhaps more from problems users have encountered in using the Windows version of IE. A new
`development since 2000, which users would gladly forego, is the increasing annoyance of non-requested
`and unwanted information and programs invading ones computer in the form of pop-up advertisements,
`automatically installed mini-programs commonly called spyware or adware, and installed scripts that
`redirect the browser to pornography or other undesirable sites. Microsoft has been slow to upgrade IE to
`deal with these problems, although the recent Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade has added a number
`of security fixes to IE and Windows generally.
`Firefox has features (like not supporting activeX controls) which make it more secure than Microsoft's
`browser (although it, too, has had security issues), and this has been a major ingredient in its popularity.
`But its attractiveness is also due to features not found in IE such as integrated newsfeeds, advanced
`tabbed browsing, and customizable contextual menus. One of the more popular features of Firefox is its
`flexibility; many extensions are available to expand its functionality, such as controlling iTunes playback,
`playing card games, or integration of a variety of dictionaries. Firefox has also garnered publicity due to
`its origins. It was begun by teenage prodigy Blake Ross, who started writing code for the open-source
`Mozilla project at age 14. He and others felt that Mozilla (and Netscape) were suffering from feature bloat
`and started a new development path that featured a stripped-down and faster, yet expandable, browser.
`The first release of Firefox came in the Fall, 2004, with updates continuing to be released on a regular
`basis. Microsoft has responded to the sudden popularity of Firefox. Originally IE was not scheduled to be
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`Copyright © 2005, ISSN 1094-3501
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`Emerging Technologies: Ajax and Firefox
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`upgraded until the release of the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, scheduled for release
`in 2006, but recently Microsoft announced that it will release IE 7 before Longhorn. If it is indeed the
`case that significant numbers of users are viewing Web pages in non-IE browsers, this presents an
`interesting new situation for Web authors, many of whom have been coding exclusively for optimal
`display in IE.
`
`Standards and Compatibility
`One of the complaints about Microsoft's approach in IE is the lack if support for Internet standards (as
`propagated by the W3C) and its insistence on the use of proprietary implementations of others. Firefox
`and other alternative browsers generally have better support for standards, such as CSS 2 (cascading style
`sheets, level 2), which is notoriously quirky in IE. However, since IE has been the dominant browser by
`far, many Web sites have been designed to display well in IE, standards or no standards. This has raised a
`hotly debated issue in the Web browser community, over whether the alternative browsers should support
`official Web standards only or what David Hyatt of Apple calls "real-world standards," that is, the de
`facto standards imposed by IE. Hyatt argues that one should not have a purist approach to standards, but
`take into consideration how the vast majority of Web sites on the Internet are coded, namely using some
`of Microsoft's proprietary tags or non-standard implementation of CSS. This is how Hyatt explains, for
`example, Apple's decision to support the proprietary Microsoft "contenteditable" property (which allows
`in-browser editing of text). Understandably, Microsoft also argues for "real-world" standards (i.e., what is
`in IE) versus official standards.
`Both Apple and Microsoft have been criticized over their plans to include proprietary approaches to Web
`development in their operating system updates. Apple's recently released 10.4 version of Mac OS X
`(code-named Tiger) includes Safari 2.0, which supports new proprietary HTML tags. The most attention
`has been directed at "Dashboard," which allows creation of mini-applications (e.g., Sticky Notes,
`Calendar, Calculator, Airline Scheduler). Dashboard "widgets" are written in HTML, Javascript, and CSS
`and can be viewed on the desktop. To accomplish this, Apple has introduced new HTML tags, including
`"canvas" (for graphics display) and "slider"/"search" (for forms). Meanwhile, Microsoft is endorsing an
`implementation of XML called XAML (eXentisble Application Markup Language), which will be
`incorporated into Longhorn, along with the new graphics system called Avalon. Microsoft is touting
`XAML/Avalon as a way to create more sophisticated Web applications, but it is also designed to create
`stand-alone Windows applications. In fact, Langhorn is designed (as is, to some extent, Mac OS 10.4) to
`blur the distinction between Web and desktop applications. At least initially, both Apple's Dashboard and
`Microsoft's XAML apps will only run in their respective operating systems, not a hopeful direction for
`those favoring a universal approach to Web authoring.
`One of the interesting issues related to browser development has been the use of XML. In early 2000,
`XHTML had just been released by the W3C as an XML successor to HTML, while HTML 4 was slated
`to fade away from existence. The vast majority of pages today, however, are still coded in ordinary (and
`often badly written) HTML, not in valid XHTML (which mandates a "doctype" declaration, end tags,
`lower case). Browser makers have seen themselves obliged to be backwards compatible enough to display
`existing Web pages. In fact, Microsoft has used this situation as a reason for not having updated their
`browser to be more standards-compliant. Many Web developers have wanted Microsoft to improve style
`sheet support and its implementation of the document object model (DOM), the way in which objects on
`the page such as text or images can be accessed and changed through scripting. Microsoft has responded
`that changed and improved implementations of CSS and DOM in IE would break many existing Web
`sites. It has been pointed out, however, that Microsoft could improve standards support for pages having a
`valid "doctype" declarations while maintaining backwards compatibility with the 80 to 90% of Web pages
`that are not valid XHTML. This "doctype switching" (first introduced in IE for Mac 5.5) allows Web
`developers to take full advantage of advanced Web design standards while allowing plain and quirky
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`HTML to be continued to be used. This is, in fact, the case for alternative browsers such as Opera, Safari
`and Firefox. The recent beta of Netscape 8.0 (for Windows) goes even further in striving for
`compatibility. It is based on Firefox, which uses the "Gecko" rendering system created by Mozilla, but it
`also includes IE mode which displays the page as it would appear in Microsoft's browser.
`In 2000, a draft specification had just been released for a new way to use forms on the Web, Xforms, a re-
`writing of form tags in XML (to be used in XHTML). Today, however, Xforms is not supported in
`current browsers and there has been intense debate about whether it should be implemented as written. An
`alternative approach called Web Forms 2.0, has been endorsed by a group called WhatWG (Web
`Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) which is comprised of representatives of browser
`makers (except Microsoft). This approach is designed to be backwards compatible with existing forms,
`which Xforms is not. It also relies on field validation (whether a user has entered a legitimate value in a
`form field) through Javascript (as in existing browsers) rather than through checking for XML
`declarations. For the time being, the W3C is staying with Xforms, but it is too early to know which
`approach will be implemented in browsers. There is much riding on this development, as forms are vitally
`important on the Web, supporting as they do all kinds of transactions and interactions.
`The reservations over Xforms signals a general unease with proceeding to the vision embraced in 2000 by
`the W3C of a Web based entirely on XML. Some argue that it is in fact the ease of creating HTML and its
`forgiving nature that has led to the Web's explosive popularity and that XML threatens the populist and
`democratic essence of the Web. In fact, there have even been calls for an extension of life for HTML,
`possibly even a new HTML 5. This indicates an unwillingness to move away from the error-forgiving
`nature of HTML to a standard, rule-based XML with its insistence on well-formed code. In fact, Apple's
`"Dashboard" widgets, implemented in the new OS 10.4, use HTML, not XML, in large part, according to
`Apple, to allow non-technical folks to create widgets. On the other hand, one XML implementation just
`getting started in 2000, has become a run-away success. RSS or "Rich Site Summary" is a way to create
`XML descriptions of Web content which become subscribable "channels" in RSS readers or in browsers
`with RSS support (such as Firefox or Safari 2.0). Another implementation of XML, SVG (Scalable
`Vector Graphics) has also garnered considerable support, although it is not yet universally supported in
`browsers. On the whole, however, XML has unfortunately not proved to be the Web technology that leads
`to universal standards in all browsers and platforms.
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`Ajax and Web Applications
`One of the more promising uses of XML is the ability to connect Web pages to back-end databases and
`applications. While Microsoft's announced approach of using XML for Web applications will be
`restricted to Windows user running Microsoft software, there has been intense interest recent in a
`different approach which is cross-platform and cross-browser. This has been named Ajax by Jesse Garett
`(of adaptive path), which stands for Asynchronous Javascript + XML. It describes a way to write dynamic
`Web pages that interact in the background with resources located on a server. This has been possible for a
`while now using an approach usually called "Remote Scripting," mostly using a Javascript library written
`by Brent Ashley called JSRS (Javascript Remote Scripting) or Microsoft's approach, which uses ASP
`(Active Server Pages) and Java.
`What is new in the Ajax approach is the addition of XML, pages being encoded in XHTML and data
`exchanged through XML formatted files. The core of Ajax, however, is something with the ungainly
`name of XMLHttpRequest. This is a function first created by Microsoft in IE 5 for Windows as an
`ActiveX object. It was subsequently implemented as a Javascript object in Mozilla/Firefox and Safari.
`Similar functionality to XMLHttpRequest is in the proposed "Load and Save" DOM specification from
`W3C, which means this functionality is not likely to go away anytime soon. What it does is to allow
`retrieval of XML-formatted data in the background, which is converted to HTML objects that can be
`displayed through CSS and the DOM to the reader, updating information on the page without the need for
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`reloading. This is different from the traditional way in which server resources are retrieved, namely
`through returning an entire HTML page. To get an idea of how this works, one can take a look at how the
`zoom feature works in Google Maps. Scrolling around within a map happens almost instantly because the
`data has been pre-loaded from the server and is waiting and available to be displayed to the user.
`Google in fact has been making extensive use of Ajax to create Web applications such as Gmail (email
`service), Google Suggest (suggest as you type search function), Orkut (social networking service), and
`Google Groups. It is also used in Flickr (photo sharing service), Amazon's A9.com (search service) and in
`the queue function in Netflix (DVD rental service). Apple has an interesting demo, using XML data from
`iTunes RSS feeds. The reason for the strong developer interest in this approach is that it uses non-
`proprietary technologies that are well established and is fully cross-platform and cross-browser.
`Developers have been searching for some time for a good way to maintain a connection to a server which
`would allow constant, but hidden, updating of content. This has been a challenge given the stateless
`nature of HTTP server requests (i.e., no connection "state" maintained between server and browser).
`Awkward solutions such as hidden frames and faceless Java applets have been used, but Ajax works
`much more smoothly. It also seems to scale well, so that it can accommodate large and small Web
`applications. Obviously, it is most appropriate in contexts where there is XML data residing on a server
`(or data that can be transformed into XML) which a user might want to exchange for information already
`loaded on a Web page. Clearly there are compelling opportunities in Ajax for language learning
`applications. One could envision, for example, text annotations or other comprehension aids pre-loaded
`on a page and ready for when they might be requested by the user. Another example is the construction of
`vocabulary flashcards (Chinese-English example) or quizzes from a list of items kept in an XML file.
`Examples of other uses of Ajax are likely to suggest many more possibilities for language learning.
`
`RESOURCE LIST
`Web Browsers and Trends
`• OneStat.com browser usage statistics
`• Once upon a time 10 Year Anniversary of Yahoo, Netscape (Newsweek)
`• Yahoo 10th Anniversary
`• WebSideStory: Firefox Gains Beginning to Slow browser trends and statistics
`• Mozilla Chairman Mitch Kapor Speaks Out discussion of browser competition
`• Browser battle shakes Net apps concerning different standards for new Web forms
`• Rise of the Underdog Browser
`• How Firefox works from Howstuffworks
`• Firefox Extensions from Mozilla
`• Browser Wars: Who's Winning, Who's Losing
`• Netscape 8 information from Slashdot
`• Review of Netscape 8 from blogspot.com
`•
`IE7 From IEBlog
`• The Gillmor Gang conversations about Web browsers (audio)
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`Standards and Compatibility
`• Surfin' Safari Safari news and updates -- blog by David Hyatt
`• Web Hypertext Application Technology unofficial group advocating a different new Web forms
`standard
`• The Web Standards Project project promoting adoption of Web standards
`• Extending HTML about Apple's new tags
`• Surfin' Safari cComments from David Hyatt on Apple's proprietary tags
`• Dashboard information about new feature in Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger)
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`• Dashboard: Apple's ActiveX? by Todd Dominey
`• Dashboard: Benevolent Pragmatism about Safari's new proprietary Dashboard feature
`•
`IE and Standards from Chris Wilson, one of the IE developers at Microsoft
`• Position is Everything site dedicated to dealing with CSS bugs in browsers
`• A Standards-based Look at XAML's Features from devX.com
`• Doctype switching and standards compliance: An overview good explanation of standard versus
`"quirks" mode in browsers
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`Ajax and Web Applications
`• Remote Scripting good overview
`•
`JSRS Select Box Filling Demo example of remote scripting
`• Remote Scripting with IFRAME from Apple Developer
`• CSS3 good introduction with examples
`• State zip demo example of remote scripting using iframe
`• Guide to using XMLHTTPrequest tutorial by Bill Bercik
`• Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications by Jesse James Garrett
`• Dynamic HTML and XML: The XMLHttpRequest Object from the Apple Developer Connection
`• Map of Switzerland using Ajax
`• Weblications about using Ajax to build Web applications
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