Java, Ajax, and Reverse Ajax

There was a lot of information released at JavaOne last week regarding Ajax from Sun and other companies; but what is "Reverse Ajax?"

Ajax Tools and Products

Sun has enhanced Java Studio Creator with Ajax components, and added an Ajax portal to their site; Tibco offers a product that integrates with their messaging and ESB software; BEA has integrated EJB3 with Ajax; Oracle has worked with Sun and others to introduce a bevy of Ajax-enabled products; IBM is working to integrate Ajax with Eclipse; and Wicket recently released version 1.2 of their Java/Ajax framework.

Don't Forget Swing

Sun had an alternate message at JavaOne: don't forget about Java applets and the new Swing components. A demo called Aerith, given by Romain Guy and Richard Bair, created quite a bit of interest both at JavaOne and online soon after. The demo shows how the latest Swing components, with a Java applet, can deliver fast, interactive, web-based content.

What is Reverse Ajax?

By now, everyone has heard of Ajax, and knows that it is a technique by which portions of a web browser's display can be updated dynamically when the user performs an operation (such as a key press, a mouse click, and so on).

Reverse Ajax is a technique that is similar, but allows for the unsolicited update of the content in a web page -- meaning no user action needs to initiate the update. This is useful when an important event occurs, such as a stock price change, or a news alert arrives. Read Jonathan Downes' blog entry for more information, along with some ideas on how to make reverse Ajax work.

Posted by Eric Bruno at 12:52 PM  Permalink