There is a word out there that has seized the mind of many developers.  It is a strong and powerful word (just like the Greek hero of which it reminds me) that simply denotes power and coolness.  I can imagine there are children out on the street saying the word in dark corners with a certain awe that can only be explained as hero worship.  That word is AJAX. 

Feel how it comes out of your mouth with purpose and Web 2.0 virility?  Yes, I can sense the gleam in your eyes when you say it.  Enjoy that sensation and be thrilled by the fact that you might actually know what the word means.  Are you there?  Good.

AJAX sucks.

continue…

Very true. AJAX is so much hyped these days that some developers seem to think AJAX has to be used for everything, everywhere. (Some developers seem to think that just adding some AJAX stuff to the backend is reason enough to jump from a V1.x to V2.0 ) But using AJAX without real need brings more problems than solutions. I prefer an interface that does not call the server every time I accidentially move the mouse over an innocent GUI element - especially when on the road not having a broadband connection at hand. Of course, there are a good uses of AJAX functionality ... especially where either the usability is greatly enhanced or the core function thisn’t producable without asyncronous serverside comunication.

Paul, would you be so kind sharing a few remarks on the AJAX libraries you looked at?

-Markus

Great post Paul!
I also try to keep the AJAX stuff down for the same reasons you just mentioned.

Plug: I’ve actually come up with the ultimate implementation of AJAX but I’m not launching it until late next year (if at all the way my schedule looks right now).
Hint: It’s a way to both keyword and search for anything in the EE db.

:: andy

AJAX is indeed hyped. Besides the high learning curve, it also has accessibility issues: turning off JavaScript renders it useless; it breaks the back button; etc.

But in controlled environments - and I think the EE control panel applies, here - it might work to your advantage. You’re already using dhtml to show and hide stuff, like in the template section of the cp. Why not retrieve the data the moment you expand a pane? That’s fairly easy to do and the advantage is apparent if you have lots of template groups. Not saying that you shoud, of course, but it is an example where it could work well.

So, sucks? No. Overrated? Definitely. AJAX, imo, is nice to have and by no means a must. Only if you have spare time (which is probably, erm, never), you might go and fiddle with it.

I think that is exactly the point Paul was trying to make: Nice, if you have the time, ie if and when more crucial issues are taken care of.

Not to put everyone off it.
There are smaller libraries out there that look quite interesting.
Just getting into Ruby on Rails and have gotton sidetracked with AJAX which as a designer and general lover of all things nifty I found totally awesome. The problem is as Paul points out. I am also still two weeks down the line working on a form which at its cor root is still only a form. I am using some of the moofx on my new site which I havent found a problem with also.

Script.aculo.us
and the much smaller one Moofx

Just been playing with phpBMS and they have used AJAX quite extensively and it is nice. Makes sense to me as well that AJAX be on the radar but not top priority.

Cool post Paul - more time spent on better core features and less time battling “new” techniques which don’t really solve any problems is a good thing for sure.

I think there are some neat AJAX-ish things that do make the user experience better though, eg check out this post & ensuing discussion on Jared Spool’s UIE blog. Its about little ‘check user ID’ button on user registration forms to help users select a unique username, without going through the whole ‘submit form > get error > enter new username > re-enter password > re-submit form…’ rigmarole. I like neat touches like that.