The battle for the presentation layer
Joe Winchester
Technical Staff Member
IBM
winchest@uk.ibm.com
JoeWinchester@sys-con.com
Desktop Java Editor
Java Developer’s Journal
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
www.javadevelopersjournal.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
What does it all really mean ?
In designing a client-server application, there is a decision to be made as to which
parts of the task should be done on the client, and which on the server. This
decision can crucially affect the cost of clients and servers, the robustness and
security of the application as a whole, and the flexibility of the design to later
modification or porting.
Wikipedia
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The death of the desktop application
Customers who use software delivered of the Internet can be assured of a state-of-theart experience as the software is centrally and continually updated. Microsoft has to
distribute code for any change to the hundreds of millions of PCs where its desktop
software resides. It thus releases new products infrequently. Vista, the upcoming
version of Windows, is the first big upgrade since Windows XP in 2001.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/05/01/8375454/index.htm
The basic pros and cons are simple: Web applications are easier to deploy, while
rich clients offer faster response times enabling much more interesting user
interfaces.
Joel Spolsky
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your
computer
The problem seems to be caused by the following file: SPCMDCON.SYS
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
If this is the first time you’ve seen this error screen restart your computer. If this
screen appears again follow these steps:
Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a ne
installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you
might need
If problems continue disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software.
Disable BIOS memory functions such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe
Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 and select
Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.
Technical information:
*** STOP:
0x00000050Af,0xFD3094C2,0x00000001,0xFbFE7617,0x00000000)
*** SPCMDCON.SYS – Address FBFe7617 base at FBFE5000, DateStamp 3d6dd67c
</joke>
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The death of the browser application
Billions of dollars are wasted every year in lost productivity as people wait for Web
pages to perform duties that could have been handled better by a 1984 Macintosh-style
graphical user interface application
Jakob Nielsen
There was one feature that was temporary in Mosaic: the Back and Forward buttons.
That never made a lot of sense to us. Back to what? Forward to what? We thought
there would be a better way to navigate. But no one ever came up with one
Marc Andreessen
Web based applications with their sucky, high latency, inconsistent user interfaces
are a huge step backwards in daily usability. I love my rich client applications and
would go nuts if I had to use web versions of the applications I use daily
Joel Spolsky
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The back and forward buttons never made a lot of sense
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The double post apology
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The lazy programmer and the suffering user
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
The usability paradox
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
Server is Server, Client is Client and where do they meet ?
AJAX
Thin/Dumb
Fat/Thick
Client
Presentation
Win32, etc…
Logic
Java Swing
EclipseLogic
RCP
Business
Presentation
Rendering
XAML, WPF
JNLP
HTML
Flex
Laszlo
JSP, ASP
Server
Presentation
Logic
Business Logic
Data
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
Data
© 2008 IBM Corporation
HTTPRequest
SERVER
FORM
SUBMIT BUTTON
NEW PAGE
Joe Winchester
NEW
SCRIPT
PAGE
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
AJAX
REQUEST
DATA
FORM
JAVASCRIPT
DATA
RESPONSE
XMLHTTPREQUEST
SERVER
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
Write Once, Run Somewhere
var xmlHttpRequestHandler = new Object();
xmlHttpRequestHandler.createXmlHttpRequest = function(){
var XmlHttpRequestObject;
if (typeof XMLHttpRequest != "undefined"){
XmlHttpRequestObject = new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else if (window.ActiveXObject){
// look up the highest possible MSXML version
var tryPossibleVersions=["MSXML2.XMLHttp.5.0",
"MSXML2.XMLHttp.4.0",
"MSXML2.XMLHttp.3.0",
"MSXML2.XMLHttp",
"Microsoft.XMLHttp"];
for (i=0; i< tryPossibleVersions.length; i++){
try{
XmlHttpRequestObject = new ActiveXObject(tryPossibleVersions[i]);
break;
}
catch (xmlHttpRequestObjectError){
//ignore
}
}
}
return XmlHttpRequestObject;}
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
What’s Up with AJAX This Year ?
● Cool
–
GoogleMaps is cool
–
It makes the browser experience less bad
● Doom
Joe Winchester
–
Because JavaScript doesn’t scale
–
Proprietary browser extensions will extinguish it
–
It’s the server trying to control presentation
–
People will stretch it and become disillusioned
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
What’s Up with the Desktop?
● Cool
–
GoogleEarth is cooler
–
It makes the browser look like a dumb screen
● Destiny
–
PCs can do more than just render HTML
–
First class mature GUI toolkits
–
It gives a better user interface experience
–
It gives a better developer experience
● Java improvements
–
Mustang improvements in all areas of Java desktop
–
Eclipse Rich Client Platform very successful cross platform framework
–
JNLP delivery of software solid. 85% PCs now have Java runtime
● Microsoft improvements
Joe Winchester
–
XAML and WPF are very rich ways to deliver UIs over HTTP.
–
3D graphics, vector based user interfaces, data binding and ease of use development tools.
–
Vista will make use of multi core PCs and XAML will exploit this
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation
</presentation>
● The important argument is not about fat vs. thin or dumb vs. intelligent.
●
●
●
●
●
It’s about rich content delivered in different ways
Browser is reclaiming the client with alluring technologies like AJAX, Flex
and Laszlo
Win32, Java Swing and Java SWT are mature proven GUI toolkits
You can’t build Google Earth or office applications on the web using
scripting languages
The client is back. Usability and not engineering ease of development is
the new focus of IT.
Microsoft with XAML and WPF combined with Vista will change the rule
book and browsers will face the same exinction that 5250/3270
mainframes did 20 years ago, with AJAX being the historic equivalent of a
green screen pop-up menu.
Joe Winchester
winchest@uk.ibm.com
© 2008 IBM Corporation