One of the guys at work found this cool SWT control that allows you to create dynamic grids/tables. It is called KTable, and is pretty much the de facto standard when you need to construct tables with variable row sizes and spanning columns/rows.
For quite a few years I have been a ColdFusion / Web Developer. I’ve got two weeks holidays, and then I will be going back to work to focus on Java (Eclipse) development. I must say I am pretty excited about this shift in direction, as I believe it will open many new doors in the future.
JavaScript/AJAX isn’t always the best tool for the job. Over the last 2 years, I’ve been the principal developer on the CRM project at work. For most of that time, it has primarily been a Javscript, Web-enabled application.
Recently, we have realised that we’ve hit the wall with what is possible with JavaScript and HTML (especially when the target platform is IE6+). We are now moving to the Java-based RCP (Rich Client Platform), which is part of the Eclipse framework.
I believe that JavaScript frameworks have a place, but I do not think it is within enterprise-critical applications. When the environment is controlled and scalability and performance is a factor, you should carefully consider your options before joining the AJAX bandwagon.
Apache have released an AJAX framework caled Extensible AJAX Platform (or XAP for short).
XAP is an XML-based declarative framework for building, deploying and maintaining rich, interactive Ajax powered web applications. It aims to reduce the need for scripting and help solve the development and maintenance challenges associated with large scale JavaScript programming.
Not too much content on the site yet. There are a few demonstrations available, along with the source. Will be interesting to see where this heads, given that XML-driven frameworks like Laszlo already exist.