The combination of XML data and XSLT transformation(s) into XHTML is very
powerful.
Powerful as in flexible, yes, but it comes at a cost. That XML had to first
be serialized on the server, deserialized on the client, then the response
would need to be serialized on the client and deserialized on the server.
There are a good number of CPU cycles used in the name of open spec
technologies.
If you own both ends of the spectrum (i.e. the server language the the
client Javascript) then why not come up with a solution that is more
efficient? Note that I am just introducing this argument into the
conversation and am currently somewhat of an offender of using popular data
transmission mechanisms simply because they were quick to implement (i.e.
ExtJS + JSON + RPGUI).
At the end of the day there will always be new ways to talk to the client
which will require you to retool (i.e. JSON and XML will give way to xyz
technology). So the argument of choosing something that is popular isn't
always a good argument (one that I include in my presentations - hypocrite?
maybe :-) What if we developed a hybrid approach to the libraries at hand?
What if we passed fixed length data structures back and forth from RPG to
Javascript in the browser? Would the bandwidth of the untrimmed characters
offset the benefits of not having to "parse" on the server?
This is more of a brainstorming post than anything. I myself am not totally
convinced of my argument yet. Thoughts?
Aaron Bartell
www.SoftwareSavesLives.com
midrange.com
