Next Generation Wireless Applications: Creating Mobile Applications in a Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 World, 2nd Edition

5.5 OVERCOMING WEB LIMITATIONS WITH WEB 2.0'S AJAX, WIDGETS AND OTHER GOODIES

The Web is a wonderful system for liberating data, but what are its limitations? The biggest challenges with HTTP/HTML are the delays in the get-response cycle and the fact that any updates to the information on a page requires a whole new get-response cycle and re-rendering of the page. As we have seen, the basis for the architecture of the Web is the idea of accessing and viewing information as pages. Clearly, this is a publishing-inspired idea, which isn't surprising given the publishing origins of the Web. However, with general purpose computing, interfaces are frequently not page based. For want of a better word, they are widget or component based. In other words, the interface is usually divided into areas of screen space, each with its own display and interactivity functions. Think of the iTunes interface as an example. There are multiple areas (‘components’) in the interface, each with a different function. There are the play controls, the library window, the playlists and device window, plus others. It is not at all ‘page like’ as we see in a web browser.

If we try to use a web page to deliver a more generic user interface akin to iTunes or other applications then it becomes difficult. HTML doesn't support the rich graphics, but aside from that the main challenge is the responsiveness of the interface when using the HTTP/HTML paradigm. Let's say I did create an iTunes type of service online and ...