Fjax Out to Help Ajax

Filed in archive AJAX on July 11, 2006

Till now heard about Ajax, now here is Fjax which has been released for simplifying Ajax style development. This approach uses Flash as a non presentational element and up till now has caused a lot of stir. Developed by Jay and Steve McDonald as a solution to perennial AJAX problem - the depth of browser compatibility which Ajax requires and all the behind the scenes activity is done on Ajax and each browser parses XML uniquely.

Fjax makes use of an XML file in order to pass data to a browser but it uses a bit of Flash instead of Flash to parse XML. This leaves the application lightweight and puts less pressure on the browser. The developers are claiming that Flash would do a better parsing job than a normal Ajax. They are saying that Fjax is very much different from other Ajax Flash combos such as Adobe's Flex.

As per Fjax website:

It's not a replacement for toolsets that provides presentation-layer visual gizmos. On the contrary, it's a new engine to put under the hood of all the great widgets that are already out there. Unlike other solutions, Fjax does not display in Flash.

The developers are of the opinion that this behind the scenes use of Flash as a programming tool might result in Adobe to explore new avenues of development for future releases.