The
world of web development is moving away from MVC-based web architectures and
towards a client/server model that is probably best described as RIA + SOA,
where RIA represents the rich user interface and SOA represents the services
that it consumes.
There has been a lot
of buzz around rich Web 2.0 applications, but they will not become mainstream
until the next generation of web platforms emerge - fully integrated platforms
that enable RIA + SOA.
State of the
Union
Currently, in the standards-based world of HTML,
CSS and Javascript, RIA developers have to assemble multiple third-party
libraries and frameworks in order to build a rich user interface. This “a la carte” approach to building RIAs
places an unnecessary burden on the developer.
Instead of focusing on building applications, the developer must spend
time finding, integrating, and versioning the various pieces of their RIA
development platform. The same holds
true on the SOA side; developers are left to figure out how to create services
and how to integrate them with their RIA front-ends. Developers need a platform that addresses
every aspect of building an application, so that they can focus on doing what
they do best – build applications. The
question is: what should a next-generation RIA + SOA platform look like?
The
best place to start is with the activities that are required to build an RIA +
SOA-based application.At a high-level
these activities include:
1.Design the "look" of the application This is the general appearance of an
application.It includes things like:
color, fonts, graphics, and a general page layout. Common
toolsets:
HTML, CSS and images
2.Integrate Widgets Widgets encapsulate a set of common
capabilities within a single component.They typically contain both “look and feel” as well as a set of
pre-defined dynamic behaviors.They are
a fundamental building block of an RIA. Common
toolsets:
ExtJS, Dojo, Yahoo YUI and several other small widget projects
3.Add dynamic behavior to the user interface Creating dynamic behavior in the user
interface involves two things:
Event handling
Document Object Model (DOM) Manipulation
Event handling is the ability to know
when a particular event occurs (e.g., a user clicks a button or a service response
is received).DOM Manipulation allows
you to dynamically change the user interface based on the receipt of an event. Common
toolsets:
Javascript libraries like JQuery, Prototype, and Scriptaculous
4.Consume
services Consuming backend services is a key
capability of an RIA.It enables the
creation of single page user interfaces that exchange application data with
services. It also enables a clean separation between the user interface and the
service tier.The most common method for
interacting with services is Ajax. Common
toolsets:
Javascript libraries like JQuery and Prototype
5.Create
services Services provide an interface to data
and application business logic. Common
toolsets:
There are several frameworks available for creating services in your
programming language of choice
Now
that we have a sense of what is required to build RIA + SOA-based applications,
we can take a look at how these activities should be integrated in order to
provide the most value to developers.The following sections outline the defining characteristics of a
next-generation RIA + SOA platform.
About Nolan Wright Nolan Wright is co-founder and CTO of Appcelerator, leading the company's product and services organizations. Prior to starting Appcelerator, he led engineering and product management at Vocalocity. He has also held several senior technology, product management and consulting positions with Accenture, Netscape Communications and Vertical One. Wright is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he earned his BEEE in Electrical Engineering. For more information, please visit http://www.appcelerator.org.
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The
world of web development is moving away from MVC-based web architectures and
towards a client/server model that is probably best described as RIA + SOA,
where RIA represents the rich user interface and SOA represents the services
that it consumes. 
