Re:Four Eras of JavaScript Frameworks
by j45 on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @07:08AM
(#31178493)
Around 2000 it was possible to write AJAX applications with xmlhttprequest using JavaScript to achieve no refresh apps in the browser.
Folks are building with a 20+ year old idea that has continued to evolve, in part because JavaScript is ancient in internet terms but uniquely positioned as one of the only languages (if you could call it that at the time) that was web first, instead of a traditional programming language having to connect to the web via a framework.
Ironically, the core feature for web apps in the browser to enable this existed thanks to Microsoft.
Brutally simple, efficient and likely part of what gave rise to so many JavaScript frameworks since people generally had to roll their own.
I’m sure there might be some here who reverse engineered what Outlook Web Access was doing.
“ The concept behind the XMLHttpRequest object was originally created by the developers of Outlook Web Access (by Microsoft) for Microsoft Exchange Server 2000.[4] An interface called IXMLHTTPRequest was developed and implemented into the second version of the MSXML library using this concept.[4][5] The second version of the MSXML library was shipped with Internet Explorer 5.0 in March 1999, allowing access, via ActiveX, to the IXMLHTTPRequest interface using the XMLHTTP wrapper of the MSXML library.[6]”
Building an app in the browser was not a popular idea partially because of the instability of high speed internet and the lack of performant mobile internet, and if imaginable, the lack of users on the web at that time. The first major rush of users online was likely Facebook.
Still it was possible to build a full ms office UI clone working in the browser, except it was powering your custom app.
Sometimes things are gaining popularity for a long time before they suddenly get discovered. This single call was a reason why jquery became so popular.
What I enjoyed about this article was how it speaks to an internet generation of tech or users emerging every 2-3 years, something I have long felt. Everyone starts somewhere, everyone is new to learning something and those experiences are worth sharing for new developers who do not quite have their compass in place yet.
Folks are building with a 20+ year old idea that has continued to evolve, in part because JavaScript is ancient in internet terms but uniquely positioned as one of the only languages (if you could call it that at the time) that was web first, instead of a traditional programming language having to connect to the web via a framework.
Ironically, the core feature for web apps in the browser to enable this existed thanks to Microsoft.
Brutally simple, efficient and likely part of what gave rise to so many JavaScript frameworks since people generally had to roll their own.
I’m sure there might be some here who reverse engineered what Outlook Web Access was doing.
“ The concept behind the XMLHttpRequest object was originally created by the developers of Outlook Web Access (by Microsoft) for Microsoft Exchange Server 2000.[4] An interface called IXMLHTTPRequest was developed and implemented into the second version of the MSXML library using this concept.[4][5] The second version of the MSXML library was shipped with Internet Explorer 5.0 in March 1999, allowing access, via ActiveX, to the IXMLHTTPRequest interface using the XMLHTTP wrapper of the MSXML library.[6]”
Building an app in the browser was not a popular idea partially because of the instability of high speed internet and the lack of performant mobile internet, and if imaginable, the lack of users on the web at that time. The first major rush of users online was likely Facebook.
Still it was possible to build a full ms office UI clone working in the browser, except it was powering your custom app.
Sometimes things are gaining popularity for a long time before they suddenly get discovered. This single call was a reason why jquery became so popular.
What I enjoyed about this article was how it speaks to an internet generation of tech or users emerging every 2-3 years, something I have long felt. Everyone starts somewhere, everyone is new to learning something and those experiences are worth sharing for new developers who do not quite have their compass in place yet.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMLHttpRequest
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming)