AJAX Error Arrow

I hope to have the opportunity to see if I can make some long, ugly forms (Blogger Settings pages, anyone?) verify and submit with XMLHttpRequest. Some thoughts:

• onblur validation would be really neat. It could even call back to the server to check on constraints beyond mere formatting (for example, “is this BlogSpot URL taken?”), or even do everything server-side to prevent the duplication of effort intrinsic in JavaScript validation. When the user pauses, go back to the server and check and, if there’s a problem, the little error triangle could pop up to indicate and explain what’s wrong.
• In the case of an error after the user clicks “Save,” have a nice looking arrow pointing towards the error explanation, possibly as a prelude to auto-scrolling. It could fade in quickly and serve as an indication that we’re about to scroll the browser window to the location of the problem.
  

Sub-page Caching Granularity

The <bigwig> project has a neat component that allows them to cache page fragments automatically on the client. The whole strategy is explained in
Language-Based Caching of Dynamically Generated HTML.

It boils down to translating pieces of the templates (templates are written in a domain-specific language) into individual JavaScript files. These files represent static structure (albeit with “gaps,” places where dynamic content will be inserted) and can be safely cached by the browser without worrying about stale content.

Each page of the web application is simply a “string pool,” a list of the bits of dynamic content, and instructions on how to combine template pieces into the final page. All assembly is done client-side with JavaScript.

I think this is a pretty cool idea. It’s also probably a bit of overkill, given the problem. It also has some nasty consequences: no searchability, no view source, and a requirement on JavaScript.

Tuesdays with vim, part 2 (on Thursday)

I’ve been using vimdiff for my code reviews, since it, unlike tkdiff can be run without worrying what my DISPLAY variable is set as. (Important for working with screen over ssh. Though there are workarounds.)

vimdiff automatically folds lines that have no changes in them. This is very convenient. The command to unfold and show the text is,

zo

which stands for “fold open” (if you believe that “z” stands for “fold”). To re-do the fold, and hide the unaffected lines, use “fold close:”

zc

These are typed from command mode and are not ex commands (so no :).

iTunes 5.0 Interface

Many opinions about the new look for iTunes 5.0. Michael Tsai has collected the reactions from the Mac blog regulars.

I really like the lack of window borders, which fits in with what Aqua’s done from the very beginning. The different corner radius is pretty stupid. I don’t dislike it, I just don’t know why they bothered.

My gripe is that the toolbar is hideous looking. The individual pieces are, if not lickable, at least unabrasive. But the combination is pretty terrible. It’s missing an aesthetic sense of balance. The volume slider looks pathetic — fragile, even — and pixelated. The search box looks as if the middle pane just let one and it’s trying to casually slide away to avoid the smell. Meanwhile, it’s overly pale and dull compared to the polished sheen of the other elements. And there seems to be an overall lack of consistency in shadow and depth that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Ah, well. They can’t all be beauties.

Safari 2.0.1 Has No Release Notes

Safari 2.0.1 came out a week or so ago, and I just got around to upgrading my work PowerBook. Given that Safari is one of our supported browsers, I wanted to know what was new and fixed and adjust my testing and development accordingly.

But, the only word is that it “improves website compatibility, application stability and support for 3rd party web applications.” No other release notes or anything. Every Mac website on the planet is parroting Apple’s description, and no one seems to know what’s changed. Other than that this build, unlike development versions from April, doesn’t pass Acid 2.

Not even a peep from the Safari blog. (Though it is more concerned with the open source development of the WebKit framework than specific releases from Apple.)

Update: Apparently there has been a lot of grumbling about this issue, and the fine WebKit blog folks posted release notes for Safari 2.0.1. (But with the caution that they may not in the future.) Looks like Blogger isn’t impacted one way or another.