Firefox and AJAX - my BUTT! Gimme a BREAK!
Yup. They've done it again. Asynchronous XMLHTTPRequest and javascript to load an XML Document "behind the scenes" in a web page and use it to update the UI. It's so absolutely innovative as a programming concept that they've even given the technique a new Acronymn - AJAX! Just like they gave REST it's name when all it really boils down to is simple RPC over http on the querystring, essentially. (Actually, Ajax was the son of Telamon king of Salamis. After Achilles, he was the mightiest of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War.)
Why do these people with their SOA's and their AJAX's and God knows what else feel compelled to do this crap? Sell more magazines, perhaps? Sell more software?
The problem is, XMLHTTP has been around for Internet Explorer since version 3.0. By Internet standards, that's ancient history. So now people have resorted to "reinventing" it to gain marketing hype and notoriety. In fact, the first "big" use of it was in Outlook Web Access, and it was written by the MS Exchange team. But, oh no! These Moz and Firefox people are gonna give it a brand new name -- as if they invented it. I only bring this up because I've been working on an all client-side RSS aggregator that I may roll into an ASP.NET server control, and I wanted to
see if I could offer support for Firefox in it.
Well, surprise! Turns out, they've shot themselves right in the foot: With Firefox, you can't even make a damned XMLHTTP request for a lousy RSS feed that's not in the same domain because they consider it a security risk.
Jeesh! Take your AJAX and shove it up your foaming cleanser guys! Boris sez, "Vee don't need no Steenking Acro-neems! Vee need PLAN dat VORKS!"
Why do these people with their SOA's and their AJAX's and God knows what else feel compelled to do this crap? Sell more magazines, perhaps? Sell more software?
The problem is, XMLHTTP has been around for Internet Explorer since version 3.0. By Internet standards, that's ancient history. So now people have resorted to "reinventing" it to gain marketing hype and notoriety. In fact, the first "big" use of it was in Outlook Web Access, and it was written by the MS Exchange team. But, oh no! These Moz and Firefox people are gonna give it a brand new name -- as if they invented it. I only bring this up because I've been working on an all client-side RSS aggregator that I may roll into an ASP.NET server control, and I wanted to
see if I could offer support for Firefox in it.
Well, surprise! Turns out, they've shot themselves right in the foot: With Firefox, you can't even make a damned XMLHTTP request for a lousy RSS feed that's not in the same domain because they consider it a security risk.
Jeesh! Take your AJAX and shove it up your foaming cleanser guys! Boris sez, "Vee don't need no Steenking Acro-neems! Vee need PLAN dat VORKS!"
you should look into jsrs peter. it is, in contrast to xmlhttp and almost everything that ms releases, cross-browser and can be used in similar contexts...
ReplyDeleteI have used jsrs extensively, in fact Brent Ashley, its "inventor" has a link on his site to an article I wrote about it over 2 years ago on eggheadcafe.com. In this case, it is not Microsoft software that is having the issue at all, my post is about the fact that FIREFOX can't handle a cross-domain XmlHttpRequest for an RSS feed. MSXML does this just fine.
ReplyDeleteJsrs, while it is an excellent cross-browser solution, does NOT solve the cross-site security issue at all.
Wait, you're holding stronger security practices against Firefox? I understand your frustration, but I find it puzzling that you think IE's more lenient security measures are somehow superior.
ReplyDeletehere's the thing, friend:
ReplyDeleteIn IE, the USER can control this with trusted sites, allowing a legitimate web developer to provide a rich user experience. Firefox, can't do a thing. I believe in security; I also believe in innovation.
I thought Ajax was just the name of the asp.net component that made it easier to access server side code, and not some marketing driven crap? Just wait for MS Atlas implementation to come out then you can expect to see some serious marketing BS.
ReplyDeleteIt is depressing to see so many Firefox fanboys wetting their pants over such an old idea finally making it into another browser.
In the spirit of the post, what about the hubbub about SAS (software as a service). How many poor suckers are left with domains geared towards ASP (application service provider).
ReplyDeletesorry for my ignorance, but can't you make the RSS appear as an "in-house" resource by loading it throuhg an aspx file or ascx control?
ReplyDeleteCertainly you can. But that isn't the point. What if you want to build an RSS reader based on client - side code? You're screwed.
ReplyDeleteAt least in IE you can set the URL to be a Trusted site and you are good to go.
The point of this whole concept is that THE USER, not the "Browser" should be able to make this decision.
totaly agree with you peter ... firefox sux ...
ReplyDeletenow i am using a ajax click(trying to block cgi proxy website crap) and ... in a script it's send the info's throuth POST, and in another script ... hardly the same ie works, opera works, firefox watch from the other side of the fence =))
i hate this situation when u are a web programmer and u need to create a site in a 3 ways perspective(ie, firefox, opera)
if u know how to block cgi proxy website ... please send me a mail on google I AM DESPERATE !!! sorry for my english :))
An ancient thread, but I'm attempting to do this now and still no luck on FF2 or FF3, so I thought I'd comment. Yes, I remember 8 years ago in web school being able to bind an external *.xml or *.txt file to a regular HTML tag in IE. Must have been IE version 4 or 5.
ReplyDelete