Essentials of Javascript - Cultural View

SproutCore 136
• Tasks. Tasks management app done with SproutCore 1.0 (login as 'guest' no password) [12]
• Lebowski Framework - A test automation framework for SproutCore [13]
• itsgotwhatplantscrave.com - A SproutCore focused blog [14]
• frozencanuck.wordpress.com - Another SproutCore focused blog [15]
References
[1] Blog post about 1.0 release (http://blog.sproutcore.com/post/459714079/sproutcore-1-0-is-done)
[2] http://wiki.commonjs.org/wiki/Implementations/SproutCore
[3] http://www.macrumors.com/2008/06/16/apple-adopting-sproutcore-for-web-applications
[4] http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/16/apples_open_secret_sproutcore_is_cocoa_for_the_web.html
[5] http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/09/want-to-try-out-mobileme-check-out-sproutcore/
[6] http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/06/14/cocoa-for-windows-flash-killer-sproutcore/
[7] http://www.sproutcore.com/
[8] http://wiki.sproutcore.com/
[9] http://www.sproutcore.com/download/
[10] http://www.infoq.com/presentations/subelsky-sproutcore-intro/
[11] http://listenapp.com/
[12] http://tasks-demo.appspot.com/
[13] http://github.com/FrozenCanuck/Lebowski
[14] http://www.itsgotwhatplantscrave.com/
[15] http://frozencanuck.wordpress.com/
Unobtrusive JavaScript
"Unobtrusive JavaScript" is an emerging technique in the JavaScript programming language, as used on the World
Wide Web. Though the term is not formally defined, its basic principles are generally understood to include:
• Separation of functionality (the "behavior layer") from a Web page's structure/content and presentation [1]
• Best practices to avoid the problems of traditional JavaScript programming (such as browser inconsistencies and
lack of scalability)
• Progressive enhancement to support user agents that may not support advanced JavaScript functionality [2]
The need for a new paradigm
JavaScript historically has had a reputation for being a clumsy, hackish language unsuitable for serious application
development. [3] [4] This has been largely due to inconsistent implementations of the language itself and the
Document Object Model [5] in various browsers, and the widespread use of buggy cut-and-paste code. Runtime errors
were so common (and so difficult to debug) that few programmers even tried to fix them, as long as the script
behaved more or less the way it was supposed to; [6] scripts often failed completely in some browsers.
The recent emergence of standardized browsers, JavaScript frameworks and high-quality debugging tools have made
organized, scalable JavaScript code possible, and the emergence of AJAX interfaces has made it essential.
Whereas JavaScript was once reserved for relatively simple and non-critical tasks such as form validation and
decorative novelties, it is now being used to write large, complex codebases that are often part of a site's core
functionality. Run time errors and unpredictable behavior are no longer minor annoyances; they are fatal flaws.
Advocates of Unobtrusive JavaScript see it as part of the larger Web standards movement; much as the demand for
cross-browser compatibility has driven the increasing emphasis on standardized markup and style, the increasing
demand for rich Internet applications is driving the movement toward better practices with the use of JavaScript. The
concept of Unobtrusiveness in relation to JavaScript programming was coined in 2002 by Stuart Langridge [7] in the
article "Unobtrusive DHTML, and the power of unordered lists [8] ". [9] In the article Langridge argues for a way to