Re: The Case for Javascript

[dreadpiratepeter]

I couldn't agree more. There seems to be this elitist snub of JavaScript among Perl programmers (the same kind of behavior that Java programmers seems to exhibit towards Perl).
JavaScript adds the flexibilty and power to the client-side that Perl brings to the server-side. And it is an elegant little language. And combining the two technologies (along with DHTML and CSS) forms an incredibly powerful interface tool.
I routinely generate JavaScript on the fly from Perl. I routinely make a hidden channel of communication and use it to update the server from the client, make round trip calls to the server without navigating off of the page, etc.
On the client side, I can make menus, collapsable tree widgets, sortable, searchable, paged tables. I've implemented perl only chat rooms (with atuo-refresh of just the chat area, unlike the Chatterbox).
I routinely build entire pages on the fly in javascript based on data from the server.
In one application I have a data-driven survey system, that asks multiple questions (multiple choice, quantity, free-form text and tabular) with mutli-way branching depending on previous answers with the ability to back up, all in 1 page. No round trips to the server after each question. All JavaScript using data written into JavaScript arrays by my server-side Perl script. At the end, more JavaScript collects the answers and sends them to the server.

As usual, I ramble. Don't dismiss this tool.

-pete
"Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."