| re: Issues of Scale with Client-side Javascript
Tim Johnson wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi All:
>
> I have recently (with the invaluable help of this newsgroup) learned how
> to provide dynamic html using client-side Javascript. I have a happy and
> excited customer. Well, I'm happy that he's happy, but his excitement
> has got me a bit alarmed.
>
> Here's what I've done:
> Provided an interface to a search engine in which the onchange event in
> a select list element generates between 7 and 13 additional elements
> depending on the option chosen.
>
> Here's what the customer *now* wants to do:
> Generate between 200 and 350 elements. Furthermore, the logic is going
> to be more complex.
>
> I would be happy to make that happen, however here's my concern: I'm
> already doing this from the server side, using CGI. I wonder what is
> going to happen when we put that degree of "work" on the client browser.
> I would welcome comments, caveats, or pointers to documentation and
> discussions on this subject.
>[/color]
The silence is deafening...
If this is for an intranet where you have reasonably new PCs, then it
might be OK if you need to reduce the load on your server. But for
the internet, I'd say it's a recipe for disaster. A good number of
your visitors PCs will groan under the weight and run like molasses
on a frosty morning - they wont be back.
Your pages should be fully functional without JavaScript and only use
it for extras or saving your users some time by reducing the number
of server trips (e.g. form validation, dynamic content).
For example, many sites are beginning to use JavaScript for div
'pop-ups' rather than windows because of pop-up blockers. So I now
frequently surf with JavaScript turned off just to avoid them.
Some stats show 10 to 15% of surfers have JavaScript off (though many
reckon browser stats are utterly useless, I think they can offer
indications of trends at least).
--
Rob
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