Tom Schreck

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. The core of AJAX is the use of the XMLHttpRequest() object to communicate with server-side scripts. It can send and receive information in XML, HTML, and plain text. The "Asynchronous" part means the client can communicate with the server without page refreshes. This allows you to update portions of a page based upon user events and is what allows developers to create Rich Internet Applications (RIA) using existing technologies. Introducing Taconite Taconite is a framework that simplifies the creation of AJAX-enabled Web applications. It's a very lightweight framework that automates the tedious tasks related to AJAX development, such as the creation and management of the XMLHttpRequest object and the creation of dynamic content. Taconite can be used with all modern Web browsers (Firefox, Safari, IE, Opera, and Konqueror... (more)

XML and cfcPowerTools

CfcPowerTools is a web GUI for generating Cold Fusion Components (CFCs). I started working with CFCs when ColdFusion MX 6 was released. Like many developers, I was intrigued as to what CFCs are and how I can use them to be a better, more productive developer. I played with CFCs following what documentation Google found for me and realized the potential CFCs offer. I found some "best practices" documentation that suggested instance data (data that's part of the CFC after it has been instantiated) should be protected from public access. The documentation recommended the use of gette... (more)

Power Your Productivity

One of the biggest problems developers face everyday is moving a project along and producing solid code without cutting corners. This typically means a lot of copying, pasting, searching and replacing, and a whole lot of manual editing. At every point the potential for error increases. Confidence in your code diminishes and your day gets longer. Now, to add to the joy, consider this: change. Change is inevitable and becomes another item for developers to manage throughout the development lifecycle. Change comes in the form of scope creep, modified business requirements, database ... (more)