Posts Tagged ‘Web Forms’
75 (Really) Useful JavaScript Techniques
Developers and designers are using more and more JavaScript in modern designs. Sometimes this can be a hindrance to the user and take away from the simplicity of the design, and other times it can add greatly to the user’s experience. The key is a) adding the right amount of JavaScript, and b) using the right JavaScript techniques. We have already collected various JavaScript techniques in the past – now it’s time for a new portion of JavaScript.
Thanks to the Web’s widespread adoption of JavaScript, JavaScript libraries have sprung up to help make design and development easier. Here are a few of the major JavaScript libraries that developers use: jQuery, Prototype, Scriptaculous, mootools, Dojo. These frameworks have thriving communities whose members have developed countless plug-ins that can greatly add to the JavaScript framework.
However, sometimes we need JavaScript solutions that are a little more involved or specific. Here are 75 more handy JavaScript techniques that have made websites much sleeker and more interesting.
75 Useful JavaScript Techniques
Hyphenation in Web
This project collects working solutions for automatic hyphenation in (X)HTML pages. For different human and script languages, server- and client-side. A JavaScript-solution, called Hyphenator.js is available as well. Hyphenator.js brings client-side hyphenation of HTML-Documents on to every browser by inserting soft hyphens using hyphenation patterns and Franklin M. Liangs hyphenation algorithm commonly known from LaTeX and Openoffice.
SocialHistory.js
SocialHistory.js enables you to detect which social bookmarking sites your visitors use. It cannot enable you to see all of the user’s history. It checks, in a 20-questions style, if the user has been to a particular URL: It’s hit or miss. SocialHistory.js has a big list of the most popular social bookmarking sites which it checks against. An alternative approach.
Textboxlist Auto-Completion
One of the most attractive features of JavaScript is the highly useful autocompletion. No other website does the autocompletion better than Facebook. They have created an elegant way to search for other Facebook users using the autocomplete feature. Once the user is found, their name is added with an outline and an “X” link to remove the name. TextboxList has mimicked this feature and created a little script for downloading.
Web Form Validation: Best Practices and Tutorials
Ideally, users will fill the web form with necessary information and finish their job successfully. However, people often make mistakes. This is where web form validation comes into play. The goal of web form validation is to ensure that the user provided necessary and properly formatted information needed to successfully complete an operation. In this article we will go beyond the validation itself and explore different validation and error feedback techniques, methods and approaches.
Validation methods
User’s input can be validated on the server and on the client (web browser). Thus we have server-side and client-side validation. We’ll discuss pros and cons of each.
Server-side validation
In the server-side validation, information is being sent to the server and validated using one of server-side languages. If the validation fails, the response is then sent back to the client, page that contains the web form is refreshed and a feedback is shown. This method is secure because it will work even if JavaScript is turned off in the browser and it can’t be easily bypassed by malicious users. On the other hand, users will have to fill in the information without getting a response until they submit the form. This results in a slow response from the server.
The exception is validation using Ajax. Ajax calls to the server can validate as you type and provide immediate feedback. Validation in this context refers to validating rules such as username availability. You can read more about validation with Ajax in this excellent tutorial on jQueryForDesigners.
This diagram shows differences between client-side and server-side validation and other techniques.
