Just to set the record straight — all kinds of software development are sexy in my book. But this entry is not about all kinds of software development, but rather about the one that’s getting all the hype and buzz.

If buzzwords were Rings given out by Sauron, I guess “Two-Point-Oh” would rule them all. While 2.0 isn’t a buzzword in itself, it’s been attached to a host of other expressions so much so that it deserves a ring of its own. Much has been said about “X 2.0,” where X is some nice-sounding term that is not overly arcane but looks complex enough. Examples are “Sustainability 2.0,” “Convergence 2.0,” “Enterprise 2.0,” and the alpha-male of them all, “Web 2.0.”

I wouldn’t venture into defining all of these but rather I’d like to look at the top dog, Web 2.0, and from the perspective of software development in particular.

Or to be most specific, I’d like to enumerate some things that address the topic of what things might go into an environment to set up for doing development work targeted at Web 2.0 involving AJAX.

IDE
Eclipse goes without saying here. However, for client-side coding the splendid Eclipse-based Aptana is a prime candidate. Aside from the features expected in an IDE (code assist, debugging, etc), Aptana includes reference material for Javascript, HTML, CSS, and DOM, among other things, so that nifty function or class definition is just a click away. But wait! There’s more! It also comes with support (preloaded libraries) for the most popular AJAX-oriented libraries like Rico, Prototype, Dojo, Scriptaculous, and a host of others. But wait! There’s more! It’s also extensible through plugins and Javascript!

There is a Pro (aka not free) version which includes a JSON editor, statistics, IE debugger (the Community edition supports debugging only on Firefox), and Aptana support, all for the wonderful price of $99.

Libraries
I’ve already mentioned some of the most popular libraries, and here’s a brief description of these:

• Rico, Prototype, Dojo, Scriptaculous, jQuery. These libraries provide encapsulation of XHR requests and also an API for client-side dynamic elements as well. Use them as you need them.
• DWR. This has been a mainstay for Exist across a number of projects. We started using this from its early versions and it’s still a top choice with the ease of working with Java objects on the server and “auto-translation” to DOM on the client.

Testing and Utilities
I haven’t really used any unit testing framework for Javascript in the past but I’m looking to set this up in future work. Below is a short list a combination of all-around utilities and testing frameworks.

• JsUnit. This is a unit-testing framework for Javascript that’s fundamentally a port of JUnit, so the essential approaches are the same as what we’ve been used to in JUnit.
• Firebug. A firefox plugin that comes in as a swiss-army-knife kind of utility: Firebug has inspectors for CSS, HTML, DOM, and can perform debugging and profiling of your application. But wait! There’s more! A lot more, actually so see here for yourself.
  I found Firebug to be essential and a totally useful tool during development. The Web Developer plugin is somewhat similar but not as nifty.

So, there. Just a few things to look at to streamline your development environment if it’s Web 2.0-oriented. Just mix and match, and if there’s some new or better stuff out there it would be great if you can also share your discovery.

Posted on 01.23.08 to Technology by ggonzales. Tagged ajax, aptana, development, dwr, ide, prototype, rico, scriptaculous, sexy, testing, web 2.0. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. No comments yet. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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