OpenThought AJAX Library Features

Basic Features

OpenThought provides the following features:

• Dynamically update Form Fields and HTML tags
• Dynamically change an image source or image properties (such as it's size)
• Execute JavaScript code in the browser from the server
• Jump to new URL's after updating the HTML or executing JavaScript
• Focus any field or anchor tag from the server
• Unlimited (asyncronous) concurrent calls to the server
• Ability to switch between GET and POST requests for any server call
• Browser-based Log window with multiple log levels simplifies debugging

Additional Features and Benefits

• Background Processing without Reloading the Page

OpenThought applications can perform all their communication between the browser and server in the background. The browser and server can talk back and forth any number of times, without destroying or refreshing the currently loaded page.

• Server Controls the UI

Any time the browser generates any sort of event, your code running on the server can have the browser do any number of things. You can send the browser new data to load, focus a particular field, or even have the server access JavaScript functions or variables in the browser. OpenThought offers you an incredible amount of control over the browser from the server.

• Simple Interface

OpenThought applications are very easy to create. OpenThought offers a simple API, and it's certainly no more difficult then the standard CGI applications many people are used to using. Since OpenThought allows you to create a full application using a single screen, it usually requires less HTML to build an OpenThought application compared to other web applications.

• Speed

OpenThought's ability to dynamically update content on an existing page gives it a tremendous speed boost over standard web applications. Instead of needing to download an entire web page full of data every time you click a link or button, you only download the data which is new.

• Platform Independant Applications

An OpenThought enabled application is able to take the place of an OS dependant application. No need to require that a user run Windows, Mac, or even Linux. It just no longer matters. They can use the OS of their choice, and a browser which can handle the DHTML.

• Application Interface, From the Convienence of... Anywhere

OpenThought offers the look and feel of a true application, and is fast enough that you can use it to run realtime applications both on a LAN and over the Internet. OpenThought enabled applications can be available anyplace in the world via the web without introducing high security risks. You won't need to punch holes into your firewall to access this data the same way you would with other remote access methods, methods like Telnet, SSH, pcAnywhere, VNC, and Terminal Services. Those each can open a significant hole when made available from the outside. Just build your applications with OpenThought, and you only need to make a webserver available.