Ajax News

A major announcement today by Isomorphic Software, the SmartClient Ajax platform is being released free and open source, under the LGPL. SmartClient is the *only* Ajax platform that has been used to build the entire user interface of major software products, including:

• Informatica PowerAnalyzer
• Wily Introscope
• Document Sciences xPression
• Copyright Clearance Center RightSphere
• Intuit Quickbooks TimeTracker Online
• Lontra Service Portfolio Manager

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Three announcements in one, the final versions of Prototype 1.6.0, script.aculo.us 1.8.0 are now available in addition to the Prototype & script.aculo.us book by Christophe Porteneuve. The latest Prototype 1.6.0 got a lot of API changes that you should be familiar if you worked with the RC0 and RC1, and in total there is 20 bug fixes and enhancements since the RC1, which was released by October 16th. More info on this release could be found on the changelog.

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Gmail just got a new update this week with a faster navigation and improved contact list manager, in addition to a restructured source code. The big change in this release is probably not visible to the public, and will be certainly noticed in the next months with more exciting features to be released. Google didn't comment on the technologies used in this release but just confirmed that it wasn't GWT a Google spokesperson told us "We don't have anything new to share about the technologies used to create Gmail, but I can tell you that we've used Google Web Toolkit to build parts of Google Base and Google Checkout, and all of Google Mashup Editor"

"In short, the Gmail team has been working on a major structural code change that we're rolling out to users over the coming weeks to make Gmail faster and more flexible.", explained a Google spokesperson, " To start with, you'll notice faster mail browsing, as well as an upgraded contact manager that presents your contact data in an easy-to-read column view. The new code structure also lays the groundwork for some new Gmail features we'll be launching in the coming months."