Reflection and Evaluation of Technologies - Essay Example

REFLECTION AND EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES al Affiliation) Introduction There are various technologies employed in the successful development of a website. Depending on the nature and purpose of the website to be developed, novel technologies that best suit the requirement will be adopted. The various types of technologies can be broadly classified into three different types: client side technologies, server side technologies, and multimedia, which make up the general classification of web development technologies. The report evaluates and provides a reflection on three different website development technologies, one from each of the above stated categories, namely, HTML5, Flash, and JQuery. HTML5 HTML5 falls under client side technology and can be considered to be a rich interface technology, given that it significantly enhances user interaction within a browser. Such technology as HTML5 is crucial in the development of a website since it highly improves the outward appearance of a browser and enhances its functionality as well as the look and feel of an application. Most of the shortcomings of the first generation web applications and development technologies are addresses by HTML5 in addition to the improvement of the user interface. It can be in the form of a fully interactive browser or a web-based enterprise application that is capable of offering the interface functionality and flexibility of a desktop application (Pilgrim, 2010). One of the major advantages of such technology as HTML5 is that it provides safe and result-oriented applications that offer a faster and more expensive interface as compared to the traditional technologies and applications. User interaction with the application becomes more attractive and fun, given the aesthetic value added by HTML5 to the browser and applications. With the adoption of HTML5 in the development of websites and applications, businesses are able to improve their productivity while utilizing advanced communication system to level up their services to their customers (Schmitt and Simpson 2011). There are a number of rich interface technologies, but currently HTML5 is considered to be the best among them. It is the latest revision of the previous HTML developed with the purpose of addressing the needs of modern web applications, mainly in order to eliminate the dependence on external browser plug-ins for most browsers. HTML5 Evaluation HTML5 is a significant improvement of the previous HTML, given that it comes with added features and new elements which did not exist in the previous versions of HTML. For instance, the standard web design has been improved with the use of various tags such as header, canvas footer and section tags. Apart from the tags, HTML5 has new form elements such as date picker, form fields that validate the input automatically, and number of range components has also been introduced in HTML5. The current HTML5 has enhanced CSS to support custom fonts, color gradient, new visual styles including animation, shadow and reflection effects. With HTML5, there is no need for Adobe Flash Player since it comes with an added video component which allows users to play video media (Pilgrim, 2010). Advantages of HTML5 Support for offline web applications This HTML5 feature enables it to address mobile devices and therefore closes the gap between desktop application and web applications through File API, Notification API and Drag and Drop support. Improved tags and mutuality HTML5 has an added video component which is fully programmable with JavaScript. This enables it to support rich media tags such as video and audio tags. This, in turn, offers a powerful flexibility without the need of installing additional plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player (Pilgrim, 2010). Error handling capabilities HTML5 has been designed in a manner that it enables older browsers to ignore the wrong syntax, hence improved error handling. Disadvantages of HTML5 Browser support The lack of support by some browsers such as Internet Explorer and some old versions of other browsers is one of the demerits of HTML5. The fact that only modern and recent versions of most browsers support HTML5 limits its use among users of the old version browsers. (Schmitt and Simpson, 2011). Conclusion Despite the fact that most part of HTML5 is stable, the language is still considered a work in progress. According to Pilgrim, some element and features of the language may undergo changes, and the language will not be finalized until a few more years (2010). HTML5 was basically developed in order to improve the previous version via the support of latest multimedia such as video and audio, besides improving human readability and computer understandability at the same time. With the additional features and elements on HTML5, it is beyond doubt that its performance and capability is highly improved as compared to the previous version. It is therefore the best technology for web developers with quality, performance and deadlines as the main factors in mind. Flash Flash, on one hand, is a multimedia platform for web development technology that is widely used to add and support animation, video and interactivity. It is quite an intriguing technology for adding Flashy graphics apart from the interactivity to a web site. The difficulty and time consumption that comes with coding Flash web sites from scratch has made Flash very popular among developers. Currently, Flash has gained popularity even among site owners and users, given that there are some things that can only be done effectively through Flash such as video and audio streaming. Flash, therefore, plays a vital role in the development of most current web sites, according to most developers, users and site owners. However, just like any other technology, Flash has its drawbacks such as the risks involved, not to mention that some users are immediately put off by Flash (Kyrnin, 2012). Flash Evaluation For those web developers and owners who are looking forward to creating a highly interactive and rich user interface website, Flash is the right technology. Flash is highly effective in web visitors baiting, given its sophisticated tools that enhance the look and feel of a website. Flash allows designers and developers to implement daring and innovative ideas, which in turn enables the website audience to enjoy their content exploration on the website. Dynamic 3D graphics, gaming element and animation are some of the elements that Flash allow to be incorporated in a web site in order to make it more fun and attractive for its users through the incredible visual experience (Kyrnin, 2012). Unlike the previous version of Flash, the current versions are well indexed by search engines making them more effective for marketing campaign and search engine optimization. Flash is extensively used in the web advertising, and the additional time and bandwidth needed to load the pages is an irritating factor to most website users. User experience is therefore impaired in browsers with disabled Flash tools. Before one can decide on whether or not to use Flash in the design and development of a website, it is better to look into its benefits and drawbacks (AbiChedid, 2011). Benefits of Flash Interactive and expressive Flash websites have a greater look and feel besides the incredible visual experience thanks to its support for macromedia such as video, animation and gaming, which makes it more interactive for the site visitors. Flash applications have the ability to collect data, feedback forms, photo slide show, online games and different web application. This, therefore, makes the web site exploration more interesting and fun to the user and hence procures a web site more visits (AbiChedid, 2011). Cross-browser compatibility Flash is compatible across many browsers, and it is browser-independent. It has no issues with browser compatibility, and as long as the user has a Flash plug-in installed, the HTML and CSS codes can’t be interpreted differently. Better expression through animation Flash enables the web developers to effectively communicate and express ideas to users in a more attractive way. The use of plethora of animation features with most vectors tools in Flash web design allows an expressive message passing. Drawbacks of Flash Longer loading time Excessive use of Flash in a website can slow down the rate at which a webpage is loaded because of the massive bandwidth required. Flash requires additional time and bandwidth to load, as compared to the normal HTML web pages. Websites with heavy Flash content can take too long to load, and hence turn offs most users, which in turn will limit the number of site visitors (Kyrnin, 2012). Requires a plug in Without the Flash Player plug-in installed, one is not able to view the content of a Flash website. It is almost impossible to load the content of a Flash website without the Flash plug-in. Most users disable Flash plug-ins by default to enhance the page loading speed. In the browsers with Flash plug-ins disabled, loading a Flash website is virtually impossible. This, therefore, limits the number of users with access to the sites (AbiChedid, 2011). SEO Most Flash websites cannot be indexed by search engine robots, given that they can’t index images. Most Flash websites are at a disadvantage when it comes to search engine optimization as that search engine robot have trouble indexing codes other than standard HTML codes. This limits website traffic, for they lose in ranking in most search engines. Conclusion Flash is a powerful website development technology and tool, and the decision to or not to use it on a website can cause major problems. Some problems are best solved with Flash while others are not. Using Flash appropriately is therefore recommended after evaluating what is at stake. It is a wonderful tool for adding video, gaming and animation to a site, and the use of Flash is recommended for sites that value such features. Drawbacks in accessibility, SEO and customer satisfaction should make designers use Flash only in recommended situations. JQuery Many website developers and designers consider JQuery a blessing, for it is a library for JavaScript which simplifies programming with JavaScript immensely. It allows developers to achieve apparently complex tasks, and it is easy to use and condense syntax. JQuery, as compared to other JavaScript libraries, has more benefits in the development of web site. Just like any other technology, it also has its drawbacks which must be weighed against the benefits before a decision to use it in the development of a web site is made (Flanagan, 2011). JQuery Evaluation JQuery, as a JavaScript library, is designed to make the client side scripting of HTML much easier. It is the most popular among the JavaScript libraries, and it is most widely used among frequently visited sites with a 31% success rate (Flanagan, 2011). JQuery has a condensed syntax which makes document navigation much easier in addition to the compact code which allows developers to write less and do more at the same time. It is widely used in excellent development of dynamic web pages and page elements such as handling events, creating animation, selecting DOM elements and developing Ajax programs. JQuery has capabilities that allow designers to develop plug-ins that in turn enable the abstractions for low level animations and interactions, at the same time creating high level widgets (Flanagan, 2011). Advantages of JQuery Ease of use The ease of use is the main advantage JQuery has over other JavaScript libraries and standard JavaScript. Besides the simplified syntax, it needs much less code line in order to achieve the same output, as compared to standard JavaScript and other JavaScript libraries (Kendall, 2011). Ajax support It allows the development of Ajax templates with much ease, as compared to other JavaScript libraries. Great documentation and tutorials It has a comprehensive documentation in addition to the easy to understand tutorials, which enable even beginners to develop websites without much difficulty. Large library and strong open source community With the large library at its disposal, JQuery allows developers to perform a variety of functions, as compared to other JavaScript libraries. Disadvantages of JQuery There is a possibility of limited functionality despite the fact that it has an extensive and impressive library depending on the level of customization required in a website. It requires a JQuery JavaScript file in order to run effectively, which in turn strains the user’s computer (Kendall, 2011). Conclusion With the exception of the few drawbacks, JQuery is a great and simple tool for the development of an interface, especially while using JavaScript commands. References Pilgrim, M., 2010. HTML5: up and running. Sebastopol, CA: OReilly AbiChedid, B., 2011. Flash Website: Advantages and Disadvantages. Boutros AbiChedid - Freelance Web designer, Web developer, Software Engineer, 1 Aug. [online] [Accessed 26 Oct. 2012] Flanagan, D., 2011. JavaScript (6th ed.). Sebastopol: OReilly Media, Inc. Kendall, L., 2011. jQuery: Advantages and Disadvantages  make IT spend IT. Make IT spend IT, 23 June. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 Oct. 2012] Kyrnin, J., n.d. Flash Websites - Pros and Cons - The Benefits and Drawbacks to Using Flash to Build Websites. Web Design - HTML XML - Web Development - Website Design. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 Oct. 2012] Schmitt, C., and Simpson, K., 2011. HTML5 cookbook. Beijing: OReilly. Read More