Meadowlark: Javascript / Flash Based Web Application Development in Sheffield

Javascript Based Web Applications developed in Sheffield

Meadowlark have twelve years of experience of writing javascript web applications. These take various forms:

• eLearning applications where educational content is presented to a student, they answer a series of questions and are marked and given a certificate upon passing.
• Projectile Trajectory Monitor: We are developing an Adobe Air application that is written in Javascript, Lisp and JQuery that records key performance statistics of projectiles.
• Javascript applets: We create tiny applets written in this intriguing language that feature in a number of other sites, that complement and enhance the content.

Javascript is an interesting language, and quite a challenge to learn well. Its scoping rules and its practice of hoisting variable and functions can confuse. Because of its complexity, and many different forms, developers often use a javascript library in conjunction with Javascript, like jQuery, Dojo, Yui, or Mootools, to ease any programming task.

An example of a javascript application can found here

Generally we use the most appropriate technology for each project, and this may be Javascript. Javascript alone is appropriate when we are sure that applications can run reliably in the web browser running the javascript application.

Javascript is not the only means of producing dynamic content. Modern CSS can often create the effect we are looking for, and in some circumstances this may make javascript coding unnecessary.

If the site requires animation or a cutting edge user interface (this cannot be achieved with HTML alone) we may use Javascript, Macromedia Flash and Actionscript, or perhaps HTML5..

If the number of concurrent users of the site is large and the data changes frequently, we may adopt an SQL database tuned for speed. If however there are few users we may adopt something less taxing of the hardware.

Web development tools, languages and technology we regularly use:

• Hypertext markup language (HTML)
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• Flash ActionScript
• Php
• Javascript
• XML
• VBScript
• Backend databases like mySQL,MSSQL, Access

What you can expect from computer hardware in the future?

Smaller faster, cheaper, lighter computers for the desktop. They will be no larger than a DVD drive. They will be silent, and run free software, and much of this will be web based. They will use solid state disks, and large quantities of cheap memory.

More powerful mobile phones will largely replace traditional PCs. The screens of mobiles will occupy as much of the phone as physicallly possible. Soft buttons will have largely replaced mechanical buttons in top of the range phones.

Sophisticated screen display technology will be available that will allow us to use bigger computer monitors in smaller less likely workplaces.

Micro-factories: places of work no bigger than a loft extension, where budding entrepreneurs labour in their free time printing products with 3D printers and selling their wares by the internet.