It is pre-releasing the Ajax Data Services Library in conjunction with the impending roll-out of the next version of the Flex framework, which the company says will happen sometime on or before June.
What that means is that simpler, Ajax-style rich web clients will be able to take advantage of some of the real-time data streaming and publish/subscribe capabilities now supported by the higher end Flex framework.
Flex data services could be called by a series of JavaScript libraries, so even the most rudimentary or the quickest and dirtiest Ajax mashups could start looking like data-driven applications.
It’s all part of a dual strategy pitting Adobe and Microsoft in battle over who dominates the Web 2.0 client. Until now, Ajax-style clients and mashups have been just fine, thank you, for most early Web 2.0 rich, interactive applications.
But both rivals are counting on the fact that at some point, when you need enterprise-class functionality, that Ajax style programming will run out of gas. So both are pitching dual approaches of promoting their own frameworks, including Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation and Adobe Flex, respectively, for the high-end stuff. And they’re promoting ways to link with the more popular Ajax style programming embraced by the rabble.
Besides the Ajax Data Services Library, Adobe is tweaking the Flex Ajax Bridge (FABridge) to improve client side performnance.
Both pre-releases are available now for download from the Adobe Labs website.
