AJAX Accessibiliy

My clients used to pay me for what I could do on the backend. Now, they seem most impressed by what I do using JavaScript. They seem to want rich interfaces, but what does that mean in terms of accessibility? I have written that asking a developer not to use AJAX is like asking Spielberg not to use a camera because some people are blind.

Basically, Steve King does not write novels for the blind, but someone comes along later to produce a Braille version, or to record the book. A producer of TV content does not have to think about closed captioning – somebody else does that. Why is this my problem? If I send an email, the technology supports me. Why don’t I have more support from the people who build special readers?

My first feeling, when I read that someone thinks I should not be using AJAX is that I am being limited and held back. My clients are asking me to work on applications that are not accessible as things stand, and they will not be accessible even if I avoid AJAX in the piece of work I do. Why shouldn’t I use AJAX?

However, now I have to think about accessibility. One day, I will be asked to work on a web application that is accessible. How do I continue to build usable, responsive apps? I cannot answer all of these questions right now, but here is part of the solution, as outlined by Simon Wilson, in a presentation of JQuery: Unobtrusive JavaScript with jQuery.

Stop Using Ajax! (Not)

I was interested by a recent post by a writer who is not fond of Ajax. He seems to feel that we should stop using AJAX, or at least avoid it. I am trying to be sympathetic, but I would like to register the following thoughts. I do not mean to disagree so much as I mean to make some general observations.

1. I am currently working on an application that is intended for sighted people. It uses a map component and a GIS database. This application will never be used by blind people, and I am using AJAX. I do not believe that this is a bad choice.
2. I believe that information should accessible, but an application in more than just a web page. A web application composed of web pages held together with hypertext is an unsatisfying experience.
3. Making a building entrance wheelchair accessible in no way diminishes my access to the building. However, I feel as I have to give up functionality to meet the special needs of others. Asking developers not to use AJAX is like asking Spielberg not to use a camera because some people are blind.
4. Perhaps it is time to point a finger at the people who design and build readers that cannot cope with AJAX. Why aren’t they keeping up with the web?
5. The writer of the article I reference above repeats several times that AJAX is immature. AJAX used to be called “remote scripting”. AJAX is a new name for a technology I have been using for almost 10 years. When can we call it mature?

I would be upset if I found out that my blog was inaccessible.I mean to reach an audience, and I hope to reach any interested person.

On the other hand, my clients rarely ask me to build completely accessible applications. I do not know how to create menus for blind people or how to build forms that deaf people can fill out, nor do I have any illusions that it is easy. I feel hampered, and unfairly faulted.

If there were a framework that I could use to make my application accessible in an alternative format, and my clients were willing to pay me to do the work, I would use it. However, I have become good at developing highly usable applications for sighted people – that is a lot of people! A heck of a lot!

Give me an alternate means to interact with people who struggle with various challenges, and I would be happy to do it, but let me use my AJAX. Please.

I promise to learn more, and to come up with strategies. We should all learn more. Developers are always learning – many find they cannot keep up. I will learn. But, give me time. The so-called accessible web may be accessible, but AJAX enabled pages are so much more usable. Doesn’t that matter?

Aptana Has Help

Eclipse is my IDE of choice. I will not argue that it is the best IDE for each of the tasks I use it for – that is not the point. I like Eclipse because it represents a one-stop-shop – I use it to edit web pages, style sheets, JavaScript, Python, PHP and Java. Eclipse also gives me access to my code repository using Subversion.

Lately, I have also been using Aptana, an Eclipse plug-in that helps me create JavaScript. It also makes some of the latest Web 2.0 cool effects available to me by helping me integrate various JavaScript libraries with my code.

Today, I discovered that the Aptana site provides some high quality help for web developers. I do not specialize in front-end development; therrefore, I find this page very useful. I am currently promoting the use of AJAX at a client site – these resources will be very useful. So will Aptana. Give it a try.

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