Drupal AJAX manifesto (working copy)

Drawing on recent discussions, here's a draft AJAX manifesto. The idea is to sum up a shared approach and plans. Please wade in and edit, change, expand, comment, etc.

• Principles
  • Usability and efficiency: AJAX (and js) are focused solidly on improving usability and efficiency--not on making things gratuitously flashy.
  • Progressive enhancement: All pages are fully usable without Javascript.
  • Clean attachment: Behaviours attach themselves only if they are supported. Instead of inline Javascript calls, behaviours are attached dynamically to targeted elements (usually based on css classes).
  • Compatibility: Drupal AJAX developers cooperate to ensure that their behaviours are compatible.
  • Behaviours accept effects: Rather than hard-coding behaviours to a specific effect library, we develop behaviours generically so that they can be picked up by various effects.
• Approaches
  • Register behaviours: All behaviours are registered so that other behaviours know about them and can call them. All behaviours may be reapplied.
  • Expose effects: All effects (collapse, scroll to, append content, etc.) should be exposed so that effects libraries can attach effects.
• Workplan
  • Build shared library: Build a library where we can register a shared set of helper functions, configuration data, behaviour registration, etc. This library also will be a testing and development ground where methods will be piloted for eventual incusion in Drupal core. Initial development will be in the Javascript Tools package, as a new module, jstools.module, with a jstools.js library. Drupal AJAX and JS module developers will be encouraged to use and contribute to this library.