What is LWB?
The aim of LWB is to get "Close to the metal". For the web, the metal is HTML. The more layers between you and the HTML, the less fine control you have over your User Interface- a bit like trying to knit with several pairs of gloves on.
The goal of LWB is to produce tight HTML that is easy to read and understand and easy to maintain; HTML that is truly dynamic and yet involves little or even no custom javascript code. It's a great way to produce Data Centric Web Applications.
LWB is browser agnostic. It supports the following:
 | | | And Soon: | |
| Internet Explorer | Firefox | Opera | | Safari |
LWB will work with any server technology that supports Web Services. You can hand code these or get assistance from seperate Open Source projects such as LWB-DOTNET.
LWB is free and has an Open Source License that entitles you to use it in almost any project: personal, scientific, commercial etc.
LWB can be used standalone or in conjunction with a range of other technologies (including AJAX).
LWB is lightweight for three reasons:-
- It deploys as single fairly short javascript file that can be cached in your browser.
- Apart from javascript it requires no other services from the browser- no Java, no ActiveX, no Flash, no Silverlight (Although it will work with these if you want.)
- It enables flexible data binding without bloating your nice simple HTML pages too much.
A nice way to work with LWB is to start with a "Rapid Prototype" of your application using standard static html pages. A few small additions to these pages is then sufficient to make them data driven using LWB.
Some Examples
Running demos (and source) for these examples and many others are available at: www.ajaxlwb.org :
How to use LWB?
The javascript source is included in the download zip at the start of this project. However in order to find out how to use it, please read the extensive tutorials located at: www.ajaxlwb.org
Feedback Wanted
LWB is already in use in commercial projects. It will be maintained and enhanced into the future. I look forward to your suggestions on which direction it should take.
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