VBulletin-like "modify" and "post" smoothness

[jdougher]

Has any of you been keeping up with the latest builds of vbulletin? I was over at www.dvinfo.net just now, posting a question, and there's just the coolest "smoothness" about editing a post or posting one. Much smoother than simplemachines.

Will simplemachines do something like this?

[Harzem]

What is "smoothness"? BTW, I couldn't find the forum there Can ou post a direct link to a smoothness?

[Ben_S]

Take it you mean the ajax stuff, pointless for quick reply IMHO, as for editing, it's in RC2.

[Harzem]

In RC2, quick reply also has AJAX, afaik.

[Ben_S]

It doesn't.

[jdougher]

What is ajax, other than a clothes detergent?

[jdougher]

What is "smoothness"? BTW, I couldn't find the forum there Can ou post a direct link to a smoothness?

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/

[tomis]

C'mon guys, take it easy.  

AJAX is using Javascript to talk to the server, to be able to do stuff without reloading the page.  Very useful for editing & quick reply.  SMF has like half AJAX with editing, because it uses Javascript to display the edit box, but it's NOT AJAX because it re-loads the page when saving. What it should do is use an HTTP XML request object to send the modified post text back to the server, a backend script then parses it & saves it to the db.  Then it sends back the new text to display, just like it does when previewing a new post (That is AJAX)

The Quick reply would benefit from AJAX in my opinion, because it could do the same thing as now, but without wasting the time to re-load the whole topic. And, if others have posted after you opened up the thread, it can warn you, and when it sends back the new post to display, it would also send back the posts that were published while you were writing your post.

AJAX allows us to save a lot of bandwidth & and time, while creating a much slicker UI.

SMF is great, but all great things can get better. Just because vB did it first doesn't mean we shouldn't realize it's a valuable feature and do something similar.

[Harzem]

AJAX is in fact server intensive, it loads CPU when decreasing bandwidth. So there should be a limit on what will be done with AJAX. I think quick edit and quick reply is enough

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185180&highlight=AJAX

[Ben_S]

The Quick reply would benefit from AJAX in my opinion, because it could do the same thing as now, but without wasting the time to re-load the whole topic. And, if others have posted after you opened up the thread, it can warn you, and when it sends back the new post to display, it would also send back the posts that were published while you were writing your post.

I still fail to see how that is any benefit.

[jdougher]

SMF has like half AJAX with editing, because it uses Javascript to display the edit box, but it's NOT AJAX because it re-loads the page when saving.

I see. I'm sure that whatever vB is doing SMF should also be doing. The responsiveness of the forum is slick with this feature, and it actually encourages more posting.

[trenchteam]

I really really like the vB AJAX feature for quick reply and editing. It makes things so much easier. Im a mod of a couple vB forums and its great.

[Grudge]

Ummm... SMF doesn't reload the page after editing using AJAX.

As for quick reply - it's under discussion. I, like Ben, tend to think it's a bit rubbish - but the team is really split on it as Compuart likes the idea :/

As for server load I don't actually think it does increase it. Take editing a post.
Using AJAX:
1) User hits modify; browser queries server, get's post information and displays
2) User hits save; browser sends data to save, updates database, and returns parsed text

Without AJAX:
1) User hits modify; browser reloads - queries server, get's post information and displays
2) User hits save; browser reloads - sends data to save, updates database, and displays topic again.

Either way you are actually doing the same queries - it's just that using AJAX it doesn't do the page reload at the same time - arguably it does slightly less as it doesn't, for example, load a preview of the topic on the Post screen.

[anunlike]

So, what's the argument against using AJAX for the quick reply? It's just bloat?

I'd also like to see AJAX implemented for the quick reply. I think if it's implemented for the regular reply, the quick reply should have it, too.

[jdougher]

So, what's the argument against using AJAX for the quick reply? It's just bloat?

I'd also like to see AJAX implemented for the quick reply. I think if it's implemented for the regular reply, the quick reply should have it, too.

So let me get this straight.

This AJAX thing accounts for the smoothness I've noted when posting to a vB forum. AJAX is already implemented in 1.1RC2 when you hit Reply. But it's not there for the Quick Reply box?

[anunlike]

So let me get this straight.

This AJAX thing accounts for the smoothness I've noted when posting to a vB forum. AJAX is already implemented in 1.1RC2 when you hit Reply. But it's not there for the Quick Reply box?

As I understand it, yes.

[jdougher]

So let me get this straight.

This AJAX thing accounts for the smoothness I've noted when posting to a vB forum. AJAX is already implemented in 1.1RC2 when you hit Reply. But it's not there for the Quick Reply box?

As I understand it, yes.

We're working with 1.1RC2 on a test bed, and we do not notice the "smoothness" I refer to when using the regular Reply button. So whatever it is that vBulletin does to achieve this does not appear to be working in SMF.

[Ben_S]

Thats because it doesn't have it because it's pointless, instead only using AJAX features for worthwhile things like quick modify.