Web Application Design Patterns pdf

[...]... INTRODUCTION Increasingly, software applications are built using web technologies and made accessible via web browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera) They are commonly referred to as web applications, or hosted applications—applications based on a software as a service (SaaS) model1 or cloud computing.2 These web applications are different from more traditional web sites in that their emphasis... many popular web applications are now available for free or have a free trial period Challenges to Designing Interfaces for Web Applications Maturity and reliability of network connectivity and web technologies An important roadblock for earlier web applications was unreliable network connectivity and significantly inconsistent web standards support—that is, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—in web browsers... coupled” web architecture, a limited set of interactive controls natively supported in web browsers, and the lack of design guidance as to how user interactions should be implemented “Loosely coupled” web architecture An important challenge faced by web application designers is caused by the “loosely coupled” or “stateless” nature of the Web The Web s interaction paradigm is very simple: Users request web. .. Interface Guidelines” comprises about 250 out of the document’s 400 pages Design Patterns Using design patterns addresses many of these concerns and can complement design guidelines and style guides to create better, and consistent, interface designs and improve usability of web applications DESIGN PATTERNS The notion of patterns was introduced in the field of architecture by Christopher Alexander and... using web applications like Expedia or plug-in modules, such as Adobe Flash, Java, Microsoft Silverlight, and so forth, to access all or part of a web application Moreover, because both the application and information are stored on servers of the application s providers and not on users’ computers, users can access web applications from almost anywhere, as long as the computer they use has a web browser... and was 90 percent among active Internet users (www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0807/) This stable platform has also spawned the availability of visual development tools and frameworks to facilitate web application development CHALLENGES TO DESIGNING INTERFACES FOR WEB APPLICATIONS Despite these benefits and increasing use, designing interfaces for web applications remains difficult Challenges in creating... their successful usage Usable web applications Finally, because patterns are based on a history of successful usage, their use can make the web application usable because interactions afforded by patterns would be familiar to users DOCUMENTING PATTERNS It’s important that patterns are documented to convey what they are, why they work, and how they should be applied to solve a design problem to reap the... TABLES, ACCESSIBLE NAVIGATION, and ACCESSIBLE ALTERNATIVE Chapter 12: Visual Design The visual design of web applications plays an important role in how usable an application is perceived and how credible it is considered by its users In this chapter the emphasis is on design patterns that influence the overall look and feel of web applications, including LIQUID-WIDTH LAYOUT, FIXED-WIDTH LAYOUT, PROGRESSIVE... the tab name; double-clicking just selects the text To address these design challenges and accompanying usability problems, many corporations develop user interface design guidelines and style guides to manage the web application s “look and feel.” Applying design guidelines to develop usable web applications is not easy, however Design guidelines are limited in their effectiveness, as they often advocate... in a variety of situations Related design patterns Because it’s so often the case that several patterns are used together to create a usable design solution, this section identifies related patterns that designers may want to consider either because they are used together or are relevant for the use of the given pattern ORGANIZATION OF THE PATTERNS IN THIS BOOK The patterns in this book are organized . 1 Benefi ts of Web Applications 1 Challenges to Designing Interfaces for Web Applications 5 Design Patterns 9 Documenting Patterns 10 Organization of the Patterns in This Book 11 Using Patterns in. when designing web applications. A must- have for any designer! — Martijn van Welie, Pattern Author, Philips Design This page intentionally left blank Web Application Design Patterns Pawan. best practices in Web Application Design Patterns . This book will be valuable to people ranging from those putting together their fi rst website to those shaping corporate web experiences,