ajax & usability

[Colin Clark]

Hi Carl,

I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but I was pleased to read 
this comment in the review:

"The chapter 'Ajax and Accessibility' gives you a good insight into the 
problems Ajax can cause for people who use screen readers. In short, 
there are no easy solutions."

There have been a lot of articles on the web about AJAX accessibility 
that seem to suggest there are trivial solutions to the problem. The 
reality is that it is a complex issue that involves thoughtful design 
and cooperation among web designers, browser developers, and assistive 
technology vendors. That's why the ARIA work at the W3C, among other 
things, is so important.

Fluid will continue to work with all of these groups to help create a 
viable solution for accessible UI components. But we've certainly got 
our work cut out for us!

Colin

Carl Forde wrote:
> Roger Johansson has a strong recommendation for Bulletproof Ajax in his review:
> 
> http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200705/bulletproof_ajax_book_review/
> 
> Two chapters in particular look to be applicable to this project. Roger says:
> 	“Ajax challenges” discusses things like backward compatibility, 
> 	giving the user feedback, and how Ajax breaks the browser 
> 	behaviour users are accustomed to. The chapter “Ajax and 
> 	Accessibility” gives you a good insight into the problems 
> 	Ajax can cause for people who use screen readers.
> 
> Anyone read it already?
> 

-- 
Colin Clark
Technical Lead, Fluid Project
Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto
http://fluidproject.org