[Zope-CMF] CMF Usability

[J C Lawrence]

On Fri, 12 Jul 2002 10:15:23 -0700 
Tim Maroney <tim@maroney.org> wrote:

> To take one example, JavaScript form validation is a clear win from a
> usability perspective, but it's not popular with server-side
> developers. If it's not taken up by other products, then I'm faced
> with the impossible task of adding it to every form in every product I
> integrate into my site.  Similarly, I could personally simplify the
> security displays for quite a few products, but if this has to be done
> for every new product I integrate, there's no way I'm going to be able
> to contain the continuing sprawl.

Javascript tends to be unpopular for a slightly different reason as
well:

  There's a significant (if not terribly sizeable) population who refuse
  to run their browsers with JavaScript enabled.  As a result every page
  that does use Javascript needs to be carefully designed to be usable
  both with and without Javascript enabled.  That is often a
  considerable extra effort, and for obvious reasons not terribly
  welcome when there are bugs to squash and features to add.

I'll confess to being one of those who'd carefully go thru and remove
every piece of Javascript on principle.  Which is not to say that Zope
shouldn't ship with Javascripted forms -- just that I'd remove those
supports on my systems (lead me not unto temptation) and Zope needs to
remain workable for those who run without Javascript.

-- 
J C Lawrence                
---------(*)                Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas. 
claw@kanga.nu               He lived as a devil, eh?		  
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/  Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.