Rapid RIA Development

Each step ends with place in version control, submit for review, evaluate review responses and apply them as appropriate..

  1. Define the page architecture, common page elements first. These must be stable before beginning.
  2. Build page level XHTML/CSS for all pages, target browser FireFox, with only enough back end code to deliver the pages. Use static server-side content to populate dynamic controls/queries for illustration. Create data in the database to support it. Validate the XHTML/CSS as well as possible (some libraries have proprietary attributes).
  3. If common components are identified in the previous step, they should be constructed reusable/shared components. For example, a file upload or search results dialog box will probably be used in more than one place. Both client and server-side code should address this to avoid duplicate code.
  4. Tune colors.
  5. Define and implement client-side functionality, allowing content to be delivered through AJAX, navigation, any dynamic operations.
  6. Implement client-side validation.
  7. Extend pages to run under any other browsers you will be supporting. Clearly indicate limitations, such as will function but may not display well. Provide notification for users of unsupported browsers.
  8. Integrate and implement server-side validation. It should be identical to client-side validation, with addition considerations for security.
  9. Implement page level functionality.
  10. Test, test, test.