Perhaps you have begun working with Web 2.0 applications. You may even have some in production. However, using AJAX programming techniques might leave your applications less than accessible to a broad range of users. AJAX only refreshes part of the Web page, which can confuse screen readers and other accessibility aids.

However, anyone working with the government must meet Section 508 accessibility requirements, and it's a good idea for the rest of us, too. (To see if your existing Web site meets these requirements, use this checklist).

Fortunately, MB Technologes' Bindows, recently released in version 2.0, helps you meet the Section 508 accessibility requirements without losing the joys and performance benefits of AJAX. This is one of the few cases where developers don't have to make a choice between a desirable interface and performance gains.

Bindows is an API that provides complete AJAX support for your application. You use Bindows to create all the controls on your form and to perform application interaction. In other words, Bindows isn't just an accessibility product; it's an actual development environment that helps you create AJAX applications.

You set your form up using JavaScript. The controls work just as they do in any other OOP language; you use dot syntax to assign values to properties and access methods. For example, the following code shows how to set up a tab pane.

// Set up tabs pane
this.tabPane = new BiTabPane();
this.listpage = new BiTabPage("All classes");
this.tabPane.add(this.listpage);
this.treepage = new BiTabPage("Class Tree");
this.tabPane.add(this.treepage);
this.listpage.setBorder( new BiBorder(0) );
this.treepage.setBorder( new BiBorder(0) );
this.tabPane.setLocation(0,0);
this.tabPane.setRight(0);
this.tabPane.setBottom(0);
this.tabPane.setMinimumWidth(200);

The power of Bindows is in the browser. You can open and use most of the examples even if you don't have a Web server set up on your computer. I encourage you to experiment with the samples; the APIBrowser and ClassBrowser examples both work with just a browser. Of course, you only get the server-side functionality when you use a suitable Web server such as IIS (used for this review). For example, you require a Web server to fully use the BiPad example. In addition, some of the utilities (found in the DotNet folder) require that you have the .NET Framework installed on your system.

If all you got were Section 508 accessibility support and better performance, Bindows would be a worthwhile product. However, I was also impressed by the quality of tool's screen output. Most users will be very hard pressed to detect any difference between a Bindows application and one created for the desktop. You get all of the usual controls, such as labels, textboxes, and command buttons, plus a considerable number of specialty controls, such as those used to display graphs.

The focus of this Bindows review is screen reader compatibility. This product helps your AJAX application work with screen readers such as JAWS. Yes, I could tell you about the fancy graphics, but other packages provide fancy graphics, too. The real reason to consider Bindows over other packages is the accessibility features it provides.

What's Missing?

Many developers associate screen readers with blind users, but a great many other people use them to help with various special accessibility needs. However, as good as screen readers are, they don't address every accessibility requirement, so you can't count on Bindows to do everything for you.

For example, using Bindows won't help you address the needs of a color-blind user or one with hearing aids. Using Bindows also won't provide captioning for videos and other requirements that usually involve third party support. In short, Bindows is a great product and a very good start, but don't think that it will address all of your accessibility needs.

Accessibility and Performance. Imagine That!

Let me begin by saying that this product is amazing. You can write a Web 2.0 application that looks and reacts just like a desktop application — without a lot of effort. I was blown away by how nice the results are, in comparison with other Web applications I've tried.

In addition, your Bindows application will perform well. I added various loads to my Web server to try to get the application to creep along. I finally did it, but the Web server was moving so slowly, at that point, that I couldn't do anything else useful either. Generally speaking, your applications will work quite quickly when you use Bindows.

Of course, using Bindows to create an interesting application isn't really testing the product's claims. It was time for me to give it a workout.