This is an archive of Backdraft 1.x. It has been completely replaced by Backdraft 2.x.

See backdraftjs.org for the new framework!

Backdraft - Legacy

This is an archive of version 1.x of the Backdraft framework. It has been completely replaced by Backdraft 2.x.

backdraft is a free and open source JavaScript framework for building browser-hosted GUIs 100% within the browser—no plugin, no server-side programming—with all the awesomeness of a native app, but without all the pain.

backdraft fundamentally changes the mental model of browser programming by lifting the programmer out of the HTML/DOM tar pit into a modern and rich programming environment. HTML is abstracted away and replaced with a hierarchy of intelligent programming components—no more markup, no more JavaScript snippets sprinkled throughout a static document.

Program the browser with a programming language that uses markup rather than the other way around!

Project Home

This is a mirror of the official backdraft repository that's maintained at http://bdframework.org (warning: this repository may be slightly out of date compared to the official repository).

Key Attributes

##100% browser-side, no plugin

backdraft abstracts the primitive browser programing environment into a function and class library that allows you to build programs with more and better features while writing fewer lines of code, faster. Unlike other JavaScript libraries that require thinking about HTML and the DOM, a Backdraft application is written 100% in JavaScript. Backdraft requires no plugin, precompiling, or server-side programming.

##open source

backdraft is free and open source software. It is released under a BSD-style license. You can do anything you want with it including using it to build commercial closed-source applications.

##standards-based

backdraft is built on top of standard-complying JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and the document object model. Backdraft programs are compatible with any standards-compliant browser, no matter the platform.

##browser↔compute

backdraft supports an exciting new model for application construction called browser-compute. Browser-compute decreases construction complexity, cost, and time when building powerful, GUI-controlled applications, particularly applications that simultaneously target multiple operating systems (Windows to Android) and/or multiple platforms (desktop to phones). You can learn more about browser-compute at browser-compute.

Key Features

##metacircular evaluator

Dynamically creates hierarchies of components based on a simple JavaScript domain specific language. This machinery allows complex programs to be decomposed into manageable components during design and build and then recomposed into large and dynamic systems during runtimes.

##command subsystem

Machinery to manage the display (text, i18n, icons, help, and the rest), detection, and dispatch of menu, accelerator, and programmatic commands.

##widget construction subsystem

A carefully factored, orthogonal set of classes that make building custom widgets easy. For example, backdraft's state button widget (a multi-state radio button with built-in keyboard accelerators) requires about 75 lines of code and does not use any HTML input controls.

##widgets

Several example widgets built on top of the widget construction subsystem are included. Also, all standard Dojo widgets (that is, those included in Dijit) are wrapped so they may be used within the backdraft framework. Standard widget interfaces have been defined so that widgets from other projects/products may be similarly wrapped.

##compute proxy

Machinery that manages all out-of-process service transactions under a single, uniform, asynchronous, remote procedure call abstraction. This machinery handles error detection and recovery, multi-call bundling, throttling, out-of-order responses, and improves the performance of the client-server channel. Optionally, the compute proxy can be configured to implement mock services (for testing without a server) and security protocols.

##test framework

The test framework includes a dynamic loader (which allows reloading single application and/or test modules without restarting the application), machinery to manage test code hierarchies, advanced scaffold functions that can dynamically replace/monitor/mock any function, flexible result recording, and nearly 40 matcher functions.

##JavaScript and DOM extensions

Several foundational features, including support for array and hash collections, searching, sorting, symbol management, dialog management, and others.

##Dojo

Backdraft is built on top of the extremely powerful Dojo JavaScript toolkit. Further, several areas of Dojo are extended to raise the level of abstraction yet higher.

#Commercial Support

Commercial support is available from ALTOVISO LLC. ALTOVISO also has the capability to construct custom (closed source) applications as per your particular requirements. You can contact ALTOVISO by dialing +1.925-229-0667 (United States, Pacific Time) or by email at [email protected]