External frameworks and libraries are an important part in modern software architecture. The using of well-written code not only eases development, it usually also brings a ton of useful functionality to the table. Problems however begin to emerge, if one doesn’t keep an eye on the external codebase. Deprecated functions, new methods, different structures or a new and rewritten version altogether can cause many a headdache for the developer. That’s because oftentimes one needs to rewrite major parts of one’s own code just as well.

That’s what’s currently happening here at Videro. Back in 2007, when we build our new GUI (which is a full blown web application) we investigated different Javascript frameworks, and decided to work with Ext 1.1 as it offered structured and well designed code. In the past almost two years, Ext has seen a lot of major improvements:

• Many speed enhancements and optimizations
• Full Firefox 3.0 support (we had to apply a lot of fixes to Ext 1.1 in order to achieve Firefox 3.0 compatibility in our GUI)
• Enhanced Drag & Drop options especially within different form elements
• Easier and broadened theming options (once again we applied a lot of custom patches in order to get Ext 1.1 to look at most as our layouts)
• Improved Internet Explorer compatibility (Current Videro ‘kinda works’ with IE, but rather the more basic functions)
• A lot of new components and methods which will seriously simplify our development as we’re currently handling these usecases via our own proprietary and oftentimes limited extensions

All in all Ext 2.2 looks like a very solid release. The extended function library aims at releasing a lot of old cruft, the way improved browser support helps in targeting a broader userbase, and the speed improvements are godsend as our extremely sophisticated GUI oftentimes suffers under the gazillion lines of Javascript code.

So we’re currently very busy revising our GUI in order to be able to port it to Ext 2.2. As we’re eager to use as much of the new Ext functionality as possible, we’ve decided to go for a major rewrite instead of more patching. We’re really excited about this revision, as it should dramatically ease the addition of new and enhanced features in future releases.

There’re still a lot of hurdles but we’re slowly gaining ground. This rewrite will come together with other new and major features, so our customers will not only get a faster and more functional GUI but also several interesting new options which have been in development for quite some time. Stay tuned.