A new beta version of the Scriptaculous javascript effects library has just been released, and very nice it is too. Version 1.7 features a new effect called morphing, which allows for CSS style effects. Effectively allowing you to change an element based on CSS. But the element doesn’t just change. it morphs!

Here’s an example;

new Effect.Morph('error_message',{
    style:'border-width:3px; font-size:15pt; color:#f00'
});`

Just take a look at the morphing demo, then read all the details.

Here is a fun example of some of the possibilities of Javascript. This MooTools demo shows how you can grab an object and drag it around and watch it bounce all over the screen. Pretty damn cool!

If you have not already seen the fruits of Jack Slocum’s labours, then you should take a look at his impressive attempt at adding a dash of ajax to the popular – but ever so insecure – PHPBB discussion forum software. Using the Yahoo User Interface library, it looks and feels just like an email application with the usual three frames of content. Very user friendly. It’s even tempting me to introduce a similar layout to Switchboard (albeit an alternative to the current layout.)

Yet another fine example of the Yahoo User Interface (YUI) has been created by Bill W. Scott. Knocked out in a weekend, the Carousel Component is a scroller than can display selected pictures in a carousel type way. It can be presented vertically or horizontally and can be served client or server side.

Even though I have decided to use Prototype and Scriptaculous for Tooum, seeing things like this keeps tempting me to the other side.

I love it when all you need to to acheive something, is to simply drop in a couple of javascript files and add a class name to an element. With the Standardista Table Sorting module you can do just that.

Instant table sorting with very little fuss!