1 March 2008.

SchoolWorks announced the release of Version 2.0 of its web-based student information system. As with all web applications, speed of operation is vitally important to usibility. SchoolWorks Student Information System is no exception. Two major enhancements to the system were achieved this winter: AJAX controls and XML report generation.

"In Version 1, we focused on stability, simplicity, and functionality," says primary development engineer, Seth Niemuth. "With the new version, we set out to get fast!" According to Niemuth, by adding AJAX controllers to the user interface, page load times have been markedly decreased. The primary change is the increased responsiveness of the system. With AJAX, this is achieved by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes so that entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time there is a need to fetch data from the server. This is intended to increase the web page's interactivity, speed, and usability.

The second major improvement in the new version is reporting. School administrators need real-time access to student reports. In Version 1, SchoolWorks SIS relied on Business Objects' 'Crystal Reports' engine to build the necessary reports. Now in Version 2, reports are generated almost instantaneously with XSLT/XML. Transcripts, attendance analyses, grade reports, and more are readily available in the new format.