Better File Uploads With AJAX and JavaServer Faces

Overview

Browser-based file uploads, in particular those involving the HTML tag, have always been rather lacking. In an attempt to make uploading of files more user-friendly, many sites display an indeterminate progress animation (such as a rotating icon) once the user submits the file. Although this technique may be useful in keeping the user distracted while the upload being submitted to the server, it offers very little information on the status of the file upload. Another attempt at solving the problem is to implement an applet that uploads the file to the server through FTP. This paper offered some insight on how to make file uploads more user-friendly, and on the possibilities of combining AJAX and JavaServer Faces for advanced user interface components.