1. Improved speeds, with DOM traversal over 800% faster than in 1.1.2.
2. A re-written event system, with more graceful handling of keyboard events.
3. A re-written effects system (with an accompanying fx test suite), featuring faster execution and better cross-platform support.

• Update to Prototype 1.5.0_rc1 revision [5462]

• Support the HTML ‘for’ attribute in Builder by using ‘htmlFor’, fixes #6472 [gjones, tdd]

• Add support to run a specific failing unit test by clicking on the corresponding test result, fixes #6290 [leeo]

• Add modifier key support to Event.simulateMouse, fixes #6391 [savetheclocktower]

• Add new ‘with-last’ queue position option to queue effects to occur in parallel with the last effect to start in the queue

• Add new special core effect Effect.Event for one-shot events that follow timelines defined by effect queues

• Fix an possible crash of IE on Effect.SlideUp, fixes #3192 [thx nel]

• Add Builder.build() to create nodes from strings containing HTML, [DHH]

• Add a pulses parameter to Effect.Pulsate to control the amount of pulses, fixes #6245 [leeo]For example, this will pulsate twice (if the option is not given, it defaults to five pulses):

• Fix an issue with clicking on a slider span resulting in an exception, fixes #4707 [thx sergeykojin]

• Fix an issue with Draggables when no options are supplied, fixes #6045 [thx tdd]

This should be the last release before Ruby on Rails 1.2 comes out—the next thing will be script.aculo.us 1.7! Lots of good and cool patches are waiting for their addition, and should make it into the 1.7 release.

“In getting to know Prototype a little better, I decided to go through the latest version of the Prototype library (1.5.0_pre0) and detail every method and property that was available. In doing so, I got a much better understanding of how the code works. Here are the files in a 1280×960 and a widescreen 1440×900 version.”

The native XMLHttpRequest object in IE7 is case-sensitive. This is no big surprise – however that was not the case with the XMLHttpRequest active-x object in earlier versions of IE. So if you have old code that used uppercase in method/functions that worked with IE6 you have to change it for it to work in IE7. Took me a while to figure out why an old script of mine wasn’t working…

He gives the code example for his fix, noting that “Status” will no longer be the same as “status”.

Found via Ajaxian.

“AJAX is a great tool for creating rich internet applications, however, when improperly implemented it can cause huge accessibility issues. The good news is that most of these issues can be fixed so your websites are viewable by a much wider audience. Great resources on accessibility have been around for years, however, many web 2.0 and AJAX websites ignore all of the research that went into turning website accessibility into a movement followed by most professional web developers. Below you’ll find a list of 40 best AJAX accessibility tutorials and articles that I have found on the web in the last year. “

Features:

• comment form validation happens server-side without refreshing or leaving the page
• Script.aculo.us Fade In/Out Effects make readers happy
• works with AuthImage captcha word verification plug-in to prevent comment spam
• still works traditionally if browsers don’t support JavaScript (or have it disabled)
• uses existing theme code to match styled comment threads when producing new comments
• 25-second server timeout ensures readers aren’t left hanging
• works in current versions of Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, and Safari.

“A major challenge of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax)-driven Web sites is the lack of a Back button. We will use JavaScript to create a history stack for the Ajax photo gallery built in Part 1 of this two-part “Developing PHP the Ajax way” series. This history stack will closely mirror the history utility found in Web browsers, and it will be used to provide Back, Forward, and Reload buttons for the application.”

Nicely packaged (it requires minimal HTML editing, and can be fully manipulated through CSS) I give you: AJAX Feedback Mechanism.

“As a member of the Google AJAX Search API Google Group I have seen multiple requests for a tutorial for non-developers who want to implement this on their site or blog. So, here goes.”