Name: Rico JavaScript Library
URL: http://openrico.org
Native Server Environment: None
Included Widgets: Accordion, Live Grid
Download Size: 22 KB (compressed)

Rico is a useful JavaScript Library built on the back of Prototype. Similar to Scriptaculous, the library provides a set of visual effects, Ajax tools, and Drag & Drop Support. Long thought Dead, the Rico project recently regained life & inertia with the addition of a new developer and Rico 2.0 Beta is on the horizon.

Unique to Rico is its concept of Behaviors as well as Livegrid. Rico behaviors are similar to dojo widgets in that they dynamically enhance existing html elements on a page with interactivity. The most popular Rico behavior is probably the accordion which provides an accordion pane similar to those offered in Adobe Flash, Flex & Open Lazlo.

Perhaps the most interesting of Rico’s features is the Livegrid. This is a powerful AJAX widget designed to be plumbed to a server side data source. The live grid replaces traditional paged data with a powerful sort tool & the ability to load data as needed by a scroll. This prevents the need to ever click on a “next page” allowing datasets greater than 1 thousand rows to appear as a single html page.

Some Highlights

• Powerful animation & effect tools
• Unique Live Grid Widget
• Accordion Widget
• Shape & Color tools
• Concept of Abstracted Behaviors
  

Some Drawbacks

• Requires Prototype
  
• Development occurs in fits and starts
• Limited advanced widgets
  
• Lacking in API’s for data & date manipulation
  
• Doesn’t always play well with other JS scripts on a page.