AJAX/DHTML date picker that doesn't suck

January 4, 2007 2:07 PM

I'm looking for a lightweight, reusable, "server neutral", DHTML/AJAX style date-picker calendar widget without any Internet Explorer memory leaks. Not looking like ass is a plus. Free is great, reasonably priced is fine. Does anyone have a favorite?

To give you an idea what I'm looking for, here are a few I've rejected.

1. YUI Calendar. Well engineered, but 83 KB of code is a little too heavy.

2. Frequency Decoder Unobstrusive Date-Picker. Very slick, but has a ton of IE memory leaks, and with 61 KB of code we're still a little heavy.

3. Zapatec. Heavy, and it's a bit pricey for an unrestricted licesnse.

4. CalendarXP. No built in "pop-up" support, it's a bit pricey for an unrestricted licesnse, and on the edge of "heaviness" (about 40kb - 80kb, depending on how you implement things)

Thanks in advance!

posted by alana to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

I know you rejected it, but the PopCalendarXP is pretty decent. I use the lite version since the extreme browser support it provides is something I'm not willing to pay extra for (the lite version is free). I'm not sure what you mean by no "pop-up" support. Do you want the calendar to appear in a separate pop-up window?

I've been using it for over 2 years and I've never had any issues with it. I've customized the look a bit so upgrading is never a completely easy experience, but it's been very well received.
posted by purephase at 2:22 PM on January 4, 2007

Best answer: I like this one.
posted by Devidicus at 2:56 PM on January 4, 2007

Response by poster: Purephase, it wasn't clear from the Demos if PopCalendarXP would work like a calendar at a travel site might.

1. User clicks on icon
2. Calendar appears
3. User select date
4. Form field (hidden or otherwise) is populated with date

All the demos showed a calendar that was displayed as the page was loaded, none that were displayed when the user took an action.

Have you used PopCalendarXP like that?
posted by alana at 4:04 PM on January 4, 2007

Best answer: alan: Doesn't the first demo on this page work precisely how you describe?
posted by null terminated at 4:18 PM on January 4, 2007

Response by poster: Yes it does, thank you. I had been looking at the demos that were a part of the downloaded zip file. I had not seen that one on the live site.
posted by alana at 4:45 PM on January 4, 2007

The Zapatec calendar is derived from the free Dynarch Calendar.
posted by ewagoner at 6:21 PM on January 4, 2007

Best answer: alan says: All the demos showed a calendar that was displayed as the page was loaded, none that were displayed when the user took an action.

Have you used PopCalendarXP like that?

As null terminated pointed out with the demo, it's exactly how I use it. Removing some of the unnecessary files (the different templates etc.) leaves the js engine (24k) and the CSS I've imported into the site wide import file (this is why updating is little difficult). I recommend it. It's the smallest I could find that provided the type of functionality it does.

I would recommend taking another look.
posted by purephase at 6:31 PM on January 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Gah, from the PopCalendarXP license, extra bolding is mine.

Lite License:
Without payment of a fee whatsoever, in consideration for the mutual covenants contained herein, ISI grants you a non-transferable and non-exclusive license to install and use the SOFTWARE in any location or application developed for not-for-profit purposes, including evaluation for purchase of a commercial license. Any for-profit use, including intranet sites of a commercial entity, of the SOFTWARE is NOT covered and strictly NOT allowed under the Lite License.

posted by alana at 3:29 PM on January 5, 2007