We are about to develop IGoogle style news aggregating web application specifically tailored to our needs. I suggested we go MVC way but using javascript and ajax. Also went further to suggest that Backbone.Js,jQuery and Underscor.js are best in organizing javascript apps that are url aware and lighweight. Great seems alright, but now i would like nod from other people who have more experience in this kind of widget development using javascript and applying MVC stack to something that does not provide it native.
For example a widget i am developing as sample does below:
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Supports collapse, expand, Full view
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Displays a chart using Flash
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Columns in the chart can be configured and set using AJAX to webservice
this is perfectly for what Backbone.js can achieve.
(we are in the business of writing widgets)
You could write a Widget Class that will have a render function that takes a template and populates it with data while also providing event callbacks (example). Once this is no longer sufficient, you can extend Backbone which will make working with Collections and Models a breeze (an overengineered example).