In this Ajax tutorial, you'll find the definitions, expert advice, news, and examples you need to get started with and optimize your use of Ajax. You will also find information on other ways to create and use rich Internet applications.
Contents
Ajax tutorial home
Getting started with Ajax
Ajax best practices
Ajax and RIA trends
Ajax and RIA tools and products
Getting started with Ajax
Ajax is an acronym for Asychronous JavaScript and XML. Ajax techniques allow a website to update content and process a user request without requiring the page to fully reload, that is, asynchronously from the HTTP request.
To do this, a programming layer called the Ajax engine is placed between the Web browser and the Web server. The Ajax engine uses the XMLHttpRequest object to exchange HTTP requests without requiring a page refresh. Read helpful definitions and see examples of Ajax code in the links below.
Ajax
Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a method of building interactive applications for the Web that process user requests immediately. Read this full definition from SearchWinDevelopment.
XMLHttpRequest
XMLHttpRequest (XHR) is a DOM API that can be used inside a Web browser scripting language, such as JavaScript, to send an HTTP or an HTTPS request directly to a Web server and load the server response data directly back into the scripting language.
Rich Internet application
A rich Internet application (RIA) is a Web application designed to deliver the same features and functions normally associated with desktop applications. Read the full definition here.
Handling XML with Ajax
Read this complimentary chapter from Ajax: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating Rich Internet Applications, written by Steve Holzner, Ph.D. and published by Wiley Publications. The free chapter, titled "Handling XML with Ajax," focuses on how to create an XML document in Ajax.
Getting started with Ajax, from the Mozilla foundation
The Mozilla foundation provides this helpful how-to free on their Web site. Read this article to see sample code and an example of how to handle an HTTP request an XML response.
Using the XMLHttpRequest object
W3schools provides a brief example that shows how to implement the XMLHttpRequest object, the cornerstone of successful Ajax programming.
Continue to Ajax best practices
