Adding Ajax

Chapter 2. The Ajax Bits

What sets Ajax apart from JavaScript is its use of in-page requests for external data and its ability to return the results without reloading the page. The request can be as simple as loading a new image or stylesheet, or as complex as loading an entire XML document that updates many parts of the page. The data from the web service can be integrated into the page through dynamic scripting—creating a scripting block that consists of a callback function and the returned data. Typically, though, the request is made to a web service through a key object, XMLHttpRequest.

The concept of an object that manages web service requests from script within a web page originated several years ago with Internet Explorer 5.0. The original object was an ActiveX object, and Microsoft continued to support that approach with IE 6.x. Now, though, like the other browsers, Microsoft supports the XMLHttpRequest object.

The XMLHttpRequest object is one of the simpler browser objects to work with: a web service request is created, the request is sent, and a callback function is invoked to process the response. Rather than all of this activity spread across many pages, as is the case with traditional web applications, it's all accomplished within the same web page, without any page reloads.

Tip

There are so many acronyms in this business. I use XMLHttpRequest throughout much of the book, but I, and other developers, also sometimes just say XHR to save both time and typing.

The Web Application ...