Ajax Hacks

Preface

Ajax, a term coined in 2005 to describe the combination of a group of popular web technologies, has been an instant hit in the software world. Instant success can raise many doubts, but it would be a mistake to view this software model as simply the latest “next big thing” to make a big splash and then vanish into the ether of the Web.

Why? First of all, Ajax’s interweaved technologies, including JavaScript, the Document Object Model (DOM), and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), live in the world of the Web, where new information and technologies hit millions of people in milliseconds. If the technique represents an interesting idea with practical merit, a good probability exists that developers will at least dip their toes into the technology’s waters, if not immediately add the new tool to their code arsenals. Second, the Ajax family of techniques are already well known and open source, or free of charge; therefore, few barriers exist to trying them out for at least a prototype version of new software. Third, a number of useful, well-known applications are based on Ajax, such as Flickr and Gmail. Fourth, web users are already accustomed to an Ajax application’s desktop-like experience, where the application can make client/server connections without completely changing the browser page.

There are numerous other reasons why Ajax is here to stay, such as the excellent support for JavaScript, CSS, and DOM provided by modern browsers such as Firefox, as well as the pros and cons ...