28.3 Ajax
The XMLHttpRequest object, which can be addressed by JavaScript, has been available in Microsoft Internet Explorer since around 1998. This makes it possible to send HTTP requests with JavaScript in the background and evaluate their returns. This object was invented by Microsoft initially purely for its own benefit as a web version was to be created for the in-house Outlook mail system. To avoid the constant (visible) reloading of the page, technology such as XMLHttpRequest became necessary.
Fast-forward to the beginning of the new millennium: Word had slowly got around that Microsoft's browser technology was actually a good thing. Support for it was gradually added to the relevant web browsers: in Mozilla and therefore also Firefox ...
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