Chapter 7. Joomla! and Ajax
Ajax (which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) combines a powerful set of technologies for Web 2.0 sites. Using Ajax technology, you can make the user experience far more interactive than previous Web site implementations. In the past, changes to parameters or the selection of buttons on a Web page required the changes be sent back to the Web server for an update. The browser would have to wait for the entire modified page to be returned to display the revisions. Using that process, user interaction with a Web application was fairly clunky.
In a Web application designed with Ajax, near-immediate interaction is possible. User-interface requests such as changing the sort order of a table by clicking on the column headings can be handled on the client with little delay. If the interaction involves requesting additional information (such as help text on a line item), rather than requesting an update of the entire page, Ajax technology allows small amounts of data to be exchanged with the server. Updates can happen dynamically, so the entire Web page doesn't need to be reloaded.
Joomla has incorporated functionality that promotes Ajax technology. A Joomla site can support Ajax background information exchange for a more dynamic and responsive user experience.
Structure of Ajax
Contrary to all of the press regarding the recent birth of Ajax, it is not a new technology. Instead, it is a method of using existing technologies that is nearly ubiquitous to accomplish ...
Get Professional Joomla! now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
