Ajax Emerges
Ajax is a term coined in February 2005 in an article by Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path. Ajax is short
for the term Asynchronous JavaScript + XML
Ajax is a conglomeration of many things:
- XHTML, CSS for presentation
- Dynamic display interaction via DOM
- Asynchronous data interchange using XMLHttpRequest
- JavaScript to tie it all together
There are several factors folks point to in explanation of the phenomenon of Ajax.
- Google Suggest, Google Maps, Flickr: High profile, super cool web applications using the Ajax
combination of tools.
- Adaptive Path article entitled “Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications”. This article is
credited with sparking the buzz.
These are all definitely true, and very important. Perhaps there are a couple of other more subtle factors that
seem to be missed. Cool applications using all these techniques could have been built in 1999. Why didn’t
they? Because developers had to code for the lowest common browser denominator. During the late 90’s to
around 2002, XML standards were undergoing a lot of change. The stabilization of these standards and
developers gaining experience using them is an important factor as well. Web services, Web 2.0, Semantic
Web, etc. These concepts indicate a shift in thought. Developers are seeing the web in a different way as
connected resources and services.
Ajax in Action
A good illustration of Ajax would be the Google Suggest site. As the user types in the search text box, search
suggestions appear in a drop down. Statistics on the approximate number of records found appear in the drop
down as well.
A fancier example would be Google Maps. User types address or location in a text box. Map area is
scrollable, zoomable, etc. without refreshing the entire screen. When specific locations are found in Google
businesses, pins are placed at that location. Clicking the pin causes a popup with information about that
location. A smaller map is in the bottom right corner with a highlighted square indicating the relative current
location in the primary window.
All the user interactivity happens without refreshing the entire screen, only the relevant areas are affected.
Ajax is a term coined in February 2005 in an article by Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path. Ajax is short
for the term Asynchronous JavaScript + XML
Ajax is a conglomeration of many things:
- XHTML, CSS for presentation
- Dynamic display interaction via DOM
- Asynchronous data interchange using XMLHttpRequest
- JavaScript to tie it all together
There are several factors folks point to in explanation of the phenomenon of Ajax.
- Google Suggest, Google Maps, Flickr: High profile, super cool web applications using the Ajax
combination of tools.
- Adaptive Path article entitled “Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications”. This article is
credited with sparking the buzz.
These are all definitely true, and very important. Perhaps there are a couple of other more subtle factors that
seem to be missed. Cool applications using all these techniques could have been built in 1999. Why didn’t
they? Because developers had to code for the lowest common browser denominator. During the late 90’s to
around 2002, XML standards were undergoing a lot of change. The stabilization of these standards and
developers gaining experience using them is an important factor as well. Web services, Web 2.0, Semantic
Web, etc. These concepts indicate a shift in thought. Developers are seeing the web in a different way as
connected resources and services.
Ajax in Action
A good illustration of Ajax would be the Google Suggest site. As the user types in the search text box, search
suggestions appear in a drop down. Statistics on the approximate number of records found appear in the drop
down as well.
A fancier example would be Google Maps. User types address or location in a text box. Map area is
scrollable, zoomable, etc. without refreshing the entire screen. When specific locations are found in Google
businesses, pins are placed at that location. Clicking the pin causes a popup with information about that
location. A smaller map is in the bottom right corner with a highlighted square indicating the relative current
location in the primary window.
All the user interactivity happens without refreshing the entire screen, only the relevant areas are affected.
Ajax History
Table of Contents
Copyright (c) 2008. Intertech, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This information is to be used exclusively as an
online learning aid. Any attempts to copy, reproduce, or use for training is strictly prohibited.
online learning aid. Any attempts to copy, reproduce, or use for training is strictly prohibited.
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