Unintentionally Blank

Time to finish off my short series on simple AJAX. I started a while ago with an explanation on not using AJAX, then I backed that up with an unobtrusive way of adding a link to a page using JavaScript so that we only use AJAX when JavaScript is available. In the last post I explained, simply, the XMLHttpRequest and now I will show you what to do with it, culminating in the completion of a very simple, AJAX powered random quote generator.

Continue reading “Learning AJAX: Lesson 4 - Using The XMLHttpRequest To Get Your Data” »

After setting out the groundwork for my AJAX example by creating a random quote generator in PHP then using the DOM to add a link that will perform the AJAX function, I am now ready to start communicating with the server and loading up data without refreshing the page. To do so I need to get to grips with the XMLHttpRequest object.

A Bit Of Background

XMLHttpRequest is not yet a W3C standard, but there is a working draft. It was first implemented by Microsoft in Outlook before making its way to Internet Explorer 5 as an ActiveX Object. Then the Mozilla project got their hands on it, implementing it as a native browser object in Mozilla. The other browsers fell in line soon after. It is now the basis of AJAX and powers most of the web applications available online today.

Continue reading “Learning AJAX: Lesson 3 - XMLHttpRequest” »

Time to learn some hardcore javascript. Having played with the DOM I have decided that a good use of my time right now to get a start on some AJAX, the buzzword and technology of Web 2.0.

AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML, which is a touch misleading as you needn’t use XML. The first part of the name does make sense, however, as the idea is to use javascript to fetch data from the server without reloading a page. It is useful as loading content only is much quicker than a whole page and it makes a web site seem more like standard desktop applications, for more details see the Adaptive Path introduction to AJAX. Continue reading “Learning AJAX: Lesson 1 - Don’t Use AJAX” »