What is AJAX programming? - Web Design Article

By:Jim Pretin

Remember when the web consisted of nothing more than a few static web sites coded exclusively with HTML? Life was simple back then. Back in 1996, a website could be created in a few minutes by inserting the content into a basic HTML template, and adding some graphics for style. Now, the internet is populated with web sites that are more complex. Modern web sites use anywhere from two to sometimes twenty different programming languages, specifications and scripts. Some of the code runs on the front end, some runs on the back end, and some runs somewhere in between.

We have the wireless revolution to thank for making web programming so arduous. Most wireless devices, such as cell phones, palm tops, laptops, and even computer screens in automobiles, now come equipped with access to the internet and email. These gadgets have web browsers and platforms that are very different from what is installed on a traditional desktop PC. Wireless browsers are often not compatible with many elements of the HTML programming language. Web programming had to evolve to suit the needs of those that surf the net on wireless computers.

As a result, a deluge of new languages and systems for designing websites were introduced. These new innovations include XML, XHTML, XSL, CSS, JavaScript, VBScript, DOM, and many others. Of these, XML was probably the most important, because it enabled web designers to define data without forcing web browsers to display it a certain way. XML files were simple text files that could be interpreted by any web browser, unlike HTML. So, you ask, what is AJAX and how is it connected to this discussion?

Well, AJAX is a confluence of all these different programming specifications. AJAX itself is not a language; it is a technique that makes use of all these different components. Also, AJAX web sites can interact with the user by responding to input and changing certain parts of a web page without reloading the entire page.

AJAX makes use of several components. One component is called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS is an easy way to create web sites by specifying certain intricacies and style preferences for the page layout as part of a separate file that can then be imported into any HTML document by simple referring to the CSS File. The second part is XHTML, which is a more versatile version of HTML that is compatible with XML files. AJAX also uses the Document Object Model (DOM), which is a standard set of objects that can be used to modify web documents. The other components are scripting languages such as JavaScript and VBScript, and it also uses XML, which we have already described.

Microsoft is credited with the inspiration for AJAX when in 1998 they developed something called remote scripting to make web pages more interactive. Later on, remote scripting was taken to newer heights by other talented programmers, and eventually, AJAX was the result.

Some of the advantages of it are that it can be used to create sites that are extremely interactive, and it loads very quickly and occupies very little bandwidth. The drawbacks are that it can sometimes inhibit the use of the back button on the web browser, and sometimes the code has a problem initiating the response that it has been programmed to produce.

If you design web sites for a living, you should probably learn how to implement all of the languages described here to make your sites more interactive. If you have never studied or used XML, XHTML, JavaScript, or VBScript, you should enroll in some courses at a local computer programming institute. The use of these languages is growing as more people are connecting to the internet with wireless computers that require more flexible languages to display web sites properly across all platforms and browsers.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: AJAX, AJAX programming

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make email forms.

Top Web Design Articles
1). Advanced Joomla Templating (pt1) Using Module Class Suffix By : Robert Palmer an article from User Written Resources 1. duplicate the styles already used for the particular module, adding a suffix to each style name. this will definitely include some of the following; 1. .module {} 2. div.moduletable {} 3. div.moduletable h3 {} 4. table.moduletable {}/li> 5. table.moduletable th 6. table.moduletable td and can include other styles used on the content in that section, such as; 1.
2). Irish Graphic Design Industry By : dave4 Graphic design is the use of color, light, balance, contrast, emphasis, proportion, proximity, repetition, texture and a plethora of other elements to create a work of digital art that is pleasing to the eye. Graphic design is about seamlessly molding image and text to convey a theme, message, or often advertise a product or service. Graphic design dates back to prehistoric times.
3). Adsense: The Smart Investment By : Pat Lovell & Jon Atwood Over the last 2 years, We have been building a Virtual Adsense Empire of over 500 websites and making some good money. We've also been building content sites for clients using the same system. The system we use is not something that produces 1000's of sites with a click of a button, our system does not build spam websites, nor does it produce the same sites you see over and over and over again.
4). Some guidelines for Website Design By : Angela Oliver You have a great product. You also have a great company image and marketing model. Now it is time to implement all your plans and bring together a website. You know very little about websites. Finding websites that have failed is easier than shooting fish in a barrel. Many people come into the internet business with the notion that if they are on the web, they are guaranteed to make money.
5). Does Your Web Design Include Background Music? By : Mark Nenadic When you design your website, you may wonder whether or not you should include background music in your web design. The answer to this requires you to ask two additional questions:
6). Develop Your Business Web Site for Profits By : Jay Peterson Looking into developing your business web site? Whether creating a business web site to sell your business products online or just to give the public valuable information, creating a business web site can be an important first step to creating an important presence on the web. Here are some tips on creating a business web site as well as what is involved in getting your business web site off the ground.
7). Is your printing costs sky rocketing? By : Florie Lyn Masarate Here are some things you can do to be able to lower your printing costs. 1. Cheap but good quality printer. There was a time when only a handful of people can afford having one of those colored and digital printers. Now that these things are more rampant, they have become more affordable. Color printers of good quality are even inexpensive already.
8). Creating A Quality Web Site Design! By : Martin Lemieux In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site. Now it's a known fact that the layout or "eye candy" as I put it will determine whether your visitors will stay more than 15 seconds or they will just become another statistic. In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site.
9). How Does Your Website Make Me Feel? By : Philippa Gamse When people think about the Internet, they think about technology. When people hear that I am a Website strategy expert, they see me as a "techy type". But for me, the most intriguing aspect of your online business isn't about the technology. It's about human connections, and how you can create these in a virtual environment. It's commonly understood that "people buy emotionally, not intellectually.
10). For Automated Sites - PHP and MySQL Are A Perfect Match By : Halstatt Pires You’ve decided to automate your web site. Now what? Here are some ideas to help you choose how to automate your site. A bit of programming is going to be necessary if you want to automate a site. There are many types of programs that can be used to automate a web site including JavaScript, PHP, Perl, ASP, Java and more. So, which do you use? For many, it is a personal choice.

New Web Design Articles
1). Professional Web Design for Home Based Business Owners By : Anthony Samuel Realize the importance of having a website for your home based business.
2). Web Design ,Will Visual Effects Catch a Viewers Eye By : Gordon Petten Web Design does not necessarily have to be as complicated as it may seem. With a little ingenuity and some creative work a website with a clever web design can take form.
3). Spring Cleaning and Website Maintenance for Your Website By : Cliff Posey This article shows how to do professional website maintenance when budget web design is important
4). Color Plays An Important Role In Design And Graphics By : Ken Snow Color schemes are fun no matter what they are being used for. Color schemes come into play when decorating a room or painting a house.
5). Will Baby Boomers Impact Your Website Design? By : Illa maden Article stresses the point of making website design that accomodates specific visitor needs.
6). A Brief Introduction to E4X By : Jim Pretin Find out what E4X is and why it might be important for web designers to learn to use it
7). Graphic Artists - Who Needs One When You Can Do It Yourself Online? By : Pearl Deloria Image is everything! Think about it. How many times have you made a judgment about a company based on the quality of the junk mail that you have been sent? Other people make similar judgements, too. Businesses cannot afford to be thought of as cheapskate in their marketing. You know that most of your mail goes straight in the trash, and it may grieve you to spend four times the amount, just for it to be thrown away.
8). How To Style Your Text With CSS By : Hilco van der Meer Styling text with CSS is really simple. We can define colors, underline it, make it bold, define the font etc etc. We will start with some basics. First we define the html where we will be working with. This is the text 1. Colorize your text We can select the P tag and add some styles to it. p { color:red; } Now our text will turn red. You can define any color code your want or choose one of the 16 standard color names.
9). What is a web designer anyway? By : Alicia Harper As a web designer, I get all kinds of requests , for information other than web design, and as a web designer I'm not suppose to really to be able to do things outside of the web design area. I believe there are a few misconceptions about what exactly a web designer does. In this article I am going to nail down exactly what a web designer is and what they should be able to do.
10). Advanced Joomla Templating (pt1) Using Module Class Suffix By : Robert Palmer an article from User Written Resources 1. duplicate the styles already used for the particular module, adding a suffix to each style name. this will definitely include some of the following; 1. .module {} 2. div.moduletable {} 3. div.moduletable h3 {} 4. table.moduletable {}/li> 5. table.moduletable th 6. table.moduletable td and can include other styles used on the content in that section, such as; 1.