[...]... half our job—providing the basic, non -Ajax functionality—is already finished Now comes the fun part 2 | Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Make a Move to Ajax The term Ajax originated in an article by Jesse James Garrett titled Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications” (see the article at http:// www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php) Is it Ajax or AJAX? Is it a single word or an acronym... icons, and relative header sizes can also differ—significantly at times This can cause a lot of problems in the page design and can produce unexpected side effects when adding Ajax Controlling the Page and Adding Ajax Many effects in Ajax, such as just-in-time (JIT) help (in-page messages that are hidden until needed), placement, color fades, collapsible elements, and so on can only work effectively... primarily in the use of an Adding Ajax library that is created as the book proceeds However, all of the material is included in the downloadable examples I would, however, recommend that you read Chapters 1 and 2 before you read any other chapters The following is a brief synopsis of each chapter: Chapter 1, Getting Ready to Make a Move to Ajax Provides an overview of the Ajax technologies, but also... the sake of simplicity, following what has become more or less a de facto standard, this book uses Ajax The Technologies That Are Ajax Ajax is not built on new technologies, but focuses instead on the refinement and maturing of existing tools and environments When Jesse James Garrett originally defined Ajax, he listed the associated technologies as: • XHTML (Extensible HTML) and CSS (cascading stylesheets)... development and debugging than Firebug I’m so impressed with it that I consider it absolutely essential for Ajax development 6 | Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Make a Move to Ajax Download Firefox from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Download Firebug from http://getfirebug.com/ Start Clean Adding Ajax to your site is an opportunity to do that page cleanup you’ve probably been wanting to do for a long... importance of standards and making sure you have a good, solid web page before you begin to add any Ajax effects Once you’ve read this chapter, you’re ready to add any of the Ajax effects covered in the later chapters Chapter 2, The Ajax Bits Provides a nuts-and-bolts coverage of the heart and soul of Ajax: how to work with the XMLHttpRequest object In this chapter, I cover how to request a web service... updates, including adding new data, deleting, and making updates, all from within a single page It focuses on extending existing web applications so that form updates and Ajax updates coexist harmoniously It also incorporates the use of “fades” to add polish and feedback to your application users Some of the performance and security issues associated with database access through Ajax are also covered,... where we explore the Ajax effects on the Web, including breaking the Back button, losing the browser history, dynamic effects that disappear when the page is refreshed, and being able to link or bookmark an Ajax “page.” In this chapter, we explore the approaches that can be taken to restore much of the lost web effects, and we will develop a better sense of how far we can take Ajax and still keep the... tighter application Ajax applications can also make use of a host of Ajax- enabled libraries and web services from companies such as Google, Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft, and Yahoo!, as well as independent libraries such as Prototype, Dojo, MochiKit, and jQuery Existing web services can often be used as they are or easily modified to work with Ajax Ajax is unique in that it’s a cutting edge concept that’s based... can be intimidating when you’re just starting to consider how you can use Ajax in your sites, but in general, using the Ajax group of technologies is relatively simple with few moving parts 1 You don’t have to spend months reading all that’s been written or trying all of the libraries in order to create efficient and interesting Ajax functionality if, and this is a big if, you start out small and work . x0 y0 w0 h1" alt="" Adding Ajax Other resources from O’Reilly Related titles Ajax and Web Services Ajax Design Patterns Ajax Hacks ™ Ajax on Java Ajax on Rails Head Rush Ajax Head First Servlets. the page you need. Try it today for free. Adding Ajax Shelley Powers Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo Adding Ajax by Shelley Powers Copyright © 2007 Shelley. the audience of a book about adding Ajax is that you’re already a web developer looking to take your more traditional web applica- tions to the next level by adding Ajax effects. Chances are, you