As web technology continues to evolve, so are the resources and techniques used website development. One such method is AJAX. Though it is not a programming language or a proprietary tool, AJAX is an intuitive method that has simplified and enhanced how professional web designers build dynamic web applications. But before we dissect its benefits and the full range of problems it solves, let’s try to understand what it’s all about.
What Is AJAX, and What Does it Stand For?
AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. It is a cutting-edge technique that combines several programming tools such as JavaScript, XML, DHTML, DOM, and Microsoft to create crisp, prompt, and more interactive web applications. It is a client-side script that allows passing or retrieval of data from the client to the server without the need of refreshing an entire page.
In simple terms, AJAX is a technique that allows web pages to be updated asynchronously through the exchange of little amounts of data between clients and the servers in the background. AJAX combines JavaScript and XML making it possible to update parts of a webpage, without reloading the whole page.
Why is AJAX Important and Why is It Used?
In typical web applications, information is transmitted to and from the server using synchronous requests. This means that when you fill out a form and hit the submit icon, you will be re-directed to another page with a new set of information from the server. However, with AJAX, when you click submit, JavaScript creates an XMLHttpRequest object which transfers data in the form of XML to the server. The request is processed, and once a response generated, it is sent back to the browser where it is displayed as updated content on the current screen. All this is done in the background, and the user would not even recognize that anything was passed or retrieved from the server.
Benefits of Using AJAX in Web Applications
- AJAX is used to perform callbacks which help minimizes network utilization and enhances efficient operations. By using callbacks, servers will not be required to process loads of data, and this reduces network workload thereby improving performance. This can also be helpful to sites and location that operate on restricted bandwidth.
- It allows clients to make asynchronous calls. By allowing asynchronous calls, AJAX saves time for the client browser by enabling it to display parts of information on a specific page instead of waiting for all data to arrive to allow the users to can act once more.
- Increased performance speed. By allowing sending and retrieval of information to and from the server without the full-page data, AJAX improves the speed, performance, and usability of web applications.
- Increase responsiveness. By eliminating full-page postback, AJAX-enabled applications will be swifter and highly responsive, hence more user-friendly.
New Developments in AJAX
While the commonly used data-type transmission in AJAX was initially XML (hence the XMLHttpRequest), over time this has changed, and other JS-based data-types such as JSON have been introduced. JSON is more preferred today since its objects are much friendlier than XML.
Things to Keep In Mind When Programming With AJAX
The most crucial thing you need to remember is that AJAX is not a packaged product or a proprietary technology. It is just a simplified technique that combines vast programming tools to create robust, interactive, and dynamic web applications. Therefore, if you want to work with AJAX, you need to have:
- Knowledge in HTML
- Knowledge in Javascript
- Some knowledge about the XML or JSON format
- And since AJAX permits you to call server-side language, it is also imperative to know PHP, ASP DOT NET, Java, and Python among others.
