Ajax in Action

Web users are getting tired of the traditional web experience. They get frustrated losing their scroll position; they get annoyed waiting for refresh; they struggle to reorient themselves on every new page. And the list goes on. With asynchronous JavaScript and XML, known as "Ajax," you can give them a better experience. Once users have experienced an Ajax interface, they hate to go back. Ajax is a new way of thinking that can result in a flowing and intuitive interaction with the user.

Ajax in Action helps you implement that thinking— it explains how to distribute the application between the client and the server (hint: use a "nested MVC" design) while retaining the integrity of the system. You will learn how to ensure your app is flexible and maintainable, and how good, structured design can help avoid problems like browser incompatibilities. Along the way it helps you unlearn many old coding habits. Above all, it opens your mind to the many advantages gained by placing much of the processing in the browser.

"What is Ajax?"
Manning proudly presents the original screencast "What is Ajax?" which defines Ajax and shows you an entertaining, working example of Ajax in action. By gradually adding features, the screencast makes you think about the richness of your users' experience and shows you how it is done. It is 18 minutes long (27MB download).

• Ajax principles
• Why Ajax design patterns matter
• How to avoid Ajax pitfalls
• Examples of Ajax in action: type-ahead suggest, live searching using XSL, and many more.
• Examples using Ajax frameworks: Prototype, Scriptaculous, x and Rico
• Ajax usability, security, and performance

If you are a web developer who has prior experience with web technologies, this book is for you.

Dave Crane has pushed the boundaries of DHTML, and latterly Ajax, on digital TV set-top boxes, in home automation and banking and financial systems. He lives in Gloucestershire, UK. Eric Pascarello is an ASP.NET developer and a moderator of the HTML and JavaScript forum at JavaRanch. He lives in Laurel, MD. Darren James is the architect of the opensource Rico project. He lives in Sunnyvale, CA.