Google Ajax Search API

What Is Ajax?

First, let’s talk about what the Ajax in Google Ajax Search API stands for. If you already understand what Ajax is, feel free to skip this section. Actually, you really don’t have to know much about the Ajax—what’s under the hood—to use it and enjoy it, especially when using the Ajax Search API.

Jesse James Garrett (http://www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus/jjg.php) is most commonly credited with coming up with the phrase Asynchronous JavaScript and XML—or Ajax for short—in early 2005 to describe a group of technologies that work together to produce web pages that are more interactive. The benefit of Ajax is that it lets you update relevant parts of the web page instead of having to refresh the whole page from the server; thereby consuming less bandwidth and being more interactive and fun.

Some good examples of Ajax applications are Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/), Gmail (http://gmail.google.com/), and Google Docs and Spreadsheets (http://docs.google.com). In Google Maps, it’s particularly amazing how you can grab a map with a mouse click and drag it all over the place. Very nice. In Gmail you can show and hide your contacts or labels lists with a single click. Furthermore, people all over the world can access a Google spreadsheet, simultaneously edit the spreadsheet, and see other people’s changes in real time. These features are only possible because of Ajax. In fact, Ajax technologies make it feasible to host common applications, like mail clients, spreadsheets, and ...