JavaScript Step by Step

Chapter 18. A Touch of AJAX

After reading this chapter, you'll be able to

• Understand the basics of the Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) programming paradigm.

• Understand the difference between a synchronous and an asynchronous AJAX call.

• Use AJAX to retrieve data.

• Use AJAX with different Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) methods to retrieve responses from a server.

Introduction to AJAX

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) describes the programming paradigm that combines JavaScript and a Web server. AJAX is used to create highly interactive Web applications such as Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Without AJAX, a Web application might make the visitor wait while a response is gathered from the Web server. An AJAX-based application sends requests from ...