CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2009/wiki2 2 pz

Introduction to AJAX

AJAX was first coined by Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path in February 2005 in his essay "Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications”. Ajax (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is more of a technique than it is a specific technology. Its greatest advantage in web browser is to enable the client to request data from server asychronously without reloading the page. The technology makes Internet applications smaller, faster and more user friendly.

AJAX has many applications. One of the most popular one is the google map. Using the conventional web method, when user want to magnify the map or look around, every time when he moves the map, there will be a reloading “white screen”, it’s unacceptable for the users. With AJAX, while looking around in google map, the request for data could be processed asynchronously, this feature could make the page uninterrupted and continuous.