AJAX: Creating Web Pages with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML [Paperback]

Edmond Woychowsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2006

The Easy, Example-Based Guide to Ajax for Every Web Developer

 

Using Ajax, you can build Web applications with the sophistication and usability of traditional desktop

applications and you can do it using standards and open source software. Now, for the first time,

there's an easy, example-driven guide to Ajax for every Web and open source developer, regardless of

experience.

 

Edmond Woychowsky begins with simple techniques involving only HTML and basic JavaScript. Then,

one step at a time, he introduces techniques for building increasingly rich applications. Don't worry if

you're not an expert on Ajax's underlying technologies; Woychowsky offers refreshers on them, from

JavaScript to the XMLHttpRequest object. You'll also find multiple open source technologies and open

standards throughout, ranging from Firefox to Ruby and MySQL.

 

You'll not only learn how to write "functional" code, but also master design patterns for writing rocksolid,

high-performance Ajax applications. You'll also learn how to use frameworks such as Ruby on

Rails to get the job done fast.

 

• Learn how Ajax works, how it evolved, and what it's good for
• Understand the flow of processing in Ajax applications
• Build Ajax applications with XML and the XMLHttpRequest object
• Integrate back-end code, from PHP to C#
• Use XSLT and XPath, including XPath Axis
• Develop client-side Ajax libraries to support code reuse
• Streamline development with Ruby on Rails and the Ruby programming language
• Use the cross-browser HTML DOM to update parts of a page
• Discover the best Ajax Web resources, including Ajax-capable JavaScript libraries

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Easy, Example-Based Guide to Ajax for Every Web Developer

 

Using Ajax, you can build Web applications with the sophistication and usability of traditional desktop

applications and you can do it using standards and open source software. Now, for the first time,

there's an easy, example-driven guide to Ajax for every Web and open source developer, regardless of

experience.

 

Edmond Woychowsky begins with simple techniques involving only HTML and basic JavaScript. Then,

one step at a time, he introduces techniques for building increasingly rich applications. Don't worry if

you're not an expert on Ajax's underlying technologies; Woychowsky offers refreshers on them, from

JavaScript to the XMLHttpRequest object. You'll also find multiple open source technologies and open

standards throughout, ranging from Firefox to Ruby and MySQL.

 

You'll not only learn how to write "functional" code, but also master design patterns for writing rocksolid,

high-performance Ajax applications. You'll also learn how to use frameworks such as Ruby on

Rails to get the job done fast.

 

• Learn how Ajax works, how it evolved, and what it's good for
• Understand the flow of processing in Ajax applications
• Build Ajax applications with XML and the XMLHttpRequest object
• Integrate back-end code, from PHP to C#
• Use XSLT and XPath, including XPath Axis
• Develop client-side Ajax libraries to support code reuse
• Streamline development with Ruby on Rails and the Ruby programming language
• Use the cross-browser HTML DOM to update parts of a page
• Discover the best Ajax Web resources, including Ajax-capable JavaScript libraries

About the Author

EDMOND WOYCHOWSKY, a senior level consultant in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, specializes in

client-side JavaScript, Java, Oracle, open source, and Microsoft technologies. A well-known contributor

to TechRepublic, he has developed applications for the financial, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing

industries. He began his professional career at Bell Laboratories.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (August 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132272679
• ISBN-13: 978-0132272674
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,923,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Ajax, October 9, 2006

By 

Frank Stepanski (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AJAX: Creating Web Pages with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Paperback)

Ajax has hit the bookstores hard the past 6 months and there a lot of books on the market. To try and differentiate them is difficult since it is still a fairly new technology (or implementation of existing technologies actually) and people are trying to understand how to use it and use it properly.

The Ajax: Creating Web Pages with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML is a little different than the rest and that is a good thing.

Here's why...

1) It doesn't just go right into showing you how to use the XMLHttpRequest object in the usual "Hello World" examples. Its goes into detail how normal scripting works with web pages and shows the differences in using an Ajax implementation and what it can do it for you.
2) It doesn't try to sell you that using Ajax is always better. It explains how other techniques (better or worse) can be used to do similar results: HTML frames and IFRAMES.
3) It teaches you the technologies that are used in Ajax in case you are just starting out. It gives a great primer to XHTML tags,JavaScript basic syntax, the DOM and XML.
4) The examples on Ajax use open source technologies (PHP and MySQL) and really explain how to use these server-side technologies so if you're unfamiliar with them you won't get lost. Was great because myself am a ASP.NET developer, but I had no problem following the examples using PHP code.
5) A very detailed explanation of the XMLHttpRequest object (chapter 7 and 8). Other books I have read on Ajax briefly go into this very important object but this book really explains it methods and properties and how to use it correctly with XML DOM, RSS, and Web Services.
6) Covers XSLT, which many books do not.

Those are just a few points why this book is a great, complete introduction to Ajax and why it should be in your bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enhanced JavaScript, September 12, 2006

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AJAX: Creating Web Pages with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Paperback)

As an aside, the author embeds humourous throwaway remarks in this text, that are often well worth hunting for and reading for your own amusement.

The book goes through the syntax of Ajax. Which essentially is the syntax of JavaScript itself. Ajax does not really invent a new language. Its innovation comes in how it lets you combine existing approaches in a novel manner. This means that you might consider this book as an advanced text on JavaScript, and how to combine it with using HTML and XML. External to this book, there is a feeling on the Web that Ajax is really a clever marketing of JavaScript.

In any event, the methods described in the book should be easy to an experienced programmer. Especially if you have had any background in even minimally using JavaScript and HTML. The most intricate parts of the book relate to using XPath and XSLT. These have been around for several years. But prior to Ajax, their uptake seems to have been minimal. Perhaps due to their complexity. With Ajax, there is now a prospect that XPath and XSLT might actually see greater use. The author has correctly included them in the book, for completeness. However, if you are new to Ajax, I'd suggest avoiding these chapters on a first pass.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too much drivel, November 13, 2006

By 

Philip Miller (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AJAX: Creating Web Pages with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Paperback)

There is some good technical content here but the fluffy writing style is extremely irritating. Consider the following paragraph:

"Regardless of the name they call it by, people either love or hate JavaScript, which is probably why opinions range from it being either the greatest thing since sliced bread or the tool of the devil. Personally, I believe that cheeseburgers are the greatest thing since sliced bread and that the tool of the devil is cellphones. Nothing worse than enjoying a good cheeseburger, with onion rings on the side, and the damn phone starts playing 'The Monster Mash.' But I digress."

If you enjoy reading drivel like this, buy the book--you'll get your fill.

And then there's the occasional piece of dangerous thinking, for example:

"Nevertheless, it works, which is all that really matters when developing an application."

Really?

The source examples are poorly formatted, making the code unnecessarily difficult to read.