Customer Reviews

Ajax Hacks: Tips & Tools for Creating Responsive Web Sites

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's too bad this book came out ahead of "Head Rush Ajax", because after reading that book, this book seems much better. It is not meant to be a tutorial on Ajax, but just a supplemental text full of possibly helpful code. There are detailed descriptions of each hack, but I think you'll be lost if you don't already know XML, Javascript, and DOM pretty well.
To me, the most useful hacks were in Chapter 4, where there are hacks that explore the Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, and GeoURL APIs, and combine them, and also where you learn to use cookies in the Ajax environment. I also liked reading chapter 8 on script.aculo.us, and learning about how easily visual effects could be incorporated into Ajax applications. If you are not sure this book is for you, all of the code examples are available in a zipfile at the book's webpage on the publisher's site. I recommend you read "Head Rush Ajax" first, then come back to this book for some interesting extras. I notice that Amazon does not list the table of contents, so I do that here:
Chapter 1. Ajax Basics
Hack 1. Detect Browser Compatibility with the Request Object
Hack 2. Use the Request Object to POST Data to the Server
Hack 3. Use Your Own Library for XMLHttpRequest
Hack 4. Receive Data as XML
Hack 5. Get Plain Old Strings
Hack 6. Receive Data as a Number
Hack 7. Receive Data in JSON Format
Hack 8. Handle Request Object Errors
Hack 9. Dig into the HTTP Response
Hack 10. Generate a Styled Message with a CSS File
Hack 11. Generate a Styled User Message on the Fly
Chapter 2. Web Forms
Hack 12. Submit Text Field or textarea Values to the Server Without a Browser Refresh
Hack 13. Display Text Field or textarea Values Using Server Data
Hack 14. Submit Selection-List Values to the Server Without a Round Trip
Hack 15. Dynamically Generate a New Selection List Using Server Data
Hack 16. Extend an Existing Selection List
Hack 17. Submit Checkbox Values to the Server Without a Round Trip
Hack 18. Dynamically Generate a New Checkbox Group with Server Data
Hack 19. Populate an Existing Checkbox Group from the Server
Hack 20. Change Unordered Lists Using an HTTP Response
Hack 21. Submit Hidden Tag Values to a Server Component
Chapter 3. Validation
Hack 22. Validate a Text Field or textarea for Blank Fields
Hack 23. Validate Email Syntax
Hack 24. Validate Unique Usernames
Hack 25. Validate Credit Card Numbers
Hack 26. Validate Credit Card Security Codes
Hack 27. Validate a Postal Code
Chapter 4. Power Hacks for Web Developers
Hack 28. Get Access to the Google Maps API
Hack 29. Use the Google Maps API Request Object
Hack 30. Use Ajax with a Google Maps and Yahoo! Maps Mash-up
Hack 31. Display a Weather.com XML Data Feed
Hack 32. Use Ajax with a Yahoo! Maps and GeoURL Mash-up
Hack 33. Debug Ajax-Generated Tags in Firefox
Hack 34. Fetch a Postal Code
Hack 35. Create Large, Maintainable Bookmarklets
Hack 36. Use Permanent Client-Side Storage for Ajax Applications
Hack 37. Control Browser History with iframes
Hack 38. Send Cookie Values to a Server Program
Hack 39. Use XMLHttpRequest to Scrape an Energy Price from a Web Page
Hack 40. Send an Email with XMLHttpRequest
Hack 41. Find the Browser's Locale Information
Hack 42. Create an RSS Feed Reader
Chapter 5. Direct Web Remoting (DWR)for Java Jocks
Hack 43. Integrate DWR into Your Java Web Application
Hack 44. Use DWR to Populate a Selection List from a Java Array
Hack 45. Use DWR to Create a Selection List from a Java Map
Hack 46. Display the Keys/Values from a Java HashMap on a Web Page
Hack 47. Use DWR to Populate an Ordered List from a Java Array
Hack 48. Access a Custom Java Object with JavaScript
Hack 49. Call a Built-in Java Object from JavaScript Using DWR
Chapter 6. Hack Ajax with the Prototype and Rico Libraries
Hack 50. Use Prototype's Ajax Tools with Your Application
Hack 51. Update an HTML Element's Content from the Server
Hack 52. Create Observers for Web Page Fields
Hack 53. Use Rico to Update Several Elements with One Ajax Response
Hack 54. Create a Drag-and-Drop Bookstore
Chapter 7. Work with Ajax and Ruby on Rails
Hack 55. Install Ruby on Rails
Hack 56. Monitor Remote Calls with Rails
Hack 57. Make Your JavaScript Available to Rails Applications
Hack 58. Dynamically Generate a Selection List in a Rails Template
Hack 59. Find Out Whether Ajax Is Calling in the Request
Hack 60. Dynamically Generate a Selection List Using Database Data
Hack 61. Periodically Make a Remote Call
Hack 62. Dynamically View Request Information for XMLHttpRequest
Chapter 8. Savor the script.aculo.us JavaScript Library
Hack 63. Integrate script.aculo.us Visual Effects with an Ajax Application
Hack 64. Create a Login Box That Shrugs Off Invalid Logins
Hack 65. Create an Auto-Complete Field with script.aculo.us
Hack 66. Create an In-Place Editor Field
Hack 67. Create a Web Form That Disappears When Submitted
Chapter 9. Options and Efficiencies
Hack 68. Fix the Browser Back Button in Ajax Applications
Hack 69. Handle Bookmarks and Back Buttons with RSH
Hack 70. Set a Time Limit for the HTTP Request
Hack 71. Improve Maintainability, Performance, and Reliability for Large JavaScript Applications
Hack 72. Obfuscate JavaScript and Ajax Code
Hack 73. Use a Dynamic script Tag to Make Web Services Requests
Hack 74. Configure Apache to Deal with Cross-Domain Issues
Hack 75. Run a Search Engine Inside Your Browser
Hack 76. Use Declarative Markup Instead of Script via XForms
Hack 77. Build a Client-Side Cache
Hack 78. Create an Auto-Complete Field
Hack 79. Dynamically Display More Information About a Topic
Hack 80. Use Strings and Arrays to Dynamically Generate HTML
Index

A lot of O'Reilly books of late seem rushed, intended to fill a sudden small vacancy in the marketplace. This is one such book. It seems not well proofed, the code samples are often big blobs of text with no indentation or concern for formatting, and the content seems rushed and poorly considered.

For example, the Ruby on Rails coverage is really slim, and the code looks like it was written a year ago. There's not a single example using RJS templates, the current standard way of writing AJAX in Rails. The Scriptaculous examples are already out of date (for example, the chapter on in-place editing is totally irrelevant - Rails has a means to do this in a single line of code by now) and the content is quite spare.

If you need a book on Ajax, look for the Manning or Pragmatic Programmer books. All the other ones are quite poor, especially this one. I usually really like O'Reilly's work, but lately it's gotten watered-down. Skip this book and save your money for something better.

I'm not sure I could have made it through this book if I hadn't already read "Ajax Patterns", but I did and I found this book useful and informative. There are a pile of things that I am using for code I'm writing now.

These are hacks -- in the most prejorative sense of the word. God-awful code that does really cool stuff. All you have to do is figure out what the code is doing and you can write good code that does the same thing, better.

You've heard of "information hiding"? Where code tells you what it's going to do, just not how it's going to do it? They use "interface hiding" -- where the code DOESN'T tell what it's going to do, it just does it behind your back. For example, they have a normal looking tag: [INPUT id="ck_nm] (those are supposed to be angle brackets!) and in a completely unrelated section of JS code they add an onClick attribute. If somebody decided to rename the tag, they'd never know why it stopped working.

But in the book it's all together, they do a reasonable job of explaining it, and it does do cool things. So, take their ideas, write some clean code that implements them and be happy!

-Bil

(I'm sorry I'm so critical, but their code really is nasty, inefficent, tightly coupled, and impossible to debug.)

Once you have the basics of Ajax down, you might be looking for some ideas of how to apply it to your own applications. Ajax Hacks by Bruce W. Perry fills that particular niche pretty well.

Contents: Ajax Basics; Web Forms; Validation; Power Hacks for Web Developers; Direct Web Remoting (DWR) for Java Jocks; Hack Ajax with the Prototype and Rico Libraries; Work with Ajax and Ruby on Rails; Savor the script.aculo.us JavaScript Library; Options and Efficiencies; Index

Perry collects 80 "hacks" in this volume, which is focused on different techniques for applying Ajax in various ways. The Basics section contains things that you probably will pick up in most Ajax books and tutorials, such as how to check for errors and how to detect which browser is being used. But the dynamic CSS generation ideas were pretty cool. From then on, you get a variety of hacks and code that show you how to do a number of things, such as populating dropdown lists, building mash-ups, and even how to do a drag-and-drop interface without round-tripping to the server with each action. This is one of those books that you probably won't buy with a particular need in mind, but after reading through the material you'll have some ideas that you want to explore further.

Similar to most Hacks titles, it's also not a book you'd buy to learn Ajax. But given the assumption that you know the basics, this book makes a nice addition to your bookshelf for practicality and application purposes...

I was going to take a pass on expressing an opinion on this book since I don't intend to study every word and line of code. I plan to keep it on the shelf, as another reviewer recommends, as a supplemental reference full of starter code in case I run into any of those 80 situations the author poses.

I read the reviews before going through the book, keeping the criticisms in mind. First, the example code I tried worked fine. In addition, the book's Web site has over half the hacks already set up for you and working on their server. I just could not find anything to complain about in that respect.

As indicated by my reviews of the latest books delving into the new ways of doing JavaScript, I can judge that area too. It is true that the JavaScript in the book is not the most object-oriented, "unobtrusive," DOM-based, abstracted, and componentized stuff you can find. That is totally fine because this in not a book about the latest advances in JavaScript technique. It is a book directed to experienced developers who find themselves applying the XMLHttpRequest object to meet specific needs in specific situations.

As such, it serves very well indeed.

AJAX Hacks by Bruce Perry is a wonderful companion book for any and all AJAX programmers. AJAX has revolutionized the web programming world, enabling developers to write web pages that act more like real applications that we all know and love. AJAX is a simple technology that allows people to do amazing things, and now there is a book that will show you the ins and outs of creating cool code which is fast, efficient, and easy to use!! With over 400 pages and 80 hacks/tips/tricks, this book is perfect for users that are just learning AJAX and quickly want to accomplish a particular goal. Instead of painfully going through a 600 page book, get to the task you want to accomplish quickly with this excellent book!!

Major topics covered:

01. Ajax Basics
02. Web Forms
03. Validation
04. Power Hacks for Web Developers
05. Directing Web Remoting
06. Prototype and Rico Libraries
07. Ajax with Ruby
08. script.aculo.us
09. Options & Efficiencies

Great book, great writing, great deal!!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ajax is wicked cool. If you're not sure what it is, it stands for Asynchronous Javascript And Xml, and allows you to pull data from a webserver, and refresh part of your web page without implementing a full post-back. An excellent example of an Ajax website is http://maps.google.com. This book does an impressive job of showing the basics of ajax as well as providing a bunch of recipes for adding ajax functionality to your websites.

The books contains 80 different ajax hacks, which cover everything from working with web forms, to web form validation, to running a search engine inside your browser. The book also contains some great information on DWR (Direct Web Remoting) and Ruby on Rails.

I found many of the hacks very interesting and very applicable to what I need to do in my day-to-day work. The author is very clear in his examples and engaging in his writing. This is a very interesting book to read and is an excellent introduction to ajax. I would highly recommend it to web developers interested in learning more about this exciting technology.

O'Reilly offers some excellent books. This is not one of them.

Every example I looked at seemed ... not a good example of how to use Javascript. Paging through the book, there are many examples of poor practice in the code. I would be tempted use this book as a source text for bad examples. The ideas might be OK, but the code ... oh please, no.

If you're already pretty comfortable with JavaScript and had possibly even done some "Ajax" development before it was coined "Ajax", this book would be a great addition to your library. It covers quite a number of various Ajax techniques and libraries that have been around for a while as well as the increasing number that have cropped up over the last year or so.

If you are new to Ajax (or JavaScript) development, you might want to check Head Rush Ajax or another Ajax/JavaScript starter book, as this book assumes you aren't new to JavaScript development. If you're looking for a variety of interesting ways to do asynchronous javascript calls, this book fits the bill quite nicely.

The title of the book implies that it is a supplement by the use of the word "Hacks" and should be rated as such. Perhaps the author could have given this indication more, however, it is clear it is not an exhausting introduction to Ajax. For those of us who have been around in this industry long enough and understand the underlying technologies this is a good book as an extra with many tips for the web developer. Of course most of this can be obtained off the web and through forums, but it is always handy to have a reference like this on the shelf. I weighed this up with Ajax for Dummies and knew I would get more out of this book. Because the basics of Ajax is so simple to learn (suggest looking at the tutorials on the web) this book has more value. I have given it a 5 because I feel that overall it is worth more than just 4. However, note that it was published in 2006 and there are many more books coming out on this subject.