Understanding AJAX: Using JavaScript to Create Rich Internet Applications (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

AJAX is hot, hot, hot! Why? It's simple. With AJAX, internet developers and designers can create web-based applications that look and feel like desktop applications. These are responsive, highly-interactive applications that represent a new breed called "Rich Internet Applications" (RIA). This book is a guide to designing, implementing, and debugging AJAX applications. The book begins by comparing and contrasting the traditional web application lifecycle with that of an AJAX application. It then covers core AJAX technology, including the XMLHTTPRequest object, and describes various methods for "consuming" data returned by it. Because AJAX represents a fundamentally new way of creating web applications, the book is careful to explore usability guidelines for AJAX developers. This is followed by a series of use cases that show how specific problems are solved in both the pre-AJAX and post-AJAX worlds. The book ends with a chapter on debugging AJAX applications, along with appendices that cover toolkits that greatly simplify AJAX development. All of the server-side examples presented in the book will be written in PHP, the most popular langauage for server-side web programming.

From the Back Cover

AJAX: fast mastery for experienced Web developers!

 

Already an experienced Web developer? Apply your skills in today’s fastest-growing area of Web development: AJAX!

 

Building on what you already know, this fast-paced guide will show you exactly how to create rich, usable Internet applications. Joshua Eichorn teaches through sophisticated code examples, including extensive server-side PHP code.

 

You won’t just learn how to code AJAX applications: Eichorn covers the entire development lifecycle, from use cases and design through debugging. He also presents detailed application case studies, including a start-to-finish update of a non-AJAX application that addresses everything from feature improvements to changing usage patterns. Coverage includes:

 

·       How AJAX changes the conventional Web development cycle

·       Problems created by the AJAX paradigm -- and how to avoid them

·       Adding AJAX to existing Web applications: key considerations

·       Using core AJAX technologies, including the XMLHttpRequest object

·       Consuming data returned to an AJAX application using both XSLT and JSON

·       Building more usable AJAX applications: guidelines and downloadable resources

·       Use cases: solving real-world problems in the AJAX environment

·       Libraries and toolkits for simplifying AJAX development, including Sarissa, scriptaculous, and HTML_AJAX

·       A complete guide to AJAX debugging

·       Supporting browsers without XMLHttpRequest by using IFrames or cookies

·       JSON data encoding debugging guide, which covers tools for Firefox and Internet Explorer

·       A list of libraries, which includes PHP, .NET, Java, and other libraries that can be used with any server language

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1 edition (August 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132216353
• ISBN-13: 978-0132216357
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #856,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars complex design and debugging, September 2, 2006

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Eichorn's narrative teaches Ajax from scratch. But he writes for a reader already well versed in Web programming. This implies familiarity with HTML and how a Web server responds to http requests. XML knowledge is also needed. Along with how XML data is parsed, by a DOM parser or by XSLT. Actually, for the latter, the book correctly points out its sheer complexity. One nice piece of advice it offers is simply to warn you of this. Oh, knowing JavaScript and PHP also helps. Since JavaScript is the main scripting language on most current browsers. So if you want client side functionality beyond HTML, JavaScript is often the way to go, whether or not you use Ajax.

The main thrust of the book is in showing how Ajax works. An ingenious combination of client and server side functionalities. This however has led to the varied requirements described above. The book also warns that Ajax development can bring problems of its own. A useful cautionary note, in light of the recent hype about Ajax. One issue is that using Ajax to alter an existing web site can lead to unexpected changes in usability, and in the very design of the site. Plus, Ajax's production of an application-like feel to the client side on the browser can lead to complex debugging. You don't get those neat extra features at zero cost!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Depth AJAX, October 5, 2006

By	Gordon Forsythe (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Understanding AJAX is a very in-depth look at some of the technologies used in modern web design. In reading this book, you will come to understand the pros and cons of using AJAX in a web site and exactly what happens between the browser and the web server.

You will get a sense of what can and can't be done using AJAX and how to get around the problems caused by the many web browser clients in use at this time. You will also come to understand how to make the user's browser do much of the work that your server used to do. Understanding AJAX also dives into the usage of many open source script libraries to make coding a modern website much easier. From adding DHTML effects to using a single page for your entire site, you will get a feel for what is possible.

This book is not for the beginner. You should have at least a moderate knowledge of HTML and Javascript, and at least a beginning understanding of a server side web scripting language (PHP is the primary language used in the book). This is not a cookbook, but does contain many code examples later in the book, including a login system and an ajax trouble ticket system.

I have been using Joshua's HTML_AJAX php/ajax library for over half a year, but was still able to learn quite a bit from this book.

I would recommend this book to any web developer who wants a thorough understanding of AJAX and how it can be used.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a very thorough guide, December 12, 2006

By	postpostmodern (phoenix, az) - See all my reviews

This is a great book for someone with a good understanding of HTML and an intermediate understanding of JavaScript. Some of the examples are set up to run on a PHP server as well. Joshua talks about some common pitfalls of AJAX development as well as methods of avoiding them and considerations of real-world applications. He breaks down some of the more complicated concepts very well, and gives straight forward explanations of browser compatibility. A great reference and guide to an exciting technology.