AJAX and the traditional Client Server web model

Essay by kashif007University, Master'sB+, January 2010

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

1. What is AJAXAJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), is a group of interrelated web development techniques used to create interactive web applications or rich Internet applications. With AJAX, web applications can retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing page. Data is retrieved using the XMLHttpRequest object or through the use of Remote Scripting in browsers that do not support it.

AJAX has come to represent a broad group of web technologies that can be used to implement a web application that communicates with a server in the background, without interfering with the current state of the page. Below is the list of technologies1. XHTML and CSS for presentation2. The Document Object Model (DOM) for dynamic display of and interaction with data3. XML and XSLT for the interchange, manipulation and display of data, respectively4. The XMLHttpRequest object for asynchronous communication5.

JavaScript to bring these technologies togetherJavaScript is not the only client-side scripting language that can be used for implementing an AJAX application. Other languages such as VBScript and EGL Programming Language are also capable of the required functionality.

XML is not required for data interchange and therefore XSLT is not required for the manipulation of data. JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is often used as an alternative format for data interchange, although other formats such as preformatted HTML or plain text can also be used.

2.AJAX Advantages and DisadvantagesIn many cases, related pages on a website consist of much content that is common between them. Using traditional methods, that content would have to be reloaded on every request. However, using AJAX, a web application can request only the content that needs to be updated, thus drastically reducing bandwidth usage and load time.

The use of asynchronous requests...