Basic AJAX Explanation

AJAX becomes critical as combinations of options grow. For example, consider the amount of data needed to select a car online. Multiply the number of vehicle types, by the number of manufactures, by the number of makes and models, by all years, by all the options like color, engine, drive, doors and so forth, and you end up with a long list of cars. Pre-loading such a list would result in an overwhelming download. With AJAX, just the first option is necessary. After the initial selection the server is called for the next set of options. The next choice calls the server again, further options are provided, and so on.

Without AJAX, the information is returned each time such database calls are made - along with all the other information needed to re-display the entire page including text, graphics, layout, and navigation. At every step along the way, each database call requires the response to return the entire modified page. That's a lot of unnecessary overhead and a lot of waiting for pages to update in between each set of choices.

With AJAX a page can ask for data from the server and get back just what it needs to update the page without reloading the whole thing.


Desktop applications are great for activities that require real time processing and calculation. For example, as I write this newsletter in Word I get instant feedback in the form of squiggly red or green lines as I type. I don't have to refresh Word and wait for a reload every time I want to check my work. Because AJAX allows micro interactions between a page and a server without refreshing, a webpage can now function more like a desktop application.

There are already many web based applications. Online banking is a web application. Typical web applications pale in comparison to the speed and usability of desktop applications. Consider the process of updating a payee's mailing address when paying bills online. Suppose you're in the middle of entering payments when you discover a payee's address is incorrect. You click to the payee tab *refresh* select the payee *refresh* choose edit *refresh* make changes and save *refresh* click back to bill pay *refresh* and re-enter all the payments including the amount for the newly modified payee. That's at least five refreshes for a simple transaction like modifying a payee's address. When online banking implements AJAX we'll be able to edit payee information without ever leaving the bill payment page. That will be handy!

AJAX introduces significant speed and user interface improvements. A website can now function very much like a desktop application. As a result, an entire market of web based applications is now on the rise. These next generation web applications might not replace complex desktop applications like Microsoft Word with its real time spell checking--or will they?   next >