Download AJAX – The Future of Web Development?

AJAX – The Future of Web
Development?
Anders Moberg
David Mörtsell
David Södermark
This Lecture
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Introduction
AJAX
Examples
Discussion
Results
Questions
Introduction
• AJAX
– Asynchronous Javascript And XML
– Partial page updates
• Web 2.0
– Next generation of the Web
– Every reader is a writer
• Traditional web development
– Request entire web pages
AJAX
• Technologies
– HTML, CSS
– Client-side scripting
• Javascript, VBScript
– XML
– Server-side scripting
• PHP, ASP, JSP
HTML
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Hypertext Markup Language
Static
CSS used for style
XHTML
Client-side scripting
• Small scripts on web pages
• Dynamic
• Inside HTML
XML
• Extensible Markup Language
• Describes data
• XHTML
Server-side scripting
• Executed on the server
• Commonly used to access databases
– Content more dynamic and personalised
• Output usually HTML, sent to the client
Summary
Without AJAX
Within AJAX
HTML
Provides static web
content and style.
No change.
Client-side scripting
Changes within a page
with preloaded
content.
Changes within a page
with content
accessed from the
server.
XML
Provides hierarchical
data.
No change.
Server-side scripting
Request dynamic
content that
describes a complete
web page.
Request dynamic
content that can
describe specific
parts of a web page.
Examples
• Answers.com
• AJAX Translator
Discussion
• Should developers learn AJAX?
• Benefits
– Less bandwidth = faster loading
– Faster loading = faster feedback
– More interactive web pages
• Problems
– The back-button problem
– Can be difficult to know what is changed
Conclusion
• Learn AJAX! It may be the future...
Questions?