Rob Gonda

(October 7, 2005) - AJAX isn't a technology, or a language, and there's no recipe to implement it; it's just a combination of various components to achieve something you otherwise couldn't: asynchronous http requests. However, since early 2005, when Google and Flickr popularized the concept, its use has grown rapidly. The name AJAX is short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It uses the JavaScript XMLHttpRequest function to create a tunnel from the client's browser to the server and transmit information back and forth without having to refresh the page. The data travels in XML format because it transmits complex data types over clear text. AJAX uses XHTML for the data presentation of the view layer, DOM, short for Document Object Model, which dynamically manipulates the presentation, XML for data exchange, and XMLHttpRequest as the exchange engine that ties every... (more)

AJAX: XMLHttpRequest Vs. iFrames

Should you use the old iFrame tricks or the new XMLHttpRequest? There is not better or worse when comparing these two techniques, but they are certainly different. While both of them allow you to communicate with the server in the background, you should choose the appropriate for your situation depending on a few questions: Do you want the back-forward buttons to work? Do you plan to perform more than one simultaneous request? Do you need cross-site calls? Do you need to monitor the status of your calls? I'm pretty sure there are more differences, and way around the ones I will m... (more)

AJAX: Making the HTML User Experience Almost As Pleasant as Flash

AJAX can make the HTML user experience almost as pleasant as Flash. The main advantage of Flash, in spite of its vector animations, is that you never reload the page. Flash Remoting allows you to interface with the server in the background and AJAX does exactly the same for HTML pages. In my previous article, "What's AJAX?" (CFDJ, Vol. 7, issue 9), I covered the basics of AJAX - everything from setting it up, all the way to having it running in an MVC design with basic functionality. Thus far, we have only sent and received simple objects, which is good way to understand the pri... (more)

Rob Gonda's Two-Part AJAX Special: Now In One Part

It's become very popular lately, even though it's not exactly new. It's been possible to use the concept behind AJAX since browsers introduced the XMLHttpRequest function in 1999. AJAX isn't a technology, or a language, and there's no recipe to implement it; it's just a combination of various components to achieve something you otherwise couldn't: asynchronous http requests. However, since early 2005, when Google and Flickr popularized the concept, its use has grown rapidly. The name AJAX is short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It uses the JavaScript XMLHttpRequest function... (more)

Adobe vs. Microsoft Death Match For RIA Leadership

Adobe vs. Microsoft: Death Match for RIA LeadershipThe buzzwords du jour are AJAX, RIA, Web 2.0 ... Both Adobe and Microsoft are involved and trying their best to get market share. Abode has Flash and Flex; and AJAX is compatible with every programming language and plays really well with CF (through ajaxCFC :) ). Microsoft has been working on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), previously called Avalon. This presentation layer takes an xml based declarative language called XAML (pronounced zammel), that stands for eXtensible Application Markup Language. I knew about XAML, but ... (more)