I should probably post this on the Wiki, but... AJAX is just a new buzzword for an old concept: updating only portions of a web page instead of everything at once.
Speaking for myself, I was doing what would now be called AJAX at least five years ago, and I'm talking about in a production app. I didn't use XML, nor did I use XMLHttpRequest at all. I used a hidden frame, as Michael mentions, and some scripting. I can remember (and probably still have!) a proof-of-concept, from around '99 I'd bet, of sending and receving XML and playing with it, both using XMLHttpRequest and not using it. Michael is correct to point out the asynchronous nature of AJAX, because that's what it's all about, whether your talking XML or not, whether you use XMLHttpRequest or not. In case there is any question in anyones' mind, asychronous in this case simply means calls back to the server aside from the usual form submissions. Of course a form submission itself is technically asynchronous, but it has a slightly different meaning when discussing AJAX... instead of being asynchronous relative to some normal passage of time, it is relative to the typical form submissions of a webapp. The key point though is the updating of only portions of a page, or perhaps not even updating anything visible in some cases... maybe for instance you want to every 10 seconds download a list of stock prices and use them when the user tries to submit a trade. Ironically, that's probably a great example of when you SHOULD NOT use AJAX, but I'm trying to illustrate that there is no requirement that anything visual happen. There probably does need to be a more generic term though because AJAX is specifically dealing with asynchronus calls utilizing Javascript and XML... so what if I constuct a simple comma-separated list and use VBScript instead (assuming IE)? It's *technically* not AJAX any more, but the underlying concept is identical. What is it then, AVAC?? :) -- Frank W. Zammetti Founder and Chief Software Architect Omnytex Technologies http://www.omnytex.com On Mon, April 18, 2005 3:38 pm, Dakota Jack said: > I think you might be misunderstanding this point. And, I would invite > Frank, when he gets time to explain it to you. > > Jack > > On 4/18/05, Michael J. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> From wiki: >> > No one should be under the impression that you have to deal in XML >> > or that you have to use the XMLHttpRequest object at all, contrary >> > to the meaning of the AJAX moniker. >> >> Not that I really care about the name, but for me you do not use Ajax >> if you do not use async HTTP calls, either with XMLHttpRequest or with >> hidden iframe. >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> > > > -- > "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it float on its back." > ~Dakota Jack~ > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
