Introduction to AJAX
AJAX is a technique that allows updating parts of a web page without reloading the entire page.
What is AJAX?
AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
AJAX is a technology for creating fast and dynamic web pages.
AJAX enables web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means that it is possible to update parts of a web page without reloading the entire page.
Traditional web pages (which do not use AJAX) must reload the entire page if the content needs to be updated.
Many applications use AJAX, such as Google Maps, Gmail, Youtube, and Facebook.
How AJAX Works
AJAX is Based on Internet Standards
AJAX is based on internet standards and uses a combination of the following technologies:
- XMLHttpRequest object (for asynchronous data interaction with the server)
- JavaScript/DOM (for displaying/retrieving information)
- CSS (for styling the data)
- XML (commonly used as the format for data transfer)
Google Suggest
With the release of Google Suggest in 2005, AJAX began to gain popularity.
Google Suggest uses AJAX to create a highly dynamic web interface: as you type in the Google search box, JavaScript sends the characters to the server, which returns a list of suggestions.
Start Using AJAX Today
In our PHP tutorial, we will demonstrate how AJAX can update parts of a web page without reloading the entire page. We will use PHP to write the server-side scripts.
If you want to learn more about AJAX, visit our AJAX Tutorial.