Ajax: The Definitive Guide

Is Ajax a new technology, or the same old stuff web developers have been using for years? Both, actually. This book demonstrates not only how tried-and-true web standards make Ajax possible, but how these older technologies allow you to give sites a decidedly modern Web 2.0 feel. Ajax: The Definitive Guide explains how to use standards like JavaScript, XML, CSS, and XHTML, along with the XMLHttpRequest object, to build browser-based web applications that function like desktop programs. You get a complete background on what goes into today's web sites and applications, and learn to leverage these tools along with Ajax for advanced browser searching, web services, mashups, and more. You discover how to turn a web browser and web site into a true application, and why developing with Ajax is faster, easier and cheaper. The book also explains: How to connect server-side backend components to user interfaces in the browser Loading and manipulating XML documents, and how to replace XML with JSON Manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM) Designing Ajax interfaces for usability, functionality, visualization, and accessibility Site navigation layout, including issues with Ajax and the browser's back button Adding life to tables & lists, navigation boxes and windows Animation creation, interactive forms, and data validation Search, web services and mash-ups Applying Ajax to business communications, and creating Internet games without plug-ins The advantages of modular coding, ways to optimize Ajax applications, and more This book also provides references to XML and XSLT, popular JavaScript Frameworks, Libraries, and Toolkits, and various Web Service APIs. By offering web developers a muchbroader set of tools and options, Ajax gives developers a new way to create content on the Web, while throwing off the constraints of the past. Ajax: The Definitive Guide describes the contents of this unique toolbox in exhaustive detail, and explains how to get the most out of it.

User review
Too advanced!
This is not the book to get if you are just beginning with JavaScript and/or CSS. The book is packed with rather advanced JS and CSS, and I have to say that this is the main focus. Not much explaining Ajax rather than advanced CSS I think.

I can't just understand why the writer have so much focus on using frameworks in this book. The main goal should be teaching Ajax.

Guess this book come in handy after some years of experience with JS and CSS.

User review
Good if you're looking for a cookbook
This book was pretty straightforward and clear in its explanation of the various pieces of Ajax. This portion of the book only comprises the first 200 pages though so if you're not looking for an Ajax cookbook this isn't the book for you. Also, this book doesn't go through the various Ajax frameworks in any depth.

User review
I must have forgotten to pick up the kitchen sink. Oh no i didn't it's this book.
Assuming you desire to learn AJAX then the short answer is to hit that back button and try something else.

If however you want to have a brief guide of the internet, computers, and various programming languages unrelated to AJAX then you should probably hit the back button and find books related specifically to those topics.

I am a programmer and I know how to use AJAX, which for the layman is a way to refresh content on a website without reloading the page. This book I read through because I figured it was the definitive guide, and might be able to provide some insights that I was unaware of regarding AJAX.

What I received for example, in chapter 21 was `internet games without plugins` which being a gamer i found an interesting title. I thought wow okay fine, how to use AJAX to make games without plugins,, that makes sense cause we don't have to refresh the page anymore! Instead was a history of different game genres and not a quip about how to program for them.

The large quantities of code have already been mentioned, and I thought there might have been some exaggeration. There is not. However, I thought well great,,. now i'll see lots of AJAX examples. Nope, nothing to do w/ajax,, everything to do with css,html,some javascript ,, apis, mashups ,, what?

Anyway, i just hope that i can save one person from giving away their money for a piece of junk that this book represents. Unless of course learning w/some sort of shotgun analogy then go right ahead.


User review
Great Resource and Very Thorough
This book was a bit intimidating and it took me a while to get through it. The nice thing is that all that reading was worthwhile because I gained a very thorough understanding of Ajax and its associated technologies. I would recommend this title to anyone who wants to know what Ajax is, how it works, etc. and is serious about it.

This book is not for someone looking for a quick and dirty intro. But it wont leave the reader wondering either - this is a deep dig into Ajax.

User review
Very thorough treatment of Ajax
If you are looking for a book with thorough treatment of Ajax, you are in the right place. The book does justice to it's title. I appreciate all the code snippets. However, they tend to repititive. When presentig a variation of a code snippet already presented, the author repeats the whole code snippet, instead of just highlighting the differences.