Provides information on creating AJAX Internet applications using JavaScript.

Reusable components and patterns for Ajax-driven applications Ajax is one of the latest and greatest ways to improve users’ online experience and create new and innovative web functionality. By allowing specific parts of a web page to be displayed without refreshing the entire page, Ajax significantly enhances the experience of web applications. It also lets web developers create intuitive and innovative interaction processes. Ajax for Web Application Developers provides the in-depth working knowledge of Ajax that web developers need to take their web applications to the next level. The book shows how to create an Ajax-driven web application from an object-oriented perspective, and it includes discussion of several useful Ajax design patterns. This detailed guide covers the creation of connections to a MySQL database with PHP 5 via a custom Ajax engine and shows how to gracefully format the response with CSS, JavaScript, and XHTML while keeping the data tightly secure. It also covers the use of four custom Ajax-enabled components in an application and how to create each of them from scratch. The final section of the book combines the individual code examples and techniques from earlier chapters of the book into one larger, Ajax-driven application—an internal web mail application that can be used in any user-based application, such as a community-based web application. Readers will learn not only how to create and use their own reusable Ajax components in this application but also how to connect their components to any future Ajax applications that they might build. Web Development/Ajax/JavaScript

In just a short time, you can learn how to use Ajax, JavaScript, and PHP to create interactive interfaces to your web applications by combining these powerful technologies. No previous Ajax programming experience is required. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this book builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of Ajax programming with JavaScript, PHP, and related technologies from the ground up. Regardless of whether you run Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X, the enclosed CD includes a complete Ajax programming starter kit that gives you all the programming tools, reference information, JavaScript libraries, and server software you need to set up a stable environment for learning, testing, and production. Learn how to… Build better, more interactive interfaces for your web applications Make JavaScript, HTML, XML, and PHP work together to create Ajax effects Compile an Ajax application Create and consume web services with SOAP and REST Avoid common errors and troubleshoot programs Use popular Ajax libraries to speed up and improve common programming tasks On the CD XAMPP for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux—an easy-to-install package to set up a PHP- and MySQL-enabled Apache server on your computer The jEdit programming editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux Prototype, Scriptaculous, Rico, and XOAD—popular JavaScript libraries for creating Ajax applications and effects A complete Ajax, HTML, XML, and PHP tutorial reference library in searchable PDF format Source code for the examples in the book Phil Ballard is a software engineering consultant and developer specializing in website and intranet design and development for an international portfolio of clients. He has an honors degree from the University of Leeds, England, and has worked for several years in commercial and managerial roles in the high technology sector. Michael Moncur is a freelance webmaster and author. He runs a network of websites and has written several bestselling books about web development, networking, certification programs, and databases. Category: Web Development Covers: Ajax, JavaScript and PHP User Level: Beginning–Intermediate

JavaScript is the brains of your Web page—it enables you to modify a document’s structure, styling, and content in response to user actions without requesting new pages from the server. Scriptin' with JavaScript and Ajax teaches you how to master this powerful and elegant language so you can develop intuitive user interactions that take the user experience to new levels of sophistication and responsiveness. Today’s application-like Web experiences (such as Salesforce.com and Google Maps) and Web 2.0 sites (such as Flickr.com and Twitter) are powered by JavaScript and Ajax. Using the techniques shown in this book, you will be able to start creating similar experiences in the sites you design. Scriptin' with JavaScript and Ajax will teach you how to: Start developing with JavaScript fast! Write lightweight but powerful object-oriented code Modify the Document Object Model “Progressively enhance” your pages with JavaScript to provide the highest levels of accessibility to all users Learn sophisticated techniques for making your pages respond to user actions Use the downloadable Scriptin’ library of helper functions to speed development and ensure cross-browser compatibility Use Ajax scripting techniques to update specific areas of the page with data from the server Create powerful interface interactions, such as sliding panels and tree menus Evaluate frameworks such as jQuery and Prototype to find the best one for your needs Build an online application that looks and responds like a regular desktop application Easily adapt the Scriptin’ code examples for use in your own projects—download them at www.scriptinwithajax.com

Step-by-step guide reveals best practices for enhancing Web sites with Ajax A step-by-step guide to enhancing Web sites with Ajax. Uses progressive enhancement techniques to ensure graceful degradation (which makes sites usable in all browsers). Shows readers how to write their own Ajax scripts instead of relying on third-party libraries. Web site designers love the idea of Ajax--of creating Web pages in which information can be updated without refreshing the entire page. But for those who aren't hard-core programmers, enhancing pages using Ajax can be a challenge. Even more of a challenge is making sure those pages work for all users. In Bulletproof Ajax, author Jeremy Keith demonstrates how developers comfortable with CSS and (X)HTML can build Ajax functionality without frameworks, using the ideas of graceful degradation and progressive enhancement to ensure that the pages work for all users. Throughout this step-by-step guide, his emphasis is on best practices with an approach to building Ajax pages called Hijax, which improves flexibility and avoids worst-case scenarios.

Ajax is at the heart of the Web 2.0 revolution. It isn't a technology but, rather, is a technique that leverages other technologies and techniques, such as CSS, XML, DHTML, and XHTML. Many Web designers and programmers would like to incorporate Ajax in their projects because of the amazing functionality it can add to a Web site, but they can't because of the steep learning curve. That's where this book steps in. It makes learning Ajax fun and easy -- a great place to start! Visual QuickProject Guides focus on a single project. In this case the project is creating a business employee directory, like an address book. What's being created is a better, new kind of Web site.

Enhance the user experience of your PHP website using AJAX with this practical tutorial featuring detailed case studies