Wrox - Professional Ajax

Professional Ajax 2nd Edition provides a developer-level tutorial of Ajax techniques, patterns, and use cases. The book begins by exploring the roots of Ajax, covering how the evolution of the web and new technologies directly led to the development of Ajax techniques. A detailed discussion of how frames, JavaScript, cookies, XML, and XMLHttp requests (XHR) related to Ajax is included. After this introduction, the book moves on to cover the implementation of specific Ajax techniques. Request brokers such as hidden frames, dynamic iframes, and XHR are compared and contrasted, explaining when one method should be used over another. To make this discussion clearer, a brief overview of HTTP requests and responses is included.
Once a basic understanding of the various request types is discussed, the book moves on to provide in-depth examples of how and when to use Ajax in a web site or web application. Different data transmission formats, including plain text, HTML, XML, and JSON are discussed for their advantages and disadvantages. Also included is a discussion on web services and how they may be used to perform Ajax techniques. Next, more complex topics are covered. A chapter introducing a request management framework explores how to manage all of the requests inside of an Ajax application. Ajax debugging techniques are also discussed.

The last part of the book walks through the creation of two full-fledged Ajax web applications. The first, FooReader.NET, is an Ajax-powered RSS reader. The second, called AjaxMail, is an Ajax-enabled email system. Both of these applications incorporate many of the techniques discussed throughout the book.

Professional Ajax 2nd edition is written for Web application developers looking to enhance the usability of their web sites and web applications and intermediate JavaScript developers looking to further understand the language. Readers should have familiarity with XML, XSLT, Web Services, PHP or C#, HTML, CSS. This book is not aimed at beginners without a basic understanding of the aforementioned technologies. Also, a good understanding of JavaScript is vitally important to understanding this book. Those readers without such knowledge should instead refer to books such as Beginning JavaScript, Second Edition (Wrox, 2004, ISBN: 978-0-7645-5587-9) and Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox, 2005, ISBN: 978-0-7645-7908-0).

Professional Ajax 2nd edition adds nearly 200 pages of new and expanded coverage compared to the first edition. Some of the new topics covered here include:

Ajax Libraries including the Yahoo! Connection Manager, Prototype, and jQuery
Request Management with Priority Queues and the RequestManager Object
Comet push-based web systems and HTTP streaming
Maps and Mashups with Geocoding, Google Maps API and Yahoo! Maps API
Ajax Debugging with FireBug and Microsoft Fiddler
ASP.NET AJAX Extensions (formerly code-named "Atlas")

And of course the Second Edition retains and updates the core first edition content including:

the range of request brokers (including the hidden frame technique, iframes, and XMLHttp) and explains when one should be used over another
different Ajax techniques and patterns for executing client-server communication
Ajax patterns including predictive fetch, page preloading, submission throttling, incremental field and form validation, periodic refresh, multi-stage download and more
Syndication with RSS, Atom, and XParser
JSON and creating an autosuggest textbox example
web site widgets for a news ticker, weather information, web search, and site search
Ajax Frameworks JSpan, DWR, and Ajax.NET Professional
A Web-based RSS/Atom aggregator case study
An AjaxMail case study
This book is also available as part of the 4-book JavaScript and Ajax Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470227818). This 4-book set includes:

Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (ISBN: 0764579088)
Professional Ajax 2nd edition (ISBN: 0470109491)
Professional Web 2.0 Programming (ISBN: 0470087889)
Professional Rich Internet Applications: Ajax and Beyond (ISBN: 0470082801)


From the Back Cover
With Professional Ajax, 2nd Edition, as your guide, you'll discover how to break free of the "click and wait" standard and defy all the traditional rules of what can happen on the web. This book arms you with a developer-level understanding of Ajax techniques, patterns, and use cases so that you can create an unprecedented user experience in your web applications.
Thoroughly updated throughout, this expanded 2nd edition adds almost 200 pages of new coverage on recently developed Ajax techniques, clearly showing you how to execute client-server communication on your site. It takes you through request brokers such as hidden frames, dynamic iframes, and XHR, explaining when to use each method. You'll also find out how to effectively implement a request management framework as well as how to utilize the latest debugging techniques. All of this will help you create your own full-fledged Ajax web applications to make your site more dynamic.

What you will learn from this book

All about working with Ajax design patterns and libraries
Best practices for dynamic script loading and incorporating Ajax-enabled images into your site

Steps for using Ajax with RSS and Atom to produce a web-based news aggregator

Tips for taking advantage of Ajax maps APIs from Google® and Yahoo!®

Techniques for automating part of the Ajax development process

How to use ASP.NET AJAX Extensions to simplify the creation of Ajax applications

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers who want to enhance the usability of their sites and applications. Familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is necessary, as is experience with a server-side language such as PHP or a .NET language.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

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