O'Reilly - Head Rush Ajax

Sick of creating web sites that reload every time a user moves the mouse? Tired of servers that wait around to respond to users' requests for movie tickets? It sounds like you need a little (or maybe a lot of) Ajax in your life. Asynchronous programming lets you turn your own web sites into smooth, slick, responsive applications that make your users feel like they're back on the information superhighway, not stuck on a dial-up backroad.

But who wants to take on next-generation web programming with the last generation's instruction book? You need a learning experience that's as compelling and cutting-edge as the sites you want to design. That's where we come in. With Head Rush Ajax, in no time you'll be writing JavaScript code that fires off asynchronous requests to web servers...and having fun doing it. By the time you've taken your dynamic HTML, XML, JSON, and DOM skills up a few notches, you'll have solved tons of puzzles, figured out how well snowboards sell in Vail, and even watched a boxing match. Sound interesting? Then what are you waiting for? Pick up Head Rush Ajax and learn Ajax and asynchronous programming the right way--the way that sticks.

If you've ever read a Head First book, you know what to expect: a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Head Rush ramps up the intensity with an even faster look and feel. Have your first working app before you finish Chapter 1, meet up with the nefarious PROJECT: CHAOS stealth team, and even settle the question of the Top 5 Blues CDs of all time. Leave boring, clunky web sites behind with 8-tracks and hot pants--and get going with next-generation web programming.

"If you thought Ajax was rocket science, this book is for you. Head Rush Ajax puts dynamic, compelling experiences within reach for every web developer." -- Jesse James Garrett, Adaptive Path

"A 'technology-meets-reality' book for web pioneers on the cutting edge." -- Valentin Crettaz, CTO, Condris Technologies


About the Author
Brett McLaughlin has become one of the most well-known authors and programmers in the Java and XML communities. He's worked for Nextel Communications, implementing complex enterprise systems, at Lutris Technologies, actually writing application servers, and most recently at O'Reilly Media, Inc., where he continues to write and edit books that matter. His most recent book, "Java 5.0 Tiger: A Developer's Notebook", was the first book available on the newest version of Java, and his classic Java and XML remains one of the definitive works on using XML technologies in Java.

Download it now!

Read the
full post and
DOWNLOAD!

O'Reilly - Ajax on Rails

Learn to build dynamic, interactive web applications using the two most important approaches to web development today: Ajax and the phenomenally efficient Ruby on Rails platform. This book teaches intermediate to advanced web developers how to use both Ajax and Rails to quickly build high-performance, scalable applications without being overwhelmed with thousands of lines of JavaScript code. More than just recipes, you also get a thorough, low-level understanding of what's happening under the hood.

* Ajax on Rails includes three fully worked out Rails/Ajax applications, and quick reference sections for Prototype and script.aculo.us.
* Testing lessons show you how to eliminate cross-browser JavaScript errors and DOM debugging nightmares using a combination of Firebug, and Venkman.
* Advanced material explains the most current design practices for Ajax usability. You'll learn to avoid user experience mistakes with proven design patterns.

Beyond the how-to, Ajax on Rails helps you consider when Ajax is (and isn't) appropriate, and the trade-offs associated with it. For those new to Rails, this book provides a quick introduction, the big picture, a walk through the installation process, and some tips on getting started. If you've already started working with Rails and seek to deepen your skill set, you'll find dozens of examples drawn from real-world projects, exhaustive reference for every relevant feature, and expert advice on how to "Ajaxify" your applications.

About the Author
Scott Raymond is an independent software consultant specializing in Ruby on Rails. His most recent projects include Blinksale.com and IconBuffet.com, two very popular and well-reviewed web services businesses built with Rails. Scott also contributes code to the open source Rails project and speaks frequently at conferences including Canada on Rails, RailsConf, and the annual RubyConf.

Download it now!

Read the
full post and
DOWNLOAD!

O'Reilly - 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.

About the Author
Anthony T. Holdener III currently builds Internet/Intranet applications utilizing the latest available technologies while striving for accessibility and cross-browser compatibility. He has worked with the web in one form or another since 1997 when he helped open an Internet cafe in Fairview Heights, Illinois. A graduate of St. Louis University with a degree in Computer Science, Anthony has worked as a web architect or developer for the past eight years for a number of Fortune 500 companies in the St. Louis area.

Download it now!

Read the
full post and
DOWNLOAD!

O'reilly - Adding Ajax

Ajax can bring many advantages to an existing web application without forcing you to redo the whole thing. This book explains how you can add Ajax to enhance, rather than replace, the way your application works. For instance, if you have a traditional web application based on submitting a form to update a table, you can enhance it by adding the capability to update the table with changes to the form fields, without actually having to submit the form. That's just one example.

Adding Ajax is for those of you more interested in extending existing applications than in creating Rich Internet Applications (RIA). You already know the "business-side" of applications-web forms, server-side driven pages, and static content-and now you want to make your web pages livelier, more fun, and much more interactive. This book:

* Provides an overview of Ajax technologies, and the importance of developing a strategy for changing your site before you sit down to code
* Explains the heart and soul of Ajax: how to work with the XMLHttpRequest object
* Introduces and demonstrates several important Ajax libraries, including Prototype, script.aculo.us, rico, Mochikit
* Explores the interactive element that is Ajax, including how to work with events and event handlers that work across browsers
* Introduces the concept of web page as space, and covers three popular approaches to managing web space
* Explains how to make data updates, including adding new data, deleting, and making updates, all from within a single page
* Describes the effects Ajax has on the Web-breaking the back button, losing browser history, dynamic effects that disappear when the page is refreshed, and more
* Covers advanced CSS effects, including drag and drop "scroll bars", pagination, and the use of SVG and the Canvas object
* Explores mashups-Ajax's ability to combine data from different web services in any number of ways, directly in our web pages

You don't need to start over to use Ajax. You can simply add to what you already have. This book explains how.

About the Author
Shelley Powers is a software developer/architect, photographer, and writer who has authored numerous computer books on web development and technologies, including the O'Reilly titles "Developing ASP Components," "Unix Power Tools, Third Edition," "Essential Blogging," and "Practical RDF". Through the years, Shelley has also contributed several articles on cross-browser development, standards, RDF, JavaScript, CSS, and XML for several publications, and has worked with some of the world's leading companies. Shelley's tech web site is http://burningbird.net.

Download it now!

Read the
full post and
DOWNLOAD!