- Applet, Macromedia Flash and Java WebStart did provide desktop experience over the net, but at the expense of making users wait for long.
- DHTML still reqd. a full page refresh and didn't really take off, even though it involved a combination of JavaScript, DOM and CSS.
- However, DHTML with Hidden IFrame had asynchronous communication with the server but it was more like a stop gap arrangement.
- And finally, AJAX established asynchronous communication with the server through a JavaScript object called XMLHttpRequest along with DHTML (JavaScript+DOM+CSS).
- User Interaction got fluid, devoid of interruptions
- Browsers dont just present/exhibit content anymore. Browsers hosts Applications.
- Servers dont serve up Content. Servers just serve up Data.
- UI is handled by the Client.
- The Look and Feel is defined using CSS. It separates Presentation style from Content.
- DOM represents the structure of a Web page as a set of configurable objects which can be manipulated using JavaScript.
- Content and Layout is defined by DOM
- XMLHttpRequest objects talks to a Web Server asynchronously passing user requests and fetching Data
- JavaScript holds all these elements together by integrating Data, Presentation and Program logic.
Next, I'd persistently be thoughtful over the different steps involved in an AJAX operation, Ajax design pattern, interaction patterns, toolkits and example applications etc.,
[...] Related : AJAX Basics dom, javascript, ajax, AJAX, DOM, JavaScript, Code Stuff, DOM Posted by Muthu on Feb 13 2007 under AJAX, DOM, JavaScript, Code Stuff [...]