Back to the November 2006 issue.

How AJAX is Cleaning Up Online Applications

(by Craig Cooke, CEO)

AJAX, it isn’t just a household cleaner anymore. It’s a new technology concept that is catching on among developers of custom online applications. However, its implications to users and site owners is similar to the old-fashioned household cleaner; it is “cleaning up” custom online applications for a better overall user experience.

On a serious note, AJAX has nothing to do with the old household cleaner other than the name. AJAX is not even a specific technology but rather a concept of applying various technologies on the web. AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. To clarify, AJAX is a method for employing javascript, DHTML and XML to provide a true dynamic content experience on the web. This is accomplished by passing information from the web server/application to the user’s browser without requiring a page refresh. The user experience emulates a standard desktop application. Popular examples of this technology include Google’s Suggest and Amazon’s Diamond Search tool.

The benefits of AJAX are many. First of all, the user experience is more fluid, creating an impressive and impactful impression for users. Users appreciate the responsiveness, ease-of-use and time-savings from interacting with AJAX-enabled applications. Even site owners experience internal benefits through increased site performance. AJAX minimizes the amount of data transferred from the website to the user, which means less of a load on the server and less bandwidth costs.

AJAX deployment is just at the starting point. Over the next couple of years, you should start to notice a large number of websites implementing AJAX. Just look for highly responsive websites that provide you with information before you even expect it. If you own a database driven website, I strongly recommend you investigate how this technology concept can benefit your business.

To learn more about AJAX deployment, please contact us at 949.215.1250.





Statistics Corner

Half of health-related online searches were performed on behalf of another person according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

77 percent of consumer electronic purchases are influenced by online research according to a study by Hall and Partners.

Worldwide broadband subscribers grew 33 percent over last year to 181 million users according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

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