Using Ajax for Web Application Development: What Businesses Need To Know

Today, Ajax is being used in web application development by many major players on the web, includingGoogle, which pioneered its use in a mainstream manner with its Google Maps service, as well as many web-based email systems. This is as a direct result of the updating of computer technology in general – todaysaverage computer user has a faster network connection, a faster machine, and a higher level of computerknowledge than those used by computers ten years ago. This has opened the door for more complex technolo-gies to be used by a wider array of websites. On the other hand, web...
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Using Ajax for Web Application Development: What Businesses Need To Know Written and provided byExpert Reference Series of White Papers Using Ajax for Web Application Development: What Businesses Need To Know1-800-COURSES www.globalknowledge.comUsing Ajax for Web Application Development:What Businesses Need To KnowFrancis Wong, Consultant and Senior Technical Trainer for WestLakeIntroductionLately, you may have been hearing more and more about Ajax and you’ve begun to wonder how it could bebeneficial to your business web application development projects. First, it is important to start with an under-standing of this type of web programming. While the concept is not new – it has existed since 1998 – the termdid not come into being until February 2005, when Jesse James Garrett coined it as a way to shorten the com-bination of three technologies that he was going to be using for web application development: AsynchronousJavaScript and XML. This recent phrasing may partially explain why Ajax programming has become such a hotconcept for businesses to explore.Today, Ajax is being used in web application development by many major players on the web, includingGoogle, which pioneered its use in a mainstream manner with its Google Maps service, as well as many web-based email systems. This is as a direct result of the updating of computer technology in general – todaysaverage computer user has a faster network connection, a faster machine, and a higher level of computerknowledge than those used by computers ten years ago. This has opened the door for more complex technolo-gies to be used by a wider array of websites. On the other hand, web programming using Ajax is not necessaryfor a site to be successful; sites such as Amazon and eBay, which are clearly doing well in the business arena,are either not using this form of web programming at all or are using it sparingly.Still, web programming with Ajax has quickly been incorporated into web application development as a newstyle.The Basics of Web Programming with AjaxAt its core, Ajax web programming enables a web application development team to create a site that allowsusers to perform certain functions without the need for redrawing or reloading an entire screen. For example,Google Maps allows users to scroll through a map seamlessly – a technique so revolutionary that it was lateradopted by other map sites such as MapQuest and Yahoo Maps. Web-based Email programs using Ajax webprogramming allow users to open a message without reloading their entire interface. Sites that allow voting orrating, such as Netflix and YouTube, let users click on an array of stars to rate a film or video without everleaving the initial screen. And even shopping sites such as Gap.com use Ajax programming to give users thefeel of a true virtual shopping cart – users place items into their cart without leaving the product page.In addition, web programming with Ajax can be used to create what are known as mashups – situationswhere content from two different web applications can be combined into a third, newly useful application. Forexample, the apartment listings from Craigslist were crossed with Google Maps to create a site that allowsusers to see apartment locations on the map.Copyright ©2007 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. Page 2Benefits of Using Ajax for Web Application DevelopmentWeb programming with Ajax offers a business several key benefits in its web application development. It offerssite developers an extra level of innovation that can make a site easier to use for all visitors. When implement-ed correctly, Ajax will also give users the feeling that a web application is more responsive than a traditionalweb site. It can also allow a business to give its site new functionality and new services to be used by partnersor clients. Finally, it simply can give parity to a business. Competitors may already be using Ajax on their sites,and it may be in a business best interest to have its web application development team implement Ajax on itsown site as well. Customers may also be asking for the new services if they have seen them on other competi-tor sites.Caveats for Businesses Considering Ajax ProgrammingHowever, there are many things to be careful of when implementing web programming with Ajax as well.While it does seem like the latest thing, a business should not go overboard in its use during web applicationdevelopment. Primarily, this type of web programming can make a site more difficult for visitors to use. Theweb is at its core a very user-friendly system, but Ajax can introduce new behaviors that people may not beready for or may find confusing. This can cause visitors to leave your site quickly, without actually performingthe tasks, making the purchases, or reading the information that you had provided. Ajax programing can alsocreate a host of other problems with which businesses should be concerned.First, and rather simply, using Ajax web programming can cause the back button to behave differently than avisitor might expect. The bookmark function may also not work as it does on more traditionally programmedsites. There are ways around these issues that can be implemented during web application development, butthe fixes require a bit of extra time and skill when adding in the additional code.Ajax programming can also interfere with search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Search engines will not seecontent that may be hidden until revealed by a users actions. If a business wants to combine Ajax with SEO,its web application development team will have to be careful to make sure that any optimized content isalways immediately visible, and that hidden content is not critical to the success of an SEO campaign.Impor ...