AJAX Buzzword Reinvigorates Javascript

samuel4242 writes "Javascript may have been with us since the beginning of the browser, but it's going through a renaissance as companies like Google create Javascript-enabled tools like Google Maps . There's even a nice, newly coined acronym , AJAX for "Asynchronous Javascript and XML". A nice survey article from Infoworld interviews Javascript creator, Brendan Eich, who says that this is what he and Marc Andreessen planned from the beginning. Perhaps AJAX will finally deliver what Java promised. Perhaps it will really provide a solid way to distribute software seamlessly."

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AJAX also good for...

[Anonymous Coward]

cleaning tub
cleaning toilet
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Ajax Q&A... the real one

[grangerg]

Q.Did Adaptive Path invent Ajax? Did Google? Did Adaptive Path help build Google's Ajax applications? A.Yes. We wanted to call it HTTP, but that was already taken. Q. Is Adaptive Path selling Ajax components or trademarking the name? Where can I download it? A. Oops. Sorry; fooled you. It's not a product; cool acronym though, right? Q. Is Ajax just another name for XMLHttpRequest? A. Damn you kids are smart. Wait! I meant "No". We put "CSS" in there too, and "XML". Yeah; XML changes everything. Q. Why did you feel the need to give this a name? A. Two words: Midlife Crisis. Q. Techniques for asynchronous server communication have been around for years. What makes Ajax a "new" approach? A. Because I said so; I'm Jack Bauer! Q. Is Ajax a technology platform or is it an architectural style? A. Is using the BLINK tag a platform or is it an architectural style? Snatch the pebble from my hand, Grasshopper. Q. What kinds of applications is Ajax best suited for? A. Hmmm... That's a tough one. How about "web pages"? Does that sound nice? Q. Does this mean Adaptive Path is anti-Flash? A. Yes. If we liked Flash, why would we pull our hair out attempting something this complex in Javascript? Q. Does Ajax have significant accessibility or browser compatibility limitations? Blah blah blah... A. My sources say "Yes". ...but if you shake the magic 8 ball again, who knows? Q. Some of the Google examples you cite don't use XML at all. Do I have to use XML and/or XSLT in an Ajax application? A. Yes. We put "XML" in the acronym! Of course you have to! Why? ...because ...because SHUT UP! Q. Are Ajax applications easier to develop than traditional web applications? A. Duh. Are you stupid? Of course they are. We called it "AJAX"; isn't that teh ish? Q. Do Ajax applications always deliver a better experience than traditional web applications? A. Only if we make them. Everyone else sucks.

And on a serious note: Who was the moron who made the onreadystatechange event handler? Why couldn't you just pass in a reference to the XmlHttpRequest object so people wouldn't be forced to use global variables to store the reference? Is that so hard?

AJAX is not the end all...

[eno2001]

...and be all of client side scripting. There is another...

BLEACH (Bloatware + Leanware + Emacs + (x86) Assembly + C + Heroine) has been working wonders for my development. I usually start the day by shooting up in my office, then I start up all of the Office apps (bloatware) on my co-worker's PC to slwo him down. After that, I load up ACIDWARP.EXE (leanware. No DLLs, libs, nothing, jst one EXE and it's small for what it does) on my boss' PC which stuns him for a few hours so he can't keep track of what's going on in the office (usually play Purple Haze in the background). I then open up Emacs on my box and set to work redesigning everything (Screw WYSIWYG. It's overrated.) I also write a lot of my CGI in assembly language to keep the resource usage low and the code tight. C, when it's needed, which is almost never because of how well I can do things in assembly. And finally, another serving of heroine to keep the Jedi Mind tricks fresh. So far, this plan has worked so well, that I've been shuffled through about 70 different companies this year alone. My talents are in demand!