Fall 08 - T04 - G4
Ajax Technologies
Who are we?
Jared Smith, Parker Phinney, Sophie Nguyen, Josh Nakesch, Jon Newman
What is Ajax?
- Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
- Set of tools and technologies supported by a browser
- It let’s you navigate through a webpage without actually leaving the main page
- Examples: Google Maps, Facebook tabs, Gmail, and Youtube
Ajax stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. This does not necessarily mean they have to use XML, and neither does it have to be asynchronous; Ajax applications can use XML, and they can be updated asynchronously. However, overall, Ajax is used for developing efficient and dynamic websites.
Despite the meaning of the term (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), Ajax revolves around a very straightforward principle: it lets you browse through the contents of a Webpage without actually having to reload the page. The most popular websites frequently visited use Ajax to a certain degree, for example: for many of you who use Google Maps, you can scroll around on the map without the overall page being constantly refreshed; or for some parts of “new” Facebook, you can check your home page, photos, status updates, ‘live feed’ tabs etc without the whole browser refreshing itself or leaving the main layout of the page. Other applications of Ajax include: YouTube, Flickr and Gmail as well.
In short, Ajax is a particular approach to Web programming or a set of programming techniques. These programming techniques involve being able to update a Webpage or a section of the page, with input from the server, without the need of refreshing or leaving the page.
This software object allows JavaScript code, executed in the browser, to go out and request data from a server without actually reloading a page. Here are the key steps involved that simplify how Ajax works:
- It captures an event (such as when a user changes an edit field or presses a button).
- The event triggers JavaScript code, which sends a query to the Web server.
- The JavaScript code retrieves results from the server.
- The JavaScript code uses the results to change the contents of the Web page.
Why use AJAX?
- Used for developing fast and dynamic websites
- Helps to process performing data in the client side (JavaScript) with data taken from the server.
- Selectively modifies a part of the page displayed by the browser without resubmitting.
Advantages of Ajax
AJAX is used in many internet programs such as Google Maps, Windows Live Maps, MapQuest, and Facebook. AJAX technologies allow designers to make websites presentable, create dynamic displays, allow for better data interaction, changing and manipulating data, and asynchronous communication. This allows for the construction of internet sites such as Facebook, which have large impact on society. AJAX has some great advantages over old techniques. Browsers and sites using AJAX have reduced loading times and use less bandwidth, the ability to reload parts of pages separately, a quicker response to inputs, faster applications online, and reduced connections to server as data is only required once.
Disadvantages og Ajax
Although AJAX has some great advantages it’s not without some drawbacks. These drawbacks include; not being able to use the back button in a browser due to the dynamics of the page, difficulties bookmarking pages due to the dynamic natures of the page, some browsers that do not support AJAX or JavaScript, mobile phones, palm pilots and screen readers have difficulty with pages incorporating AJAX and it opens up new vectors for hackers to use to attack computers.
Companies involved in Ajax Technology
Many companies use Ajax technology on the web in order to provide more efficient services. The most popular company of this service is Google. They have become the most popular search engine on the web through their web based applications of this technology. Google maps are perhaps one of the most innovated services provided by Google using Ajax technology. Other successful companies on the web also use Ajax technology in their services, such as YouTube. YouTube has become an increasingly popular company in the entertainment service through allowing people to browse videos efficiently and easily. These are not the only two companies that use Ajax technology as a central tool to provide their services. Another company is Yahoo; this search engine competes with Google and has been very successful over the years. Although they are not as popular as Google, Yahoo has still managed to innovate the uses of Ajax technology in order to stimulate company growth. There are many other companies on the web that rely on Ajax technology in order to provide their services. Ajax technology has allowed web based companies to open the possibilities of the web and make simple application easier to the public. This has had a significant impact on the growth of these companies and their financial growth.
Financials in Ajax Technology
Google has proven to be an effective and simple tool to research information on the web. Over the past few years Google has continued to grow financially at a tremendous rate. Their main source of revenue comes from advertisements which accounts for approximately 99% of the total revenue. As the most popular search engine on the web, other companies are willing to pay top prices to advertise through Google. In 2006 alone the company made approximately $10.492 billion US in advertisements. Google has also made investments in other companies through partnerships or other investment plans. Most partnerships are involved with competing companies that also use Ajax technology such as Yahoo. As a major innovator of Ajax technology, Google has noted other company’s success such as YouTube which they bought in late 2006. This investment has allowed Google to benefit financially as YouTube is an extremely popular website. Over the years Google has had a significant impact on the market. Many of the initial employees were given shares in Google, and within a few years they became paper millionaires. Their success on the market is a direct result of the innovations of their services which were made possible through Ajax. Overall Ajax technology has innovated the way we use the web, but has also had an impact on the market. Companies such as Google and YouTube have grown financially as a result of Ajax technology. It has become evident that Ajax technology will benefit society technologically and otherwise.
History of Ajax
Introduction to Ajax Technology Often when you observe technological advancements in society you take them for granted. You forget where they have originally come from. Computers are a great example of technology that most people take for granted. Computers and computer programs are integrated into almost every aspect of life. The internet is the most influential, allowing us to connect with each other instantly and providing a wealth of information at the tip of our fingers. It is extremely user friendly and applies to all types of people worldwide. But what exactly makes the internet so user friendly? Asynchronous websites are a commonly used technique that allows browsers to access information easily, and it also makes designing web pages much easier and user friendly.
Early Asynchronous Languages Asynchronous technologies have only recently had the term “Ajax” attached to them, but realistically these types of programs have been around since the early 90’s. A company named Sun Microsystems founded by Vinod Khosla, Andy Bechtolsheim and Scott McNealy On February 12, 1982 was the first company to develop a language besides than C++. In June and July of 1994 Sun Microsystems developed a language and wrote a small browser named WebRunner, later renamed HotJava. This was the building block for dynamic browsing that we use today. Netscape Navigator was the first web browsing software that took advantage of the new Java language. In 1995 Netscape incorporated the new Asynchronous language by enabling web designers to place small scripts in their website that could allow you to make minor adjustments without actually reloading the entire website. Mocha was later named LiveScript and in an attempt to drive consumer markets the product was later renamed JavaScript. Microsoft designed a similar script named Jscript in 1996 that could be used in Internet Explorer 3.0. Both of these scripts use the Java style language. Also in 1996 a new technique was being used called Iframe. This allowed designers to place a frame inside another website. These frames could contain text, video or more recently, virtual interactive advertisements. It could allow the user to interact with the frame without reloading the entire website. These frames often contained their own scroll bar and by using the main website scroll bar you could scroll the frames off screen. This Iframe language launched the beginning of many interactive text boxes used for email, allowing the user to edit the color, size, font style, or to add attachments without registering the entire website with the server. Instead only the part within the frame needed to be registered, thus reducing bandwidth on servers. Current Asynchronous Language
In 1999 Microsoft developed an object modeler for representing HTML or XML called XMLHttpRequest. It was code, written in Java language, which would receive and send information between a web server and browser. This type of Ajax architecture is used by many designers to create dynamic websites such as Google, MapQuest or other interactive type of websites. (There are thousands). On April 15th 2008 the World Wide Web Consortium published a “Working Draft specification” for the XMLHttpRequest object's Application Programming Interface. This allowed web designers to use it without platform-specific code. This style is used today. As you can see Ajax technologies are not just one program, but instead are used worldwide to help simplify the internet through the use of many different programs.
Google with Ajax, Innovation and Invention
Ajax technology has been undoubtedly a revolution of the modern world. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, or Ajax for shorthand (not AJAX, it’s not an acronym) has made a fundamental shift in what is possible on the web feasible. Truthfully though Ajax is not a technology but more a stack of several technologies. By simultaneously utilizing five base technologies, Ajax is capable of bringing them together in news ways. A major investor in this new technology is Google. After the launch of the initial search engine in 1997, Google has continued to be a major innovator of web- based applications. Orkut, Gmail, Google Groups, Google Maps, and Google Suggest are all new applications designed by the people at Google. Being that the core Ajax technologies have matured, the only challenge in creating new Ajax applications isn’t technical. It’s that now designers must forget the old limitations of the web and open their minds to these new exciting possibilities.
The Church of Google (Googlism)
“We at the Church of Google believe the search engine Google is the closest humankind has ever come to directly experiencing an actual God (as typically defined).” This is the initial line upon the home page of the Church of Google’s website. This isn’t a joke either, this organization honestly believes that Google is God and has written several proofs, commandments, prayers and have even declared a holiday (September 14th is Google appreciation day for Googlists).
This prayer is in binary.
01010111 01100101 00100000 01101010 01101111 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01000111 01101111 01101111 01100111 01101100 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 01101100 01100001 01100111 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110011 01100100 01101111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011
In English.
We join together to thank Google for the knowledge and wisdom she brings.
References
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystems#Java_platform
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMLHttpRequest#Properties
[5]http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/ajaxhistory
[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jscript
[7]http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hbxc2t98(VS.85).aspx
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_Object_Model
[9]https://developer.mozilla.org/en/DOM
[10]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface
[12]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web_Consortium
[13]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser
[14]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HotJava
[15]http://www.riaspot.com/articles/entry/What-is-Ajax-
[16]http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000385.php
[17]http://webdesign.about.com/od/ajax/a/aa101705.htm
[18]http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/Section/What-is-Ajax-.id-303217.html
[19]http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9615
http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org/ .
Google Prayers http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org/Scripture/google_prayers.html
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