Professional Ajax, 2nd Edition

With Professional Ajax, 2nd Edition, as your guide, you'll discover how to break free of the "click and wait" standard and defy all the traditional rules of what can happen on the web. This book arms you with a developer-level understanding of Ajax techniques, patterns, and use cases so that you can create an unprecedented user experience in your web applications.

Thoroughly updated throughout, this expanded 2nd edition adds almost 200 pages of new coverage on recently developed Ajax techniques, clearly showing you how to execute client-server communication on your site. It takes you through request brokers such as hidden frames, dynamic iframes, and XHR, explaining when to use each method. you'll also find out how to effectively implement a request management framework as well as how to utilize the latest debugging techniques. All of this will help you create your own full-fledged Ajax web applications to make your site more dynamic.

What you will learn from this book

• All about working with Ajax design patterns and libraries
• Best practices for dynamic script loading and incorporating Ajax-enabled images into your site
• Steps for using Ajax with RSS and Atom to produce a web-based news aggregator
• Tips for taking advantage of Ajax maps APIs from Google® and Yahoo!®
• Techniques for automating part of the Ajax development process
• How to use ASP.NET AJAX Extensions to simplify the creation of Ajax applications

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers who want to enhance the usability of their sites and applications. Familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is necessary, as is experience with a server-side language such as PHP or a .NET language.

About the Authors

Nicholas C. Zakas has a BS in Computer Science from Merrimack College and an MBA from Endicott College. He is the author of Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wiley 2005) as well as several online articles. Nicholas works for Yahoo! as a frontend engineer and has worked in web development for more than 6 years, during which time he has helped develop web solutions in use at some of the largest companies in the world.

Jeremy McPeak began tinkering with web development as a hobby in 1998. Currently working in the IT department of a school district, Jeremy has experience developing web solutions with JavaScript, PHP, and C#. He has written several online articles covering topics such as XSLT, WebForms, and C#. He is also co-author of Beginning JavaScript, 3rd Edition (Wiley 2007).

Joe Fawcett started programming in the 1970s and briefly worked in IT upon leaving full-time education. He then pursued a more checkered career before returning to software development in 1994. In 2003 he was awarded the title of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in XML for community contributions and technical expertise. He currently works in London as a developer for FTC Kaplan, a leading international provider of accountancy and business training, where he specializes in systems integration.