Mixing Client and Server sides

AJAX (shorthand for asynchronous JavaScript and XML)

Ajax is a newer web development technique for dynamically interchanging content with the server-side, without reloading the web page. Google Maps is an example of a web application that uses Ajax techniques.

Like DHTML and LAMP, Ajax is not a technology in itself, but a term that refers to the use of a group of technologies. Ajax uses a combination of:

• HTML and CSS for marking up and styling information.
• The DOM accessed with JavaScript to dynamically display and interact with the information presented.
• A method for exchanging data asynchronously between browser and server, therewith avoiding page reloads. The XMLHttpRequest (XHR) object is usually used, but sometimes an IFrame object or a dynamically added <script> tag is used instead.
• A format for the data sent to the browser. Common formats include XML, pre-formatted HTML, plain text, and JSON. This data could be created dynamically by some form of server-side scripting.