Ajax Advanced Programming

Author: Zachas
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
Translator's Preface
When I was nearing the end of translating The Art of Ajax, dlee (the translator of Ajax in Action) recommended this book, Professional Ajax. During the translation process of The Art of Ajax, I deeply felt the consistent writing style of the "Programmer's Oath" series: concise and clear language, systematic and comprehensive knowledge, making it easy for beginners to master the internal skills of Ajax through simple yet profound explanations. However, as a relatively thin book with only about 300 pages, The Art of Ajax could not include more implementation details. Therefore, to further improve practical skills, some "martial arts techniques" are needed, otherwise, strong internal energy alone is not enough to "fight on the spot." After briefly reviewing Professional Ajax, I confirmed that it is an excellent book that covers these "martial arts techniques," so I decided to continue translating it.
In the first two chapters, the book explains the evolution history and technical predecessors of Ajax, as well as its basic usage methods, in a concise and clear style, making it a self-contained system that allows beginners to quickly start their Ajax learning journey. Chapter 3 abstracts Ajax application scenarios into communication control and failure handling patterns, providing a complete reference for Ajax's solutions to different needs. Subsequently, chapters 4 to 8 focus on five themes—XML (including XPath and XSLT), RSS/Atom, web services, JSON, and web user interface components—explaining how to effectively combine Ajax with these technologies. Classic examples and complete source code will guide readers in "practical" applications.
Later, the book presents an example of a WebMail system developed using Ajax (AjaxMail in Chapter 9) to demonstrate how Ajax and related technologies can achieve the user experience of Gmail. Finally, the book details the usage of three Ajax frameworks—JPSpan, DWR, and Ajax.NET—for PHP, JSP, and ASP.NET web developers, respectively. During the translation process, the original author's fluent writing and complete code left a deep impression on me, making it one of the most enjoyable books I've translated. If there is any drawback, it might be that most examples in the chapters use PHP, which has a slightly lower usage rate than Java and .NET today. However, Ajax focuses on frontend technology, and backend code implementation is not the book's primary focus. Additionally, the readability of PHP code does not pose significant difficulties for readers. In my development team, we simply modified these examples into ASP.NET versions with minimal effort.
As a hot technology, Ajax has seen an influx of related books recently. As the translator of both The Art of Ajax and this book, along with my experience reading Ajax in Action and Ajax Beginner's Guide, I'd like to share my thoughts on these four books:
? If you want to quickly understand Ajax technology, choose Ajax Beginner's Guide and The Art of Ajax.
? If you want to quickly improve your hands-on skills in implementing Ajax solutions, consider Ajax Beginner's Guide and this book.
? If you want to systematically learn about Ajax in the shortest time, The Art of Ajax is the best choice.
? If you want to delve deep into Ajax technology, Ajax in Action is an indispensable book.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Fu Zhihong, the editor at Turing Press, and my technical friend Li Kun (dlee) for their support and guidance, which are the cornerstones of this book's successful completion. I also thank Wu Lanzhi (who initially translated chapters 4 and 6), Hu Bing, and Chen Shaoji for their significant contributions to the translation. Special thanks to my mother for her long-term teachings and my wife Xu Gaofang for her silent support and encouragement. Given my limited abilities, I must thank every reader for their feedback and criticism. I welcome correspondence (xf@csai.cn) to discuss more topics related to Ajax, Web 2.0, and B/S software development.
Xu Feng
May 2006, Xizheng Garden, Xiamen
This book is a developer-level tutorial on Ajax technology, patterns, and use cases. It not only introduces the basics of Ajax but also discusses Ajax patterns and frameworks. Additionally, it explains how to effectively combine Ajax with technologies like XML (including XPath and XSLT), RSS/Atom, web services, JSON, and web user interface components, along with an example of an Ajax-developed WebMail system. The book's classic examples and complete source code provide practical guidance. The source code accompanying this book is available for download on the Turing Press website. Suitable for intermediate to advanced-level web developers.