GWT Basics: AJAX Programming with Java

By Michael J. Ross
2008-03-10


AJAX Overview

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) evolved in an effort to solve the aforesaid problems, by allowing the browser to communicate with the server, behind the scenes, without having to refresh the entire page. It accomplishes this by using JavaScript to only change that portion of the current Web page that needs to be changed. AJAX can make the user's browser behave more like a desktop application, combining server interaction with far greater performance than traditional server-side languages. AJAX is asynchronous in the sense that the needed data is obtained from the server and loaded without interfering with the display and behavior of the current Web page. The data is requested through use of the XMLHttpRequest object, and typically formatted in XML — hence the rest of the acronym.

But raw AJAX programming can be quite difficult, partly because AJAX code is typically quite daunting, and partly because Web browsers have implemented JavaScript differently, despite a convergence upon ECMAScript standards, promulgated by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA). As a result, AJAX programmers can spend much of their development time dealing with incompatibilities among browsers and operating systems.

Tutorial Pages:
» Introduction
» AJAX Overview
» GWT to the Rescue
» Installing GWT
» Running Sample Applications
» Resources

Related Tutorials: » Getting Started with AJAX in jQuery » AJAX Accessibility for Websites » AJAX and PHP Form Processing » The obligatory 'My Ajax Tutorial' Post » A Designer's Guide to Prototyping Ajax » Ajax Wireframing Approaches