AJAX Makes Your Life Easier–Whether You Know It or Not – by Jennifer Miller
June 22 , 2007
Before webslinger Jesse James Garrett developed AJAX for his client, anyone using the web still had to rely on the often tiresome method of interaction: click a link, tap your fingers and wait, load a page, repeat.
In the two-plus years since the launch of AJAX—which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML—the technology has changed the web computing world. This is largely due to the fact that it describes a faster and simpler way to use the following existing technologies:
- Asynchronous data retrieval that uses XMLHttpRequest
- Data interchange and manipulation that uses both XML and XSLT
- Dynamic display and interaction that uses the Document Object Model
- Standards-based presentation that uses XHTML and CSS
- JavaScript bringing it all together
So What Does That Do for You?
What that means to the ordinary user who knows nothing of this behind-the-scenes technology is that data is now loaded in advance, based on a "prediction" of what the user will do next.
Let’s say you’re moving to a new city and you want to see what the homes look like in a certain neighborhood. [Click on Google Maps – link to http://maps.google.com/maps] for the city, neighborhood, and even a bird’s-eye-view of a house you like. If you want to zoom around the street and see other homes, hold down the mouse button.
Thanks to AJAX technology, you can do this without waiting for the page to reload. It also let’s you switch from satellite photos to a map view, or a combined map-satellite view without feeling like you could read War and Peace while you’re waiting.
How Can Businesses Benefit?
AJAX isn’t just for the virtual day-tripper. Many companies are discovering its invaluable capacity to reduce wait times by streamlining sluggish ordering processes. For example, a business manager trying to order a piece of equipment no longer has to deal with long waits associated with server responses as pages reload.
The technology also is proving its value with what are now termed "insight" processes. A device with "insight" offers users suggestions as they type. While this is helpful for folks using PCs or laptops, it is particularly useful for on-the-go business professionals who can instantly see a list of suggestions after typing only one or two letters.
What’s the Downside?
Like any new technology, AJAX isn’t perfect. One major complaint from users is that it can easily break the predicted behavior of the browser’s back button. Today’s users expect the back button to take them to the exact page they last left—but with AJAX that isn’t always the case.
What’s Next?
AJAX is only gaining in popularity, as evidenced by the continual online buzz around it, the adoption of it by Microsoft, and the internationally-attended annual AJAX World Conference and Expo. There’s even a print and online periodical dedicated to AJAX, so if you want to see what is springing from the minds of today’s developers, download a free edition of AJAXWorld Magazine.
Other advertisers are adapting by trying to ride the communications tide. Take Volvo, for example. In 2005 the car company sponsored a "Best of Spaces" editorial hub on MSN Spaces. Handing the reins to the public, it encouraged men to answer the question, "What would you do if you were the last guy on earth?" The question included a call for videos and a somewhat savvy offer from Volvo to "help" with editing. The goal? To create brand trust and engage with the highly sought after young male adult audience in a way that appealed to them.
Was Volvo successful?
Pundits argue, but the fact remains that the brand received at least 100 million page impressions per month.
The Next Wave
Traditional media experiences are already beginning to blend together—and they will only continue to do so. Who hasn’t been sitting on the couch watching television with a laptop nearby when an actor pops onto the screen that we want to look up on the internet?
This blending combined with the massive globalization of content will likely mean that today’s barriers to distribution will be easier to cross—especially as the barriers between the different communications break down. Those marketers who remain flexible and adapt to both the changing consumer and evolving technologies will be able to deliver the right message to the right viewer at the right time.