Building Applications using AJAX

Discussion in 'JavaScript and AJAX' started by pradeep, Oct 14, 2007.

  1. pradeep

    pradeep Team Leader

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    The first of its kind Web Technology Conference on Open Source Technology, WebOSS '07 was organised in Kolkata on Sat, 13th Oct 07 and I spoke at the event as one of the participants on "Building Applications using AJAX". Here I will share my presentation, the PDF copy download requires you to register at the forum.

    What is AJAX?


    • AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript And XML
    • Is a web development technique used for creating faster, interactive web applications.

    Who uses AJAX?



    • Google maps
    • Gmail
    • Google Suggest
    • Flickr
    • del.icio.us
    • Meebo
    • and many more websites…

    How AJAX is different



    [​IMG]

    Need for AJAX



    • To increase web's interactivity, speed and usability
    • Issues with classic web applications
    1. Almost all processing is done on server
    2. High latency
    3. Low interactivity

    Benefits of Using AJAX



    • Enhance your sites by allowing quicker access to data.
    • Reduce the amount of bandwidth used in data presentation.
    • Make a web application that feels more like a native application.

    AJAX Workarounds



    • Hidden IFRAME
    • <SCRIPT> src hack
    • Cookies

    Where to use AJAX



    • Anywhere you have a search box, adding Google suggest functionality.
    • Pages where you have a multi-step process.
    • When working with large or highly interdependent datasets.

    Simple Ajax Application : How To



    • Create a request object
    • Make the request
    • Handle the response

    Create a request object



    Code:
    if browser is mozilla or safari or opera then
     	create a new XMLHttpRequest
     otherwise if browser is IE
     	create a new ActiveXObject
     otherwise
     	error - browser does not support XMLHttpRequest
    • IE 5,5.5,6 implement XHR as an ActiveX object (Msxml2.XMLHTTP/Microsoft.XMLHTTP)
    • Mozilla 1.0+, Safari 1.2+, Opera 8+, IE7 provide XMLHttpRequest natively.
    • All XHR objects have the same methods and properties.
    Code

    Code:
     var xhr = null;
     if(window.XMLHttpRequest) // Mozilla,Safari, etc.
     {
         xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
     }
     else if(window.ActiveXObject) // < IE 7
     {
         xhr = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP');
     }
     else
     {
         alert('Oops! Your browser does not support XMLHttpRequest');
     }
     

    XHR Methods



    • open('method','url',asyncFlag)
    • send(content)
    • abort()
    • getResponseHeader("header")
    • setRequestHeader("header","value")

    XHR properties



    • onreadstatechange
    • readystate
    • responseText
    • responseXML
    • status
    • statusText

    Make the request



    • set onreadystatechange to callback function cbProcessResponse
    • open a request on the XHR object
    • send the request through the XHR object
    • "Same Site" rule
    • "GET" or "POST"
    • Asynchronous flag
    Code

    Code:
     xhr.onreadystatechange=cbProcessResponse;
     xhr.open('ajax.php','GET',true);
     
     function cbProcessResponse()
     {
         if(xhr.readystate==4 && xhr.status==200)
         {
             alert(xhr.responseText);
         }
     }
     
     /* readystate values
     0 -> uninitialized
     1 -> loading
     2 -> loaded
     3 -> interactive
     4 -> completed
     */
     

    Handle Response: Parsing the XML



    Code:
     // Our sample XML
     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
     <root>
         <response>OK</response>
         <msg>Hello World!</msg>
     </root>
     
    Code:
     // Revised callback function
     function cbProcessResponse()
     {
         if(xhr.readystate==4 && xhr.status==200)
         {
           var xmlDoc = xhr.responseXML.documentElement;
           var s = x.getElementsByTagName('response')[0].firstChild.data;
           var m = x.getElementsByTagName('msg')[0].firstChild.data;
           alert('Response Code:'+s+'\nMessage: '+m)
         }
     }
     

    Enter JSON



    • JavaScript Object Notation
    • JSON is a lightweight data-interchange format.
    • JSON is easier to parse and has less overhead when compared to XML.
    • Find more about JSON at http://json.org
    Code:
     //sample JSON
     {
         response: 'OK',
         msg: 'Hello World'
     }
     

    JSON How?



    • JSON can be generated by all the popular server-side languages.
    • Native/Library Support
    Code:
    // Revised callback function to use JSON
     function cbProcessResponse()
     {
         if(xhr.readystate==4 && xhr.status==200)
         {
           var jsonData = eval('('+xhr.responseText+')');
           var s = jsonData.response; // easy ;-)
           var m = jsonData.msg; 
           alert('Response Code:'+s+'\nMessage: '+m)
         }
     }
     
    Doesn't that look simpler?

    Frameworks



    • A framework is a re-usable design for a software system with built-in generic functions for performing repetitive, natively unsupported operations.
    • The Prototype JavaScript Framework is a JavaScript framework that provides an Ajax framework and other utilities.
    • Download from http://prototypejs.org
    • Others: YUI, Dojo, jQuery, mooTools

    Using Prototype.js



    • Prototype provides the Ajax object to abstract the different browsers.
    • Ajax.Request()
    • Ajax.Updater(container, url[, options])
    • Ajax.PeriodicalUpdater(container, url[, options])
    Code:
    var pars = 'topic=ajax&framework=pjs';
     Var url = '/cgi-bin/myAjaxHandler.cgi';
     var myAjax = new Ajax.Request(url,{
             method: "post", // get/post
             parameters: pars,
             onComplete: cbProcessResponse // Our old callback function
              });
     

    AJAX Security



    • Data Validation
    • Authentication
    • Test your code thoroughly before deployment.

    Tips



    • Don't overuse AJAX, the usability requirements for JavaScript applications are quite different than the requirements for regular web pages.
    • Escape content sent to the server.
    • Use AJAX activity indicators.
    • http://www.napyfab.com/ajax-indicators/

    Debugging AJAX



    • Always test your PHP/Server-side code before integrating it with the JavaScript side.
    • Always check xhr.status
    • Use FireBug to pin-point errors, and trace performance bottle-necks.
    • Download from http://www.getfirebug.com/

    Resources



    Download The Presentation



    http://www.slideshare.net/s_pradeep/building-applications-using-ajax
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 21, 2017
  2. Izaan

    Izaan New Member

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    Nice one.
     
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    seoguru New Member

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