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XML Tutorial

XML HOME XML Introduction XML How to use XML Tree XML Syntax XML Elements XML Attributes XML Namespaces XML Display XML HttpRequest XML Parser XML DOM XML XPath XML XSLT XML XQuery XML XLink XML Validator XML DTD XML Schema XML Server XML Examples XML Quiz XML Certificate

XML AJAX

AJAX Introduction AJAX XMLHttp AJAX Request AJAX Response AJAX XML File AJAX PHP AJAX ASP AJAX Database AJAX Applications AJAX Examples

XML DOM

DOM Introduction DOM Nodes DOM Accessing DOM Node Info DOM Node List DOM Traversing DOM Navigating DOM Get Values DOM Change Nodes DOM Remove Nodes DOM Replace Nodes DOM Create Nodes DOM Add Nodes DOM Clone Nodes DOM Examples

XPath Tutorial

XPath Introduction XPath Nodes XPath Syntax XPath Axes XPath Operators XPath Examples

XSLT Tutorial

XSLT Introduction XSL Languages XSLT Transform XSLT <template> XSLT <value-of> XSLT <for-each> XSLT <sort> XSLT <if> XSLT <choose> XSLT Apply XSLT on the Client XSLT on the Server XSLT Edit XML XSLT Examples

XQuery Tutorial

XQuery Introduction XQuery Example XQuery FLWOR XQuery HTML XQuery Terms XQuery Syntax XQuery Add XQuery Select XQuery Functions

XML DTD

DTD Introduction DTD Building Blocks DTD Elements DTD Attributes DTD Elements vs Attr DTD Entities DTD Examples

XSD Schema

XSD Introduction XSD How To XSD <schema> XSD Elements XSD Attributes XSD Restrictions

XSD Complex

XSD Elements XSD Empty XSD Elements Only XSD Text Only XSD Mixed XSD Indicators XSD <any> XSD <anyAttribute> XSD Substitution XSD Example

XSD Data

XSD String XSD Date XSD Numeric XSD Misc XSD Reference

Web Services

XML Services XML WSDL XML SOAP XML RDF XML RSS

References

DOM Node Types DOM Node DOM NodeList DOM NamedNodeMap DOM Document DOM Element DOM Attribute DOM Text DOM CDATA DOM Comment DOM XMLHttpRequest DOM Parser XSLT Elements XSLT/XPath Functions

AJAX Introduction

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AJAX is a developer's dream, because you can:

  • Update a web page without reloading the page
  • Request data from a server - after the page has loaded
  • Receive data from a server - after the page has loaded
  • Send data to a server - in the background

Try it Yourself Examples in Every Chapter

In every chapter, you can edit the examples online, and click on a button to view the result.

AJAX Example

Let AJAX change this text

Try it Yourself »

AJAX Example Explained

HTML Page

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<div id="demo">
  <h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2>
  <button type="button" onclick="loadDoc()">Change Content</button>
</div>

</body>
</html>

The HTML page contains a <div> section and a <button>.

The <div> section is used to display information from a server.

The <button> calls a function (if it is clicked).

The function requests data from a web server and displays it:

Function loadDoc()

function loadDoc() {
  var xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
    if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
     document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = this.responseText;
    }
  };
  xhttp.open("GET", "ajax_info.txt", true);
  xhttp.send();
}

What is AJAX?

AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript And XML.

AJAX is not a programming language.

AJAX just uses a combination of:

  • A browser built-in XMLHttpRequest object (to request data from a web server)
  • JavaScript and HTML DOM (to display or use the data)

AJAX is a misleading name. AJAX applications might use XML to transport data, but it is equally common to transport data as plain text or JSON text.

AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging data with a web server behind the scenes. This means that it is possible to update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.

How AJAX Works

AJAX

  • 1. An event occurs in a web page (the page is loaded, a button is clicked)
  • 2. An XMLHttpRequest object is created by JavaScript
  • 3. The XMLHttpRequest object sends a request to a web server
  • 4. The server processes the request
  • 5. The server sends a response back to the web page
  • 6. The response is read by JavaScript
  • 7. Proper action (like page update) is performed by JavaScript

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