How do i run AJAX?

Hey All...

I am having a few issues understanding Ajax, some may say, stear away from it, but i'd rather try and get to grips and understand it...

My main initial question is, is Ajax a companant that is installed on the server, or is it not installed on the server but a script include?

I'd really appreciate any extra info you can provide on Ajax, cheers...

From my development firm's point of view - the web is not quite ready for it overall.

I don't have a lot of knowledge, just sharing my feeling about it. Not a current happening, maybe in the future.

Ajax is Asynchronous JavaScript and XML and is basically a web development technique to add/increase interactivity and usability.

It uses a combination of HTML,CSS and Javascript. You can use any server-side script to create some dynamic functionality.

A lot of things depend on the way Ajax is implemented. As the technique depends on the browsers for much of its workings, cross browser compatibility is an issue. Some objects like XMLHttpRequest are implemented in IE 5 or later.

We use AJAX quite a bit - mostly for admin GUI interfaces (like inventory select menus that change the multiple-option menus on the fly, and the next one, etc.). But you see it used most frequently now (since Google made it a standard) for things like mouseover graphic events that show you, for instance, the front and back of an object (usually and image) on the same page.

Try a search for Ruby on Rails and the de.licio.us code. Hope I got the delicious URL right, I can never remember.

Almost right del.icio.us

[link]

I thought AJAX was some type of server componant at first, like asp, php or flex, but now i realise that you can code ajax fron scratch or just use ajax libaries out there.

I have taken a look at Ruby on Rails too, think i would rather stick with AJAX

Well, if i am choosing, CFM (ColdFusion) seems to be even better.

Thanks