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Adding Ajax--New from O'Reilly: Easy Ways to Rev Up Web Applications.

June 19, 2007

Sebastopol, CA--Do you know that you can add Ajax to an existing web application without redoing the whole thing? In her new book, Adding Ajax (O'Reilly US, $34.99)--Shelley Powers skillfully reveals the myriad advantages of adding Ajax to enhance, rather than replace, the way an application works.

This comprehensive Ajax resource shows developers how to extend existing applications rather than creating Rich Internet Applications. Shelley, a software developer/architect, also explains how developers can make their business-side applications--including web forms, server-side driven pages, and static content--livelier and more responsive.

Along with providing a wide-ranging overview of Ajax technologies, this book details:

  • Ways to develop a strategy for changing your site before you code
  • How to work with the XMLHttpRequest object
  • Several important Ajax libraries, including Prototype, script.aculo.us, Rico, MochiKit
  • The Ajax interactive element--how to use events and event handlers that work across browsers
  • The concept of web page as space, including three popular approaches to managing web space
  • How to make data updates, including adding new data, deleting and making updates, all from within a single page
  • The effects Ajax has on the Web--breaking the back button, losing browser history,dynamic effects that disappear when the page is refreshed, and more
  • Advanced CSS effects, including drag-and-drop scroll bars, pagination, and the use of SVG and the Canvas object
  • Mashups--Ajax's ability to combine data from different web services in any number of ways, directly in web pages

For web developers who want to create more exciting and responsive interactive web applications but aren't sure how to do it, Adding Ajax gives the tips, tricks, and information needed to boost and improve speed, functionality, and usability.

Shelley Powers is an independent contractor, currently living in St. Louis, who specializes in technology architecture and software development.

Additional Resources:

More information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic

Adding Ajax
Shelley Powers
ISBN: 0-596-52936-8, $34.99 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

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