AJAX

AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.
AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small

amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means that it is possible to
update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.
Classic web pages, (which do not use AJAX) must reload the entire page if the
content should change.
Examples of applications using AJAX: Google Maps, Gmail, Youtube, and Facebook
tabs.
AJAX Working
AJAX is Based on Internet Standards

AJAX is based on internet standards, and uses a combination of:
 XMLHttpRequest object (to exchange data asynchronously with a server)
 JavaScript/DOM (to display/interact with the information)
 CSS (to style the data)
 XML (often used as the format for transferring data)
XMLHttpRequest
An object of XMLHttpRequest is used for asynchronous communication between
client and server.
It performs following operations:

1. Sends data from the client in the background
2. Receives the data from the server
3. Updates the webpage without reloading it.
Properties of XMLHttpRequest object
1
onReadyStateChange
readyState
reponseText
responseXML
Methods of XMLHttpRequest object

void open(method, URL, async)
void send()
setRequestHeader(header,value)
Program:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<div id="demo">
<h2>The XMLHttpRequest Object</h2>
<button type="button" onclick="loadDoc()">Change Content</button>
</div>
<script>
function loadDoc()
{
const xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xhttp.readyState==4 && xhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = this.responseText;
}
xhttp.open("GET", "ajax_info.txt",true);
xhttp.send();
}
</script>
</body>
</html>
ajax_info.txt
AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.
Create an XMLHttpRequest Object
The XMLHttpRequest Object

All modern browsers support the XMLHttpRequest object (IE5 and IE6 use an
ActiveXObject).
2
The XMLHttpRequest object is used to exchange data with a server behind the
scenes. This means that it is possible to update parts of a web page, without
reloading the whole page.
Syntax for creating an XMLHttpRequest object:

variable=new XMLHttpRequest();
Old versions of Internet Explorer (IE5 and IE6) uses an ActiveX Object:
variable=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
Send a Request To a Server

The XMLHttpRequest object is used to exchange data with a server.
To send a request to a server, we use the open() and send() methods of the
XMLHttpRequest object:
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",true);
xmlhttp.send();
Method Description
open(method,url,async) Specifies the type of request, the URL, and if the request
should be handled asynchronously or not.
method: the type of request: GET or POST

url: the location of the file on the server
async: true (asynchronous) or false (synchronous)
send(string) Sends the request off to the server.

string: Only used for POST requests
GET or POST
GET is simpler and faster than POST, and can be used in most cases.
However, always use POST requests when:
 A cached file is not an option (update a file or database on the server)
 Sending a large amount of data to the server (POST has no size limitations)
 Sending user input (which can contain unknown characters), POST is more
robust and secure than GET
GET Requests
A simple GET request:
Example
xmlhttp.open("GET","demo_get.asp",true);
xmlhttp.send();
POST Requests
A simple POST request:
Example
xmlhttp.open("POST","demo_post.asp",true);
xmlhttp.send();
3
Method Description
setRequestHeader(header,value) Adds HTTP headers to the request.

header: specifies the header name
value: specifies the header value
The url - A File On a Server

The url parameter of the open() method, is an address to a file on a server:
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_test.asp",true);
The file can be any kind of file, like .txt and .xml, or server scripting files like .asp
and .php (which can perform actions on the server before sending the response
back).
Asynchronous - True or False?

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and for the XMLHttpRequest
object to behave as AJAX, the async parameter of the open() method has to be set to
true:
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_test.asp",true);
Sending asynchronous requests is a huge improvement for web developers. Many of

the tasks performed on the server are very time consuming. Before AJAX, this
operation could cause the application to hang or stop.
With AJAX, the JavaScript does not have to wait for the server response, but can
instead:
 execute other scripts while waiting for server response
 deal with the response when the response ready
Async=true
When using async=true, specify a function to execute when the response is ready in
the onreadystatechange event:
Example
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",true);
xmlhttp.send();
Async=false
To use async=false, change the third parameter in the open() method to false:
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",false);
Using async=false is not recommended, but for a few small requests this can be ok.
Remember that the JavaScript will NOT continue to execute, until the server
response is ready. If the server is busy or slow, the application will hang or stop.
4
Note: When you use async=false, do NOT write an onreadystatechange function -
just put the code after the send() statement:
Example
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",false);
xmlhttp.send();
Server Response
To get the response from a server, use the responseText or responseXML property of
the XMLHttpRequest object.
Property Description
responseText get the response data as a string
responseXML get the response data as XML data
The responseText Property

If the response from the server is not XML, use the responseText property.
The responseText property returns the response as a string, and you can use it
accordingly:
Example
The responseXML Property

If the response from the server is XML, and you want to parse it as an XML object,
use the responseXML property:
Example
xmlDoc=xmlhttp.responseXML;
txt="";
x=xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("ARTIST");
for (i=0;i<x.length;i++)
{
txt=txt + x[i].childNodes[0].nodeValue + "<br>";
}
document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=txt;
The onreadystatechange event

When a request to a server is sent, we want to perform some actions based on the
response.
The onreadystatechange event is triggered every time the readyState changes.

The readyState property holds the status of the XMLHttpRequest.
Three important properties of the XMLHttpRequest object:
Property Description
onreadystatechang Stores a function (or the name of a function) to be called
5
e automatically each time the readyState property changes
readyState Holds the status of the XMLHttpRequest. Changes from 0 to 4:

0: request not initialized
1: server connection established
2: request received
3: processing request
4: request finished and response is ready
Status 200: "OK"

404: Page not found
In the onreadystatechange event, we specify what will happen when the server
response is ready to be processed.
When readyState is 4 and status is 200, the response is ready:
Example
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
{
}
}
Note: The onreadystatechange event is triggered five times (0-4), one time for each
change in readyState.
Callback Function
A callback function is a function passed as a parameter to another function.
If you have more than one AJAX task on your website, you should create ONE
standard function for creating the XMLHttpRequest object, and call this for each
AJAX task.
The function call should contain the URL and what to do on onreadystatechange
(which is probably different for each call):
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script>
var xmlhttp;
function loadXMLDoc(url,cfunc)
{
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
6
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=cfunc;
xmlhttp.open("GET",url,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
function myFunction()
{
loadXMLDoc("ajax_info.txt",function()
{
{
}
});
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="myDiv"><h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2></div>

<button type="button" onclick="myFunction()">Change Content</button>
</body>
</html>

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AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.

AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.

AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small

AJAX is Based on Internet Standards

It performs following operations:

Properties of XMLHttpRequest object

Methods of XMLHttpRequest object

Create an XMLHttpRequest Object

The XMLHttpRequest Object

Syntax for creating an XMLHttpRequest object:

Send a Request To a Server

method: the type of request: GET or POST

send(string) Sends the request off to the server.

setRequestHeader(header,value) Adds HTTP headers to the request.

The url - A File On a Server

Asynchronous - True or False?

Sending asynchronous requests is a huge improvement for web developers. Many of

responseText get the response data as a string

responseXML get the response data as XML data

The responseText Property

The responseXML Property

The onreadystatechange event

The onreadystatechange event is triggered every time the readyState changes.

onreadystatechang Stores a function (or the name of a function) to be called

readyState Holds the status of the XMLHttpRequest. Changes from 0 to 4:

Status 200: "OK"

A callback function is a function passed as a parameter to another function.

<div id="myDiv"><h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2></div>

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