With the high popularity of web applications that use the XMLHttpRequest object,
such as Google Local, Flickr, and Amazon A9, it is fast becoming a de facto standard.
The nice part about the XMLHttpRequest object is that it doesn??™t require any proprietary
or additional software or hardware to enable richer applications. The functionality
is built right into the browser. As such, it is server agnostic. Except for needing to make
some minor changes to your browser security settings, you can use it straightaway, leveraging
coding styles and languages you already know.
To see an example of how it works, refer to Google Local (see Figure 1-4). As you use
the mouse to drag the map around the screen, the sections of the map that were previously
hidden come into view quickly; this is because they were cached on your initial
viewing of the map. Now, as you are looking at a new section (by dragging the mouse),
the sections bordering the current one are downloading in the background, as are the
relevant satellite photographs for the section of map you are viewing.
CHAPTER 1 ?– INTRODUCING AJAX 8
Figure 1-4.
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