Ajax Applications and Server Communication

Overview/Description
This course explores the technologies that are used to enable Ajax applications to interact with a server's external data. It will begin by examining the important role that ASP.NET, PHP, Java, and Ajax play in developing Ajax applications, and then explore how Ajax can access and utilize external data sent from a variety of sources. The course will move on to discuss JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and how frameworks and libraries can add complex degrees of functionality to an application with minimal effort. This course is one of a series providing an introduction to Ajax development.

Target Audience
Developers who are experienced in building Internet applications and who want to become skilled in the use of Ajax to add seamless interactivity to their web applications

Prerequisites
A good knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, basic programming concepts, and general Internet development; programming experience would be an advantage

Expected Duration (hours)
2.0

Lesson Objectives

Ajax Applications and Server Communication

recognize how Ajax and server-side technologies work together

deploy an Ajax application in ASP.NET

use PHP with an Ajax application

use Java servlets with an Ajax application

distinguish between the formats used for external data feeds

extract XML data from an external feed

extract string data from an external feed

use Ajax to create a feed reader

use server-side technologies in an Ajax application

extract external data in an Ajax application

create a news feed reader in an Ajax application

recognize key characteristics of JSON

distinguish between JSON and XML as formats for transferring data in Ajax applications

use JSON in an Ajax application

use JSON-PHP in Ajax applications

distinguish between major server-side frameworks available for use with Ajax

distinguish between major client-side libraries available for use with Ajax

build an Ajax application that utilizes JSON

use JSON-PHP in an Ajax application