2013-09-27

Ajax Technology - by Ravi Bandakkanavar



 

In recent years, information system based on browse/server architecture (namely B/S architecture) received more favour by enterprises.

Ajax technology consists of five parts.

1. HTML(Hiper Text Markup Language)

2.JavaScript

3.DHTML(Dynamic Hiper Text Markup Language)

4.DOM(Document Object Model)

5.XML(Extensible Markup Language)

With the help of cooperation and collaboration of these technologies, they can optimize the conventional enterprise information system by using an asynchronous way. Meanwhile, a quickly-responded and smoother user interface was provided. Enterprise information system with Ajax can be operated in a more efficient way, which means even use the current hardware, it can provide more load capacity, be more stable and serve more clients in parallel. In this paper: we present two kinds of information system models, one use conventional B/S architecture and the other use Ajax enhanced B/S architecture.

INTRODUCTION

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. This technology was introduced first by Microsoft  back in 1999, and had been known as DHTML / JavaScript web application with remote calls. AJAX is not a new programming language, but a new technique for creating better, faster, and more interactive web applications.

With AJAX, a JavaScript can communicate directly with the server, with the XMLHttpRequest object. With this object, a JavaScript can trade data with a web server, without reloading the page.

AJAX uses asynchronous data transfer (HTTP requests) between the browser and the web server, allowing web pages to request small bits of information from the server instead of whole pages.

TECHNOLOGIES USED IN AJAX

The term AJAX has come to represent a broad group of web technologies that can be used to implement a web application that communicates with a server in the background, without interfering with the current state of the page. To implement AJAX the following technologies are required:

XHTML(Extensible Hiper Text Markup Language) and CSS(Casceding Style Sheet) for presentation

the Document Object Model for dynamic display of and interaction with data

XML(Extensible Markup Language) and XSLT( Extensible Stylish Language Transformation) for the interchange, and manipulation and display, of data, respectively

the XMLHttpRequest(Extensible Markup Language Hiper Text Transfer Protocol) object for asynchronous communication

 

AJAX IS DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY

An Ajax application eliminates the start-stop-start-stop nature of interaction on the Web by introducing an intermediary an Ajax engine between the user and the server. It seems like adding a layer to the application would make it less responsive, but the opposite is true.

Instead of loading a webpage, at the start of the session, the browser loads an Ajax engine written in JavaScript and usually tucked away in a hidden frame. This engine is responsible for both rendering the interface the user sees and communicating with the server on the users behalf. The Ajax engine allows the users interaction with the application to happen asynchronously independent of communication with the server. So the user is never staring at a blank browser window and an hourglass icon, waiting around for the server to do something.

Every user action that normally would generate an HTTP request takes the form of a JavaScript call to the Ajax engine instead. Any response to a user action that doesn’t require a trip back to the server such as simple data validation, editing data in memory, and even some navigation the engine handles on its own. If the engine needs something from the server in order to respond if its submitting data for processing, loading additional interface code, or retrieving new data the engine makes those requests asynchronously, usually using XML, without stalling a users interaction with the application.

USERS OF AJAX

Google is making a huge investment in developing the Ajax approach. All of the major products Google has introduced over the last year Orkut, Gmail, the latest beta version of Google Groups, Google Suggest, and Google Maps are Ajax applications.

BROWSERS SUPPORTING AJAX

·         Apple Safari 1.2 and above

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and above

Mozilla/Mozilla Firefox 1.0 and above

Netscape 7.1 and above

Konqueror

Opera 7.6 and above

Opera mobile browser 8.0 and above

USING AJAX

Most web page with the received results without refreshing the whole page. By creators opinion, this should have improved customers experience, making HTTP pages look and feel very similar to Windows applications.

Because the core implementation of this technology was based on internet browser functionality, the usability was very limited at that time. But several years later, the technology has been reborn with new browsers support and massive implementation by such giants as Google, Amazon.com, eBay, etc.

Today, its known as AJAX, and considered as a natural part of any dynamic web page with advanced user experience.

SOLUTION DESCRIPTION

The suggested approach provides a very simple, yet effective implementation of the AJAX functionality. Its very easy to maintain and change, does not require any special skills from developers, and, from our best knowledge, is cross-browser compatible.

Basically, a regular AJAX-like implementation includes two main components: a client HTML page with JavaScript code making an AJAX call and receiving a response, and a remote page that can accept a request and respond with the required information. The JavaScript code on the client page is responsible for instantiating an XmlHttp object, then providing this object with a callback method which will be responsible for processing the received information, and finally, sending a request to the remote page via the XmlHttp object. All this is done by the JavaScript code.

Our approach is intended for use in ASP.NET applications, and considers the following possible scenarios:

AJAX calls may be performed on different ASP.NET pages of the web application to different remote pages;

A remote page URL may contain dynamically calculated parameters, and it may be more convenient to build a URL string in the code-behind of the ASP.NET page;

A remote page may respond with a complex data requiring parsing before updating an HTML page, that once again may be done in the code-behind of the ASP.NET page;

A remote page may be either an external third party page, or the web applications own page or service.

All these considerations are illustrated by the diagram below:

IMPLEMENTATION

·         Basic AJAX JavaScript methods

The JavaScript methods are divided into two arts: calling page specific JavaScript methods, and AJAX JavaScript methods common for all the calling pages. Specific methods include a callback method as well, as it is responsible for updating the page content. Common AJAX methods are responsible for instantiating an XmlHttp object and sending an asynchronous request to the remote page.

Getting an XmlHttp object differs depending on the type of the browser. It is distinguished in to two basic types: a Microsoft browser which is one of the IE family, and a Mozilla browser which is one of Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, or Safari.

The code for the GetMSXmlHttp method can be simplified considering that user do not have to refer MSXML5 as it has been designed only for Office applications. Correspondingly, the simplified revision of the GetMSXmlHttpmethod may look as follows:

function GetMSXmlHttp() {

    var xmlHttp = null;

    var clsids = ["Msxml2.XMLHTTP.6.0",

                  "Msxml2.XMLHTTP.4.0",

                  "Msxml2.XMLHTTP.3.0"];

    for(var i=0; i<clsids.length && xmlHttp == null; i++) {

        xmlHttp = CreateXmlHttp(clsids[i]);

    }

    return xmlHttp;

}

GetXmlHttpObject methods accept a handler parameter which is a name of the callback method that should be defined in the page-specific code.AnXmlHttp object, can be send an asynchronous request.

function SendXmlHttpRequest(xmlhttp, url) {

    xmlhttp.open(‘GET’, url, true);

    xmlhttp.send(null);

}

GET HTTP method can be use to a given URL, but this can be easily changed by changing the JS code above.

·         Page-specific methods

Methods  need to perform a call to the remote page. In order to do this, user need to pass the callback method name to the GetXmlHttpObject method and then pass the URL string to the SendXmlHttpRequest method.

var xmlHttp;

function ExecuteCall(url)

{

    try

    {

        xmlHttp = GetXmlHttpObject(CallbackMethod);

        SendXmlHttpRequest(xmlHttp, url);

    }

    catch(e){}

}

//CallbackMethod will fire when the state

//has changed, i.e. data is received back

function CallbackMethod()

{

    try

    {

        //readyState of 4 or ‘complete’ represents

        //that data has been returned

        if (xmlHttp.readyState == 4 ||

            xmlHttp.readyState == ‘complete’)

        {

            var response = xmlHttp.responseText;

            if (response.length > 0)

            {

                //update page

                document.getElementById(“elementId”).innerHTML

                                                   = response;

            }

        }

    }

    catch(e){}

}

The CallbackMethod is responsible for updating the page content.  it simply updates the inner HTML of the given HTTP element. But in real time, it can be much more complex.

The last question regarding the calling page implementation is how this  calls the ExecuteCall JS method. Well, it depends on what the page is doing. In some cases, the ExecuteCall method can be called when the JS event is fired. But if that is not the case, then register the method as a startup script for the page using the corresponding C# code in the pages code-behind.

Page.RegisterStartupScript(“ajaxMethod”,

   String.Format(“<script>ExecuteCall(‘{0}’);</script>”, url));

This code can be added either in the Page_Prerender or Page_Loadmethod of the ASP.NET code-behind file.

REMOTE PAGE

Lets find out what a remote page could look like. If this is an ASP.NET page. If user remove all the code from the .aspx file: it wont affect the behavior of the page in any way.

For example, take a public web service that converts temperature values in Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. The service is available here. If user add this URL as a web reference to this project, Visual Studio will generate a proxy class with the namecom.developerdays.ITempConverterservice in current namespace.Remote ASP.NET page, lets name it getTemp.aspx, will accept a query string parameter with the name temp which should contain an integer value of a temperature in Celsius to convert. So the target URL to the remote page will look like this: http://localhost/getTemp.aspx?temp=25. And the code-behind for this page is shown below:

private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

    Response.Clear();

    string temp = Request.QueryString["temp"];

    if (temp != null)

    {

        try

        {

            int tempC = int.Parse(temp);

            string tempF = getTempF(tempC);

            Response.Write(tempF);

        }

        catch

        {

        }

    }

    Response.End();

}

private string getTempF(int tempC)

{

    com.developerdays.ITempConverterservice

          svc = new ITempConverterservice();

    int tempF = svc.CtoF(tempC);

    return tempF.ToString();

}

According to our convention, we can now build a URL string for the remote page that we will pass to the RegisterStartupScript method in the example above, like this:

int tempC = 25;

string url = String.Format(“http://localhost/” +

             ”getTemp.aspx?temp={0}”, tempC);

Using the approach with an intermediate ASP.NET page, calling in its turn a remote service, allows simplifying response processing, especially if it requires parsing. In simple cases when the response contains just text, we can pass the remote service URL directly to the JS ExecuteCall method.

ADVANTAGES

Using traditional methods, that content would have to be reloaded on every request. However, using AJAX, a web application can request only the content that needs to be updated, thus drastically reducing bandwidth usage and load time.

The use of asynchronous requests allows the clients Web browser UI to be more interactive and to respond quickly to inputs, and sections of pages can also be reloaded individually. Users may perceive the application to be faster or more responsive, even if the application has not changed on the server side.

The use of AJAX can reduce connections to the server, since scripts and style sheets only have to be requested once

State can be maintained throughout a Web site. JavaScript variables will persist because the main container page need not be reloaded.

DRAWBACKS

AJAX interfaces are substantially harder to develop properly than static pages.

Pages dynamically created using successive AJAX requests do not automatically register themselves with the browsers history engine, so clicking the browsers back€ button may not return the user to an earlier state of the , but may instead return them to the last full page visited before it.

Dynamic web page updates also make it difficult for a user to bookmark a particular state of the application. Solutions to this problem exist, many of which use the URL fragment identifier to keep track of, and allow users to return to, the application in a given state.

Any user whose browser does not support JavaScript or XMLHttpRequest, or simply has this functionality disabled, will not be able to properly use pages which depend on AJAX. Similarly, devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and screen readers may not have support for the required technologies. screen readers that are able to use AJAX may still not be able to properly read the dynamically generated content.

AJAX opens up another attack vector for malicious code that web developers might not fully test for.

CONCLUSION

The AJAX technique makes Internet applications smaller, faster and more user-friendly. AJAX is a technology, which breaks the paradigm of page reload and saves lot of bandwidth. It can send and retrieve the data without reloading the web page, meaning, that gone are the days where for each data retrieval and we needed to reload the complete page.

Therefore AJAX technology is using in all web browsers, hence we can conclude that this technology will stand in the first of all technologies.

 

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