All Hail Shale: Shale Isn't Struts

What Shale isn't is a shrink-wrapped, well-documented, well-tested product complete with an automated installer and a polished management interface. Now find out what it is, as Brett McLaughlin unveils this mighty -- and rightful-- heir to the legacy of Struts. In this first of a five-part series, Brett explains what Shale is, how it's different from the Struts framework, and how to install and set it up in your development environment.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Programming

Building the Front End: Craft Intelligent and Intuitive Front Ends for Ajax Applications

With Ajax still one of the industry's hottest buzzwords, more and more applications are being built with Ajax technologies. However, it's not always easy to build a good application. This article focuses on how to build intuitive, easy-to-use Ajax-driven applications.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Ajax

JSON on the Server Side

JSON is an easy format to use for sending (and receiving) data that maps to objects, or even arrays of objects. In this final article of the series, you'll learn how to handle data sent to a server in the JSON format and how to reply to scripts using the same format.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>Server Side Includes>Ajax

Mastering Ajax, Part 1: Introduction to Ajax

Ajax, which consists of HTML, JavaScript™ technology, DHTML, and DOM, is an outstanding approach that helps you transform clunky Web interfaces into interactive Ajax applications. The author, an Ajax expert, demonstrates how these technologies work together -- from an overview to a detailed look -- to make extremely efficient Web development an easy reality. He also unveils the central concepts of Ajax, including the XMLHttpRequest object.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Mastering Ajax, Part 1: Introduction to Ajax

Ajax, which consists of HTML, JavaScript™ technology, DHTML, and DOM, is an outstanding approach that helps you transform clunky Web interfaces into interactive Ajax applications. The author, an Ajax expert, demonstrates how these technologies work together -- from an overview to a detailed look -- to make extremely efficient Web development an easy reality. He also unveils the central concepts of Ajax, including the XMLHttpRequest object.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Mastering Ajax, Part 2: Make Asynchronous Requests with JavaScript and Ajax

Most Web applications use a request/response model that gets an entire HTML page from the server. The result is a back-and-forth that usually involves clicking a button, waiting for the server, clicking another button, and then waiting some more. With Ajax and the XMLHttpRequest object, you can use a request/response model that never leaves users waiting for a server to respond. In this article, Brett McLaughlin shows you how to create XMLHttpRequest instances in a cross-browser way, construct and send requests, and respond to the server.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Mastering Ajax, Part 3: Advanced Requests and Responses in Ajax

For many Web developers, making simple requests and receiving simple responses is all they'll ever need, but for developers who want to master Ajax, a complete understanding of HTTP status codes, ready states, and the XMLHttpRequest object is required. In this article, Brett McLaughlin will show you the different status codes and demonstrate how browsers handle each and he will showcase the lesser-used HTTP requests that you can make with Ajax.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>DHTML>Ajax

Mastering Ajax, Part 4: Exploiting DOM for Web Response

The great divide between programmers (who work with back-end applications) and Web programmers (who spend their time writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) is long standing. However, the Document Object Model (DOM) bridges the chasm and makes working with both XML on the back end and HTML on the front end possible and an effective tool. In this article, Brett McLaughlin introduces the Document Object Model, explains its use in Web pages, and starts to explore its usage from JavaScript.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Design>Web Design>DHTML>Ajax

Solid Ajax Applications, Part 2: Building Ajax Back Ends

Back end processing -- server-side scripts and programs -- can't always be tossed into an Ajax application and behave well. Instead, careful planning to ensure data is sent in an appropriate and efficient form ensures your entire application is cohesive, rather than needlessly complex. Brett McLaughlin explains how a good server-side script complements Ajax behavior.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2008). Articles>User Interface>Ajax

Using Ajax  

Put a new shine on your web applications. Tired of clunky web interfaces and waiting around for a page to reload? Well, it’s about time to give your web apps that pine-scented desktop application feel. What are we talking about? Just the newest thing to hit the Web: Ajax—asynchronous JavaScript and XML—and your ticket to building rich Internet applicationsthat are more interactive,responsive, and easy to use. So, grab your trial-size Ajax,included with every copy of Head Rush Ajax:we’re about to put some polish on your web apps.

McLaughlin, Brett D. O'Reilly and Associates (2006). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax