AJAX Introduction

- November 11, 2010

AJAX Introduction

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AJAX is about updating parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.

What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

HTML / XHTML
CSS
JavaScript / DOM

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

What is 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.

How AJAX Works

AJAX

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)

AJAX applications are browser- and platform-independent!

Google Suggest

AJAX was made popular in 2005 by Google, with Google Suggest.
Google Suggest is using AJAX to create a very dynamic web interface: When you start typing in Google's search box, a JavaScript sends the letters off to a server and the server returns a list of suggestions.

Start Using AJAX Today

AJAX is based on existing standards. These standards have been used by developers for several years. Read our next chapters to see how it works!

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AJAX Example

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To understand how AJAX works, we will create a small AJAX application:

Example

Let AJAX change this text

Change Content

Try it yourself »

AJAX Example Explained

The AJAX application above contains one div section and one button.
The div section will be used to display information returned from a server. The button calls a function named loadXMLDoc(), if it is clicked:

Let AJAX change this text

Next, add a

The next chapters will explain how AJAX works.

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AJAX - Create an XMLHttpRequest Object

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The keystone of AJAX is the XMLHttpRequest object.

The XMLHttpRequest Object

All modern browsers support the XMLHttpRequest object (IE5 and IE6 uses an ActiveXObject).
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.

Create an XMLHttpRequest Object

All modern browsers (IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera) have a built-in XMLHttpRequest object.
Syntax for creating an XMLHttpRequest object:

xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();

Old versions of Internet Explorer (IE5 and IE6) uses an ActiveX Object:

xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");

To handle all modern browsers, including IE5 and IE6, check if the browser supports the XMLHttpRequest object. If it does, create an XMLHttpRequest object, if not, create an ActiveXObject:

Example

if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}

Try it yourself »

In the next chapter you will learn about sending server requests.

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AJAX - Send a Request To a Server

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The XMLHttpRequest object is used to exchange data with a server.

Send a Request To 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();

Try it yourself »

In the example above, you may get a cached result.
To avoid this, add a unique ID to the URL:

Example

xmlhttp.open("GET","demo_get.asp?t=" + Math.random(),true);
xmlhttp.send();

Try it yourself »

If you want to send information with the GET method, add the information to the URL:

Example

xmlhttp.open("GET","demo_get2.asp?fname=Henry&lname=Ford",true);
xmlhttp.send();

Try it yourself »

POST Requests

A simple POST request:

Example

xmlhttp.open("POST","demo_post.asp",true);
xmlhttp.send();

Try it yourself »

To POST data like an HTML form, add an HTTP header with setRequestHeader(). Specify the data you want to send in the send() method:

Example

xmlhttp.open("POST","ajax_test.asp",true);
xmlhttp.setRequestHeader("Content-type","application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
xmlhttp.send("fname=Henry&lname=Ford");

Try it yourself »

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 asynchronously 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();

Try it yourself »

You will learn more about onreadystatechange in a later chapter.

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.
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();
document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;

Try it yourself »

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AJAX - Server Response

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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

document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;

Try it yourself »

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

Request the file cd_catalog.xml and parse the response:

xmlDoc=xmlhttp.responseXML;
var txt="";
x=xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("ARTIST");
for (i=0;i
{
txt=txt + x[i].childNodes[0].nodeValue + "
";
}
document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=txt;

Try it yourself »

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AJAX - The onreadystatechange Event

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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
onreadystatechange	Stores a function (or the name of a function) to be called 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()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}

Try it yourself »

Note: The onreadystatechange event is triggered four times, one time for each change in readyState.

Using a 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):

Example

function myFunction()
{
loadXMLDoc("ajax_info.txt",function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
});
}

Try it yourself »

AJAX Database Example

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AJAX can be used for interactive communication with a database.

AJAX Database Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from a database with AJAX:

Example

Customer info will be listed here...

Try it yourself »

Example Explained - The showCustomer() Function

When a user selects a customer in the dropdown list above, a function called "showCustomer()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:

function showCustomer(str)
{
if (str=="")
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getcustomer.asp?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}

The showCustomer() function does the following:

Check if a customer is selected
Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The AJAX Server Page

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is an ASP file called "getcustomer.asp".
The server file could easily be rewritten in PHP, or some other server languages. Look at a corresponding example in PHP.
The source code in "getcustomer.asp" runs a query against a database, and returns the result in an HTML table:

<%
response.expires=-1
sql="SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE CUSTOMERID="
sql=sql & "'" & request.querystring("q") & "'"

set conn=Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Provider="Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0"
conn.Open(Server.Mappath("/db/northwind.mdb"))
set rs=Server.CreateObject("ADODB.recordset")
rs.Open sql,conn

response.write("

")do until rs.EOF for each x in rs.Fields response.write("") response.write("") next rs.MoveNextloopresponse.write("

" & x.name & "

" & x.value & "

")
%>

Next Chapter »

AJAX ASP/PHP Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can communicate with a web server while a user type characters in an input field:

Example

Start typing a name in the input field below:

First name:

Suggestions: Anna

Try it yourself »

Example Explained - The showHint() Function

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function "showHint()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onkeyup" event:

function showHint(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","gethint.asp?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}

Source code explanation:

If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the txtHint placeholder and exits the function.

If the input field is not empty, the showHint() function executes the following:

Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the input field)

The AJAX Server Page - ASP and PHP

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is an ASP file called "gethint.asp".

Below we have created two versions of the server file, one written in ASP and one in PHP.

The ASP File

The source code in "gethint.asp" checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s) to the browser:

<%
response.expires=-1
dim a(30)
'Fill up array with names
a(1)="Anna"
a(2)="Brittany"
a(3)="Cinderella"
a(4)="Diana"
a(5)="Eva"
a(6)="Fiona"
a(7)="Gunda"
a(8)="Hege"
a(9)="Inga"
a(10)="Johanna"
a(11)="Kitty"
a(12)="Linda"
a(13)="Nina"
a(14)="Ophelia"
a(15)="Petunia"
a(16)="Amanda"
a(17)="Raquel"
a(18)="Cindy"
a(19)="Doris"
a(20)="Eve"
a(21)="Evita"
a(22)="Sunniva"
a(23)="Tove"
a(24)="Unni"
a(25)="Violet"
a(26)="Liza"
a(27)="Elizabeth"
a(28)="Ellen"
a(29)="Wenche"
a(30)="Vicky"

'get the q parameter from URL
q=ucase(request.querystring("q"))

'lookup all hints from array if length of q>0
if len(q)>0 then
hint=""
for i=1 to 30
    if q=ucase(mid(a(i),1,len(q))) then
      if hint="" then
        hint=a(i)
      else
        hint=hint & " , " & a(i)
      end if
    end if
next
end if

'Output "no suggestion" if no hint were found
'or output the correct values
if hint="" then
response.write("no suggestion")
else
response.write(hint)
end if
%>

The PHP File

Below is the code above rewritten in PHP.

Note: To run the example in PHP, change the value of the url variable (in the HTML file) from "gethint.asp" to "gethint.php".

// Fill up array with names
$a[]="Anna";
$a[]="Brittany";
$a[]="Cinderella";
$a[]="Diana";
$a[]="Eva";
$a[]="Fiona";
$a[]="Gunda";
$a[]="Hege";
$a[]="Inga";
$a[]="Johanna";
$a[]="Kitty";
$a[]="Linda";
$a[]="Nina";
$a[]="Ophelia";
$a[]="Petunia";
$a[]="Amanda";
$a[]="Raquel";
$a[]="Cindy";
$a[]="Doris";
$a[]="Eve";
$a[]="Evita";
$a[]="Sunniva";
$a[]="Tove";
$a[]="Unni";
$a[]="Violet";
$a[]="Liza";
$a[]="Elizabeth";
$a[]="Ellen";
$a[]="Wenche";
$a[]="Vicky";

//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET["q"];

//lookup all hints from array if length of q>0
if (strlen($q) > 0)
{
$hint="";
for($i=0; $i
    {
    if (strtolower($q)==strtolower(substr($a[$i],0,strlen($q))))
      {
      if ($hint=="")
        {
        $hint=$a[$i];
        }
      else
        {
        $hint=$hint." , ".$a[$i];
        }
      }
    }
}

// Set output to "no suggestion" if no hint were found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint == "")
{
$response="no suggestion";
}
else
{
$response=$hint;
}

//output the response
echo $response;
?>

AJAX Database Example

Next Chapter »

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with a database.

AJAX Database Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from a database with AJAX:

Example

CustomerID	ALFKI
CompanyName	Alfreds Futterkiste
ContactName	Maria Anders
Address	Obere Str. 57
City	Berlin
PostalCode	12209
Country	Germany

Try it yourself »

Example Explained - The showCustomer() Function

When a user selects a customer in the dropdown list above, a function called "showCustomer()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:

function showCustomer(str)
{
if (str=="")
{
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
    {
    document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getcustomer.asp?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}

The showCustomer() function does the following:

Check if a customer is selected
Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The AJAX Server Page

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is an ASP file called "getcustomer.asp".
The server file could easily be rewritten in PHP, or some other server languages. Look at a corresponding example in PHP.
The source code in "getcustomer.asp" runs a query against a database, and returns the result in an HTML table:

<%
response.expires=-1
sql="SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE CUSTOMERID="
sql=sql & "'" & request.querystring("q") & "'"

set conn=Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Provider="Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0"
conn.Open(Server.Mappath("/db/northwind.mdb"))
set rs=Server.CreateObject("ADODB.recordset")
rs.Open sql,conn

response.write("

")do until rs.EOF for each x in rs.Fields response.write("") response.write("") next rs.MoveNextloopresponse.write("

" & x.name & "

" & x.value & "

")
%>

Next Chapter »

AJAX XML Example

Next Chapter »

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with an XML file.

AJAX XML Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from an XML file with AJAX:

Example

Title	Artist
Empire Burlesque	Bob Dylan
Hide your heart	Bonnie Tyler
Greatest Hits	Dolly Parton
Still got the blues	Gary Moore
Eros	Eros Ramazzotti
One night only	Bee Gees
Sylvias Mother	Dr.Hook
Maggie May	Rod Stewart
Romanza	Andrea Bocelli
When a man loves a woman	Percy Sledge
Black angel	Savage Rose
1999 Grammy Nominees	Many
For the good times	Kenny Rogers
Big Willie style	Will Smith
Tupelo Honey	Van Morrison
Soulsville	Jorn Hoel
The very best of	Cat Stevens
Stop	Sam Brown
Bridge of Spies	T'Pau
Private Dancer	Tina Turner
Midt om natten	Kim Larsen
Pavarotti Gala Concert	Luciano Pavarotti
The dock of the bay	Otis Redding
Picture book	Simply Red
Red	The Communards
Unchain my heart	Joe Cocker

Try it yourself »

Example Explained - The stateChange() Function

When a user clicks on the "Get CD info" button above, the loadXMLDoc() function is executed.
The loadXMLDoc() function creates an XMLHttpRequest object, adds the function to be executed when the server response is ready, and sends the request off to the server.
When the server response is ready, an HTML table is built, nodes (elements) are extracted from the XML file, and it finally updates the txtCDInfo placeholder with the HTML table filled with XML data:

function loadXMLDoc(url)
{
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
txt="

"; x=xmlhttp.responseXML.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("CD"); for (i=0;i { txt=txt + ""; xx=x[i].getElementsByTagName("TITLE"); { try { txt=txt + ""; } catch (er) { txt=txt + ""; } } xx=x[i].getElementsByTagName("ARTIST"); { try { txt=txt + ""; } catch (er) { txt=txt + ""; } } txt=txt + ""; } txt=txt + "

Title	Artist
" + xx[0].firstChild.nodeValue + "		" + xx[0].firstChild.nodeValue + "

";
document.getElementById('txtCDInfo').innerHTML=txt;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET",url,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}

The AJAX Server Page

The page on the server used in the example above, is an XML file called "cd_catalog.xml".

Next Chapter »

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