Confessions of an AJAX Newbie

As I start my sixth week at Digital Positions (my how time flies when you're having fun!) I'm finishing up work on my first project - the Quest Medical Staffing Online Application. In addition to adjusting to a new position, quirky coworkers (and I mean that in the most loving way), and meeting clients I didn't even know we had at our 10th anniversary party, with the Quest Application I was also thrown into the world of Asynchronous JavaScript Technology and XML, or AJAX as it has been coined. I must admit, I went kicking and screaming.

As can be inferred by its name, AJAX relies heavily on JavaScript, a client-side scripting language. Though I have used JavaScript in the past it has been primarily for simple form validation only, nothing too complicated. Luckily, the framework of the application was already in place by the time I began work on the project so most of the crucial scripting had already been done. After a few days of blindly wading through code I started to become more familiar with the framework and initial frustration was replaced by awe for what is capable with AJAX.

As you may already know, Digital Positions is primarily a ColdFusion shop, ColdFusion being a server-side language. The beauty of AJAX is that it combines the power of server-side and client-side scripting to make for much more powerful, user-friendly applications. Using AJAX we are able to couple the robust database-driven aspects of ColdFusion with the immediacy and event-driven processing power of JavaScript to deliver dynamic applications faster than ever before.

So what does this mean? It means we are able to complete server-side processing, including querying and even manipulating data stored in our database without refreshing the page, which is normally what happens when you click a link or submit a form. Wow! For all you non-geeks out there, this is a pretty big deal. An example of this can be seen in the soon to launch Quest Medical Online Application I mentioned earlier. As each section of the application is filled out the user's information is automatically stored and updated in the database without the need to force a page refresh.

This seamless interaction can also be seen in some of the more popular web applications. Take, for example, Google Maps which is also based on the AJAX approach. Users can zoom in and out, "grab" the map, switch between map/satellite view and it all happens almost instantaneously with no page refresh. Google Suggest offers suggestions based on your search entry as you type! There is so much made possible with AJAX I can now honestly say that I am glad to be involved and am looking forward to using AJAX in the future.