Wednesday 10 July 2013

Ajax Tutorial

AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
AJAX is not a new programming language, but a new way to use existing standards.
AJAX is the art of exchanging data with a server, and updating parts of a web page - without
reloading the whole page.


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script>
function loadXMLDoc()
{
var xmlhttp;
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("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
  }
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<div id="myDiv"><h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2></div>
<button type="button" onclick="loadXMLDoc()">Change Content</button>

</body>
</html>


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)
lamp  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!


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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<div id="myDiv"><h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2></div>
<button type="button" onclick="loadXMLDoc()">Change Content</button>

</body>
</html>
Next, add a <script> tag to the page's head section. The script section contains the loadXMLDoc() function:
<head>
<script>
function loadXMLDoc()
{
.... AJAX script goes here ...
}
</script>
</head>
The next chapters will explain how AJAX works.



The keystone of AJAX is the XMLHttpRequest object.

The XMLHttpRequest Object

All modern browsers support the XMLHttpRequest object (IE5 and IE6 use 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:
variable=new XMLHttpRequest();
Old versions of Internet Explorer (IE5 and IE6) uses an ActiveX Object:
variable=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

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



<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script>
function loadXMLDoc()
{
var xmlhttp;
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("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
  }
xmlhttp.open("GET","ajax_info.txt",true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<div id="myDiv"><h2>Let AJAX change this text</h2></div>
<button type="button" onclick="loadXMLDoc()">Change Content</button>

</body>
</html>




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();

MethodDescription
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();



<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script>
function loadXMLDoc()
{
var xmlhttp;
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("myDiv").innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
    }
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","demo_get.asp",true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<h2>AJAX</h2>
<button type="button" onclick="loadXMLDoc()">Request data</button>
<div id="myDiv"></div>

</body>
</html>



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();


POST Requests

A simple POST request:

Example

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

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");



MethodDescription
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 asynchronous 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();

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;


Server Response

To get the response from a server, use the responseText or responseXML property of the XMLHttpRequest object.
PropertyDescription
responseTextget the response data as a string
responseXMLget 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;


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;
txt="";
x=xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("ARTIST");
for (i=0;i<x.length;i++)
  {
  txt=txt + x[i].childNodes[0].nodeValue + "<br>";
  }
document.getElementById("myDiv").innerHTML=txt;



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:
PropertyDescription
onreadystatechangeStores a function (or the name of a function) to be called automatically each time the readyState property changes
readyStateHolds 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
status200: "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;
    }
  }

Note: The onreadystatechange event is triggered five times (0-4), 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;
    }
  });
}

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