- AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which is a way of transferring data between the dedicated server hosting and client without sending the entire page, and thereby creating a complete postback.
- This allows for a richer experience for the user, since dynamic content can be done in the background without refreshing and redrawing the entire page.
Processing of a web page without AJAX
- Traditional page processing model has few drawbacks. As the entire page is loaded after postback, the HTML sent to the browser is much larger than it needs to be. Even though only part of the page is changed after postback complete page gets refreshed.
- Because the entire page is replaced, the browser has to dismiss the old one and then draw the new one. This causes the page to 'flicker' which results in an unattractive user experience.
- AJAX technology is deployed to overcome these two problems.
Processing of a web page with AJAX
- Create flicker-free pages that enable you to refresh portions of the page without a full reload and without affecting other parts of the page.
- Provides feedback to users during these page refreshes.
- Update sections of a page and call server-side code on a scheduled basis using a timer.
- Access server-side web services and the page methods and work with the data they return.
- Use the rich client-side programming framework to access and modify elements in the page, and get access to code model and type system that looks similar to that of the .NET framework.