Ajax: The Definitive Guide
Ajax: The Definitive Guide by Anthony T. Holdener III
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Number of Pages:
- 992
- ISBN:
- 0596528388
- Product Group:
- book
- Publisher:
- O'Reilly Media
- Publication Date:
- Jan. 25, 2008
- BooksForGeeks.com ID:
- 256
Is Ajax a new technology, or the same old stuff web developers have been using for years? Both, actually. This book demonstrates not only how tried-and-true web standards make Ajax possible, but how these older technologies allow you to give sites a decidedly modern Web 2.0 feel.
Reviews for Ajax: The Definitive Guide
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Is this the most opaque book from OReilly?
Rated out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2009
I probably could have got more from this book if I knew what it was meant to achieve. I'm only up to page 86 and I'm now skimming like crazy. It seems from what I've seen so far, that AJAX means writing a lot of code to:
Initialize some objects, pull some data from a database (what database? where database? why database?), put it in an object and manipulate it for some reason and then - nothing. I can do this with very little effort in perl and old-fashioned cgi.
The next chapter is, apparently on interface design but it seems unlikely I'll ever get there. The book has already covered (mentioned) requirements analysis but it seems strange that after four chapters we're deep into code with no mention of what this application is for and what the users (heaven help them) are expected to be doing all this time.
Did anyone read this before it went to press?
I blew my budget on this book as OReilly is normally a safe bet when looking at something new but it looks like I'll have to start again with a different book. -
Magnum opus
Rated out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2009
I have the feeling this started out another book altogether and was given an Ajax-spin midway through writing. It's really more "everything the author wanted to write about almost anything". There's a section on different database products. There's a page on sorting algorithms. If you are looking for a brief and coherent presentation on Ajax, this book isn't for you. But if you are an experienced web developer looking for an update on the developments of the last couple of years and you are prepared to skim-read to get what you need, there is plenty of good information and good examples. The constant references to accessibility are commendable. I'm just surprised this book slipped past O'Reilly's editors.