Scrubbing Innovation into Interaction: Ajax, by Jeffrey Veen

Scrubbing Innovation into Interaction: Ajax

If you do design or development work on Web-based applications, some of your basic assumptions are going to have to change -- that is, if they haven't already. Stop what you're doing and read Jesse James Garrett's new essay, "Ajax: a New Approach to Web Applications."

Jesse's referring to a style of interaction that has become recently popularized, even if the technology -- which exploits the clumsily-named XmlHttpRequest Object -- has been around for years. The recent attention is largely due to applications being developed at Google, where they seem to have embraced the Ajax (short for for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML) framework whole-heartedly.

You can see this in action at Google Maps. It's a spectacular display of seamlessness in user experience, too the point where it almost disappears. The app is just so useful and usable that it's easy to forget the gee-whiz technology. A more pedestrian yet realistic example can be found on Dunstan Orchard's blog, 1976design. Type a character or two into the search box on the left, watch a list of results appear. Type another character or two, see the list get shorter. You're doing filtered search iteration, without ever leaving the page.

In a presentation I frequently give, I show a few examples of winnowing search criteria using faceted navigation. The sites are frustrating, though, because they either require users to drill down through a series of pages (the Sears appliance finder) or make use of Flash to send data back and forth (the Fisher Bike "Matchmaker").

With Ajax, we can create Web-based experiences that feel fluid and native. We won't have to rely on clunky navigation or plugins to enable users to achieve their goals. And, thankfully, we'll be able to describe the technique we're using in just two syllables.

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 20 February 2005 at 4:22 PM. It was filed under Web Design.

Comments

1. On 20 February 2005 at 5:07 PM Jason Lancaster wrote:

Wow, thanks for the heads up on this. I've been aware of the technology but had no idea of it's popularized name. Surely a good read!

2. On 20 February 2005 at 5:41 PM Roy Schestowitz wrote:

The only problem with such technologies is that they rely on powerful browsers.

I guess it's only a matter of time until working natively equates to working on-line. The browser will then become a factor more substantial than the O/S.

3. On 21 February 2005 at 2:02 PM Anthony Baker wrote:

Jeff,

Are there any more detailed resources on this technology out there? The Adaptive Path is the first time I've come across it, though I'm very much impressed with the bulk of sites that are now using it. Would love to learn more, but Google seems sparse when doing searches for the tech under 'Ajax'.

4. On 21 February 2005 at 2:28 PM Rebort wrote:

Anthony, see:

http://developer.apple.com/internet/webcontent/xmlhttpreq.html

http://www.xml.com/lpt/a/2005/02/09/xml-http-request.html

http://developer.apple.com/internet/webcontent/iframe.html

http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/1557

5. On 23 February 2005 at 11:54 AM sharris wrote:

You should give Steve a job and get that boy out of the bottoms of pools. There is no comparing shovels to keyboards. ;)

6. On 23 February 2005 at 5:42 PM John wrote:

The technology has been out there for ages. It's only in the last 6-9 months that people have begun to realise it's potential. I've been doing this sort of stuff with hidden iframes for ages, but I was in awe when I saw how an async http client object works. My latest project is using lots of it and we are getting big smiles and nods of approval from the users when we demo the pages.

7. On 23 February 2005 at 10:16 PM BryanJ wrote:

If you haven't seen "Ajax" in action, do check out Ta-da List. It's a wonderful example of the benefits of this new bundle of tech.

http://www.tadalist.com

8. On 28 February 2005 at 8:59 PM Yogish Baliga wrote:

This technology was used in Oddpost (http://www.oddpost.com), a rich webclient for mail, recently bought by Yahoo! Inc.