A Simple Guide to AJAX for Beginners

Jean Emmanuel Cadet

I specialize in designing, building, and deploying innovative software solutions for businesses.

2 minutes read •

A Simple Guide to AJAX for Beginners
Imagine you're playing a game of catch with a friend. Normally, you throw the ball back and forth, and you can see every throw and catch.

Now, let's say you and your friend are playing a special version of this game where you don't see the ball being thrown or caught, but the game continues smoothly. This is similar to how AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) works on websites.

Here’s a breakdown:

Normal Webpage (No AJAX)

  1. Throw the Ball (Request): You click a link or button on a webpage.
  2. Catch the Ball (Response): The whole website reloads or changes to show new information.


Webpage with AJAX

  1. Throw the Ball in a Special Way (AJAX Request): When you click a button or something happens on the webpage, the request is sent quietly in the background instead of reloading the whole page.
  2. Catch the Ball in a Special Way (AJAX Response): The information you requested comes back, and only the part of the webpage that needs to be updated is updated without reloading the entire page.


Key Parts of AJAX

  1. Asynchronous: Means the request happens in the background. You can continue using the webpage while waiting for the response.
  2. JavaScript: This is the language used to create and handle the AJAX request.
  3. XML/JSON: These are formats for sending data. JSON is more common these days.


How It Works

  1. You click a button: This starts an AJAX request.
  2. JavaScript takes action: The JavaScript on the webpage sends a request to the server for some new information.
  3. The server gets the request: The server processes the request and prepares the information.
  4. The server sends back the response: The server sends the new information to your webpage.
  5. JavaScript updates the webpage: JavaScript takes the new information and updates just the part of the page that needs to change.


Example

Imagine you’re on a webpage with a list of friends. You click a button to see more friends, but instead of reloading the entire list, the new friends just appear at the bottom of the list without the whole page changing. Thanks to AJAX for this smooth, quick update.

In short, AJAX makes webpages more dynamic and responsive by allowing parts of the page to update without needing to reload the entire page. It's like magic for making websites faster and more fun to use!

Let's connect on:

Here's how we can help you