Chapter 16. Other Items of Interest

Although I do have a rather loose grip on reality, my grip isn't so loose that I think that the information contained within these pages is the be all and end all concerning asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Ajax is nearly unique in having both the excitement associated with a new topic and the maturity that is associated with only a well-established technique. In fact, the last topic that I can think of that had the same dual nature was NASA's Apollo program. On one hand, the idea of sending people to the Moon and returning them safely to Earth was the stuff of science fiction. On the other hand, humanity has been playing with rockets for centuries, occasionally with disastrous results.

Come to think of it, Ajax and the Apollo program have a great deal in common. On one hand, the idea of web applications that have the look and feel of Linux and Windows applications is the stuff of science fiction. On the other hand, humanity has been creating web applications for the last several years, occasionally with disastrous results. Hmm, there seems to be some kind of pattern going on here.

In this chapter, I address some technologies that are complementary to Ajax, one that is similar or is a kind of proprietary approach to Ajax, and then finish with some further/final thoughts on browsers. Essentially, the purpose of this chapter is not only to sum up everything that has been covered in this book, but also to provide a starting point on where to look for other possible ways of doing things. For example, about two months ago, I spoke with a developer who did Ajax. However, his technique was to use a Java applet for communications instead of the XMLHttpRequest object. What I am trying to convey is that there are multiple answers to every question, all of them equally correct. So here are some of the answers, with my personal opinions sprinkled about.