Proof of concept – Ajax page update

Yesterday, Karen Coombs and I had the opportunity to conduct an “Ajax for Libraries” workshop at Internet Librarian. The workshop went pretty well and it was encouraging to work with a group of attendees who were engaged and willing to learn. (Note to self: create a cross-domain Ajax query to show workshop attendees.) I wanted to start with Ajax basics so I created a simple Ajax example that pulls WorldCat data and a WorldCat “find in a library” search form onto a page. It’s very basic, but it showcases the fundamentals of the Ajax method – take a look at the demo here.

The example uses the XMLHttpRequest object to make a micro-HTTP GET request behind the scenes creating a seamless date update without a full page reload. Feel free to download a zip of the sample files in an active server directory. Use modern browsers – Mozilla, Firefox, IE 6 and up.

Just wanted to share a bit, dig in and learn…

Update: Karen has posted links to the workshop files: presentation (.ppt) AND handout (.pdf)