Proof of concept – Ajax page update
Posted: October 22, 2006 Filed under: code/files, conferences/events, il2006 1 CommentYesterday, 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)
DigInit: digital initiatives 
[…] Both articles fall into the “introductory” mode, although the CIL article walks you through a proof of concept Ajax page update script (mentioned in an earlier post…). I want to be clear: I’m not an Ajax evangelist. I find the suite of technologies that make Ajax go intriguing and the improvements that the Ajax framework can make to some library applications are worth learning about and applying. I tried to point out the good and the bad. Although, it is a four letter word… […]