Ajax is favored by Google and Yahoo as a new impetus for Web

When it comes to computer programming, sometimes it just means finding a suitable combination. Recently, Google)'s developers have reorganized some Web technologies that have existed for many years and carefully designed a series of dazzling products, such, perfectly interactive map of North America GoogleMaps, extraordinary email Gmail, special search engine Google Suggest-users only need to type the first few letters, it can prompt the complete phrase, and so on.

Google Now opens the application interface API of GoogleMaps) and some code behind GoogleMaps, Gmail, and Google Suggest. These applications are written using a comprehensive software called Ajax. Ajax is short for Asynchronous, Javascript, and XML. Driven by Internet leaders such as Google and Yahoo, Ajax is transforming the way enterprises provide online services to customers. At the same time, Ajax makes the feeling of running software on the Web more and more close to the running level on the local PC. When you look at GoogleMaps, you don't have to face the annoying rotating hourglass Spinning Houseglass. the required tools are not complex, and the general browser can meet your needs.

Blet Taylor Bret Taylor, product manager of GoogleMaps, boldly claims that clicking URLs and downloading pages is an old-fashioned Web user interface ", the software developed by Ajax is more like a desktop software. "We have indeed redefined the form of Web application software ." He said.

More software developers and Web users will soon be able to understand what Taylor said above. Microsoft recently said that the company is developing a programming tool code called "Atlas", which allows a large number of Visual Studio users to write applications using Ajax. Because data processing is performed on the backend, the Web site can quickly provide users with new information without refreshing the page.

Yahoo's image sharing website, Flickr.com, is known for providing images that can be easily organized and shared online. The website recently switched most of its content from Macromedia's Flash technology to Ajax technology. Yahoo is also preparing to significantly upgrade its Yahoo Mail Service, which was based on the acquisition and merger of the Ajax email software enterprise Oddpost last year, so that the company can quickly catch up with the development speed of Google's Gmail.

Ajax can also be used for B2B websites with high traffic. Sabre Holdings, a subsidiary of Sabre Holdings, is preparing to release a new version of the airline program and operation software. After Ajax is adopted, the response time has been reduced from several seconds to several milliseconds, full Screen flights can be viewed in an instant. In May this year, Sabre Holdings started to open some Ajax code based on open-source protocols to build the company's "IT innovator" image. "We have broken through performance issues and availability barriers," said David Endicott, vice president of product development at the company's aviation solutions department ." His Department develops software for some Airlines, including American Airlines and JetBlue Airways. "This has greatly improved our brand awareness and the company's influence ."
On the road to software development innovation, there will usually be one or two talented programmers, while the sources of Ajax are more dispersed. Its core technologies have existed since 1990. The evolving Web strategy and Web technology have brought them together in a novel way.

Google, Microsoft's MSN department, and Yahoo are constantly launching a large number of high-quality software. Some companies are also trying to improve their brand image and increase revenue through better website design, software design on the Web is becoming increasingly important. Today, the battle for the browser market has obviously cooled down. To a large extent, this makes the software developed by programmers run reliably on any browser. "

"The user experience on the Web has been different," said Charles Scott Fitzgerald, General Manager of the platform strategy department of Microsoft. "You will notice this early this year or earlier, the enterprise's interest has also changed, and the battle for customer attention has begun."

Since Ajax technology has actually transformed from a combination of independent product components to a more standardized product, another battle is, who will provide users with development tools to build powerful Ajax websites. On most websites, when a Web user clicks a word or image, the website's software sends a request to the server to extract data, perform operations, or display images. For Websites designed using Ajax, the browser loads an engine, which will drag the user interface and execute information requests on the backend. The results show the effect of Google Maps, which allows users to zoom in from a State to a street on maps in the United States and Canada.

When a user is dragging a map to kennoxia Kenosha in Wisconsin From sousles (Sioux Falls, SD) in South Dakota, this software will load some pixels out of the screen to form the graphic Tiles), so that the user will not feel the time lag.

In March this year, Yahoo acquired Flickr.com. On this website, users can put photos into albums for management, or share them with other groups by dragging on the page. The page does not need to be reloaded if the operation behavior changes. "This was impossible before year 34 ." "In the past, the experience was very bad and such new features were not worth launching," said Stuart Butterfield, managing director of Yahoo and one of the founders of Flickr.com ."

As browser manufacturers no longer rush to launch new versions, programmers first felt that their own code and XML could finally run reliably, because the software would not change frequently. This also increases people's interest in Ajax. "The creators of IE and MozillaFirefox have basically been patching in the past five years," said James Garnett, user experience director of Web Design Consulting Enterprise Adaptive Path." The new Web Programming Method Ajax is exactly named by mint.
Including Amazon website Amazon.com, Apple Computer), Direct Dutch bank ING Direct), landland 'end, online DVD leasing company Netflix, blog network log) A large number of companies, including Technorati and Volvo, are Ajax followers. "Ajax will gain greater trust in the management layer, because this technology is highly recognized by famous companies trusted by managers ." "This makes the status of Aajx more legal," said battfield of Flickr.com ."

Ajax is not simple. It includes more than two Web languages and other code, including JavaScript, dynamic HTML, and XMLHttpRequest, a routine program created by Microsoft. Since Ajax is freely combined from free technology, the development time is longer than the development time in the commercial development environment. However, this development method avoids the use of a rich programming language, such as Sun's computer system company Sun's Java, or the creation of multimedia servers and multimedia tools, such as Macromedia's Flash. Because the basic Ajax technology can be easily obtained and run in a common browser, the extensive use of such software will weaken the product requirements of these companies.

Microsoft and other high-tech enterprises are still paying more attention to Ajax. Microsoft plans to release the preview version of Atlas at the Professional Developer Conference Professional Developers Conference (PDC) held in Los Angeles in September this year. The company said that Atlas allows companies to easily develop and test Ajax for different browsers. "At the moment, there is a little bit of hacker nature ." James said.

Google recently published the map site API, allowing developers to create a hybrid website, just like a site created by the community website Craigslist contains the Google user interface. Google has the right to advertise any website that uses its APIs.

In early July, Google announced the JavaScript Extensible Stylesheet Language, which is a software that retrieves XML files from the server and converts them into HTML in the browser under the open-source BSD Protocol. Google also provides developers with an Ajax toolkit.

However, competitors are also picking up Ajax. Kevin Lynch, executive vice president and chief software architect at Macromedia, said that writing Ajax software requires repeated tests to eliminate bugs caused by different browsers. He also pointed out that Ajax lacks commercial development tools. "If Flash is used, you can complete it at one time, and the running time can also be unified ."
Sun vice president and Java computer language inventor James Gauss Ling James Gosling recently said that although many developers use Ajax and Java together, java is also a more productive programming environment. "Ajax is a good tool for seemingly sophisticated websites ." "Google's map site impressed people. What people don't know is how much pain Google has experienced to make maps run smoothly on other browser platforms ."

Even with higher browser stability, Ajax debugging takes longer than normal Web applications.

Due to the lack of commercial development tools, there is still a lack of standard methods for Ajax adoption. However, turning to Ajax does not mean to deliberately escape the problem: Because the core of its technology is a new method for software to obtain data from the server and execute code, its impact scope is not just the user interface layer. "It proposes a new software development model ." Said butfield. Of course, Ajax has some other disadvantages. For example, experienced users can view JavaScript code in the browser and guess the construction method of the software.

Compared with traditional Web design, Ajax design may be more difficult. However, Google's Taylor believes that it is worthwhile to give customers a better experience. As Sabre Holdings's user experience manager Bill Scott said: "I know Ajax has a lot of rendering components, but it is indeed one of the best technologies that have emerged in the recent period."

Let your website have maps-Google and Yahoo want their map services to be integrated into other Web sites.

The integrated interfaces released by Google and Yahoo have two options for companies that want to add street topographic maps to their websites.

Google Earth, recently released by Google, allows people to use satellite images to enlarge maps to the street level. Free APIs may not be as eye-catching as Google Earth does, but for enterprises, APIs may be more practical. The GoogleMaps API allows developers to embed maps on their own web pages using JavaScript. Users can add overlay layers, including arrows, on maps, and display information Windows using shadows. The beta version is free for any website, even though Google reserves the right to advertise on a map.

The APIs of YahooMaps allow developers to create custom maps by overwriting the content. Both companies provide free APIs. However, if you need support, you must obtain it from the discussion group of the company.

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