Ajax|services|web one of the most important new web-based technologies has been quiet for many years and is now suddenly becoming quite popular. This stems primarily from Google and other websites that use it to build applications. This is Ajax, which is used to create rich, web-based applications that look like desktop software, but they are browser-based and have little resources.
Analysts say the technology will ultimately become powerful for Web services and SOA, and is actually starting to move in that direction. Some people believe that Ajax will eventually become the primary user interface for SOA and human-computer interaction Web Services. It's just in the near future.
This week, there are two sections to describe the implementation of Ajax in Web services and SOA. In the first section, let's look at what Ajax is, how it works, and some of the benefits it offers to Web services and SOA. In the next installment, we will talk about the possibility of its widespread adoption and the problems that will be encountered in the process of being adopted.
How Ajax Works
Understand Ajax first to understand that it is not a simple technology, its use will not be controlled by the standard or standard system, and will never. Although it is a hot topic, it is not a particularly new technique.
Ajax means asynchronous JavaScript and XML (asynchronous JavaScript and XML). It uses several techniques to build rich web-based applications that have the same impressions as desktop programs, including CSS, JavaScript, XHTML, XML, XMLHttpRequest, Document object models, and XSLT. These applications have the same interoperability and fast response times as desktop programs, unlike many typical Web applications that are unresponsive and less dynamic.
How does Ajax work? In a typical non-AJAX Web application, an action in the browser needs to trigger an HTTP request that reaches the Web server. The server processes the request, such as fetching data or doing something else, and then returning the HTML page to the client (the browser) together with the results. When requests in two directions are sent or the server is processing data, the user must wait.
However, for Ajax, everything is different. When a user opens a Web page, it loads the Ajax engine written by JavaScript. From this moment on, the user interacts with the engine, which acts as a middle tier between the user and the Web server. Ajax engines work asynchronously, independently of any server, so even when requests and responses are sent back and forth between the engine and the server, users can interact with the application.
It is also important that the engine itself can immediately handle actions that do not require a server, such as editing data in memory, validating data, and so on. These can be done immediately because server traffic is not invoked-this is like a desktop application.
As a result, a rich application similar to the desktop application appears, but it runs in the browser.
There are already a lot of Ajax Web apps. Google is very active in building applications using AJAX, such as Gmail and Google Local (the official name is Google Maps). The A9 search engine also uses it. You will see more and more of this application.
What it means for SOA and web serivices
So what does all this mean for SOA and Web services? Given that Ajax is used primarily as a customer-level service, does it really find a home in the enterprise?
Analysts say the answer is yes, although it will come later. Zapthink's senior analyst Ron Schmelzer says the ultimate AJAX application will replace the Enterprise Portal that now links Web services to SOA.
"People will use AJAX-built rich clients instead of web-based portals," he said. Because it provides a wealth of functionality, you can use it when interacting with the enterprise and with the customer. ”
He notes that bank Web sites have started using AJAX applications to make it easier for their customers to operate financial services. "They want users to have as much experience as a desktop program," he said. ”
Schmelzer also found that Ajax is being used constantly because of the trends he has discovered. In SOA, he says, he is discovering a hybrid application--it's neither a browser nor a desktop application. They combine the two and have the benefits of distributed application user interaction, but are easy to deploy because they are distributed on the web.
He believes the application will be built with Ajax.
Kevin Hakman has been in the field of Ajax for a long time, and he is a founder of general interface. General interface is a rich Internet application development tool provider, acquired by Tibco Software company a year ago. Hakman is now Tibco in charge of the product market, and believes that the future of Web services and SOA is closely related to Ajax.
"Ajax is important because it enables people to interact directly with the SOA and Web services in a browser, which is the best way to get people to get web services and SOA." "he said. WEB Services and SOA now work well at the machine to machine level, but there is a problem with the user interface built to interact with the service. Ajax, he believes, is the answer to the question.
Of course, today's Ajax is not yet widely used in Web services and SOA.
"Ajax is still largely a developer thing and needs to be elevated to the business level," Schmelzer said. ”
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