AJAX to go open source

Ever wish the Web was as responsive as your favorite desktop applications? If it was, you’d see a lot fewer hourglasses and enjoy drag and drop convenience and instantaneous updating. All it takes is some AJAX.

Not the household cleanser, obviously. AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. IBM and other IT companies and Internet businesses just formed the first open source community devoted to promoting AJAX.

The other founding members of the AJAX open source community include BEA, Borland, the Dojo Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, Google, Laszlo Systems, Mozilla Corporation, Novell, Openwave Systems, Oracle, Red Hat, Yahoo, Zend and Zimbra. To ensure that the technologies are easily accessible and predicated on open standards, Zimbra, the Dojo Foundation and IBM are planning on donating software tools and technology to Apache, Mozilla and Eclipse, each respected stewards of open source software.

What is AJAX?

AJAX isn’t a new technology. It’s a way to develop interactive Web applications using established technologies that offer significant advantages when used together. Traditionally, most Web applications work by users triggering HTTP commands sent to the Web server. The problem is the traditional approach makes users wait while the Web server executes the requests.

AJAX adds a layer to the process — but one that actually helps. It provides the interface that users see and while it communicates independently with the server. By allowing users to interact with the software independent of communication with the server, users are spared the wait that’s inherent in the traditional approach. Instead of forcing the browser to continually refresh to send and receive information or images, AJAX makes them always available. This enables navigation and response times to be as quick as those of programs installed directly on PCs. For example, it lets Web users:

Scroll through a virtual map or photographs without refreshing their browser screens. It can also enable calendars to pop up when users place their mouse over a date in an e-mail,

Get real-time assurance that information typed into a Web order form is valid. This can eliminate the delays and frustration of filling out an online form that occurs when the server flags mistakes one at a time.

Drag and drop objects similar to the way they can be moved on a computer desktop.

Use a rich set of buttons, icons, scroll bars and menus that ease and speed navigation and information retrieval.

Who plays in this space?

Not surprisingly, Microsoft is pushing its own proprietary version of AJAX. Google has also made a significant investment in AJAX. Gmail and the beta versions of Google Groups and Google Maps are among its AJAX apps. The Flickr digital photo sharing Web site uses it, as does Amazon’s A9.com search engine. While statistics on AJAX use are hard to come by, O’Reilly Media reports that the sale of technical books pertaining to AJAX has soared 68 percent in 2005.

The “secret sauce” is open source

One dozen prominent IT vendors and Internet-based businesses support the creation of an open source community to promote the use of AJAX technologies. Unlike existing proprietary efforts, open source AJAX would be universally compatible with any Web-enabled device, application, desktop or operating system. By making it freely available, it can be incorporated into new and existing open source software programs with as few licensing restrictions as possible.

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