Ajax is no longer an experimental approach to website development, but the key to building browser-based applications that form the cornerstone of Web 2.0. Head First Ajax gives you an up-to-date perspective that lets you see exactly what you can do -- and has been done -- with Ajax. With it, you get a highly practical, in-depth, and mature view of what is now a mature development approach. Using the unique and highly effective visual format that has turned Head First titles into runaway bestsellers, this book offers a big picture overview to introduce Ajax, and then explores the use of individual Ajax components -- including the JavaScript event model, DOM, XML, JSON, and more -- as it progresses. You'll find plenty of sample applications that illustrate the concepts, along with exercises, quizzes, and other interactive features to help you retain what you've learned. Head First Ajax covers:

• The JavaScript event model

• Making Ajax requests with XMLHTTPREQUEST objects

• The asynchronous application model

• The Document Object Model (DOM)

• Manipulating the DOM in JavaScript

• Controlling the browser with the Browser Object Model

• XHTML Forms

• POST Requests

• XML Syntax and the XML DOM tree

• XML Requests & Responses

• JSON -- an alternative to XML

• Ajax architecture & patterns

• The Prototype Library

The book also discusses the server-side implications of building Ajax applications, and uses a "black box" approach to server-side components. Head First Ajax is the ideal guide for experienced web developers comfortable with scripting -- particularly those who have completed the exercises in Head First JavaScript -- and for experienced programmers in Java, PHP, and C# who want to learn client-side programming.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 14 Ratings

The best book on Ajax out there. - 2009-06-28
Reviewer Rating:
Yup this is my favorite book on Ajax. I love Head First books but this one far exceeded my expectations.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a Java programmer with little bit of experience in web technologies. Before reading this book I had used JavaScript libraries such as [...] So Ajax was not a totally brand new technology for me.

I bought this book because for upcoming project, I wanted a deeper understanding of Ajax. Also sometimes, while using Scriptaculous, debugging was not easy, because I didn't know what was really going on behind the scenes.

After reading this book, I have better understanding of Ajax. This doesn't mean I am Ajax expert now and ready to write my own library. I will stick with existing libraries. But I feel this book has given me enough basic concepts of Ajax (and also some general web design concepts) that I can use Ajax libraries without breaking anything unintentionally.

I don't think I will read another book on Ajax unless I am doing some custom Ajax coding.

Different but Fun Learning Style - 2009-09-13
Reviewer Rating:
I liked the interesting "head-frst" learning style. Still have yet to work real seriously with it yet to see how well it really works.

Too many errors and no corrections on the Head First site. - 2009-09-12
Reviewer Rating:
This book is not for the person learning on their own, or not in a class. Yes, I agree, Head First presentation is humorous, easy to read, etc., but there are many errors in syntax and code in this book. One needs to set up a server on their computer to run the code. In chapter 1 it says there is info in the Appendix "i", "the top ten topics we didn't cover", but there are only five, and the missing five are not online. I thought the problems were with the server I set up, but other code ran fine. The problem was the code itself. I could fix the syntax and typo errors, but being the student, I am not able to correct the code. It took me two days to figure out the code was the problem. When I saw there were errors in the second chapter also, I quit, and went looking for a better text. Maybe it was rushed to press, and not type read, but after a year, you'd expect that at least the files one downloads for the lessons would have been corrected. Head First was Head Dropped on this one.

A well-written informative and amusing book - 2009-09-02
Reviewer Rating:
I came across the text "Head first Ajax" while looking for a tutorial type book that can be used to extend my Internet Technology course with material on Ajax. I approached the book with an "Ajax for beginners" mindset, but soon realized that its content was not only informative but amusing as well. In fact, I found this book to be particularly helpful for learning Ajax technology quickly and naturally. It combines conversational style, humor, pictures, asides and visual effects with a logical approach when introducing Ajax concepts. This is the kind of book that makes reading enjoyable where the learning comes as a natural by-product rather than because of a 'need' to learn. In contrast to many programming language books that force the reader to plow through tens of pages of syntax before getting to the "Hello World" example, this book dives quickly into asynchronous applications, events, DOM and JASON. The "Head first Ajax" is a pleasure to read. The book content does not stick to a simple description of the Ajax machinery, rather it is an exposition of a combination of technologies leading to an Ajax style of Web applications. Mixing graphics with handwritten text and humor with factual information the author Rebecca Riordan manages to show in a nontraditional way the obvious advantages of AJAX applications over the conventional design of websites. This includes as advantages such issues as less delay in information access; faster rendering and more responsive web pages, increased productivity for data intensive web applications, etc.

There are other great Ajax books (e.g. "Ajax in Action" by Dave, Crane and Eric Pascarello with Darren James) in the market. But they are pretty serious and require the readers to be actively engaged in the process of absorbing and learning the relevant concepts. In contrast, the writing in "Head first Ajax" is clear, with content matched by a casual and enlightened style that hits the right balance. All in all this book provides a great introduction to Ajax. It provides more than a menu of technologies; it shows how the existing methods fit together in a consistent way that enable more responsive web applications without sacrificing performance. I wish that more authors and students could read this book and realize that learning can be fun, interesting and pleasant, and this style of writing can be utilized to stimulate the reader by providing a component of enjoyment in the learning process.

If you are an HTML/JavaScript guru, the book might be an entertaining and fun read, but you should not expect more than that. On the other hand if you want to learn what Ajax is and how to use it then "Head first Ajax" is an excellent starting point. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the new generation of Web application but have no idea where to start with.

More than just a book about AJAX - 2009-04-20
Reviewer Rating:
AJAX is almost the least of the skills you will learn or improve by reading this book. Yes, it covers the browser side of AJAX very well. But it also delves deeply into javascript, CSS, and the DOM, with many examples of the best way to write the code.

The server side, on the other hand, is left for the reader to download and browse through mostly on your own.

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