Ajax Framework
AJAX framework is a cross-browser framework that allows developers to develop dynamic web pages(that use AJAX) quickly.
Web pages developed using an AJAX framework can call web services and server pages through JavaScript without having to submit the current page. Recent Web-applications tend to use these for providing more interactivity and improving their overall functionality.
There are hundreds of Ajax frameworks available. While all simplify the creation of Javascript-based dynamic based web applications, most are object-oriented packages that are written in Javascript itself. However, several others are written in the server side scripting language PHP, others are written in Java, and a few exist for ASP.net and ColdFusion.
Categories of AJAX frameworks
In general the types of available frameworks fall into 3 categories.
(X)HTML/CSS Supplement Frameworks
Classic examples of
(X)HTML/CSS Replacement Frameworks
Server-End Technology Adapter Kits
Some of the most popular and interesting Ajax frameworks are:
| Framework Name | Platform Type | What makes it interesting |
|---|---|---|
| ExtJS | Javascript | Small codebase, powerful, in use by many clients |
| Prototype/Script.aculo.us | Javascript | Completely free, high adoption among many large client, Prototype tends to handle data exchange while Script.aculo.us handle GUI effects. Allows uses of the smaller Prototype only codebase if you don't need fancy visual effect. |