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10 things IT needs to know about Ajax - Network World
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10 THINGS IT NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT AJAX
Web development expert says watch for security, network performance issues in new Ajax
applications By Thomas A. Powell, Network World Lab Alliance , Network World , 03/28/2008
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The introduction of any new Web technology will affect a network's infrastructure in ways
that range from inconsequential to earth shattering. Ajax is one of the more disruptive
new Web technologies traveling across networks today. To help you minimize future
surprises on your network, we've outlined the 10 things you should take to heart about
Ajax. (Also see our slideshow illustrating tips for deploying Ajax applications
effectively [194].)
1) AJAX IS AN IDEA, NOT AN ACRONYM
While Ajax [195] commonly is spelled out as Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, the full
name is not entirely appropriate because it oversimplifies the history of the technology
and the implementation options that lie at its heart. More exactly, Ajax encompasses the
idea that Web applications [196] can be built to opt out of the typical post-wait-repeat
cycle used in server [197]-side-focused Web applications. Ajax lets Web applications move
to a more responsive, continuous, but incremental style of updating. Ajax provides users a
richer, more interactive way of experiencing the underlying Web application. This goodness
for the user might mean that more monitoring and security [198] oversight might be
required of network professionals, as well as, potentially, server and network
alterations.
2) IT\'S REALLY ALL ABOUT JAVASCRIPT
Ajax applications are written in JavaScript and usually rely on the XMLHttpRequest object
for communications, which is making its way through the World Wide Web Consortium process
[199]. Because, like many Web technologies, it now is only an ad hoc industry standard,
notable differences can be found in various browsers' implementations of it. It's also
possible to use other data transport mechanisms -- with and without widespread industry
support -- with Ajax applications, including traditional frame and image-cookie methods,
as well as the use of binary bridges to Flash or Java.
Regardless of the transport approach used by the developer, Ajax has raised JavaScript to
a more important position within a Web application than it previously held. JavaScript now
is responsible for important data-collection, communication and consumption duties, so it
no longer can be treated as a second-class Web technology without serious repercussions.
Developers who think the JavaScript technology is toxic can try to avoid the language by
having a tool or framework generate it from some other language like Java (Google Web
Toolkit, for example), or hide the code behind components or tags (such as with .Net or
Ruby). At the end of the day, however, JavaScript still will be in the application. It's
better to understand the language and embrace it directly, because if you are going to use
Ajax, you ultimately are using lots of JavaScript.
Ajax is intertwined with the network, so bad code is going to mean lots of
troubleshooting by network administrators, as well as developers: The bottom line is to
encourage good, network-aware coding! The same organizational "rules and tools" -- coding
standards, testing regimes and source-code control -- that are in place for other
languages must be applied to JavaScript to ensure that Ajax applications are supportable
and robust.
3) XML IS NOT REQUIRED
Despite the "x" in the acronym, Ajax does not require XML. The XMLHttpRequest object can
transport any arbitrary text format. For many Ajax developers, JavaScript Object Notation
or even raw JavaScript code fragments make more sense as a data format, given that
JavaScript is the consuming environment. For direct input into documents, other developers
may favor raw text or HTML fragments. Still others will use such data formats as the
less-known YAML markup language or such old standbys as comma-separated values.
Of course, it is possible and certainly reasonable to use XML, but it is far from
required. Using binary formats for uploading files is not supported yet by the
XMLHttpRequest object, but considering that Flash uses a binary format called Action
Message Format, it is likely that similar features will be found in Ajax applications soon
enough. You should know which format is being passed around the network, because it isn't
always XML. Also, make sure you can analyze the format for performance and security.
4) PLAN FOR AN INCREASE IN HTTP REQUESTS
The most obvious issue for the network administrator supporting Ajax applications is that
the architectural programming pattern has changed the network utilization of Web
applications from a batch-like, somewhat infrequent response of a few hundred kilobytes,
to a more continuous exchange of smaller HTTP responses. This means that network-bound Web
and application servers may find themselves even busier than before. What Ajax will do to
your server and network utilization certainly will depend on how the application is built
-- make sure your developers understand the network impact of their applications. 1 | 2
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It is in section 8.1.4 of [209]By ANONYMOUS on April 4, 2008, 5:48 pmIt is in section
8.1.4 of the HTTP/1.1 RFC 2616: "A single-user client SHOULD NOT maintain more than 2
connections with any server or proxy."
Reply [210] | Read entire comment [211]
buried on digg? [212]By ANONYMOUS on April 2, 2008, 8:57 pmAnon -- Get over yourself! It
was good content and it wasn't over ten pages -- there was a reasonable amount of text per
page.
Reply [213] | Read entire comment [214]
buried on digg? [215]By ANONYMOUS on April 2, 2008, 8:57 pmAnon -- Get over yourself! It
was good content and it wasn't over ten pages -- there was a reasonable amount of text per
page.
Reply [216] | Read entire comment [217]
I don\'t remember there being [218]By ANONYMOUS on April 2, 2008, 6:52 pmI don't remember
there being such a limitation mentioned in either of the RFC's defining HTTP. Sounds like
the web server in question was configured to allow only...
Reply [219] | Read entire comment [220]
Author\'s reply to "Only two simultaneous HTTP connections?" post [221]By CHRISTINE BURNS
on April 2, 2008, 1:42 pmI'm the editor who worked the Thomas Powell on this article and I
am posting his response here. "Much of the conventional wisdom about Ajax is simply wrong.
Take...
Reply [222] | Read entire comment [223]
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