A new web development method has been emerging that changes the way you interact with websites.
You’ve probably never thought about it before, but the standard behaviour for a website is that when you click something, a new page loads. Even the things on the page that don’t really change (masthead graphics, navigation bar and so on) still need to be re-displayed in your window.
Enter AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)!
This technique allows us to only change the part of a page that we need to, so web pages can in some ways behave more like a program that you’d run on your computer than a normal website.
Like everything, it has its advantages and disadvantages, and is therefore only suited to certain conditions – but it’s a cool new trick all the same.
Like to see it in action? Here’s our first ‘cab off the rank’ – Glen Fosslyn Droughtmasters Sire Search.