Introducing Prototype and Scriptaculous Part 1

Ajax Utilities

The final feather in Prototype's cap is its support for Ajax. All major browsers support a version of the XMLHttpRequest object that makes Ajax possible, either as an ActiveX component or as a native JavaScript object. XMLHttpRequest, however, exposes the HTTP protocol at a very low level, which gives the developer a lot of power, but also requires her to write a lot of code in order to do simple things. Prototype uses its own object inheritance system to provide a hierarchy of Ajax helper objects, with generic base classes being subclassed by more focused helpers that allow the most common types of Ajax requests to be coded in a single line. By making Ajax this easy, Prototype provides even more value to web developers.

Prototype provides an extremely solid foundation for developing complex, well-structured code, but on its own does little beyond that. The onus of developing the functionality that the end user will see still rests firmly with the developer.

Editor's Note: To see the last part of this series go to Introducing Prototype and Scriptaculous Part 2.

About the Authors

Dave Crane is an Ajax authority and lead author of the best-selling Ajax in Action. He is currently senior developer for UK-based Historic Futures Ltd., developing the next generation of socially responsible supply-chain systems using Ajax to link rural cooperatives and multinational corporations.

Michael "Bear" Bibeault is a US-based Java programmer with over 20 years' experience in enterprise and Web applications. He's a popular moderator on The Java Ranch and coauthor of the upcoming Ajax in Practice.

Tom Locke is an UK-based independent web developer and trainer specializing in Ruby on Rails. He is the creator of Logix, a multi-language programming system, and the CTO of LiveLogix.

Source of This Material

Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action
By Dave Crane and Bear Bibeault with Tom Locke
ISBN: 1-933988-03-7
Published by Manning Publications Co., March 2007
Paperback: 544 pages, Retail price: $49.99
MEAP + Softbound print + ebook - $49.99
MEAP + ebook only - $25.00
This material is Chapter 1 of the book.
Reprinted with the publisher's permission.