Ajax is one of the important tools that every web developer should know. The concept that AJAX uses came around 1998 but AJAX became public when an article with the headline “AJAX: A New Approach to Web Application published.
What is AJAX?
Before knowing what AJAX is, we should be clear that AJAX is not a programming language. We all know that AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. So as per its name, it helps in updating web pages asynchronously by sending and receiving data from the web server. So this AJAX solved the problem of reloading the whole page even though there is a requirement to update a small component of a page.
Many people confuse that AJAX only uses XML to transfer data by seeing X stands for XML in AJAX. But AJAX can use XML, JSON, or any other plain text to transfer data.
Working of AJAX
AJAX works in a five-step process-
- When any event occurs for data transfer then an object with the name XMLHttpRequest will be created.
- This object will send a request to the server.
- After that server will process the request and send back the response.
- Then that response is taken back by Javascript.
- Then required action is performed without reloading the whole page.
Till now we understood what AJAX is and which kind of problems it solves, but now we are going to understand how Ajax is different from Javascript and its libraries, frameworks, and Run-Time Environment.
How AJAX is different from Javascript?
- Javascript provides client-side support whereas AJAX provides server-side support by exchanging data with the server.
- Javascript is applicable when there is an HTML and AJAX functionality that takes data using XMLHttpRequest.
- Javascript is a well-known programming language whereas AJAX is not a programming language.
- Javascript is more vulnerable to viruses and on the other hand, AJAX is not much vulnerable to viruses.
- Javascript will reload the page when any component changes whereas AJAX can change any component without reloading the page.
How AJAX is different from jQuery?
- AJAX simply helps in sending Asynchronous calls to the web server whereas jQuery is used to do those things with ease that can be done with javascript.
- In AJAX, multiple events can run at the same time but in jQuery, only one event can run at one time.
- When there will be any issue with the server then AJAX cannot function properly whereas jQuery can function properly.
- jQuery supports some front-end type dependency injection whereas AJAX will not support any type of dependency injection.
- jQuery can’t work outside of the browser but AJAX can work in and outside of the browser
How AJAX is different from ReactJS?
- ReactJS is a javascript library whereas AJAX is not.
- ReactJS use to make single-page Applications whereas AJAX is used to send and receive data asynchronously.
- ReactJS works on the basis of component making whereas AJAX works on updating data.
- ReactJS will make a web page and AJAX will act upon that web page.
- ReactJS have many features like a javascript framework whereas AJAX has limited features.
How AJAX is different from Node.js?
- Node.js is a runtime environment for Javascript which helps to use javascript on the server whereas AJAX helps to fetch and send data from the server.
- Node.js is nothing without javascript but AJAX can work with different technologies.
- Node.js is written with the help of Javascript, C, C++, etc… On the other hand, AJAX is written in Javascript.
- Node.js works on the server side whereas AJAX acts as a link between the client-side and server-side.
- Node.js has many alternatives but AJAX has only a few alternatives.