With more and more talk about AJAX (XMLHttpRequest in Javascript) floating around, Marco Tabini wanted to provide a good overall picture of what an AJAX framework really is and so posted this new blog entry discussing the matter.

I just read an interesting post from Bjoern on the impact that AJAX can have on your existing applications. As I understand things, Bjoern makes two major points: That you can't rely on AJAX being a workable solution because XMLHttpRequest requires ActiveX on Windows, and that AJAX will force you to completely revise your development strategy because of its (asyncronous) nature.

I think that these are both important points, and I'm glad Bjoern brought them up - I know they forced me to think long and hard about the problem. After a couple good nights' sleep, however, I must say that I disagree on both of them.

He continues on talking about ways around the Windows/ActiveX problem, as well as his opinion on the "force you to revise" idea - which he discounts as nonsense. AJAX should enhance the user experience, not require you to completely rework it. He also gives a few examples of how things can be helped with it...