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JavaScript and Ajax - Dynamically Load Page Elements

Web applications are adopting advanced user interface features traditionally found in desktop applications. Drop-down menus, dynamic list boxes, pop-up windows, expanding and collapsing display panes, and live data updates were once available only on platform-specific applications or code-heavy Java apps. Now these features can be found on quick-loading web sites that use technology built into almost every web browser to provide much more immediate and dynamic site interaction.

At the center of this push for a rich user experience on web pages is a set of technologies collectively known as Ajax. The name Ajax, originally shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, denoted the three original technologies used in dynamic solutions. Ajax has outgrown the original initials, as most sites now use the JSON data format for data communication rather than XML, and CSS has become nearly as important in Ajax solutions as JavaScript.

Ajax has been repurposed as a general term to indicate asynchronous technology that is used to dynamically update a web page without requiring a new page load typically with new information obtained through background interaction with a server-side interface. For example, the Joomla Administrator interface could be set up so that clicking on the publish or unpublish icon could update the article without refreshing the page.

Some typical Ajax solutions in Joomla :

  • Dynamic JavaScript loader: A simple function that allows you to dynamically load or lazy load JavaScript files so your main page load is never blocked by an unavailable resource.
  • Article Injector: Allows creation of Joomla articles without a page refresh.
  • Image lazy loader: If your Joomla site has a lot of images to display, a lazy loader can make the page display much more quickly.