Ajax: The Definitive Guide -- New from O'Reilly

For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or interview with the
author, contact:
Kathryn Barrett (707) 827-7314 or kathrynb@oreilly.com

Ajax: The Definitive Guide - New from O'Reilly
The Complete Guide to Building Interactive Applications for the Web

Sebastopol, CA--Is Ajax a new technology or the same old stuff? You'll
hear arguments on both sides, and both sides are right, but the point is
academic. "The growth and advancement of technology in the last three to
four years have been incredible," notes author Anthony T. Holdener III.
"Ajax is one of the reasons new web applications are becoming such a hit,
and the more people can learn to utilize Ajax in their projects, the
better those projects will be for end users." 

Holdener's new book, "Ajax: The Definitive Guide" (O'Reilly, US $49.99)
demonstrates how tried-and-true technologies (aka "the same old stuff")
make Ajax possible, and shows how these older technologies are the
underlying secret of that decidedly modern Web 2.0 feel. 

"New innovations, together with the functionality of Ajax, have given the
Web a new look and appeal," says Holdener. "'Ajax: The Definitive Guide'
explores what you can do with Ajax to give them a Web 2.0 feel and how
additional JavaScript advancements can turn a web browser and web site
into a true application. Even before that, you'll get a background on what
goes into today's web sites and applications."

"Ajax: The Definitive Guide" explains how to use standards like
JavaScript, XML, CSS, and XHTML, along with the XMLHttpRequest object, to
build browser-based web applications that function like desktop programs.
You get a complete background on what goes into today's web sites and
applications, and learn to leverage these tools along with Ajax for
advanced browser searching, web services, mashups, and more. You discover
how to turn a web browser and web site into a true application, and why
developing with Ajax is faster, easier and cheaper.

The book also explains:

- How to connect server-side backend components to user interfaces in the
browser
- Loading and manipulating XML documents, and how to replace XML with
JSON
- Manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM)
- Designing Ajax interfaces for usability, functionality, visualization,
and accessibility
- Site navigation layout, including issues with Ajax and the browser's
back button
- Adding life to tables & lists, navigation boxes and windows
- Animation creation, interactive forms, and data validation
- Search, web services and mash-ups
- Applying Ajax to business communications, and creating Internet games
without plug-ins
- The advantages of modular coding, ways to optimize Ajax applications,
and more

Also included are references to XML and XSLT, popular JavaScript
Frameworks, Libraries, and Toolkits, and various Web Service APIs. 

Anthony T. Holdener, III currently builds Internet/Intranet applications
utilizing the latest available technologies while striving for
accessibility and cross-browser compatibility. He has worked with the web
in one form or another since 1997 when he helped open an Internet cafe in
Fairview Heights, Illinois. Following graduation from St. Louis University
with a degree in Computer Science, Anthony has worked as a web architect
or developer for the past eight years for a number of Fortune 500
companies in the St. Louis area. Anthony resides in the village of Shiloh,
Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife and twin
toddlers. When not on his computer, Anthony enjoys reading, painting, and
spending time with his family.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bio, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596528386/ 

Ajax: The Definitive Guide
Anthony T. Holdener III
ISBN: 0-596-52838-8, 980 pages, US $49.99
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472

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