Course Overview
2h 07m | 19 Videos | 81717 Views | 
All Levels jQuery Ajax Training
If you want to build a website or web application, interactive elements are a necessity. An interactive web application is a step closer to success. But how do you add these interactive elements? Well, there’s jQuery for that.
This comprehensive online course covers jQuery and Ajax in detail, both of which we’ll discuss in detail later below. The tutorials cover simple Ajax descriptions, DOM element setup method, global Ajax event method, low level interface and much more.
But what is Ajax? Well, in simple terms, Ajax is a technique to develop interactive web applications. It is a lot simpler to understand and start using Ajax if you know XML, CSS, HTML and JavaScript. This tutorial covers everything a budding web developer would need to know to create interactive web pages and improve their use of Ajax.
And what is jQuery? Well, if you are here to learn about Ajax, then chances are that you already have a good idea about jQuery. If you don’t, then it is highly recommended that you start there first. jQuery is essentially a JavaScript framework designed to make it easier to utilize JavaScript for websites. jQuery can also be described as an abstraction layer because it wraps up a lot of the functionality that would otherwise require several lines in JavaScript, into a single line of code.
It is important to remember that jQuery is not a replacement for JavaScript, despite the fact that it serves as a way to shorten the whole coding process. The code that you ultimately write for jQuery is still code for JavaScript. Having said that, you do not have to be an expert in JavaScript to be handle jQuery. In fact, a lot of web developers and industry experts believe that you can easily master jQuery even before you start JavaScript. For those of who you already know JavaScript, jQuery can come as a huge benefit. It simplifies a lot of complex things in JavaScript, like DOM manipulation or Ajax calls.
Also there are tons of JavaScript frameworks available to use, jQuery is considered among the most popular, if not the most popular already. It is also considered the most extendable JavaScript framework, given the fact that you can find plugins for jQuery for almost any task. The wide range of plugins, the power and functionality, and the relatively simplified syntax of this framework are among the major reasons for its popularity.
Depending on what you know about JavaScript already, jQuery can either get challenging or easy. It also depends on how much you know about other web development languages and concepts, such as CSS and HTML. If you are fresh into web development in general, it is highly recommended that you start off with our comprehensive HTML 5 training course.
If you already have a good base with web development tool, then this course should be a good enough challenge. One of the key things to understand about jQuery is that it is ultimately a JavaScript library. The power that you see in jQuery is accessed through JavaScript. While you do not have to be a master in JavaScript, it is a plus if you know the structuring of JavaScript code so that you can understanding and debug the code when you need to.
Of course, this still does not mean that you need to know JavaScript before you learn jQuery. As you familiarize yourself with the jQuery framework and use it on a day-to-day basis, you will be able to automatically improve your JavaScript proficiency as well. And most instructions on jQuery start with giving you a working knowledge of the syntax and inbuilt constructions of JavaScript.
An introduction to Ajax
If you have read all the way here, it’s safe to assume that you know jQuery and have enough knowledge about the JavaScript framework as well as basic JavaScript syntax and constructs to manage this course. Now, let’s introduce the concept of Ajax.
Ajax, which is also fully-capped and written as AJAX, is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It is, as mentioned in the beginning, a technique to develop interactive web applications. It lets you load data as a background process and display that data on your web page without having to refresh it. This enables you to create websites with a richer functionality. Popular web applications such as Google Maps, Outlook Web Access and Gmail all use Ajax rather extensively. The result is a more desktop-like, responsive experience.
Although Ajax makes the end-user’s experience simpler, it can be cumbersome to use from the developer’s end. This is because different browsers have their own implementations for supporting Ajax. Now, this would normally mean that you write code for different responses to different browsers. But that is where jQuery comes into the picture. It simplifies all of this, allowing developers to write Ajax functionality with far fewer lines of code than it would otherwise require. In some cases, you may need just a single line of code!
In this day and age where responsiveness is essential to the end-user experience, Ajax is getting increasingly integral for a successful website. It is already in use extensively by some major websites mentioned below, for good reason. It offers greater interactivity to the user, because with Ajax, you as a user do not have to refresh or reload a page to view dynamic content. This makes Ajax a rather tempting element to include in your web development, but you need to be fully aware of its advantages and disadvantages before you go through this course and start implementing it:
Advantages of Ajax
- Greater interactivity:
One of the biggest benefits of Ajax is the greater interactivity you get it from, and it is the key reason why a lot of webmasters and developers are switching to the technique. Ajax makes the user interaction easier and quicker, since pages don’t have to be reloaded for displaying dynamic content. This is the core concept behind a lot of sites you see today, especially in social media with its infinite scroll of content.
Along with an improved user experience, Ajax could also help save bandwidth for the end user and the developer, since you only load the data needed to update the page rather than refreshing the complete page.
- Easier navigation:
With Ajax, you can build applications to enable easier navigation across your website, as compared to the conventional Forward and Back button on a web browser.
- Compact nature:
Ajax simplifies the user experience as well as the development experience. You can use Ajax to handle several features and multipurpose applications with a single web page, eliminating the need and clutter of multiple pages. You can achieve a lot more with a few lines of code with Ajax than you would with standard JavaScript.
- Strong reputation:
Ajax is wildly popular, and if you want proof of that, look up Google Maps. Not an address, but the service itself. It is one of the first and most impressive examples of Ajax handling a complex web application. The popular vBulletin forum software, which is found in so many sites even today, also incorporates Ajax in its latest version.
So it is clear that Ajax is easy to use, good for the user, popular among the big players and in trend these days. But it is far from perfect. It’s important to be aware of the disadvantages of this concept too before you go ahead and decide to implement it on your web project.
Disadvantages of Ajax
- Lack of conventional browsing options
Ajax embraces a lot of innovative and now-in-trend user experience concepts, but also eliminates a lot of traditional navigational elements. For instance, it is impossible to use the Back and Forward buttons to navigate between page states. The updates are done using JavaScript on the client, and so the state does not register in the browser’s history. For this same reason, a specific state cannot be bookmarked either. Also, data loaded via Ajax will not be indexed by major search engines.
- JavaScript is not for everyone
There is also the possibility that your users may have JavaScript disabled or may be using a browser without JavaScript support. In this case, the browser will not be able to run the functionality that you have coded via Ajax. JavaScript is definitely secure and in heavy use by websites for several years now. However, there is a sizeable number of users who lack JavaScript support to turn off functionality, making the Ajax application useless. There is a workaround to this, where you will have to code a non-JavaScript parallel version of the dynamic page for this portion of users.
COURSE CURRICULUM
Section 1: Ajax and jQuery
The section begins with an introduction to Ajax, starting with a description of the concept and technique. It goes on to discuss examples on the simple methods that can be implemented with Ajax.
1 Simple Ajax Description Part 1
2 Simple Ajax Description Part 2
3 Simple Methods Example Part 1
4 Simple Methods Example Part 2
5 Simple Methods Example Part 3
6 Simple Methods Example Part
Section 2: Global Ajax Event Method
After a quick introduction to Ajax and some simple method examples, we move on to global Ajax event methods, which register handlers to be called in case certain events like completion or initialization, take place on a page.
7 Global Ajax Event Method Description
8 Global Ajax Event Method Examples
Section 3: Helper Functions
This next section focuses on Helper functions, which help with common idioms that are encountered when Ajax tasks are performed. There are three such functions that are described with examples in this section.
9 Helper Functions Description
10 Helper Functions Example
Section 4: Low Level Interface
The methods under this can be used for making arbitrary Ajax requests. The low-level interface makes this possible, or to configure jQuery for future requests. There are four methods under this interface that are described in this section.
11 Low Level Interface Description
12 Low Level Interface Examples
Section 5: Collection Manipulation Data Storage
Now we move to more advanced levels of jQuery and Ajax, with collection manipulation data storage. There are two methods of collection manipulation to iterate over an object or create a serialized representation of an object for an Ajax request or URL query string.
13 Collection Manipulation Data Storage Description
14 Collection Manipulation Data Storage Example Part 1
15 Collection Manipulation Data Storage Example Part 2
Section 6: DOM Element Setup Method
In this section, we cover the DOM element methods, including retrieving the DOM elements that are matched by the jQuery object, searching a given element among matched elements, returing the elements in the object and more.
16 DOM Element Setup Method Description
17 DOM Element Setup Method Example Part 1
18 DOM Element Setup Method Example Part 2
Section 7: Jquery Conclusion
The section concludes the course, providing more insight on Ajax and jQuery to make your development process easier and to set you on the course for more learning.
19 Jquery Conclusion
REQUIREMENTS/PRE-REQUISITES
While the course is designed to be as accessible as possible, you will find it a lot easier to follow and implement what you learnt from the course right off the bat if you meet the following prerequisites:
- You are familiar with JavaScript or jQuery. You can learn either of them first, or both of them and use what you learn from this jQuery Ajax training as an add-on.
- You are familiar with HTML, CSS, XML or some other web development language
- You have prior coding or programing experience of some kind
TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THIS TRAINING
The course is designed for the following target audience:
- Students and professionals interested in learning about Ajax and jQuery from a hands-on perspective.
- Budding web developers who have already built up their knowledge of HTML and JavaScript, or even jQuery.
FAQs – GENERAL QUESTIONS
- Is this course for me?
If you want to build responsive, interactive websites or applications that meet today’s requirements, then this course is for you. Ajax is a highly popular choice today, and for good reason. With enough practice, it is easy to grasp. However, it is highly recommended that you meet the prerequisites mentioned above. Prior experience or knowledge in some programing or web development skill, like JavaScript, HTML, or jQuery, is highly recommended. If you are completely new to web development in general, we recommend going for the comprehensive HTML 5 training course.
- Is there a particular order to follow?
Depending on how much experience you have with Ajax and jQuery, and how well you pick up new coding techniques, you may follow the order or just go through the sections that you are interested in. You have full autonomy here, although it is best to go through the whole course from the first to final section. You get the entire experience this way, and learn much better.
- Where would I apply this?
As indicated clearly in the introduction to this course, Ajax is pretty important in modern web development. Everyone wants responsive design that delivers a good user experience across various devices. In fact, user experience is absolutely paramount these days. If you want to ensure that your users get a simplified experience, Ajax is one of the best ways to do it.
COURSE TESTIMONIALS
Jessica J:
After going through the HTML 5 course here and practicing for a month on my own, I felt it was time for me to move on to my next training course. I had been dying to learn Ajax for quite a while, so much so that I was still rough with my JavaScript when I started the course. It was tough, but I feel like I’ve come out learning a lot more about where I stand. I’m practicing Ajax really hard right now and am getting the hang of it, but this course gave me a good foundation for that.
Scott S:
I have been practicing web development for close to a year now, and felt that my skills were starting to fall behind the current industry standard. I needed to brush them up, so turned to this course to teach me a thing or two about Ajax. And boy, did it deliver! The course gave me everything I needed to venture into Ajax on my own. Crisp, concise and clear!
Jonah R:
Fresh off my JavaScript course, I was ready to take on a new challenge! This was another great course from you guys. It perfectly fits my style of learning. Hopefully, by the end of this year, I’ll have the skills needed to finally pull off my own website!
