1. Ajax Fundamentals

   1. Chapter 1 Reinventing the Web

      1. Web Page Components
      2. Modern Web Standards
      3. Browsers
      4. Standards Compliance
      5. Welcome to Web 2.0

   2. Chapter 2 From Web Sites to Web Applications

      1. The Transition
      2. Basic Web and Ajax Design Patterns
      3. Application Environments
      4. The Developer
      5. What Ajax Is Not

   3. Chapter 3 Servers, Databases, and the Web

      1. The Web Server
      2. Server-Side Scripting
      3. Databases
      4. Getting Data Into and Out of Relational Databases
      5. Interfacing the Interface
      6. Frameworks and Languages
      7. What Good Are Frameworks?

   4. Chapter 4 Foundations: Scripting XML and JSON

      1. XML
      2. JSON
      3. Choosing a Data Exchange Format
      4. A Quick Introduction to Client Frameworks
      5. Simplifying Development

   5. Chapter 5 Manipulating the DOM

      1. Understanding the DOM
      2. We've Already Met
      3. Manipulating DOM Elements, Attributes, and Objects
      4. Change That Style
      5. Events in the DOM
      6. DOM Stuff for Tables
      7. Is innerHTML Evil?

   6. Chapter 6 Designing Ajax Interfaces

      1. Usability
      2. Functionality
      3. Visualization
      4. Accessibility
      5. The Ajax Interface

2. Ajax Foundations

   1. Chapter 7 Laying Out Site Navigation

      1. Menus
      2. Tabs
      3. Navigation Aids
      4. Problems with Ajax Navigation
      5. General Layout

   2. Chapter 8 Fun with Tables and Lists

      1. Layout Without Tables
      2. Accessible Tables
      3. Sorting Tables
      4. Tables with Style
      5. Table Pagination
      6. Lists 2.0
      7. Lists for All Seasons

   3. Chapter 9 Page Layout with Frames That Aren't

      1. Using Frames
      2. XHTML and Frames
      3. The Magic of Ajax and a DIV
      4. Page Layout

   4. Chapter 10 Navigation Boxes and Windows

      1. The Alert Box
      2. Integrating the Window
      3. Navigation Windows
      4. Tool Tips
      5. The Necessary Pop Up

   5. Chapter 11 Customizing the Client

      1. Browser Customizations
      2. Stylesheet Switching
      3. Switching Different Customizations
      4. Easy Font-Size Switching
      5. Creating Color Themes
      6. Throwing Ajax into the Mix
      7. Changing Site Language with Ajax
      8. Repositioning Objects and Keeping Those Positions
      9. Storing It All in the Database

   6. Chapter 12 Errors: To Be (in Style) or Not to Be

      1. Error Handling on the Web
      2. Should I React to That Error?
      3. Handling an Error with Care
      4. Integrating the User Error

   7. Chapter 13 This Ain't Your Father's Animation

      1. Animation on the Web
      2. What Is Wrong with GIF?
      3. Building Animation with the PNG Format
      4. Ajax Animations

   8. Chapter 14 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Form

      1. XHTML Forms
      2. Using JavaScript
      3. Fancier Forms
      4. The Basics of Ajax and Forms
      5. Accepting Ajax-Delivered Data
      6. Server Responses

   9. Chapter 15 Data Validation: Client, Server, or Both

      1. Data Validation Is Important
      2. Validation with JavaScript
      3. CSS Notification of Errors
      4. Validation on the Server
      5. Ajax Client/Server Validation

3. Ajax in Applications

   1. Chapter 16 Search: The New Frontier

      1. Types of Site Searches
      2. Dynamic Searching with Ajax
      3. Googling a Site

   2. Chapter 17 Introducing Web Services

      1. What Is a Web Service?
      2. Web Service Architectures
      3. Ajax and Web Services
      4. Web Feeds
      5. Web Service APIs

   3. Chapter 18 Web Services: The APIs

      1. Publicly Available Web Services
      2. Ajax and the API
      3. The Next Step with Services

   4. Chapter 19 Mashups

      1. Mashups in Web 2.0 Applications
      2. What Are Mashups?
      3. Mashups As Applications
      4. Data Sources
      5. Application Portlets
      6. Building a Mashup
      7. Mashups and Business

   5. Chapter 20 For Your Business Communication Needs

      1. Businesses and Ajax
      2. Real-Time Communication
      3. File Sharing
      4. Whiteboards
      5. Combining Applications

   6. Chapter 21 Internet Games Without Plug-ins

      1. Gaming on the Web
      2. Internet Requirements
      3. Animating a Character
      4. Basic Collisions
      5. User Input
      6. The Basics of Event Handling
      7. Putting It All Together

4. Wrapping Up

   1. Chapter 22 Modular Coding

      1. What Is Modular Coding?
      2. The Client Side
      3. The Server Side

   2. Chapter 23 Optimizing Ajax Applications

      1. Site Optimization Factors
      2. HTTP
      3. Packets
      4. Client-Side Optimizations
      5. Server-Side Optimizations
      6. Ajax Optimization

5. References

   1. Appendix The XML and XSLT You Need to Know

      1. What Is XML?
      2. Anatomy of an XML Document
      3. Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation

   2. Appendix JavaScript Framework, Toolkit, and Library References

      1. Prototype Framework Reference
      2. script.aculo.us Library Reference
      3. Rico Library Reference
      4. MooTools Library Reference
      5. Dojo Toolkit Reference
      6. Sarissa Library Reference
      7. MochiKit Library Reference
      8. jQuery Library Reference

   3. Appendix Web Service API Catalog

   4. Appendix Ajax Risk References

      1. Requirements
      2. Bookmarking Issues
      3. Back and Forward Button Problems
      4. Security Risks
      5. Search Engines
      6. Accessibility
      7. Content Changes

1. Colophon

The animal on the cover of Ajax: The Definitive Guide is a woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha, Oreonoax flavicauda). Woolly monkeys inhabit the rain forests in the upper and middle areas of the Amazon basin west of the Negro and Tapajos rivers. They spend most of their time high in the tree canopy, rarely making their way to the forest floor. They are able to easily jump across wide gaps between trees; to navigate narrow limbs to access nuts, fruits, and seedpods; and even to sleep securely 150 feet above ground.

Adult woolly monkeys are 20-24 inches tall and weigh 13-17 pounds. Their features include black, hairless faces, extremely long limbs, and opposable big toes. They have forward-facing eyes, which provide them with the stereoscopic vision necessary for judging depth and distance as they travel through the treetops. They are also sensitive to the color green, a fact that helps them distinguish the various shades found in their jungle habitat. As their name suggests, woolly monkeys are covered with dense, pale gray-brown fur; this thick coat protects them from the elements and insect bites. Each hair is striped with white, which reflects the surrounding jungle colors and helps camouflage them against predators such as eagles, jaguars, and humans. Their most distinctive feature is their long, prehensile tail, which can support the full weight of the monkey as it hangs from tree limbs to rest or collect food. The tail can actually grasp objects as well, and woolly monkeys often use it to collect fruit or leaves. The top third of the tail's underside is smooth, allowing for a firm grip.

Woolly monkeys live in groups of 10-45 individuals, but split off into smaller groups of 2-6 to forage for food. They communicate via an elaborate system of vocal, visual, olfactory, and tactile cues, and have a friendly relationship within the larger group, greeting each other with embraces and kisses on the mouth. Their social hierarchy is organized by age, sex, activity, and the reproductive status of females. Reproduction is characterized as promiscuous; one male will generally mate with all the group's females, and vice versa. There is usually a dominant male who leads the group, ensuring their security and sense of well-being. He assumes the role of peacemaker as well, diffusing fights and disciplining the instigating monkey by shaking it vigorously.

The birth of a woolly monkey is a social occasion; it is attended by experienced mothers who help clean up, youngsters who observe and learn, and adult males who provide comfort and protection to the laboring mother. A newborn woolly monkey clings to its mother for the first three months of its life, first to her chest and gradually making its way to her back. Although they nurse for two years, infant monkeys generally incorporate solid foods into their diet at approximately two months of age. They determine what to eat by imitating the mother, but the first solids they try are often the crumbs and peels their mothers accidentally drop on their heads. Mothers never intentionally give their infants food, nor do they pick them up or put them down; rather, they encourage self-reliance in their offspring and do not give birth again until the child is completely independent.