AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It is used for allowing the client side of an application to communitcate with the server side of the application. Before AJAX, there was no way for the client side of a web application to communicate directly with the server. Instead, you would have to use page loads. With AJAX, the client and server can communicate freely with one another.

Here is how the usual AJAX script goes:

• Some action triggers the event, like the user clicking a button.
• The AJAX call fires, and sends a request to a server-side script, using XML
• The server-side script (PHP, ASP, or whatever) takes the input from JavaScript, can access the database if it needs to, and processes the data.
• Using XML again, the script sends the data back to the original client-side page that made the request
• A second JavaScript function, called a callback function,catches the data, and updates the web page

There are a few special techniques or effects that can spice up just about any web page. These are the top 20 Ajax effects that every web developer should know. They’re essential parts of any web developer’s toolbox. If you haven’t seen them yet, you no doubt will in your future web development endeavors.

gEt these aWeSome aJax eFFects here…