Build a solid foundation for your next generation of web applications
Use better JavaScript code to enable powerful web features
Leverage the power of PHP and MySQL to create powerful back-end functionality and make it work in harmony with the smart AJAX client
Go through numerous case studies that demonstrate how to implement AJAX-enabled features in your site such as: real-time form validation, online chat, suggest & autocomplete, whiteboard, SVG realtime charting, whiteboard, web data grid, RSS reader, drag & drop

In Detail
Assuming a basic knowledge of PHP, XML, JavaScript and MySQL, this book will help you understand how the heart of AJAX beats and how the constituent technologies work together. After teaching the foundations, the book will walk you through numerous real-world case studies covering tasks you'll be likely to need for your own applications:

• Server-enabled form-validation page
  
• Online chat collaboration tool
  
• Customized type-ahead text entry solution
  
• Real-time charting using SVG
  
• Database-enabled, editable and customizable data grid
  
• RSS aggregator application
  
• A server-managed sortable list with drag&drop support using the script.aculo.us JavaScript toolkit
  

The appendices guide you through installing your working environment, using powerful tools that enable debugging, improving, and profiling your code, working with XSLT and XPath.