Ajax, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, exploded onto the scene in the spring of 2005 and remains the hottest story among web developers. With its rich combination of technologies, Ajax provides a strong foundation for creating interactive web applications with XML or JSON-based web services by using JavaScript in the browser to process the web server response.

Ajax Design Patterns shows you best practices that can dramatically improve your web development projects. It investigates how others have successfully dealt with conflicting design principles in the past and then relays that information directly to you.

The patterns outlined in the book fall into four categories:

• Foundational technology: Examines the raw technologies required for Ajax development
• Programming: Exposes techniques that developers have discovered to ensure their Ajax applications are maintainable
• Functionality and usability: Describes the types of user interfaces you’ll come across in Ajax applications, as well as the new types of functionality that Ajax makes possible
• Development: Explains the process being used to monitor, debug, and test Ajax applications

Ajax Design Patterns will also get you up to speed with core Ajax technologies, such as XMLHttpRequest, the DOM, and JSON. Technical discussions are followed by code examples so you can see for yourself just what is-and isn’t-possible with Ajax. This handy reference will help you to produce high-quality Ajax architectures, streamline web application performance, and improve the user experience.

Michael Mahemoff holds a PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the University of Melbourne, where his thesis was "Design Reuse in Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction." He lives in London and consults on software development issues in banking, health care, and logistics.

"Michael Mahemoff’s Ajax Design Patterns is a truly comprehensive compendium of web application design expertise, centred around but not limited to Ajax techniques. Polished nuggets of design wisdom are supported by tutorials and real-world code examples resulting in a book that serves not only as an intermediate to expert handbook but also as an extensive reference for building rich interactive web applications."
--Brent Ashley, remote scripting pioneer

Those of you familiar with Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) know how useful the technology is for creating interactive web applications with XML-based web services and JavaScript in the browser to process the web server response. Responsive web applications with client-like functionality are the new wave of the Internet. Though Ajax is new, the enabling technologies that allow JavaScript and similar languages to transfer and manipulate XML data from server to web browser have been around for a while. Ajax Design Patterns provides best practices for web developers by investigating how others have successfully dealt with conflicting design principles. You will find sections on foundational technology patterns, programming patterns, functionality and usability patterns, and diagnosis/testing of Ajax applications. Ajax is all about usability, so the patterns in this book focus on delivering usability in the face of constraints, such as user capabilities and expectations, bandwidth limits, the stateless nature of HTTP, and the complexity of Javascript. These patterns also are a concise way to represent the Human-Computer Interaction knowledge embodied in the many Ajax applications on the market.

Ajax, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, exploded onto the scene in the spring of 2005 and remains the hottest story among web developers. With its rich combination of technologies, Ajax provides a strong foundation for creating interactive web applications with XML or JSON-based web services by using JavaScript in the browser to process the web server response.

Ajax Design Patterns shows you best practices that can dramatically improve your web development projects. It investigates how others have successfully dealt with conflicting design principles in the past and then relays that information directly to you.

The patterns outlined in the book fall into four categories:

• Foundational technology: Examines the raw technologies required for Ajax development
• Programming: Exposes techniques that developers have discovered to ensure their Ajax applications are maintainable
• Functionality and usability: Describes the types of user interfaces you’ll come across in Ajax applications, as well as the new types of functionality that Ajax makes possible
• Development: Explains the process being used to monitor, debug, and test Ajax applications

Ajax Design Patterns will also get you up to speed with core Ajax technologies, such as XMLHttpRequest, the DOM, and JSON. Technical discussions are followed by code examples so you can see for yourself just what is-and isn’t-possible with Ajax. This handy reference will help you to produce high-quality Ajax architectures, streamline web application performance, and improve the user experience.

Michael Mahemoff holds a PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the University of Melbourne, where his thesis was "Design Reuse in Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction." He lives in London and consults on software development issues in banking, health care, and logistics.

"Michael Mahemoff’s Ajax Design Patterns is a truly comprehensive compendium of web application design expertise, centred around but not limited to Ajax techniques. Polished nuggets of design wisdom are supported by tutorials and real-world code examples resulting in a book that serves not only as an intermediate to expert handbook but also as an extensive reference for building rich interactive web applications."
--Brent Ashley, remote scripting pioneer

Good AJAX Cookbook
The title ’Ajax Design Patterns’ is a little misleading because this is more like an AJAX cookbook or solutions book. Packed with ~650 pages of material spread over 19 chapters and 4 indexes, this is a good resource for anyone looking to work with and/or learn about what AJAX is and what it has to offer.

My only issue with this book is that the overall look and feel is like many of the other O’Reilly offerings that have a more ’nerdy’ feel to it. The cover and layout looks like it is just going to be a pocket with published papers all put together into one package, but because of it’s cookbook nature it’s not the same niche of book. I would have chosen a different design and layout to make this book better represent the content contained within.

Having said all that, I think the book is a smashing success. Case studies such as slider bar creation, drag and drop, text editors are interspersed with the history of AJAX and why this buzzword is one that really DOESN’T get old (it’s so powerful).

For all AJAX developers I easily recommend this book. It’s full of yummy tidbits of information that you will no doubt fine useful and engaging.

**** RECOMMENDED

A "must have" Ajax Resource for every Web 2.0 developer.
Let me get something straight here: Michael Mahemoff really knows how to teach, this book is one of the most appropriated books for those who want to learn about AJAX and in this review I’ll tell you why I think so.
First of all, the book starts explaining all the basics of AJAX with its definitons, how it works, related technologies and more. But the best point is: the author always explains using real-life examples, which makes everything easier to understand. The following chapters cover the AJAX Design Patterns properly. You can think about these design patterns as specific solutions, for example "how to made an auto-complete box with ajax", which will give you a great variety of "what can I do with ajax" things. The book also covers some architectural patterns too.
I think the main goal of this book is not only the great diversity of solutions that you can apply in your projects, but how the author explains them. He always starts the explanation of a design pattern with a brief history of how this pattern can help you giving real examples on where these patterns have being applied. Don’t forget that one of the main goals of Design Patterns is to create a "vocabulary" to make an easier reference about a specific subject, and this book completely achieves this goal by giving names for each one of those solutions represented as a Design Pattern.
That’s why I believe this book is a "must have" for any AJAX professional or student.

too long...
Got this book in late 2006, and just about a month ago, I finished. I was involved in creating web forms using Rich Internet Applications (RIA) early last year, and I was hoping this book would give me some guidance.

Simply put, I did not see what I was hoping to get but there were so many duplicate use-cases, stories which resemble one after another (as some other reviewers did, I did not count how many), but overall the examples were too specific (as an example check this out from CodeExample: Yahoo!Mindset (on page 335)
...
OnClick = "setup(’1505998205%3Ac26b16%3A105900fde%3Aff4’, ’ajax");
...

I really don’t think this statement belongs in a book. In the same story, there is even a mention of Hurricane Katrina. I mean, come on... let’s cut the chase. Too many sets of the same "Real-World Examples" used in many different pattern makes the context blurry. It certainly lost me. Yes, it took about 10 months for me to read this book, but I had other projects and priorities.

Overall, the first chapters are well put, explaining what Ajax is etc. But it needs further tuning downstream. I give it 3 out of 5.

Packed with excellent information
This book is not perfect. There are a handful of editing mistakes and the author seems to go out of his way to ignore anything that Microsoft might have created (except ajax of course - wink).

On the positive side, this book is extremely well written. The author has a natural writing style that is conversational but still structured enough to fully cover material. The layout and organization of the book adds to the readability.

Excellent
It help me clarify the mystery behind AJAX and provided easy to follow examples.

Don’t go without this book if you’re doing Web 2.0 work
Michael has quickly staked his claim as a major driving force in the world of software design, most notably in the vein of AJAX development, and his outstanding work on "AJAX Design Patterns" is certainly testament to that. Despite the book’s title implying a heavy lean towards application development via asynchronous remote scripting, it’s actually is more accurate in its subtitle, being applicable towards the trendier Web 2.0 movement (but given the mixed reactions to Web 2.0, I can see how such might want to be played down.)

The book’s organization is logically laid out, providing a historical and academic profile of the technological foundations that gave rise to modern-day asynchronous programming. Michael then leads into the actual patterns, being grouped by function. Probably the most relevant to web developers are those related to into the various forms of web remoting, DOM manipulation, and next-gen visualization (i.e., drag-and-drop effects); while programming patterns geared for performance enhancement and code generation will whet the appetites of even the most advanced coders.

(Among my favorite patterns are those dealing with HTTP streaming (a field of which Michael’s a pioneer), on-demand JavaScript, and content refreshing.)

If, for no other reason, you buy this book it should be for any developer considering themselves to be cutting-edge should buy this book for the section on Chapter 9 on REST applications development. This in my opinion is the most well-rounded discussion of what RESTful production is(n’t), and how to incorporate such architecture into your own web projects. Being a .NET developer, that platform’s framework serves to both abstract my kind away from having to directly deal with such concepts, or Microsoft blatantly neglects to mention it at all. After scouring the Web for months looking for good content on REST, Michael lays it all out in easy to understand lingo and examples. I’m having the REST chapter photocopied and bronzed for my desk. It’s that good.

The one thing I didn’t dig too much about the book is its exclusive lean towards PHP for examples where server-side logic was needed. While other platforms like J2EE, .NET, Ruby on Rails and Cold Fusion are keenly cited for their contributions and capabilities, the vast majority of the code is in PHP. But this is just a personal quirk...I’m obviously not big on PHP.

But that minor preference aside, I’ve followed this book’s development since its days as a wiki. It’s an invaluable resource as your online development begins to get more complex in a demanding world expecting web apps with rich UIs and multifaceted formats (e.g., JSON, SOAP, XML, et al.). I find it to serve equally well as programmer’s reference and architecture guide. I rarely rate any books a perfect score, but this certainly is deserving of such a nod.

This is truly a masterpiece, and one that no developer doing Web 2.0 work should be without.

CLEANING UP WITH AJAX DESIGN PATTERNS!!
Are you a developer, designer and manager who wants to know how Ajax is being used in the real world? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Michael Mahemoff, has done an outstanding job of writing a 2nd edition of a book that shows you what’s possible and what’s not with Ajax, and how Ajax is being used in the real world.

Michael, begins with a prelude to the patterns. Then, the author outlines the building blocks at the heart of any Ajax application. Next, he focuses on the technical qualities of software, in particular maintainability, robustness, and performance. The author also focuses on the usability of Ajax applications. Finally, he discusses why development patterns are not things in the same sense as the patterns in previous patterns, but processes you can use to aid development.

Because of the reference-like nature of the patterns, this most excellent book is accessible to people from different backgrounds. More importantly, this book doesn’t assume you know any particular server-side environment.

Probably mistitled, but still some very good information...
Although I think the book is mistitled, there’s still a lot of value to be gleaned from Ajax Design Patterns by Michael Mahemoff. It’s almost more like a cookbook than a patterns guide...

Contents:
Part 1 - Introduction: Introducing Ajax; A Pattern-Led Tutorial; Ajax Design - Principles and Patterns
Part 2 - Foundational Technology Patterns: Ajax App; Display Manipulation; Web Remoting; Dynamic Behavior; Extended Technologies
Part 3 - Programming Patterns: Web Services; Browser-Server Dialogue; DOM Population; Code Generation and Reuse; Performance Optimization
Part 4 - Functionality and Usability Patterns: Widgets; Page Architecture; Visual Effects; Functionality
Part 5 - Development Patterns: Diagnosis; Testing
Part 6 - Appendixes: Ajax Frameworks and Libraries; Setting Up The Code Samples; Patterns and Pattern Languages; References; Index

Each of the chapters, such as Widgets, show a number of techniques and features that you can use in an Ajax application. In this particular case, there’s the Slider, Progress Indicator, Drilldown, Data Grid, Rich Text Editor, Suggestion, Live Search, and Live Command-Line. Although each of these are presented as a "pattern", I think that’s really a misuse of the term as it’s commonly utilized in our industry. Patterns are general architectures that have been developed over time to solve particular types of design issues. A pattern called "Slider" is really just an example of how a slider widget can be used effectively in an Ajax application. Because of the specificity of a slider, I see that as more of a recipe than a pattern.

Having cleared that gripe, it’s still an effective book. Each pattern/recipe starts with a basic usage story, followed by the problem statement, the forces that come into play, the actual solution, decisions that need to be addressed, real-world examples, alternatives to this particular feature, related patterns/recipes, and references to more information about the feature. This particular format makes for a very comprehensive discussion of each item, more so than you’d get in a straight tutorial or reference guide. As such, I think it makes for a good addition to the Ajax bookshelf...

As a true "patterns" guide, I think it misses what it tries to set out to do. As a cookbook for Ajax techniques, it works quite well...

You can’t be serious
I am as eager as the next guy to learn established design patterns for the various new technologies I encounter, but I have to say this book is of very little utility in that regard.

I read the original "Design Patterns" book and found it an indespensible. In contrast, this book presents the most obvious challenges as novel "patterns". A few examples from the inside cover will dispatch any curiousity:

Ajax App design pattern - Produce an Ajax App - a rich application capable of running inside any modern web browser.

DOM Inspection design pattern - Use a DOM Inspection Tool to explore the dynamic DOM state.

Debugging design pattern - Diagnose problems with a JavaScript debugger.

Guesstimate design pattern - Instead of requesting information from the server, make a reasonable guess.

JSON Message - Pass messages between server and browser in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.

Okay, enough of that. Those that read the original book will understand that packaging these topics as design patterns is insulting to those that know the value of actual design patterns.

That said, the cute stories that you simply can’t find in other reputable software engineering books make this a unique part of your collection.

An Excellent Ajax Patterns Book
Ajax Design Patterns is the third book I have read dealing with AJAX (after Head Rush Ajax and Pragmatic Ajax, both good books) and it is by far the most comprehensive dealing with this topic. Michael Mahemoff writes, in apparently his first book, an excellent introduction to the topic in the first three chapters and is worth reading even if you are familiar with Ajax. Though I would recommend reading either of the two books mentioned earlier first if you have little knowledge of Ajax, DHTML and JavaScript.

The majority of the book is the patterns grouped by foundational technology, programming patterns, functionality and usability patterns, and development patterns. The immense amount of patterns mentioned is a bit overwhelming to read from cover-to-cover (though I did this otherwise I would not have reviewed this book) though the benefit is to acquaint yourself with a plethora of interesting ideas (and several not-so-plausible) that could be beneficial to your Web 2.0 (this misnomer is more of a marketing term) development. The chapter of Development Patterns is a must read for developers discussing diagnosis and testing patterns.

I like the layout of each pattern with a Name, Goal Story, Problem Forces, Solution, Decisions, Real-World Examples, Alternatives and more. However, they really should have printed each pattern on the top of a new page instead of having it start at various places within the pages; this looks a bit tacky.

Be warned that the server-side code examples are in PHP (though almost all Ajax books tend to reference that so I do not mind). Other than that and certain layout issues I do not have many problems with this book (here is another book that could have benefited from a hardback edition). Though, I do think the Evidence (done by using three buttons to establish real-world evidence) was a bit arbitrary and sometimes silly (but I’ll let you be the judge of that) and the book could have referenced more than six other books.

There are so many examples and references that all of these sites are a boon to building your software acumen (of course the rub is that relying on links in your book means that many of these will eventually be outdated). In fact the Appendix is the best resource I’ve seen (in print) for Ajax Frameworks and Libraries. I recommend this book to web developers who are serious about Ajax and learning existing and newer uses of this software paradigm.

Good techniques
This book is filled with too many stories, facts and fictions. There are lots of success stories told about Ajax. Every so called "design pattern" discussion begins with a fictional story. I’m not sure if this is good, but for me it just bloats the book and adds unnecessary readings for my eyes that too easily get tired.

Most of the "patterns" discussed in this book are specific solutions. I believe design patterns are solutions to generic problems. To make it feel like you are really reading a design patterns book, the author uses the generally accepted way of presenting patterns (problem/forces/solution). It just made the book worse rather than better. Anybody who has read a real design pattern book and then read this book will soon feel the artificiality.

One minor thing is that its server side examples are written in PHP. Of course, that is not a problem for PHP guys. It should, however, be mentioned in the description.

Still, I am keeping this book. There are many JavaScript coding techniques that are very impressive and I feel will be very useful. I just need to use a couple of my highlighters to mark specific readings and techniques and so my eyes can avoid the other verbosity.

Good techniques
This book is filled with too many stories, facts and fictions. There are lots of success stories told about Ajax. Every so called "design pattern" discussion begins with a fictional story. I’m not sure if this is good, but for me it just bloats the book and adds unnecessary readings for my eyes that too easily get tired.

Most of the "patterns" discussed in this book are specific solutions. I believe design patterns are solutions to generic problems. To make it feel like you are really reading a design patterns book, the author uses the generally accepted way of presenting patterns (problem/forces/solution). It just made the book worse rather than better. Anybody who has read a real design pattern book and then read this book will soon feel the artificiality.

One minor thing is that its server side examples are written in PHP. Of course, that is not a problem for PHP guys. It should, however, be mentioned in the description.

Still, I am keeping this book. There are many JavaScript coding techniques that are very impressive and I feel will be very useful. I just need to use a couple of my highlighters to mark specific readings and techniques and so my eyes can avoid the other verbosity.

The Best Ajax Book!
If you think you know anything about Ajax, you’re wrong. After you read this book you’ll realize how little you knew. Michael Mahemoff has a PhD in Computer Science, but it might as well be on Ajax since I’ve never read a book with so much useful information about it. There are about 8 or 9 Ajax books on the market right now and none of them come close to giving the useful information this one does and that is only after reading the first 150 pages. This book really is the complete tutorial and reference to learning and using Ajax properly.

The first 2 chapters go over the basic components of Ajax and some basic code examples different techniques Ajax is used to enhance functionality and usability: live search, progress indicators and the one-second spot highlight. The end of chapter 2 is a kind of teaser of what is to come in explaining some of the patterns that will be discussed with website examples to illustrate how they are done: data grids, suggestion, popup, virtual workspace, browser-side cache, fat client, drag-and-drop, image slideshow, web services, etc.

Chapter 3 focuses on the basics of an ideal Ajax application and some the design principles that programmers should follow such as following web standards, accessibility, bandwidth issues, latency, and graceful degradation, among others. He sets you in the right direction in thinking how you should code your application with all these ideas in mind since proper patterns will give you smoother working applications with fewer problems when it is released into production. It is a very interesting chapter that does not go into much code but is more of a background on the issues that need to be thought about before developing your architecture. Some of these things you may have already read about in various blogs but is put together wonderfully in this early chapter.

Many of the chapters to follow go through various solutions and Michael goes through various techniques ion how to solve it giving the advantages and negatives starting in chapter 4. The first solution is an Ajax App that helps user enter data quickly with instant validation, integrated searches, and dynamic form field updates. Then he asks questions in order to create this application by first giving a background on how standard web apps (flash, java, desktop, etc) have done this in the past and how Ajax can do this now.

This is done throughout the book in covering different patterns with code illustrations, code snippets and web site examples. This is not a book that you can quickly breeze through mid you. It will take some time for you to read and understand everything the author is trying to get across, but you will have a greater understanding of how to use Ajax effectively and you probably will go back to this book time and time again after you finally finish it. I’ve never encountered a book quite so informative, but I’m so glad I did especially on such a topic such as Ajax that will be around for many years to come.

The end of the book has a great appendix on the many Ajax libraries and frameworks (Backbase, Dojo, Mochikit, OpenRico, Script.aculo.us, Moo.fx, JSON, SAJAX, Atlas.NET,, etc) that are out now.

Very well done.

The Best Ajax Book!
If you think you know anything about Ajax, you’re wrong. After you read this book you’ll realize how little you knew. Michael Mahemoff has a PhD in Computer Science, but it might as well be on Ajax since I’ve never read a book with so much useful information about it. There are about 8 or 9 Ajax books on the market right now and none of them come close to giving the useful information this one does and that is only after reading the first 150 pages. This book really is the complete tutorial and reference to learning and using Ajax properly.

The first 2 chapters go over the basic components of Ajax and some basic code examples different techniques Ajax is used to enhance functionality and usability: live search, progress indicators and the one-second spot highlight. The end of chapter 2 is a kind of teaser of what is to come in explaining some of the patterns that will be discussed with website examples to illustrate how they are done: data grids, suggestion, popup, virtual workspace, browser-side cache, fat client, drag-and-drop, image slideshow, web services, etc.

Chapter 3 focuses on the basics of an ideal Ajax application and some the design principles that programmers should follow such as following web standards, accessibility, bandwidth issues, latency, and graceful degradation, among others. He sets you in the right direction in thinking how you should code your application with all these ideas in mind since proper patterns will give you smoother working applications with fewer problems when it is released into production. It is a very interesting chapter that does not go into much code but is more of a background on the issues that need to be thought about before developing your architecture. Some of these things you may have already read about in various blogs but is put together wonderfully in this early chapter.

Many of the chapters to follow go through various solutions and Michael goes through various techniques ion how to solve it giving the advantages and negatives starting in chapter 4. The first solution is an Ajax App that helps user enter data quickly with instant validation, integrated searches, and dynamic form field updates. Then he asks questions in order to create this application by first giving a background on how standard web apps (flash, java, desktop, etc) have done this in the past and how Ajax can do this now.

This is done throughout the book in covering different patterns with code illustrations, code snippets and web site examples. This is not a book that you can quickly breeze through mid you. It will take some time for you to read and understand everything the author is trying to get across, but you will have a greater understanding of how to use Ajax effectively and you probably will go back to this book time and time again after you finally finish it. I’ve never encountered a book quite so informative, but I’m so glad I did especially on such a topic such as Ajax that will be around for many years to come.

The end of the book has a great appendix on the many Ajax libraries and frameworks (Backbase, Dojo, Mochikit, OpenRico, Script.aculo.us, Moo.fx, JSON, SAJAX, Atlas.NET,, etc) that are out now.

Very well done.

Analytical look at Ajax implementations
Very nicely done. The author spends time analyzing the problems various Ajax implementations are trying to solve and abstracts the concepts into a "pattern". I appreciated the author’s attempt to allocate an "established use" value to each pattern described, which ranges from "widespread usage" to "purely speculative".

The book is very nicely put together; the analysis and explanations are well thought through. As it is a book on design patterns for Ajax, it is appropriately geared more toward the explanations than code snippets, but there is still plenty of example code and (as expected) plenty to download or view online.

For each of the approximately 70 patterns described, there is a discussion of the factors for why the pattern exists as well as descriptions of solutions and a real-world example or two (or more). While I think calling some of the solutions in the book "design patterns" is a bit generous, it is definately a worthwhile book to pick up if you’re looking to understand how to solve a variety of web site issues using Ajax.

Analytical look at Ajax implementations
Very nicely done. The author spends time analyzing the problems various Ajax implementations are trying to solve and abstracts the concepts into a "pattern". I appreciated the author’s attempt to allocate an "established use" value to each pattern described, which ranges from "widespread usage" to "purely speculative".

The book is very nicely put together; the analysis and explanations are well thought through. As it is a book on design patterns for Ajax, it is appropriately geared more toward the explanations than code snippets, but there is still plenty of example code and (as expected) plenty to download or view online.

For each of the approximately 70 patterns described, there is a discussion of the factors for why the pattern exists as well as descriptions of solutions and a real-world example or two (or more). While I think calling some of the solutions in the book "design patterns" is a bit generous, it is definately a worthwhile book to pick up if you’re looking to understand how to solve a variety of web site issues using Ajax.