Beginning Ajax

• Creating a request object
• Requesting the data
• Asynchronous data transfer
• Using the readyState property
• Using a callback function
• Using innerHTML
• Sending the request
• Error handling with try/catch
• Understanding HTTP

Using XML and JSON in Ajax applications

• XML basics
• XML and the DOM
• Using responseText
• Using responseXML
• JSON vs XML
• JSON basics
• Using JavaScript literals
• Using CSS with Ajax

Object-oriented JavaScript and custom Ajax objects

• The new operator
• Object constructors
• Prototypes
• Using custom Ajax objects
• Ajax and forms
• Encoding

Troubleshooting and Debugging Ajax

• The onerror event handler
• Debugging Ajax with Firebug
• Tools for navigating the DOM
• The Firefox DOM Inspector
• The IE DOM Inspector
• The Mouseover DOM Inspector (MODI)
• Live HTTP Headers
• HTTP Status Codes

Using JavaScript libraries and Creating a widget

• Using JavaScript libraries/frameworks
• Three types of libraries/frameworks:
• DOM extension
• Application conveniences
• Widgets
• The Prototype JavaScript Framework
• Using Prototype's Ajax Object
• Using an accordion widget to display an Ajax response

Working with XML feeds and Providing feedback to the user

• Working with XML News Feeds
• RSS .9x
• RSS 2.0
• RSS 1.0
• Atom
• Using the Scriptaculous library for visual effects
• The yellow fade technique
• Drag and drop functionality
• Ajax best practices