JQuery vs Ajax vs Javascript

What is Jquery?

The purpose of jQuery is to make it much easier to use JavaScript on your website. JQuery takes a lot of common tasks that require many lines of JavaScript code to accomplish, and wraps them into methods that you can call with a single line of code.

jQuery also simplifies a lot of the complicated things from JavaScript, like AJAX calls and DOM manipulation.

AJAX is just another tool that can be used by scripting languages like Javascript in order to enhance the look and feel of their web pages. 

Ajax vs Javascript

Ajax (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) is a subset of javascript. Ajax is way for the client-side browser to communicate with the server (for example: retrieve data from a database) without having to perform a page refresh.

In short; AJAX is about loading data in the background and display it on the webpage, without reloading the whole page.

Examples of applications using AJAX: Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube, and Facebook tabs.

Why Use JQuery Instead of Just Basic JavaScript?

JavaScript is a fairly low-level programming language. It does not provide advanced page manipulation and decoration functions, and it provides nothing concerning animations. Moreover, using direct JavaScript can cause issues related to browser incompatibilities. Those issues have made many JavaScript applications difficult to code, resulting in high maintenance costs.

JQuery aims to ease all these problems by providing a lightweight library that adds many advanced and cross-browser functions to the standard language. In addition, there is a very dynamic community that adds more-advanced components based on JQuery.

A modern Web application wouldn’t be complete without some AJAX functionality. JQuery provides functions for sending HTTP GET and POST requests, and it can work easily with the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format we saw in the first article. This functionality enables us to query the REST back end we coded in the first article.

 

Pros:

• jQuery removes the headaches of cross platform Javascript compatibilities.

• jQuery is very easy to use as compared to other JavaScript libraries and JavaScript as well.

• jQuery has a large set of library/functions.

• jQuery has good documentation and help manuals are easily available.

• jQuery supports AJAX functionality.

Cons:

• You are no longer writing the native language, so your understanding of what is actually occuring may be limited.

• jQuery requires to include jQuery library files into project which takes space on the web server. But JavaScript can be used without adding any libraries. Also, if user wants include more jQuery libraries, version conflicts may occur.

 

Ajax:

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.

Pros:

With Ajax in a website there is no need to refresh a Web page continuously. For users who are waiting to see if they won an auction, keeping an eye on sports scores, or closely following the latest weather forecasts, Ajax enhancements to these types of Web pages can greatly improve their experiences.

 

AJAX pros and cons

AJAX is rapidly becoming an integral part of several websites, several well established brands online now use AJAX to handle their web applications because it provides better interactivity to their users, this is due to the fact that implementing AJAX on a website, does not require a page to be reloaded for dynamic content on web pages. While there are numerous reasons to switch to AJAX there are quite a few matters that would make you reconsider using this combination of technologies as well. Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using AJAX.

Advantages

 

• Better interactivity

• This is pretty much the most striking benefit behind why several developers and webmasters are switching to AJAX for their websites. AJAX allows easier and quicker interaction between user and website as pages are not reloaded for content to be displayed.

• Easier navigation

AJAX applications on websites can be built to allow easier navigation to users in comparison to using the traditional back and forward button on a browser.

• Compact

With AJAX, several multi purpose applications and features can be handled using a single web page, avoiding the need for clutter with several web pages.

• Backed by reputed brands

Another assuring reason to use AJAX on your websites is the fact that several complex web applications are handled using AJAX, Google Maps is the most impressive and obvious example, other powerful, popular scripts such as the vBulletin forum software has also incorporated AJAX into their latest version.

Disadvantages

• The back and refresh button are rendered useless

• With AJAX, as all functions are loaded on a dynamic page without the page being reloaded or more importantly a URL being changed (except for a hash symbol maybe), clicking the back or refresh button would take you to an entirely different web page or to the beginning of what your dynamic web page was processing. This is the main drawback behind AJAX but fortunately with good programming skills this issue can be fixed.

• It is built on javascript

• While javascript is secure and has been heavily used by websites for a long period of time, a percentage of website surfers prefer to turn javascript functionality off on their browser rendering the AJAX application useless, a work around to this con is present as well, where the developer will need to code a parallel non-javascript version of the dynamic web page to cater to these users.