AJAX in demand?

[basshead]

If you are a competent web developer you should be used to writing sites that use both client and server side verification to prevent security issues caused by users turning off JavaScript anyway.

It should be pointed out that the issue goes far beyond validation. Its about degrading gracefully with different browsers, devices and users (accessibility) so the lowest common denominator will always be plain XHTML.

Approaching sites from that point of view ensures the widest audience. Developers like to put the whizzy AJAX stuff on the screen first though, often driven by a need to impress the customer early in the lifecycle.

[dang65]

The last three contracts I've done have used AJAX extensively, but not for anything whizzy - stuff like smoothing out form filling by dynamically filtering select options, or taking people through online training courses without constant browser refreshing, or updating scores on tests etc.

I think it's used very widely for useability tricks like that. As mentioned before, much of the AJAX capability was around for a few years before the name was made up, and the vast majority of web users have been using it for a long time without noticing. It's only when something like Google Maps comes along that people start wondering how they manage to fit all those maps into your computer like that and how clever the web is these days.