Javascript

AJAX

JQuery

Alternatives to ajax

Ajax is the main solution used for websites that are primarily dynamic due to its efficiency and possibility to incorporate striking visual effects. Before Ajax, flash was the main alternative used to create dynamic web pages but being a web surfer, it is apparent without a doubt that flash is very heavy on the client's computer and hogs a lot of memory. In addition a good percentage of users have disabled flash (in comparison to Javascript, the framework that Ajax is developed on which is only 5% of users) for obvious reasons so compatibility is an issue too. Like Flash, there are other alternatives to Ajax that can be considered:

• XUL
  Short for XML User Interface Language, XUL is developed by Mozilla and is used primarily for Mozilla based browser for add-ons, as this caters to Firefox users only it may not be a universal solution but depending on the purpose of the web application it can be useful. Also Mozilla based browsers are continually gaining market share in the browser market which means over time XUL can be an alternative to consider. IT uses Javascript, CSS and the DOM which makes it similar to the AJAX framework and it also allows creating dynamic content without the need of refreshing a page, thus a suitable alternative.
  
  
• Applets
  Applets are used to append Java programs to an HTML web page. Thus it can be used for the same purpose of AJAX, Applets, like Flash have also long been used to create a solution for efficient dynamic web pages before AJAX, however, Applets also consume a lot of memory and can temporarily 'freeze' browser while the Java plugin kicks in among other inefficiencies, however it is still heavily used in websites, including large brands like Facebook.com and RefinanceMortgages.com.
  
  
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
  SVG is a web standard based on XML and maybe used for dynamic or static text and images thus can be used to serve dynamic web pages without the refresh of a page. Unfortunately, by default, Internet Explorer, the leader in the browser market has no support for SVG. Several Plugins are available though, to render SVG content. The incompatibility with Internet Explorer is a major reason behind choosing AJAX over SVG.
  
  

Those are three of the main alternatives to AJAX, there are other alternatives that can be considered like Adobe Flex and XAML (used in Silverlight), but AJAX is still the technology of choice for most developers where dynamic web pages are concerned.