My first Ajax app

[dougo]

I want to get my feet wet with some Ajax programming. Should I start by using XMLHttpRequest directly? Or, which framework should I use, Prototype, jQuery, GWT, or something else? Wikipedia has a comparison of frameworks, but I thought I'd ask here first.

Comments

[temvald.livejournal.com]

I agree with the idea, but I'd say to start by using the basic methods in Prototype. They're really not all that far from using XMLHttpRequest itself (compared to something like GWT), and it means that you don't have to mess with the browser-specific implementations as much.

[prog.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. I started out in AJAX via Prototype, and it didn't make me stoopider.

[cnoocy]

How would you know? [ominous music]
More seriously, that seems fair to me. It's probably still worth glancing at the XMLHttpRequest techniques so you know what's actually going on inside Prototype.

[prog.livejournal.com]

I agree with this too. But I strongly recommend picking up Prototype when you're actually ready to lay down some code. Its ability to let you easily weave around cross-browser issues is alone worth the price of admission.

[daerr.livejournal.com]

I also agree that starting with Prototype is good and I started with XMLHttpRequest.