Professional Ajax discusses the range of request brokers (including the hidden frame technique, iframes, and XMLHttp) and explains when one should be used over another. You will also learn different Ajax techniques and patterns for executing client-server communication on your web site and in web applications. By the end of the book, you will have gained the practical knowledge necessary to implement your own Ajax solutions. In addition to a full chapter case study showing how to combine the book's Ajax techniques into an AjaxMail application, Professional Ajax uses many other examples to build hands-on Ajax experience. Some of the other examples include:

• web site widgets for a news ticker, weather information, web search, and site search
• preloading pages in online articles
• incremental form validation
• using Google Web APIs in Ajax
• creating an autosuggest text box

This book discusses the range of request brokers (including the hidden frame technique, iframes, and XMLHttp) and explains when one should be used over another. You will also learn different Ajax techniques and patterns for executing client-server communication on your web site and in web applications. Each chapter builds on information in the previous chapters so that by the end of the book, you will have gained the practical knowledge necessary to implement your own Ajax solutions.

What you will learn from this book

• Different methods for achieving Ajax communication and when to use each
• A variety of Ajax design patterns to use in specific data retrieval circumstances
• Techniques for using Ajax with RSS and Atom to produce a web-based news aggregator
• How to use JavaScript Object Notation as an alternate data transmission format for Ajax communications
• How to create Ajax widgets, such as a weather display and news ticker, that can be included in your web site

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers who want to enhance the usability of their sites and applications. Familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is necessary, as is experience with a server-side language such as PHP or a .NET language.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Statistics For Dummies is for everyone who wants to sort through and evaluate the incredible amount of statistical information that comes to them on a daily basis. (You know the stuff: charts, graphs, tables, as well as headlines that talk about the results of the latest poll, survey, experiment, or other scientific study.) This book arms you with the ability to decipher and make important decisions about statistical results, being ever aware of the ways in which people can mislead you with statistics. Get the inside scoop on number-crunching nuances, plus insight into how you can

• Determine the odds
• Calculate a standard score
• Find the margin of error
• Recognize the impact of polls
• Establish criteria for a good survey
• Make informed decisions about experiments

This down-to-earth reference is chock-full of real examples from real sources that are relevant to your everyday life: from the latest medical breakthroughs, crime studies, and population trends to surveys on Internet dating, cell phone use, and the worst cars of the millennium. Statistics For Dummies departs from traditional statistics texts, references, supplement books, and study guides in the following ways:

• Practical and intuitive explanations of statistical concepts, ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations.
• Clear and concise step-by-step procedures that intuitively explain how to work through statistics problems.
• Upfront and honest answers to your questions like, “What does this really mean?” and “When and how I will ever use this?”

Chances are, Statistics For Dummies will be your No. 1 resource for discovering how numerical data figures into your corner of the universe.

Book Info
Guide to understanding statistics, written in plain English. Offers explanations of statistical ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations; with examples that show how these concepts apply to your everyday life. Softcover.

Building on the tried-and-true formula of the four best-selling previous editions--but using lessons geared toward creating the next generation of Web projects--veteran author Ben Forta moves from the fundamentals of Web and database design to more complex topics like creating data-driven pages, implementing security mechanisms, and building complete applications. In the process, he covers new features in ColdFusion MX: a J2EE-based engine, a new development environment, additional debugging tools, Flash integration, business charting, XML manipulation, and more. Whether you're a recent ColdFusion convert or an old hand who's ready to learn some new tricks and best practices, you'll find answers to all your questions in the definitive and standard developer's reference--The ColdFusion MX Web Application construction Kit.

Building on the tried-and-true formula of the four best-selling previous editions--but using lessons geared toward creating the next generation of Web projects--veteran author Ben Forta moves from the fundamentals of Web and database design to more complex topics like creating data-driven pages, implementing security mechanisms, and building complete applications. In the process, he covers new features in ColdFusion MX: a J2EE-based engine, a new development environment, additional debugging tools, Flash integration, business charting, XML manipulation, and more. Whether you're a recent ColdFusion convert or an old hand who's ready to learn some new tricks and best practices, you'll find answers to all your questions in the definitive and standard developer's reference--The ColdFusion MX Web Application construction Kit.

As the Web has evolved, so too have users' expectations of it--which means that today's Web developers are being forced to deal with issues that weren't even considerations not long ago. How do you develop a site that customizes itself to individual users? How can you design your site so that even nontechnical users will be able to contribute content? To answer these questions and more, you need this book. By examining your favorite Web authoring program--Dreamweaver MX 2004--in the context of databases and the technology solutions that have grown out of them, this book/CD combo will have you moving from static to dynamic sites in no time. You don't need programming experience to construct the fictional travel tour site that's the centerpiece of this volume. Just follow along with the 16 hands-on lessons (which include side-by-side ASP PHP, and ColdFusion code), and you'll be well on your way to the interactive, easy-to-maintain, and standards-compliant sites that represent the way of the future.

• Invigorate your Web sites with ColdFusion’s rich development language
• Activate the power of ColdFusion to build more robust applications
• Integrate CFMX with powerful technologies like Flash, JSP, XML, and COM

If ColdFusion MX can do it, you can do it too . . .

As e-business continues to grab market share, you’re continually challenged to create faster, cheaper, and more reliable e-commerce Web applications. ColdFusion MX offers the quickest, most reliable way to build and deploy them, and this comprehensive reference guides you from writing your first application all the way through the complexities of integrating with Web services, Flash, Java, COM, and XML. From installation to database connection configuration, from tag and function usage to code reuse, it’s like having your personal team of experts on call.

Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of ColdFusion MX

• Create highly interactive, database-driven Web sites with ColdFusion’s intuitive, tag-based programming language
• Build and deploy content publishing systems, online stores, business reporting applications, self-service solutions, and more
• Easily create and use Web services and ColdFusion Components
• Integrate applications with other technologies like Java, COM, and XML
• Learn how – and why – to document your code, handle source version control, and integrate security, testing, and performance
• Discover how to use ColdFusion with databases, Web services, and Flash Remoting
• Extend ColdFusion applications with features like task scheduling, file operations, Verity text searching, and charting

Bonus CD-ROM

• Trial versions of Adalon Developer Edition, CommerceBlocks, DataFactory, LoRCAT, SourceOffSite, and Macromedia ColdFusion Server MX, plus other software
• Author files, code listings and samples, and real-world applications you can use
• Searchable e-version of the book

ColdFusion MX Developer’s Handbook teaches you what you need to broaden your ColdFusion skills and become a fully capable enterprise developer. Inside, 13 ColdFusion experts provide highly detailed, advanced instruction that will save you countless headaches and let you squeeze every last drop of functionality from the newest release. You’ll master database integration techniques involving advanced SQL queries, stored procedures, and database upsizing. You’ll take advantage of MX’s improved integration with other technologies, incorporating Flash using Flash Remoting, and capitalizing on full XML support to create Web Services. In your custom coding, you’ll build and deploy Java and C++ extensions and wirelessly extend ColdFusion’s reach with components that talk to WAP and WML clients.

All this comes wrapped in practical, hard-to-find advice for managing your content and applications and optimizing performance. Large applications with heavy traffic need speed and efficiency, and you get that with performance turning, load balancing, and caching. If you’re working in a clustered environment, you need to understand state management. No matter what your situation, you’ll benefit from in-depth coverage of application security, debugging, and coding methodology using Fusebox.

Every chapter is packed with the technical knowledge to give you what you need to create serious solutions. You might find that one particular chapter alone is worth the cost of the book because of the time and frustration it will save you. Most readers, however, will use various parts of this book at different times, depending on the constantly changing challenges faced by enterprise programmers. The mission of this book is to provide the extra skills you need to be a successful ColdFusion developer in today’s demanding and expanding environment.

Ready to turn up the heat with ColdFusion and take your site to the next level? Well, look no further. ColdFusion MX For Dummies offers you a fun, easy way to get up and running with everything you need to build amazing Web applications. In no time, you’ll:

• Work with databases, forms, variables, and tags
• Get a handle on CFML, components database connectivity, and more
• Use ColdFusion with Flash, Java, and XML
• Harness Flash Remoting, XML handling, Web services support
• Integrate ColdFusion with other sites, applications, and Web services
• Supercharge your development efforts using Fusebox and FLiP

ColdFusion MX For Dummies is an excellent all-in-one source for newcomers to ColdFusion. It also provides developers who’ve worked with earlier versions of ColdFusion with an enjoyable way to get up to speed on all of ColdFusion MX’s powerful new features. topics covered include:

• Making database connections, working with forms, displaying data, and programming variable, decisions, and loops
• Building applications using the CF application framework
• Using custom tags, ColdFusion components, CFSCRIPT, and UDFs
• Building secure applications and debugging your ColdFusion application
• Using complex data types and WDDX
• Using Flash, Java, and XML with Coldfusion
• Understanding Fusebox and FLiP

ColdFusion MX is loaded with tools to help you build high-performance Web applications. But where do you begin? This friendly guide delivers all the answers. ColdFusion MX For Dummies is your passport to a bold new level of Web development.