I was never really a Java fan before.  As a matter of fact I was never really a fan of any web programming that would run client-side (like Flash or Java).  Server-side programming is the way to go with coding like PHP and ASP.  When building a web site using Java or Flash you have to wonder if your client will have Java or Flash installed on their computer.  Because if they don't then they won't be able to see or use any of the Java or Flash on your site.  With server-side programming you don't have to worry about that.  They don't have to have PHP or ASP installed on their computers to see your PHP or ASP web site.  Makes more sense right.

So this is kind of why I've always avoided Java.  A lot of our web sites here at work use a lot of Java and we constantly get complaints from clients because they're having trouble viewing the site.  And it's always because they don't have Java installed on their computer, or it's out dated, or it's just screwed up.  Anyways, with a lot of Web 2.0 standards being surfaced one of the biggest ones right now is AJAX.  AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.  You can learn more about AJAX here.

AJAX helps takes web sites and makes them more dynamic.  It helps change the content of the pages without having to refresh or reload the page.  For example, giving users a link on your site that when they click on it, it will dynamically show and hide something on the page.  This is done without having to reload the page.

So while working on Auto Appoinment's new site I got to create a little AJAX of my own.  On this page of the scheduler form you see I have two drop down menus; one for Make and the other for Model.  The Model drop down will dynamically change based on what you select for the Make drop down.  Again, this happens immediately on the page without it having to refresh or reload.  Pretty cool, huh.

Now dynamic drop downs have been around for years, I know.  But usually these older type of drop down menus would have to reload the page when ever you made a selection.  Look at this form.  Notice when you select the Make of the vehicle, the whole page has to reload in order to display the new content in the drop down boxes below.  That's sort of inconvenient and would really suck for a dial-up user.  That's not AJAX, but rather just a simple Javascript app.

This new work with AJAX kind of got me excited with Java again.  I still don't like Java, but it looks like it is taking a step in the right direction.