Ajax and Web 2.0 Application Development

Course Description

An updated version of this course is available. For more information, click Ajax and Web 2.0 Development with WebSphere Application Server V7 (WD322)

PLEASE NOTE: This course is also available as an Instructor Led Online Course, Ajax and Web 2.0 Application Development (Remote Classroom) (VD321), and also as a Self Paced Virtual Course (E-Learning), Ajax and Web 2.0 Application Development (ZD321). Please note these options does not require any travel.

This 4-day instructor-led course teaches software developers how to build the next generation of rich, interactive Web applications using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) techniques using the IBM WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0.

With Ajax, the interaction model for Web applications has become more robust, allowing for continuous interaction and improved usability. Adding Ajax capabilities to applications offers users a more interactive, responsive experience that can provide an organization with benefits such as fewer abandoned transactions, longer user sessions, and higher completion rates. The WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0 is an IBM-supported solution for creating Ajax-based applications and mashups on WebSphere Application Server. In addition to providing Ajax development tools, this feature pack includes server enhancements to support common Web 2.0 applications patterns.

In this course, students learn the benefits of and the technical architecture for using Ajax in Web applications. This includes the role of key technologies such as JavaScript, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Web services, Representational State Transfer (REST), Web Remoting, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Students also learn the benefits of using an Ajax toolkit, such as the Dojo toolkit, which is provided in the WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0. Students learn how to use the provided Dojo widgets, how to extend Dojo to build their own widgets, and how Dojo can help with cross-browser JavaScript incompatibilities. The course also covers how to build Dojo-based applications and use compression to improve runtime performance.

In addition, students learn about the server-side requirements for Ajax application development, including how to use the Web remoting capability in the IBM WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0 to connect directly to Enterprise Java services using REST.

Hands-on exercises using IBM Rational Application Developer V7.5, IBM WebSphere Application Server V7, and the IBM WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0 are provided throughout the course, enabling students to build their skills applying Ajax to Web applications. Skills covered by the exercises include testing Ajax Web applications, developing REST Web services, JavaScript programming with Dojo, and creating custom Dojo widgets.

For information on other related WebSphere courses, visit the WebSphere Education Training Paths Web site:
http://www.ibm.com/software/websphere/education/paths/

Skills Gained

• Course introduction
• Rich, interactive Web applications
• Introduction to JavaScript
• Exercise: Enhancing Web page interaction with JavaScript
• Document object model
• The Ajax Web development technique
• Ajax and Web browser compatibility
• Exercise: Implementing the Ajax Web development technique
• Ajax development tools
• Exercise: Testing the Ajax Web application
• Web 2.0 protocols and data formats
• REST Web services
• Exercise: Developing REST Web services
• IBM WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0
• Exercise: Exposing Enterprise Java resources to Ajax Web applications
• Introduction to the Dojo toolkit
• Exercise: Developing Ajax applications with Dojo core
• Dijit: The Dojo widget library
• Exercise: Using simple Dojo widgets
• JavaScript programming with Dojo and Dijit
• Exercise: JavaScript programming with Dojo and Dijit
• Asynchronous requests with Dojo
• Exercise: Invoking asynchronous requests with Dojo
• Querying DOM with Dojo
• Dojo data access
• Exercise: Integrating response data into a Dojo widget
• Custom Dojo widgets
• Exercise: Creating a custom Dijit
• Building and deploying Ajax applications
• Exercise: Building and compressing a Dojo application
• Course summary

Who Can Benefit

This basic course is designed for Web application developers who create interactive Web applications using Ajax.

Prerequisites

Students should be able to implement dynamic Web applications. Familiarity with software development on Enterprise Java (J2EE) platforms, such as IBM WebSphere Application Server, is recommended.