This practical guide book is ideal for budding JavaScript developers who want a good understanding of Ajax, the set of techniques for creating asynchronous web applications. Beginning with a recap of the JavaScript features that enable the technology, you'll learn Ajax through clear examples and practical mini-projects. Also, to help you gain a more fundamental understanding of the technology, author Mark Simon uses pure JavaScript for the examples, rather than rely on libraries such as jQuery. You'll learn how to write clean, maintainable code, and develop reusable tools.