Build powerful interactive AJAX applications with script.aculo.us and PHP

• Get started quickly with script.aculo.us library with as little as one line of code
• Explore Prototype library features, tutorials, code, and examples
• Learn script.aculo.us' In-place Editing, Auto Completion, Sliders, Drag-and-Drop, Effects, and Multimedia
• A book with less jargon, and more code explanation for building real-world examples --Tadalist clone, Digg and Delicious clones, 43things.com clone

In Detail

script.aculo.us is a JavaScript library that provides dynamic visual effects, user interface controls, and robust AJAX features. It is to client-side what PHP is to server-side - powerful, simple, complete fun, and above all, a MUST! As developers, we all dream of building applications that users can instantly fall in love with and get productive. Simple and niche applications are the future of web applications. script.aculo.us when used with PHP as a server-side scripting language, can give us a new way of looking at things and changing the way we work.

script.aculo.us provides you with easy-to-use, cross-browser user interface JavaScript libraries to enhance your web sites and web applications. It provides dynamic visual effects, user interface controls, and robust AJAX features. This book covers all aspects for a developer to learn and master the art of using advanced JavaScript also referred to as 2.0 aspects in PHP web applications. script.aculo.us is an effective and powerful add-on to the Prototype library and when combined with PHP, it can make a lot of difference. The difference every developer dreams of.

This book has been written keeping in view every basic step as well as covering the most complex aspects while writing our applications -- from simple effects, to the AJAX way of communicating through systems in applications. It gives you a completely new way of adding interactivity to your web applications. You will learn how sript.aculo.us provides interactivity and beauty to your project so that it engages users and appeals to the masses.

Faster, more efficient, and more productive applications are what we are trying to build. Each chapter of this book has been hand-crafted to make sure that you as a developer can learn and master the art of making beautiful applications.

The book covers all the various aspects of script.aculo.us with a few real-world clone projects, which will surely help you explore your creative side.

The aim of this book is to make you go "WOW"!

What you will learn from this book?

• Discover the script.aculo.us library with the help of real-world case studies
• Explore wonderful Prototype library features like DOM, AJAX, and event handling
• Unleash the server-side techniques using wonderful PHP and MySQL
• Add wonderful Multimedia effects like morph, highlight, fade, and MP3 sounds
• Get to grips with AJAX using Drag and Drop feature
• Learn the tips, tricks and applications of the InPlaceEditor and InPlaceCollection Editor with just a few lines of code
• Explore all the striking features of script.aculo.us including Sliders, Auto-Completion, Multimedia, and so on
• Implement some of the exciting features of Prototype and script.aculo.us to create a ready-to-go-live project
• Create a mash-up of Delicious and Digg applications and experience a new shopping search by integrating features of script.aculo.us library to our web applications
• Integrate modules to build clones for raw applications

Approach

This book has a fast-paced and practical approach. It focuses on features, tutorials, quick-explanations, tips-n-tricks, and live real-world examples, using script.aculo.us. It contains complete code for all projects, all in an AJAX way. The author uses his vast experience as a programmer to show an interesting and creative way of building web applications.

Who this book is written for?

This book is for web developers who build simple yet agile and useful web applications. It is useful for PHP beginners and assumes basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. The examples in the book use PHP, but can be adapted easily to other languages.