Day Barr:

Chat is not quite the Hello World of Ajax, but it’s one of the simplest yet useful things I could do. I didn’t learn very much by writing an Ajax Hello World example and it’s completely pointless :-)

As many are learning, an Ajax “Hello World” is pretty easy, provided you’ve already got a grounding in web/JS programming. So beyond that, what’s the quintessential Ajax tutorial app? Some of the Ajax texts are beginning to pour out, so maybe a pattern will emerge. But, for now, the learning apps of choice seem to be:

I’m surprised we haven’t seen more people playing with Ajax wikis and RSS aggregators, but I’m sure they’re coming.

BTW, a basic “Hello World” might be easy, but it’s also a useful springboard for some important variants. e.g. Add a long delay in your server and see how the browser script handles a timeout (or simulate a delay with Julien’s GM script. e.g. Host the service on another domain and have the server act as a proxy. e.g. Apply a visual effect like the famous Yellow Fade Technique when the message comes in. These variants aren’t just interesting exercises - all are important for real-world Ajax development.