Understanding XML, JSON, & AJAX
XML - Extensive Markup Language
It is designed to store and transport data, and both human- and machine-readable. XML is a metalanguage that lets users define their customized markup languages, especially to display documents on the internet.
From what I have gathered from its example codes of images on the internet, they resemble HTML codes, except the tags have names that are a nod to things or concepts, like anything you can think of right now. They specifically have tags that are alike the names of tables and fields that one would code with SQL. Tags like <Customer> and </Customer>, <CustomerName> and </CustomerName>, and anything with this kind of format, as long as the text to be displayed is present between the two tags of the same name.
JSON - JavaScript Object Notation
JSON is a lightweight format for storing and transporting data. It is used to read data from a web server and display that data on a web page. In short, the user sends data from a server to a web page.
JSON is known to be "self-describing" and easy to understand because of its easier readability and writing.
At first glance, its syntax appears similar to HTML and SQL, if not a combination of both. Actually, it is a subset of the JavaScript syntax! Because of this, it is a perfect candidate for web service and data updates. So if you are familiar with coding with SQL, HTML, JavaScript, or all three, JSON will fit your expertise. I personally have not tried it yet, but when I do so soon, I'll be ready!
AJAX - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
= AJAX is not a programming language, despite being used for web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging data with a web server behind the scenes. It combines a browser built-in XMLHttpRequest object and a JavaScript and HTML DOM to request data from a web server and display or use the data respectively.
With this statement in mind, you can update a web page without reloading the page, request data from a server or receive data from a server (after the page has loaded) and send data to a server in the background using AJAX. How cool is that?










