Ajax -- a first look

Here is a technology I had heard much about for years, especially after it was first released in the late 90s. Having taken a closer look at it, I can see its promise but also it curse. It is now clear that popular travel website like Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. probably use some sort of Ajax while the server searches for booking information. This is good.

However, the 'A' stands for "asynchronous"  and from a programmer's perspective that does not spell relief but pain. Multi-threaded programming is by far the most difficult programming, fraught with all manner of hazards, and Ajax is apparently no different.

That aside, there's the complexity of set up / configuration. Then parsing the response. Then, deciding the basic question of when to call upon all of this complexity.

Users will wait, not forever, of course. However, personal experience suggests that only as a last resort, when all else fails, use asynchrony. Otherwise, avoid it. The system will be more stable and predictable.