Phil Ballard, the author of Sams Teach Yourself Ajax in 10 Minutes, graduated in 1980 with an honors degree in electronics from the University of Leeds, England. Following an early career as a research scientist with a major multinational, he spent a few years in commercial and managerial roles within the high technology sector, later working full time as a software engineering consultant. Operating as “The Mouse Whisperer” (http://www.mousewhisperer.co.uk), Ballard has spent recent years involved solely in website and intranet design and development for an international portfolio of clients.

Michael Moncur is a freelance webmaster and author. He runs a network of websites, including the Web’s oldest site about famous quotations, online since 1994. He wrote Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript in 24 Hours and has also written several bestselling books about networking, certification programs, and databases. He lives with his wife in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In just a short time, you can learn how to use Ajax, JavaScript, and PHP to create interactive interfaces to your web applications by combining these powerful technologies. No previous Ajax programming experience is required. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this book builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of Ajax programming with JavaScript, PHP, and related technologies from the ground up. Regardless of whether you run Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X, the enclosed CD includes a complete Ajax programming starter kit that gives you all the programming tools, reference information, JavaScript libraries, and server software you need to set up a stable environment for learning, testing, and production. Learn how to! * Build better, more interactive interfaces for your web applications * Make JavaScript, HTML, XML, and PHP work together to create Ajax effects * Compile an Ajax application * Create and consume web services with SOAP and REST * Avoid common errors and troubleshoot programs * Use popular Ajax libraries to speed up and improve common programming tasks On the CD * XAMPP for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux--an easy-to-install package to set up a PHP- and MySQL-enabled Apache server on your computer * The jEdit programming editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux * Prototype, Scriptaculous, Rico, and XOAD--popular JavaScript libraries for creating Ajax applications and effects * A complete Ajax, HTML, XML, and PHP tutorial reference library in searchable PDF format * Source code for the examples in the book Phil Ballard is a software engineering consultant and developer specializing in website and intranet design and development for an international portfolio of clients. He has an honors degree from the University of Leeds, England, and has worked for several years in commercial and managerial roles in the high technology sector. Michael Moncur is a freelance webmaster and author. He runs a network of websites and has written several bestselling books about web development, networking, certification programs, and databases. Category: Web Development Covers: Ajax, JavaScript and PHP User Level: Beginning--Intermediate