Difference Between jQuery and AJAX

There are multiple of languages that can be used in making a web page nowadays, some are even not even unique but just a derivative of another language. jQuery is one of these derivatives. It is a lightweight library of JavasScript that focuses more on interactions with HTML elements. AJAX, on the other hand, is not a specific technology but a combination of varying technologies to provide a new functionality. Whenever you request a new set of data from web site, it clears the whole page and loads the new one. AJAX is used to circumvent this behavior and allow new data to be retrieved without modifying the whole page.

AJAX is a very powerful tool to use but it can’t be utilized with simple HTML since HTML doesn’t allow the page to be changed after it has fully loaded. In order to use AJAX, you would need a client side scripting language that allows you to detect the actions of the user and modify elements on the page accordingly. jQuery does that exactly, that is why both are often used together to present web pages that a user can interact with easily without repetitive loading.

jQuery does all the work on the front end, therefore you would need to have a full understanding of it in order to properly set-up your page. You would not need to learn the exact mechanisms of AJAX in order to utilize it as jQuery gives you an AJAX command to retrieve whichever data you need from the server.

Although the use of jQuery and AJAX makes the browsing experience a lot better for the user, the effect to the server hosting these files are not as desirable. Every time you make another AJAX request, a new connection to the server is made. Too many connections can sometimes be difficult for the server to cope with. Most hosting companies have made steps in order to prevent overloads since jQuery and AJAX are truly here to stay.

Summary:
1. JQuery is a lightweight client side scripting library while AJAX is a combination of technologies used to provide asynchronous data transfer
2. jQuery and AJAX are often used in conjunction with each other
3. jQuery is primarily used to modify data on the screen dynamically and it uses AJAX to retrieve data that it needs without changing the current state of the displayed page
4. Heavy usage of AJAX functions often cause server overload due to the greater number of connections made

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