A Simple Overview Of Web 2.0

Of late Digg, del.icio.us, Flickr, Google Maps have created a churn in the evolution of the Internet. But what is behind this churn? What is Web 1.0? What’s is the difference between web 1.0 and web 2.0? The customary Internet where millions of servers connected users using the classic web interaction methodologies constitutes Web 1.0. When you type a search keyword in a search engine, an http request is sent from the user to the web server. On submitting a request to the web server, you see a blank screen with the rotating hour glass, till the entire web page is loaded into your web browser. This is the classic web interaction technique that was incorporated in web 1.0.

But since the past couple of years, with the support of the XMLHttpRequest object (which underlies the technology of AJAX - Asynchronous Javascript and XML, coined by Jesse James Garrett) in almost all of the latest web browsers, the metamorphosis that is happening across the Internet constitutes Web 2.0, coined and trademarked by O’Reilly.

With AJAX, whenever you take some action in your browser, on the site you are viewing, a full web page does not need to be retrieved. Instead the user interface at your end is updated with only the data that you request. This makes web-based applications possible, as they are nearly as responsive as a desktop application.

Have a look at the AJAX-powered Google Maps, a sort of web2.0-ish GIS. You zoom in and zoom out to get a clear picture of a part of the map. Your request is sent and the response is obtained what seems immediately. As a user, you will be able to work with the page while the request is sent to the server and the response is returned. Full-page reload happens only when you request a whole new page to the server.

Most of the web interactions involve addition of details to the screen being browsed by the user or a change in text on the screen. In such cases, only the data to be updated is obtained from the server. This not only succeeds in giving a pleasant look and feel to the user but also minimizes bandwidth utilization.

Such responsive and faster web interactions that happen using AJAX at sites like Google Maps, Google Spreadsheets, etc., refers to the evolving new technology web 2.0.

Editor’s Note: To be a web2.0 site does not necessarily require AJAX, at least not according to my interpretation of Tim O’Reilly’s compact definition. Web 2.0 applications, however, appear to have AJAX as a core component.