Book excerpt: The practicing programmer’s Deitel® guide to XHTML®, CSS®, JavaScript™, XML® and Ajax RIA development. This book applies the Deitel signature live-code approach to teaching the client side of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) development. The book presents concepts in the context of 100+ fully tested programs (6,000+ lines of code), complete with syntax shading, detailed descriptions and sample outputs. The book features over 150 tips that will help you build robust client-side web applications. Start with an introduction to Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML®) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS®), then rapidly move on to the details of JavaScript™ programming. Finish with more advanced client-side development technologies including XHTML’s Document Object Model (DOM®), Extensible Markup Language (XML®), XML’s DOM, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax). When you’re finished, you’ll have everything you need to build the client side of Web 2.0 Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). The book culminates with several substantial Ajax-enabled RIAs, including a book cover viewer (JavaScript/DOM), an address book (Ajax/consuming web services) and a calendar application (Ajax/Dojo/consuming web services). TheDeitel® Developer Seriesis designed for professional programmers. The series presents focused treatments of emerging technologies, including .NET, Java™, web services, Internet and web development and more.