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Google invented AJAX? WTF? - Wallace B. McClure

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Google invented AJAX? WTF?

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2088644,00.asp
"Back in '96-'97, me and a group of people, many of whom are here at Google, helped build stuff that these days is called AJAX," Bosworth said. "We sat down and took a hard look at what was going to happen with the Internet and we concluded, in the face of unyielding opposition and animosity from virtually every senior person at Microsoft, that the thick client was on its way out and it was going to be replaced by browser-based apps.

Let's see, I read an article from a Microsoft PM a few weeks ago claiming that AJAX was actually created in 1994.  Now, Google has invented AJAX.  Al Gore invented the Internet.  I invented the concept of a GUI interface.......yeah, that's the ticket.

Comments

The Other Steve said:

Bosworth used to be at Microsoft.

# January 31, 2007 1:47 PM

Wallym said:

I never stated that Adam Bosworth did not work at Microsoft.  The article that I link to states that.  What's the deal with you and your attempt to correct me.  So far, you are 0-2.

# January 31, 2007 1:54 PM

Nish said:

Assuming Bosworth did invent Ajax, that still doesn't mean Google invented it - so the title of that article is misleading as is the title of your blog entry :-)

# January 31, 2007 2:29 PM

Wallym said:

From what I have read, it is widely agreed that MS created the key technology of AJAX through the MSXML component that was callable through the client side script in IE.  It may be that the people that originally built the MSXML component now work at Google, but that does not mean that Google created AJAX, which is what the quote states.  The quote is an attempt to take credit for something that is a hot commodity.

As for Google's status in the building of AJAX, they clearly popularized it through Google Suggest and Google Maps.  Did they invent it?  I don't think so.  I've been calling xml feeds asynchronously since late 2000 with msxml, so does that mean that I invented the technique?  I don't think so any more than 25 years earlier I came upwith the idea of a windowing gui interface.  ;-)

# January 31, 2007 2:44 PM

Tim said:

I don't think Bosworth was claiming anything about AJAX. He says "stuff that these days is called AJAX." All he is saying was that while at Microsoft he was pushing to move apps from the desktop to the web but it wasn't time yet. Everyone was talking about the same thin client concept back in the mid 90s but nobody could come up with a good way of getting it done. You had Sun trying to produce a JavaOS at the same time. It was all a push to move applications back to central servers as they were in the mainframe days.

# January 31, 2007 2:53 PM

Steve Marx said:

Hey Wally!

The quote doesn't say that Google invented AJAX.  It says that Adam and some other people did, and that many of them now work at Google.

I agree it's worded pretty badly, though.  I don't know if that's intentional or not.

# January 31, 2007 3:32 PM

Wallym said:

I just found a blog post and the poster said that Adam was involved in writing the MSXML object at MS, which I didn't question.  As a result, I'll go with the "Adam was was involved with inventing AJAX" as a fact.  And he now works at Google.  

# January 31, 2007 4:24 PM

David Keaveny said:

AIUI the first real Ajax application was the Outlook web client for Exchange Server. I was certainly writing Ajaxy applications using MSXML on IE5 back in 2000 (and cursing the changes in the various XML components when IE5.5 came out). I would agree with wallym, though: Google really popularised it with Suggest and Maps.

# January 31, 2007 5:22 PM

The Other Steve said:

"I never stated that Adam Bosworth did not work at Microsoft.  The article that I link to states that.  What's the deal with you and your attempt to correct me.  So far, you are 0-2."

It's my job on the internet to correct people who are wrong.  You should be less stubborn about being corrected.

:-)

# January 31, 2007 9:20 PM

Jim Pendarvis said:

I would like to thank Mr. Bosworth for inventing AJAX, Al Gore for the internet and Sir Wally for the GUI that I enjoy.

I would also like to thank Santa Claus for me car, the Easter Bunny for my house and the stork for my kids.

It great to know that the people who deserve the credit are receiving it.

# February 1, 2007 6:50 AM

Wallym said:

Steve,

I've always been stubborn.  Its part of my charm.  Your suggestion is appreciated and noted.  :-)

Wally

# February 1, 2007 5:24 PM

Wallym said:

Jim,

I didn't mean to imply that Adam was not involved.  In fact, I didn't mean to imply anything about Adam.  I was voicing frustration regarding some unknown marketing person that was stating that Google invented AJAX, which I think is a VERY misleading statement.  It kinda snowballed from there.

Wally

# February 1, 2007 5:27 PM

Adel said:

Microsoft invented Ajax first when they develop they Outlook web accsess.

# February 9, 2007 1:23 PM

sai said:

i agree with you ( Wallym)

# February 13, 2008 5:57 AM
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