This is an abandoned project that I haven't really touched since SXSW 2005! Please fork it!

DataRequestor

DataRequestor is a JavaScript wrapper for the XMLHttpRequest object that enables the trivial implementation of dynamic interfaces without the painful necessity for a complete page-refresh to talk to the server. In other words: Ajax without the confusing API.

How can you use DataRequestor?

When building applications, the most typical Ajaxy sort of thing I find myself doing is sending off data to a server-side script, and then sticking the resulting HTML directly into some element on the page. DataRequestor makes this process absolutely trivial, and enables quite a bit more functionality with minimal effort.

var req = new DataRequestor();
req.setObjToReplace('objID');
req.getURL('/path/to/my/file.php');

Those three lines build an XMLHtmlRequest object, grab the relevant data from the server, and use that information to replace the innerHTML of an element with id 'objID'. Trivial, right?

What if we wanted to do something else when the data’s loaded? Instead of replacing an element’s innerHTML, maybe we want to do some crazy JavaScript stuff once the data’s finished loading. Typically, this would involve being annoyed at the XMLHttpRequest object’s rather irritating callback structure. Happily, DataRequestor wraps this complexity in a warm blanket of event-driven goodness:

req.onload = function (data, obj) {
    // Insert crazy JavaScript stuff here!
}

DataRequestor is a solid, stable, and event-driven JavaScript class that you can simply drop into a page and start running with. It makes XMLHTTPRequest's functionality available in a way that doesn’t make my brain hurt, and hopefully it will do the same for you. Download DataRequestor.js and browse through the code. It's well commented; use cases and instructions abound.

How can I get it?

You may download the current stable version (1.6) of DataRequestor.js right here. How's that for convenience?