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JavaScript AJAX Basics AJAX Concepts A Simple AJAX Example

Robert Bourton
Robert Bourton
6,179 Points

Using your own Server (Node)

The id I used for the div is ajax and btn for the button. make sure /data in app.get and in client side is the same. It can be anything and you do not need to go to this location with the address bar.

Root folder / index.html and sidebar.html should also be in the root folder /

Server Side JavaScript

server.js

const path = require('path')                                                

const express = require('express')
const app = express()

app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')))

app.get('/data', (req, res, next) => {
     res.sendFile(__dirname + '/sidebar.html')
 })

app.get('/', (req, res, next) => {
    res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'index.html'))
 })

app.listen(3000, ()=> {
     console.log('Listening on port 3000')
})

Client Side JavaScript

/public/js/ - All javascripts files should be here. In your html file, leave off the /public/ /public/css/ - put all your css files here. /public/img/ - put all your images here. if using

script.js

const button = document.querySelector('#btn')                               
const div = document.querySelector('#ajax')
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest()

xhr.onreadystatechange = () => {
    if (xhr.readyState === 4 ) {
        div.innerHTML = xhr.responseText
    }
}

xhr.open('GET', '/data', true)

button.addEventListener('click', () => {
    button.style.display = 'none'
    xhr.send()
})

To make this work, you need to install Node.js and Express by NPM.