In this, the somewhat delayed Part 6 of my series on the jQuery JavaScript framework, I talk about performing Ajax requests using jQuery. You may want to read the previous five parts before getting into this one:

1. \[intlink id="110" type="post"\]Incorporating jQuery into an HTML page\[/intlink\]
2. \[intlink id="248" type="post"\]Selecting page elements\[/intlink\]
3. \[intlink id="261" type="post"\]Adding event handlers\[/intlink\]
4. \[intlink id="298" type="post"\]Applying effects\[/intlink\]
5. \[intlink id="300" type="post"\]Manipulating elements\[/intlink\]

An article I wrote entitled Using jQuery to Customize Your Adobe AIR Application has just been published online at Peachpit Press’s Web site.. You can read it at http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1326510. The article shows a handful of practical ways jQuery can be used in an Adobe AIR application, although some of the information covered is much more about jQuery than it is about Adobe AIR (i.e., much of the content is applicable to Web development, too).

I’ve just recently come across a piece of software called Jet Profiler for MySQL. This is a program that runs on Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows (it’s runs on Java), and comes in both a free and commercial version. Jet Profiler for MySQL is a diagnostic tool, used to analyze and report upon your database’s performance, specifically in terms of the queries run, the tables used, and the MySQL users. It also has more advanced capabilities, like reporting upon master/slave relationships, locking, threads, and so forth. One particularly interesting feature is that it doesn’t require any special server configuration; in fact, it doesn’t even need to be installed on the server. You can install the application on your desktop computer, create a new MySQL user on the server, and the software will connect through it. Software like this is another good way to better understand your database and your Web application.

The other three posts in my Five JavaScript Tips in Five Days series for Peachpit Press have now been posted. The full set is:

• Handling JSON Data Securely
• Debugging XML/JSON Requests
• Choosing a JavaScript Framework
• Performing Cross-Domain Ajax Requests
• Loading JavaScript Faster

that can easily be applied. In this post, I discuss other ways you can manipulate document elements: by altering their CSS, changing their values and attributes, and by adding or removing elements. Although these techniques have an affect on the visual page, I’ve grouped them together here (separate from the effects post) as they’re all primarily about delivering content.

In a point of obvious self-interest, I wanted to let everyone know that Peachpit Press and Barnes and Noble are doing a promotion this month on several Visual QuickStart Guides, including my PHP for the Web (3rd Edition). Applicable titles are 30% off; PHP for the Web is $24.49 (US), $22.04 (US) for BN members. I believe these prices also apply in the store. If you’ve been thinking about picking up this book, or another Visual QuickStart Guide, like Elizabeth Castro’s excellent HTML, XHTML, and CSS, or the JavaScript and Ajax for the Web by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith, March is the right time!