1. My vote's for Ajax. We need, I think, a shorthand term for it, since "XMLHTTPRequest" is misleading in a world where you can do remote scripting without it (RSLite, etc, etc), and "remote scripting" is a generic term for the process. Don't think just of the word, but of compounds based on it: "This site is Ajax-enabled" (rather than "this site uses remote scripting techniques"), "Google have done a new Ajax-based UI for mapping", that sort of thing. Of course, Simon Willison and I disagree on this :-)

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Stuart Langridge

2. Personally, Ajax sounds too much like a UK brand of toilet bleach. Plus the guy who originally came up with the name obviously wants people to associate the name with his company, ie it's a marketing scam on his part to make the less knowledgeable end user think his company invented the technology. So, if they hear that Google employs Ajax on their Google Maps site, they'll also think his company developed it, which is obviously bogus and thus should be ignored.

CADEX sounds good since it's got a rhythmic quality too it, sounding akin to cadence. It also seems to denote the technology invloved at each stage in the process, except on closer examination CSS doesn't really affect the process at all, merely being used to format the page.

However, why should the acronym refer to the technology it uses. It only really needs to evoke the concepts it pertains to. With this in mind here's my suggestions:

AXES.......Applied XML Ecma-Scripting
AIRES......Action Independent Remote Ecma-Scripting
RISE.......Remote Information Scripting with Extensible Markup Language

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by jbot

3. I personally use the term 'Remote Scripting'. Yes it is generic but it is nice and sound 'grown up'. Names that make you feel embarrassed to them mention in public aren't good - Ajax is one of those names, in fact most acronym type names are lousy. But it all comes down to how widespread they get and how 'used' to it we become. 'Firefox' was a horribly embarrassing name initially, any non web-geeks looked at you in disbelief often sniggering. But the world is getting better now thankfully.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jon B

4. I've always thought that "Remote Scripting" doesn't really describe well what goes on when one uses Javascript to request information from a server by remotely invoking a process, but then neither does AJAX.

I find the most compelling reason to use XMLHTTP over other methods is that I can use it synchronously, so the "A" doesn't mean a lot to me.

"Javascript RPC" is a better description, although it's not necessarily limited to Javascript - I've occasionally used VBScript on the client side for instance, so the "J(A)" doesn't really say it all.

Tying XML into it tends to discount the iframe, script injection and img/cookie methods which are equally useful in building rich web UIs that have the features that this class of techniques is used for. So the "X" is really not a required element.

If you've been following, you'll have noticed that at this point we have a technology called "".

Personally, I think the underlying technology used to perform the unseen data exchange is irrelevant. The effect is always an exchange of data between client and server that does not interrupt the presentation. A much more widely applicable name would have something to do with data exchange and background or invisible or something.

I don't have any particular candidates in mind but those are my immediate thoughts. I'm not really too concerned if there is a disconnect between the name of the technique and its function as long as it's understood well, but it's worth discussing.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Brent Ashley

5. XHR, short and simple.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by anonzilla

6. Picking up on Brent's comments about making it more generic, how about this:

RISE
- Reporting, Interoperative Scripting and Extraction; or
- Remote Interactive Scripting and Extraction.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by jbot

7. THANK YOU for this post!

I abhor the name "ajax" and I was one of the two people who left a comment. In fact, they both might have been me. :)

I absolutely agree with the marketing scam comment above. It's a disgrace.

Remote Scripting is the technology. It can be done various ways. XMLHttpRequest (XHR) is one way. It also happens to be the best and what people are going nuts about, even though its been around for years.

But its not just Remote Scripting. It also has to do with Thick/Rich clients.

The combination of Remote Scripting with a Thick/Rich client, yields a Thick/Rich Internet Application, and I've seen the Rich Internet Application (RIA) designation used throughly, mainly in reference to Macromedia based apps (Flash, Flex, Laslo). But now we have Avalon, and XUL, and of course our beloved XHR Javascript.

So I propose the name Rich/Thick Internet Application, with a javascript designation for XHR+DHTML solutions. jsRIA.

brian.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Brian

8. All suggested names are very technical in nature. Of course, on a technical weblog like this it might not be so strange. But as Jesse James Garrett noted, it will be a large challenge to educate designers (graphic and interaction) about the possibilities of this technology. Will a designer be attracted by Ajax/Cadex/Remote Scripting/jsRIA/etc.? Why not call it something utterly simple like 'single page interface', because that's what it is, basically. Full disclosure: the company I work for has sometimes used this term as one of the many marketing buzzwords. But anything non-technical that you can come up with is fine with me.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jep Castelein

9. Your post has motivated me to collect my thoughts on this matter; however, your commenting system refuses to accept a comment longer than a few paragraphs :).

Broadly, I'm in favour of the term "Remote Scripting", as it's less buzzword-ish and less tied to specific technologies. So I posted a fairly thorough rebuttal of the term "Ajax" over at Jesse James Garrett's blog instead; please feel free to middle-click:

http://blog.jjg.net/weblog/2005/02/ajax.html#c4271271

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Angus Turnbull

10. I like Ajax. It's simple and rolls of the tongue better than any of the previously mentioned acronyms in my opinion. What's wrong with it?

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Randy

11. Well crap... I came here to step up and defend the term Ajax, but find myself questioning my loyalties.

I do like the very simple word of "Ajax" as opposed to the other 4-32 syllable terms. Short, simple, and people are starting to know what it is. But Angus brings up some good points in that it does kind of restrict itself to a set of languages, where something like "Remote Scripting" is more of a general name.

*sigh*... lets just call it Bob or Fred and be done with it.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Aaron Barker

12. Personally i liked Tantek's choice. I have read this post when it just came out. Fumbled some with the script from apple and very soon read the Tantek post. He was one of the first to mention the name should be changed.

Another reason why i think Tantek can be the one that set the name : a while ago he helped us to a great Box Model Hack.

I say let him have this name. Cadex sounds good and distinct.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Mstyle

13. I need to work on the exact acronym, but how about RIJEL?

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by pete

14. something like ... Rich Interactive Javascript (Etc) Loveliness

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by pete

15. call it JAXAS and be done with it :)

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Robb

16. The acronyms and "Remote Scripting" all sound too technical, and don't reflect the main point, which is improved user experience.

How about "Live Updating"?

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Mike

17. I must say "Ajax" has that funny feel to it, from all them cartoons and such, but the only name I consider truly correct is "XmlHttpRequest", and I always have, and will, call it that.

ps: I think the name "Cadex" sucks. If the crowd's gonna end up choosing that, I'd rather go for "Ajax" instead.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by m0rph

18. Mike, Ajax is just a technology. From http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives/001070.php :

"What we’re talking about is technology, not the user experience. Ajax-based apps certainly have the potential to produce a better user experience, but good experiences never come by default."

+1 remote scripting

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Simon

19. Simon: It's not a _specific_ technology, it's a combination of techniques. My problem with the names is that they make it sound like a specific standard, or something that you can buy and install...(This paragraph could also describe DHTML).

The 37 signals bit you quoted was intended to emphasize that you shouldn't jump to implement 'Ajax' in your site just because it seems like cool thing to do. The reason you would use it is purely because of user experience...it's all about eliminating the wait for the page to reload. There is no other reason to use it.

Having said that, I agree that "remote scripting" is at least better than "Ajax," which sounds too commercial.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Mike

20. It's always been called RPC (remote procedure calls) or "remote scripting" as long as I can remember by anyone who actually uses it.

Personally, I use "RPC" and will continue to.

"Ajax" as many have noted is terible because no "A" or "x" is needed, and often highly undesirable.

Posted at 5:49AM on Dec 19th 2005 by stylo~