Example
Change the text of a <div> element using an AJAX request:
$("button").click(function(){
$.ajax({url: "demo_test.txt", success: function(result){
$("#div1").html(result);
}});
});
Try it Yourself »
Definition and Usage
The ajax() method is used to perform an AJAX (asynchronous HTTP) request.
All jQuery AJAX methods use the ajax() method. This method is mostly used for requests where the other methods cannot be used.
Syntax
$.ajax({name:value, name:value, ... })
The parameters specifies one or more name/value pairs for the AJAX request.
Possible names/values in the table below:
| Name | Value/Description |
|---|---|
| async | A Boolean value indicating whether the request should be handled asynchronous or not. Default is true |
| beforeSend(xhr) | A function to run before the request is sent |
| cache | A Boolean value indicating whether the browser should cache the requested pages. Default is true |
| complete(xhr,status) | A function to run when the request is finished (after success and error functions) |
| contentType | The content type used when sending data to the server. Default is: "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" |
| context | Specifies the "this" value for all AJAX related callback functions |
| data | Specifies data to be sent to the server |
| dataFilter(data,type) | A function used to handle the raw response data of the XMLHttpRequest |
| dataType | The data type expected of the server response. |
| error(xhr,status,error) | A function to run if the request fails. |
| global | A Boolean value specifying whether or not to trigger global AJAX event handles for the request. Default is true |
| ifModified | A Boolean value specifying whether a request is only successful if the response has changed since the last request. Default is: false. |
| jsonp | A string overriding the callback function in a jsonp request |
| jsonpCallback | Specifies a name for the callback function in a jsonp request |
| password | Specifies a password to be used in an HTTP access authentication request. |
| processData | A Boolean value specifying whether or not data sent with the request should be transformed into a query string. Default is true |
| scriptCharset | Specifies the charset for the request |
| success(result,status,xhr) | A function to be run when the request succeeds |
| timeout | The local timeout (in milliseconds) for the request |
| traditional | A Boolean value specifying whether or not to use the traditional style of param serialization |
| type | Specifies the type of request. (GET or POST) |
| url | Specifies the URL to send the request to. Default is the current page |
| username | Specifies a username to be used in an HTTP access authentication request |
| xhr | A function used for creating the XMLHttpRequest object |
Try it Yourself - Examples
Make an synchronous AJAX request
How to use the async setting to specify a synchronous request
Make an AJAX request with a specified data type
How to use the dataType setting to specify the data type for the request.
Make an AJAX request with an error
How to use the error setting to deal with errors in an AJAX request.