Hi


Can someone give me an example on how to implement Ajax into a PHP-website to speed up loading on basic graphics that otherwise will be loaded again and again.

I include different files with functions into my index.php file but whatever people click on the graphics on the website is pretty much the same.

My website has a graphic background, a logo, and all content is framed in a graphic frame, wich is built by several small images.

Soe... could someone please give me an example on how to use AJAX in a site written in PHP, where graphic files are place in a directory e.g. /websitefiles/graphics

Just leave it up to the browser to cache images, messing about with AJAX will do pretty much the exact opposite of what you hope to accomplish.

Ok... when does it so in your opinion make any sense using AJAX ?

sparingly is my opinion

As usual it is a useful method that is massively overused by developers who want to be (or at least appear) "kewl".
Using it "just because you can" is not really a valid reason.

In the case you portray doesn't really warrant using AJAX simply because there are "issues" with IE being unable to reuse an existing XMLHTTP object so subsequent calls will fail.
A simpler solution would be to use "tabboxes" and simply show or hide the content element in the same location.
This method is also "SE Friendly" whereas AJAX loading content is not.

Like Chris says, AJAX is a nice technology set, but it isn't a magic bullet, and should only be used if there is a real need. AJAX is used by developers, who know what they are doing, for creating interactive web applications, usually connected to a database, which change the content of the page in real time in response to user input or other conditions.

The normal state of the web is a static state, simply relaying information one page at a time. Most people don't need an event-based application state with AJAX, so unless you're designing something that has a rich response to the user, you shouldn't be considering it.