However as applications become web based, users are demanding that they act less like a website and more like a traditional installed software application. The catch phrase to look out for here is rich internet applications.

The major difference between a web based and installed software application is the need for web pages to refresh whenever database information is retrieved. To solve this matter - enter AJAX which is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX intends to make web pages feel more responsive. It does so by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page is not reloaded each time the user changes something on the page.

Sounds great, and it mostly is - if your internet connection is up to scratch. If not, then the page might seem like it is freezing, neither submitting nor displaying new data. A well designed AJAX site can however get around this by displaying loading messages while the data is being requested.

As the bandwidth in New Zealand becomes cheaper AJAX and similar technologies such as Adobe Flex will become increasingly prevalent in web application develoment. So keep a look out for companies that are able to develop with them.