Passing data to the server
Our examples to this point have focused on the task of retrieving static data files from the web server. However, the server can dynamically shape the data based on input from the browser. We're helped along by jQuery in this task as well; all of the methods we've covered so far can be modified so that data transfer becomes a two-way street.
Note
Interacting with server-side code
Since demonstrating these techniques requires interaction with the web server, we'll need to use server-side code for the first time here. The examples given will use Node.js, which is very widely used as well as freely available. We will not cover any Node.js or Express specifics here, but there are plentiful resource on the web if you Google either of these technologies.
Performing a GET request
To illustrate the communication between client (using JavaScript) and server (also using JavaScript), we'll write a script that only sends one dictionary entry to the browser on each request. The...