Hmm... grease-cutting formula in a lemon fresh scent

While at work today, I started to wonder what AJAX is for. It's an interesting question semantically, because it begs another question. Where does the user interface boundary lie when developing web applications? Is it defined at the server script level or at the client script level?

This isn't an academic question. If the boundary is defined at the server script level, then the primary purpose of AJAX is to send valid DHTML from the server script to the client script. If the boundary is defined at the client script level, then the primary purpose of AJAX is to pass messages back and forth between the client script and the server script, and it is the client script's responsibility to turn those messages, whatever they might be, into DHTML.

I realize that there may be an entire spectrum of views on this issue. There are also other aspects that are important to consider, such as how REST/SOAP interfaces may benefit from each of these approaches. My gut tells me, however, that AJAX should primarily be used to pass messages between client and server scripts, and that client scripts should be responsible for interpreting those messages.

Somehow, it seems a tad more lemony fresh.