"Since AJAX is implementation-neutral, it is almost impossible to nail down what characteristics are unique to AJAX, which is why we need a test for 'Ajaxiness,'" said Dojo Foundation president Alex Russell today at SYS-CON Events' sold-out "Real-World AJAX" One-Day Seminar in San Jose, CA. He then proceeded to inform, entertain, and bedazzle his audience with a witty (yet deeply insightful) 50-minute stand-up routine that was the perfect presentation to start the afternoon general sessions with.

Russell is Project Lead for the Dojo Toolkit, President of the Dojo Foundation, and a Sr. Software Engineer at JotSpot -- the Application-Wiki company. He has been fighting browsers since the late 90s and together with a growing group of contributors is helping to build the Dojo Toolkit into the preferred way to engineer dynamic web application interfaces.

Rusell believes that AJAX is a marketing term that will retain its power as long as vendors retain a commitment to an Open Web. His talk was simulcast Web-wide, as were all the sessions at today's "Real-World AJAX" event.

Readers' suggestions as to what the definitive criteria of 'Ajaxiness' should be are welcome. SYS-CON Media will make sure that any suggestions are passed on to this gifted and well-received speaker.