(RPC) appeared around 1997. Microsoft, in particular, pioneered this field with a technology
called Remote Scripting (RS).
RS employed a Java applet to pull in data from a remote Active Server Pages (ASP)-based URL.
The URL exposed a contracted programming interface through a target ASP page and serialized
data back and forth through plain strings. On the client, a little JavaScript framework
received data and invoked a user-defined callback to update the user interface via Dynamic
HTML or similar techniques. RS worked on both Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator
4.0 and older versions.
Later on, Microsoft replaced the Java applet with a Component Object Model (COM) object
named XMLHttpRequest and released most of the constraints on the programming interface
exposed by the remote URL—for example, no more fixed ASP pages. At the same time, community
efforts produced a range of similar frameworks aimed at taking RS to the next level
and building a broader reach for solutions. The Java applet disappeared and was replaced by
the XMLHttpRequest object.
