Q: I am considering putting a live support page on my almost-completely-php site. I have worked with system-style (analysis, antivirus engineering etc) programming for close to 10 years and am most familiar with VB type of chat clients. I know that ajax is required for something like this, but do not know how to build something that is just a basic chat system with a send button, sender name and time, and 2 colors for client and staff. Also, what about creating a time-out function on the page? I did download a trial version of something but it came with a lot of bells and whistles and not even the owners of this package could get it set up all the way during the free trial.
Does ajax create a lot of overhead on the client side? I have unlimited bandwidth and space on my account, with a T3 connection, however, my target audience will most likely be on the lower end of about 6mb with a few maybe on dialup. FYI, this site is still being programmed, so the core information is yet to be started.
Can I use ajax to create a page that is like an auto-refreshing php code? For auditing purposes like a hit counter on my side (personal home computer, not the server), with much information displayed in a template?
Large questions, I know. I hope this isn’t out of the scope of just a Q&A site.