By default, when using $.ajax (or any method that utilizes it like $.post), the requests made are asynchronous. To make the request synchronous, you can specify async:false (refer to the documentation). However, I advise against using synchronous AJAX requests due to performance issues and a negative impact on user experience. It's recommended to use a callback function within your success handler for a smoother execution once the result is ready.
Below are two simplistic examples where we want an anchor's text to be replaced with the result of an AJAX call upon clicking. Both achieve the same outcome, but the second method is preferred as it keeps the browser responsive.
Synchronous:
function runAjaxSync() {
var res;
$.ajax({url: '/path/to/resource', async:false, success: function(result) {
res = result.toString();
}}); // program execution will pause until this call is complete
return res;
}
$('a.example').click(function() {
$(this).text(runAjaxSync()); // functionality works, but the browser won't respond while waiting for the response.
});
Asynchronous (better):
function runAjaxAsync(callback) {
$.ajax({url:'/path/to/resource', success:function(result) {
callback(result);
}});
}
$('a.example').click(function() {
var $this = $(this);
runAjaxAsync(function(result) {
$this.text(result.toString());
}); // the browser maintains responsiveness and updates the text upon completion of the AJAX call.
});