You're right, there is no authoritative AJAX Framework, because there's really no consensus about what AJAX means exactly. AJAX isn't a standard, there's no reference implementation, or object model, or API, because it's really a vague term used to describe a set of patterns used to create web applications. These patterns tend to focus on the usability of web applications, and providing the user a rich, interactive experience that keeps the interested.
You point out that adding cross browser and cross platform support into the mix increases the complexity of the problem, and you're right. That's where most of these AJAX frameworks come in handy. You can sneer at the name, but you'd just be joining in with a massive number of web developers who spend more time arguing semantics than producing anything of value. I suggest that you look at some of these AJAX frameworks, because a lot of the focus on providing wrappers around the idiosyncrasies of the various browsers and platforms, allowing you to write your code in a more straightforward, easy to understand and maintain manner. My current personal favourite, in so far as it is simplistic and doesn't try to do everything, is the Prototype library, used by the Ruby on Rails project. I've written up some really rough documentation on the library, seeing as the project itself is lacking good docs. I posted the documentation on my blog at http://blogs.ebusiness-apps.com/jordan/pages/Prototype%20Library%20Info.htm. I'm not actually affiliated with that project in any way, and the docs are just based on a read-through of the source code, so they may not be 100% accurate.
Anyways, thanks for your insightful comments. I'll definitely have to check out that OpenLaszlo project.
Cheers,
Jordan Frank
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