Lightbox-type DIV overlays have a multitude of uses. If you’re building a web app, or if you are just looking for a way to declutter your blog, you can just sweep elements under the proverbial rug until they’re needed, and then call them back in a “almost-window.”

FaceBox, is yet another way of implementing this functionality, but styled in a similar manner to FaceBook’s pop-up boxes.

FaceBox can display DIVs, images, AJAX-loaded pages, or you can just write content in dynamically via JavaScript. It’s fairly easy to implement the script, though it took me a little bit of tweaking to get all of the images to display correctly (I just had to change a few paths throughout the code).

The JavaScript file is just 6KB, and the 1KB worth of CSS can easily be pasted into your existing stylesheet, or referenced separately. There are also a few assorted images that are required, though they’re mainly under 1K. Also note that FaceBox requires jQuery to function, so you may not want it if you’re a Prototype aficionado.

I recently stumbled across AJAX Whois, which may have become my new favorite way to find domains and check WhoIs info. It’s fast, and it’s easy to use.

I’m serious when I say AJAX Whois is fast. Start typing in the form, and the web app searches as you type. By the time you’ve finished typing in a domain, the results are already there.

There are a couple of small features that really make the site easier to use. Number one is the favorites feature. If you find a domain that you want to remember while you’re searching other ones, you can just click the favorite button and it will be added to a space in the sidebar for easy access. The other feature is even simpler, yet you would really miss it if it wasn’t there; You don’t have to enter a TLD when searching. Many whois services require that you enter a TLD, even if you want to see results for multiple TLDs. Luckily AJAX Whois doesn’t follow that trend.

AJAX, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, was probably the most-hyped web programming technique in the last two years. It’s no surprise, as it enables you to do a lot that couldn’t have been done just a few years ago.

AJAX is being used in more and more places, often when it doesn’t need to be…and when it shouldn’t. With all the talk about how you can use AJAX for everything, the real question is when should you.

You should use AJAX in places where it will improve the user experience. One example is with polls. Why should a full pageload be required just to vote in a poll (or view the results)? That’s a waste of your users’ time, and a waste of your server resources.

Do not use AJAX for loading your main content, though. It’s not a good idea. I’ve seen a few sites that have tried it, and it doesn’t work that well. You have to come up with extra solutions for search engines, because they can’t understand your JavaScript trickery (you thought the dreaded “text-only version” link only applied to Flash sites? ). You also cause problems for people using some browsers (Safari, IE5, etc).

Basically, you want to use AJAX for things where an extra pageload would be irritate the heck out of everyone. Suppose you have a star-rating system, like on Netflix. Wouldn’t it be horrible if you had to sit through a page refresh every time you rated a movie? Use your own judgment.

Looking for some AJAX scripts? MiniAjax is a gallery of “nice looking simple downloadable dhtml and ajax code.”

The one-page site shows 62 (to date) entries for various useful scripts. There are star-rating systems, modal dialogs, heatmap generators, poll scripts, tabbed interfaces, and more. Thumbnails make the site easy to browse.

If you’re looking for a specific type of script, or if you just want to see what’s out there, be sure to take a look at MiniAjax.

roScripts is a blog/forum/Digg-for-scripts. Their “articles” section has several categories worth of coding tutorials (PHP, Flash, AJAX, HTML, etc). Then they have the “scripts” section, where you can easily find pre-made scripts to suit your purposes. The interesting part, though, is that they’re sorted in a Digg-like manner. You can vote-up scripts you like, and “bury” the ones you don’t.

roScripts has changed a lot since their launch, and they keep getting better.