What is AJAX and its purpose in web applications?

AJAX, which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is primarily a technique used in web applications to asynchronously send and retrieve data from a server without disrupting the current state of the web page. This means that when a user interacts with a web application—such as submitting a form or clicking a button—AJAX enables parts of the page to be updated dynamically with new data from the server, while the rest of the page remains unaffected. This enhances the user experience by allowing for smoother and more efficient interactions, leading to faster updates and better performance.

The other options do not capture the essence of AJAX. While enhancing database connections might be a benefit of backend programming, it does not define the purpose of AJAX itself. Styling web content relates to CSS and design aspects of web development, which is separate from AJAX's function of data handling. Lastly, a framework for building web servers refers to server-side technologies, which is not the goal of AJAX, as it operates primarily on the client side to manage asynchronous data communication.