// holds an instance of XMLHttpRequest
var xmlHttp = createXmlHttpRequestObject();

// creates an XMLHttpRequest instance
function createXmlHttpRequestObject() 
{
  // will store the reference to the XMLHttpRequest object
  var xmlHttp;
  // this should work for all browsers except IE6 and older
  try
  {
    // try to create XMLHttpRequest object
    xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
  }
  catch(e)
  {
    // assume IE6 or older
    var XmlHttpVersions = new Array("MSXML2.XMLHTTP.6.0",
                                    "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.5.0",
                                    "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.4.0",
                                    "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0",
                                    "MSXML2.XMLHTTP",
                                    "Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
    // try every prog id until one works
    for (var i=0; i<XmlHttpVersions.length && !xmlHttp; i++) 
    {
      try 
      { 
        // try to create XMLHttpRequest object
        xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject(XmlHttpVersions[i]);
      } 
      catch (e) {}
    }
  }
  // return the created object or display an error message
  if (!xmlHttp)
	{
	}
    //alert("Error creating the XMLHttpRequest object.");
  else 
    return xmlHttp;
}
 
// read a file from the server
function process(ajax_id, async, data1, data2, data3, data4, data5)
{
  // only continue if xmlHttp isn't void
  if (xmlHttp)
  {
    // try to connect to the server
    try
    {
      // create the params string
      var params = "ajax_id=" + ajax_id +
      		   "&data1=" + escape(data1) + 
                   "&data2=" + escape(data2) +
                   "&data3=" + escape(data3) +
                   "&data4=" + escape(data4) +
                   "&data5=" + escape(data5);
      // initiate the asynchronous HTTP request
      xmlHttp.open("GET", "/getdata.php?" + params, async);
      xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handleRequestStateChange;
      xmlHttp.send(null);
    }
    // display the error in case of failure
    catch (e)
    {
     // alert("Can't connect to server:\n" + e.toString());
    }
  }
}

// function called when the state of the HTTP request changes
function handleRequestStateChange() 
{
  // when readyState is 4, we are ready to read the server response
  if (xmlHttp.readyState == 4) 
  {
    // continue only if HTTP status is "OK"
    if (xmlHttp.status == 200) 
    {
      try
      {
        // do something with the response from the server
        handleServerResponse();
      }
      catch(e)
      {
        // display error message
        //alert("Error reading the response: " + e.toString());
      }
    } 
    else
    {
      // display status message
      //alert("There was a problem retrieving the data:\n" + 
        //    xmlHttp.statusText);
    }
  }
}