The $.ajax() function underlies all Ajax requests sent by jQuery. It is often unnecessary to directly call this function, as several higher-level alternatives like  and  are available and are easier to use. If less common options are required, though, $.ajax() can be used more flexibly.

At its simplest, the $.ajax()

Note: Default settings can be set globally by using the  function.

This example, using no options, loads the contents of the current page, but does nothing with the result. To use the result, you can implement one of the callback functions.