I just came across this informative article on IBM which talks about how one could use Ajax for building tabs, tables and gliders. Here it explains how one could put Ajax to use for building basic tables by sending an XML request to the server over the Ajax. You can even end up creating tabbed windows and it is probably the simplest example of Ajax which you can come across. Besides this there are other Ajax examples too which have been explained in detail and it will make you realize that there is a valid reason behind why Ajax is being preferred over other technologies. Check it out!!