Funny enough, XMLHttpRequest[0] was conceived because Microsoft needed to build out a web client for Exchange[1], which was a precursor to Gmail in many ways. I

Funny enough, XMLHttpRequest[0] was conceived because Microsoft needed to build out a web client for Exchange[1], which was a precursor to Gmail in many ways. In absolute terms, Gmail had more users and showcased the possibilities of web apps more broadly, however Outlook for the web in 2001-2004 was pretty sophisticated for its time [0]: Though it was called ActiveXObject for a time [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20090130092236/http://www.alexhopmann.com/xmlhttp.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20090130092236/http://www.alexho...