I am fairly new to web development, and I am currently creating a mobile web app with PhoneGap. That is to say, it's done entirely in html and associated technologies, which the app then links up properly to function within whatever OS the device is running.
Portions of this app require me to retrieve data from a database on a remote server. This is an entirely new thing to me, having never done any programming involving networks/connections.
I was recommended to use AJAX for this purpose, but I'd like to be certain I'm making an informed choice. What other options are there for an HTML page to retrieve data from a remote server?
there is no other choice you will have to use ajax ( using jquery for exqmple ) to get your data back from the server ..
the best way ( from my point of view ) is to make sure that your data is retrieved as json or jsonp so that you can handle it easily within your app.
and if you do use jquery ajax remember to configure it to allow external ajax request.