function getAJAXObject()
        /*
                getAJAXObject()
                This creates the AJAX object for the page, specific to the user's browser type/version
        */
        {
                var xmlHttp = null;

                // Create AJAX object for the specific browser
                try
                {
                        xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
                }//try the firefox/opera/safari method
                catch (e)
                {
                        // Internet Explorer
                        try
                        {
                                xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject( "Msxml2.XMLHTTP" );
                        }//try the IE 6+ method
                        catch (e)
                        {
                                try
                                {
                                        xmlHttp = new ActiveXObject( "Microsoft.XMLHTTP" );
                                }//try the IE 5.5+ method
                                catch (e)
                                {
                                        alert( "Your browser does not support AJAX!" );
                                        return false;
                                }//catch NON-ajax browser
                        }//catch IE 5.5+
                }//catch IE browser

                return xmlHttp;
        }//getAJAXObject()



        function AJAXWrapper( url, target_script )
        /*
                AJAXWrapper()
                This is the wrapper function for all of our AJAX needs
                url = the URL of the PHP script doing the AJAX work
                target_script = the name of the javascript function we use to display the output on the given page
        */
        {
                // create the AJAX object based on browser type and version
                request = getAJAXObject();

                if ( request == null )
                {
                        alert ( "Your browser does not support AJAX!" );
                        return;
                }// if browser doesnt support AJAX

                // We need to add a random number to the end of the URL as a cache-buster to keep IE happy
                var randomnumber = Math.random() * 101;
                url += "&rando=" + randomnumber;

                //send request out
                //alert(url);
                request.open( "GET", url, true );
                request.onreadystatechange = eval( target_script );
                request.send( null );
        }//AJAXWrapper()