Does anyone know a standard way to batch http requests? Meaning - sending multiple http atomic requests in one round trip?
We need such mechanism in our REST API implem
There's an official HTTP way to do that which is called HTTP Pipelining. But you may have more problems with the browser side than with the server-side. So you may be able to use it if you have a hig-level of control on the client side only.
XHR does not always allow pipeling, and AFAIK you have no control of the HTTP tunneling with Javascript. So a basic ajax-jQuery implementation cannot exists. But you may find some advanced things with Comet and the Bayeux protocol, emulating bi-directionnal long-term tcp-connections, where you will certainly reduce the tcp round trips.
I'm not a comet specialist, but you may find useful informations on this Comet & HTTP Pipeling article, to my understanding most of this is highly experimental, but at least you could have a nice fallback with 'classical' comet when HTTP Pipelining is not available. This would maybe need a retag or a new question.