/**
 * Wrapper function for constructing a request object.
 * Parameters:
 *  reqType: The HTTP request type, such as GET or POST.
 *  url: The URL of the server program.
 *  asynch: Whether to send the request asynchronously or not.
 */
function httpRequest()
{
    //Mozilla-based browsers
    if(window.XMLHttpRequest)
        request = new XMLHttpRequest();
    else if (window.ActiveXObject)
    {
        request=new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
        if (!request)
            request = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
    }
}