How to chain ajax calls using jquery

With a custom object

function DeferredAjax(opts) {
    this.options=opts;
    this.deferred=$.Deferred();
    this.country=opts.country;
}
DeferredAjax.prototype.invoke=function() {
    var self=this, data={country:self.country};
    console.log("Making request for [" + self.country + "]");

    return $.ajax({
        type: "GET",
        url: "wait.php",
        data: data,
        dataType: "JSON",
        success: function(){
            console.log("Successful request for [" + self.country + "]");
            self.deferred.resolve();
        }
    });
};
DeferredAjax.prototype.promise=function() {
    return this.deferred.promise();
};


var countries = ["US", "CA", "MX"], startingpoint = $.Deferred();
startingpoint.resolve();

$.each(countries, function(ix, country) {
    var da = new DeferredAjax({
        country: country
    });
    $.when(startingpoint ).then(function() {
        da.invoke();
    });
    startingpoint= da;
});

Fiddle http://jsfiddle.net/7kuX9/1/

To be a bit more clear, the last lines could be written

c1=new DeferredAjax( {country:"US"} );
c2=new DeferredAjax( {country:"CA"} );
c3=new DeferredAjax( {country:"MX"} );

$.when( c1 ).then( function() {c2.invoke();} );
$.when( c2 ).then( function() {c3.invoke();} );

With pipes

function fireRequest(country) {
        return $.ajax({
            type: "GET",
            url: "wait.php",
            data: {country:country},
            dataType: "JSON",
            success: function(){
                console.log("Successful request for [" + country + "]");
            }
        });
}

var countries=["US","CA","MX"], startingpoint=$.Deferred();
startingpoint.resolve();

$.each(countries,function(ix,country) {
    startingpoint=startingpoint.pipe( function() {
        console.log("Making request for [" + country + "]");
        return fireRequest(country);
    });
});

http://jsfiddle.net/k8aUj/1/

Edit : A fiddle outputting the log in the result window http://jsfiddle.net/k8aUj/3/

Each pipe call returns a new promise, which is in turn used for the next pipe. Note that I only provided the sccess function, a similar function should be provided for failures.

In each solution, the Ajax calls are delayed until needed by wrapping them in a function and a new promise is created for each item in the list to build the chain.

I believe the custom object provides an easier way to manipulate the chain, but the pipes could better suit your tastes.

Note : as of jQuery 1.8, deferred.pipe() is deprecated, deferred.then replaces it.