Getting data from SQL Server (serverside) to JavaScript (clientside)

I have been looking for good newbie-advice on how to efficiently read data from an SQL Server to use in a JavaScript based time开发者_如何学Pythonline. Please consider that I have never done anything like this before. I have basic oop knowledge and would like to use json, I have written small java apps, but never used javascript (although I suppose it won't be very hard to get into the basics of it after java).

So really what I'm asking is for someone to help me get an overview over what steps need to be taken to make this happen; what do I need to know, how do I use it and in what order.

The database will contain from around fifty thousand to over a million entries, this is a lot of gps coordinates, year numbers and short strings.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind I am fairly new, so nothing is too basic! :]

What about having a mediator that sits on the [web] server that your javascript interacts with and asks for additional information from the SQL Server as it is needed. If you were to use ASP.Net then Page Methods might be a good option or even calling plain old web services directly might be a suitable alternative.

Both of these options might be something that you could use rather than loading up all of your DB entries in a single JavaScript file. Just a thought.