Difference between Action Function, Action Support and Action Poller.

actionfunction used to call the server side method using JavaScript

actionsupport used to call the server based on the client side event i.e. like onclick ,onchange..etc

actionpoller used to call the server side method in a regular interval of time,,.....

Explanation:-

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actionFunction : provides support for invoking controller action methods directly from JavaScript code using an AJAXrequest

Used when we need to perform similar action on varioud events. Een though you can use it in place of actionSupport as well where only event is related to only one control.

Example :

actionFunction : provides support for invoking controller action methods directly from JavaScript code using an AJAXrequest

Example :
<!-- Page: -->
<apex:page controller="exampleCon">
<apex:form>
<!-- Define the JavaScript function sayHello-->
<apex:actionFunction name="sayHello" action="{!sayHello}" rerender="out"
status="myStatus"/>
</apex:form>
<apex:outputPanel id="out">
<apex:outputText value="Hello "/>
<apex:actionStatus startText="requesting..." id="myStatus">
<apex:facet name="stop">{!username}</apex:facet>
</apex:actionStatus>
</apex:outputPanel>
<!-- Call the sayHello JavaScript function using a script element-->
<script>window.setTimeout(sayHello,2000)</script>
<p><apex:outputText value="Clicked? {!state}" id="showstate" /></p>
<!-- Add the onclick event listener to a panel. When clicked, the panel triggers
the methodOneInJavascript actionFunction with a param -->
<apex:outputPanel onclick="methodOneInJavascript('Yes!')" styleClass="btn">
Click Me
</apex:outputPanel>
<apex:form>
<apex:actionFunction action="{!methodOne}" name="methodOneInJavascript"
rerender="showstate">
<apex:param name="firstParam" assignTo="{!state}" value="" />
</apex:actionFunction>
</apex:form>
</apex:page>

/*** Controller ***/
public class exampleCon {
String uname;
public String getUsername() {
return uname;
}
public PageReference sayHello() {
uname = UserInfo.getName();
return null;
}
public void setState(String n) {
state = n;
}
public String getState() {
return state;
}
public PageReference methodOne() {
return null;
}
private String state = 'no';
}

.ActionSupport : A component that adds AJAX support to another component, allowing the component to be refreshed asynchronously by theserver when a particular event occurs, such as a button click or mouseover.

Used when we want to perform an action on a perticular eventof any control like onchange of any text box or picklist.

Example : 

<!-- Page: -->
<apex:page controller="exampleCon">
<apex:form>
<apex:outputpanel id="counter">
<apex:outputText value="Click Me!: {!count}"/>
<apex:actionSupport event="onclick"
action="{!incrementCounter}"
rerender="counter" status="counterStatus"/>
</apex:outputpanel>
<apex:actionStatus id="counterStatus"
startText=" (incrementing...)"
stopText=" (done)"/>
</apex:form>
</apex:page>


/*** Controller: ***/
public class exampleCon {
Integer count = 0;
public PageReference incrementCounter() {
count++;
return null;
}
public Integer getCount() {
return count;
}
}

 ActionPolor : A timer that sends an AJAX update request to the server according to a time interval that you specify. The update request canthen result in a full or partial page update. You should avoid using this component with enhanced lists.

Used when we want to perform an action on server again and again for a particular time interval. 

Example : 

<!-- Page -->
<apex:page controller="exampleCon">
<apex:form>
<apex:outputText value="Watch this counter: {!count}" id="counter"/>
<apex:actionPoller action="{!incrementCounter}" rerender="counter" interval="15"/>
</apex:form>
</apex:page>
/*** Controller: ***/
public class exampleCon {
Integer count = 0;
public PageReference incrementCounter() {
count++;
return null;
}