What This Book Covers

This book covers ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0. It does not cover ASP.NET 2.0, on which ASP.NET AJAX is built. The examples lead you from the core of what is included in the ASP.NET AJAX Library through the core controls you would first start using. You build on that using the core JavaScript library and the ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit before covering debugging, deployment, and custom control development.

The ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0 release includes the Microsoft AJAX Library as well as the server controls that can be used in ASP.NET pages to extend applications, making them more rich and interactive.

It does so by leveraging the Microsoft AJAX Library, which is JavaScript that runs in the browser. The server controls and JavaScript library work together to let you update HTML with data obtained asynchronously from the server. The ASP.NET application services are exposed to JavaScript classes in the Microsoft AJAX Library, making authentication and personalization accessible from the browser.

Chapter 1 introduces you to ASP.NET AJAX. I discuss the need for AJAX libraries and explain how ASP.NET AJAX compares to other AJAX libraries. You’ll see how ASP.NET AJAX is composed of client and server pieces and that you can use the client library with any server platform you choose. In Chapter 2, I focus on the most popular and easily applied feature of ASP.NET, the UpdatePanel control. This control allows you to automatically update portions of a page asynchronously, without subjecting the user to a visible pause while the page refreshes. Chapters 3 and 4 give you some key information about working with JavaScript and how the Microsoft AJAX Library makes development with JavaScript easier. The book then works through several key features, including control of script resources and working with the ScriptManager control in Chapter 5, the networking objects in Chapter 6, and the application services in Chapter 7 that allow you to authenticate users as well as store and retrieve per-user information from the client stored on the server. Chapter 8 looks at the ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit and all it has to offer for creating rich user interfaces. Chapter 9 looks at what is required to test and debug AJAX applications, Chapter 10 explores how to deploy ASP.NET AJAX applications, and Chapter 11 shows you how to develop custom AJAX controls.