ASP.NET AJAX in Action

by Alessandro Gallo, David Barkol, Rama Krishna Vavilala

Overview

Ajax has revolutionized the way users interact with web pages today.
Gone are frustrating page refreshes, lost scroll positions and intermittent interaction with a web site. Instead, we have a new generation of fast, rich, and more intuitive web applications. The
ASP.NET AJAX framework puts the power of Ajax into the hands of web developers. ASP.NET AJAX, formerly called Atlas, is a new free framework from Microsoft designed to easily add Ajax features to ASP.NET
applications. With this technology, ASP.NET developers can easily build more interactive and highly-personalized web applications that work across all most popular browsers.

ASP.NET AJAX in Action is a fast-paced, example-rich tutorial designed for ASP.NET web developers and written by ASP.NET AJAX experts
Alessandro "Garbin" Gallo, David Barkol, and Rama Krishna Vavilala. This book introduces you to Ajax applications and to the ASP.NET AJAX
technology. Beginners will appreciate the clear explanations of key ideas and terminology. Intermediate and advanced ASP.NET developers will find a no-nonsense learning source and well-organized reference.

ASP.NET AJAX in Action offers a rich set of examples and meticulous explanations. The extensive code samples are accompanied by accurate and rigorous explanations of the concepts behind development with ASP.NET
AJAX. In this book, you will discover how to use

Microsoft Ajax Library

Partial rendering with UpdatePanels

Advanced client and server techniques

Ajax Control Toolkit

If you are a web developer looking to bring your web pages to life and to enhance the user experience, this book is for you.

ASP.NET AJAX in Action will give you with the knowledge and tools you need to more easily craft the next generation of Ajax applications. With the help of the Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX framework, Ajax development has never been easier and more instinctive for both client-script developers and ASP.NET developers alike.

Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933988146
Publisher:	Manning Publications Company
Publication date:	08/28/2007
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Alessandro "Garbin" Gallo is a Microsoft MVP in the Visual ASP/ASP.NET category and has been an active contributor for the Ajax Control Toolkit project. As a .NET developer/consultant with a primary focus on ASP.NET application design and development, Alessandro has been developing with ASP.NET AJAX since the very first CTP. Notably, he won the Grand Prize at the Mash-it-up with ASP.NET AJAX contest held by Microsoft in 2006.

Table of Contents

forewords
preface
acknowledgments
about this book
about the authors
about the title
about the cover illustration

Part 1 ASP.NET AJAX basics

1 Introducing ASP.NET AJAX

1.1 What is Ajax?

1.2 ASP.NET AJAX architecture

1.3 ASP.NET AJAX in action

1.4 Summary

2 First steps with the Microsoft Ajax Library

2.1 A quick overview of the library

2.2 The Application model

2.3 Working with the DOM

2.4 Making development with JavaScript easier

2.5 Summary

3 JavaScript for Ajax developers

3.1 Working with objects

3.2 Working with JSON

3.3 Classes in JavaScript

3.4 Understanding inheritance

3.5 Understanding interfaces and enumerations

3.6 Using type reflection

3.7 Working with events

3.8 Summary

4 Exploring the Ajax server extensions

4.1 Ajax for ASP.NET developers

4.2 Enhancing an existing ASP.NET site

4.3 ScriptManager: the brains of an Ajax page

4.4 Partial-page updates

4.5 Summary

5 Making asynchronous network calls

5.1 Working with ASP.NET Web Services

5.2 The asynchronous communication layer

5.3 Consuming external Web Services

5.4 Using ASP.NET application services

5.5 Summary

6 Partial-page rendering with UpdatePanels

6.1 With great power comes great responsibility

6.2 Getting to know the UpdatePanel

6.3 Triggers

6.4 Advanced techniques

6.5 Live GridView filter

6.6 Summary

Part 2 Advanced techniques

7 Under the hood of the UpdatePanel

7.1 The PageRequestManager: the unsung hero

7.2 A client-side event viewer

7.3 UpdatePanel cookbook

7.4 Caveats and limitations

7.5 Summary

8 ASP.NET AJAX client components

8.1 The client component model

8.2 Working with client components

8.3 Behaviors

8.4 Controls

8.5 Summary

9 Building Ajax-enabled controls

9.1 Script descriptors

9.2 Introduction to Ajax-enabled controls

9.3 Extenders

9.4 Script controls

9.5 Summary

10 Developing with the Ajax Control Toolkit

10.1 A world of extenders

10.2 The Ajax Control Toolkit API

10.3 Animations

10.4 Summary

Part 3 ASP.NET AJAX Futures

11 XML Script

11.1 XML Script basics

11.2 Actions

11.3 Bindings

11.4 Summary

12 Dragging and dropping

12.1 The drag-and-drop engine

12.2 A drag-and-drop shopping cart

12.3 Summary

Part 4 Mastering ASP.NET AJAX

13 Implementing common Ajax patterns

13.1 Script versioning

13.2 Helpers, help me help you!

13.3 Logical navigation and unique URLs

13.4 Declarative data binding

13.5 Declarative widgets

13.6 Summary
 
Installing ASP.NET AJAX
Tools for debugging Ajax applications
resources
index

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Even in "version 1," Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX framework brings together a broad and deep collection of controls, scripts and resources for building rich Internet applications. ASP.NET AJAX In Action illuminates that framework, together with the new mindset and best practices you need to use it well. The book is superbly written, well thought out, and packed with useful code and diagrams that help you understand exactly how ASP.NET AJAX works.

The authors begin with a "whirlwind tour" of ASP.NET AJAX's most widely-used components, cobbling together some quick application examples that show you exactly where you're headed. Next, you'll learn how the Microsoft Ajax Library enhances the JavaScript's object-oriented model; by the end of Chapter 3, you'll be writing object-oriented JavaScript, complete with reflection. You'll explore Microsoft's server-side Ajax extensions; learn how to make asynchronous calls; and leverage ASP.NET's authentication and profile services in your Ajax applications. There are two full chapters on UpdatePanel, Microsoft's stunningly easy and powerful tool for partial page refreshes.

With developers clamoring for Microsoft's ASP.NET-based AJAX solution, not every hoped-for feature made it into Release 1.0. But Microsoft's "Futures Community Technical Preview" shows where the platform is headed, and this book covers some of its most promising enhancements. There's a full chapter on xml-script, Microsoft's declarative language for executing JavaScript code, defining client components and how they integrate. Another chapter show how you'll soon be able to add classic desktop drag-and-drop capabilities to DOM elements throughout your web pages. You'll even explore the Ajax Control Toolkit, an increasingly robust collection of open source (you read that right) controls for ASP.NET AJAX developers. Bill Camarda, from the September 2007 Read Only