Nowadays, many web developers have implemented AJAX in their web applications. This enables them to create dynamic, rich web sites. There are numerous resources available on the web for learning ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX, but it is always nice to refer to a book as and when required. In his latest book, ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX Unleashed, Robert Foster examines the relevant concepts in less than 300 pages, which I think is excellent and is rarely achieved by authors. It is hard to write short and crispy content, especially on ASP.NET related concepts, but Robert has worked really well to bring out a quality book for budding developers very effectively. The book is mainly divided into three parts including two appendixes.
Inside the Book
The chapters in part 1 provide a brief overview about AJAX and introduce the controls shipped with Visual Studio. This section also provides a sneak preview of the AJAX Control Toolkit. The author has provided complete source code along with relevant screenshots. Part 2 consists of the core chapters which help you learn ASP.NET AJAX 3.5 starting from the basics. While chapter 3 examines the ScriptManager and ScriptManagerProxy controls, Chapter 4 provides nice coverage of various namespaces such as Sys, Sys.Net, Sys.Serialization, Sys.UI, etc.
Chapters 5 and 6 help you to learn about the UpdatePanel, Timer controls, and also some of the advanced techniques associated with the ASP.NET AJAX PageRequestManager object. Chapter 7 provides detailed coverage of various controls included with the AJAX Control Toolkit with the help of a practical example. The author also examines the role of Expression Web in the development of AJAX applications. I think this chapter will be very useful for beginners. The book then delves deeply into the steps involved in the development of an Extender Control with the help of both server and client side controls.
A key feature of the book is that the author has provided detailed analysis in a lucid style along with each bit of source code. Chapter 9 examines the role of SharePoint 2007 in the development of AJAX based applications. It also includes a practical example which illustrates the development of SharePoint WebParts powered by AJAX.
You should be familiar with Gadgets if you work with the Windows Vista operating system, and the final chapter examines the creation of vista sidebar gadgets with the help of AJAX. It includes a detailed explanation of each step starting with the creation of web service and ending with testing the gadget. I would prefer to see the screenshots in color in the next edition of the book.
The book also includes two appendixes which provide a brief overview of expression web and also examine the steps required to deploy .NET 3.5 as a SharePoint feature. I expected a little bit more advanced content especially in the areas of LINQ. It would be helpful if the author had devoted a chapter to discuss the implementation of an AJAX based billing solution as a mini project.
Conclusion
The book will be useful for beginners and intermediates and I would recommend it for those developers who would like to learn ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX quickly. This book can also be used by those developers who are averse to reading bulky books. The author has done a terrific job of restricting the content in less than 300 pages and I must say that the book is an ideal supplement for online resources.
Description
As the Internet user experience (UX) progresses, more users are demanding and expecting their custom-built business applications to provide the same UX that they see on the Internet every day. ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX Unleashed empowers ASP.NET developers to easily provide this type of experience with minimal code. Author Rob Foster has built AJAX-enabled web applications for a number of major corporations and uses the experience he has gained there to explain concisely, clearly, and completely what ASP.NET developers need to learn to start taking advantage of the rich opportunities made possible by ASP.NET AJAX.
•Learn ASP.NET AJAX by working with real-world examples
•Use the ScriptManager and ScriptManagerProxy controls in your ASP.NET AJAX-enabled applications
•Leverage the ASP.NET AJAX client-side API to maximize the flexibility of ASP.NET AJAX
•Build applications that use the UpdatePanel and Timer controls
•Use the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit to provide rich AJAX functionality to your web applications
•Build ASP.NET AJAX-enabled extender controls
•Integrate ASP.NET AJAX and .NET 3.5 with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
•Create ASP.NET AJAX-enabled Windows Vista Gadgets
•Learn advanced AJAX concepts such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and WCF Web services
Introduction    1
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction to AJAX Technologies    5
AJAX and Web 2.0Â Â Â Â 6
Why Use AJAX?     7
AJAX Rationale    7
AJAX: An Example    8
The XMLHttpRequest Object    8
A Simple AJAX Library    10
Using the AJAX Library    14
Summary    20
Chapter 2 Introduction to ASP.NET AJAXÂ Â Â Â 21
Introducing the Visual Studio Controls    22
ScriptManager    22
ScriptManagerProxy    23
Timer    23
UpdatePanel    23
UpdateProgress    23
Introducing the Visual Studio Projects and Web Site Items    24
Projects    24
Web Site Items    25
Introducing the AJAX Control Toolkit    26
Summary    27
Part II Working with ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX
Chapter 3 The ScriptManager and ScriptManagerProxy Controls    31
About the ScriptManager Control.     31
ScriptManager Properties, Methods, and Events    34
JavaScript Proxy Classes for Web Services    37
Partial-Page Rendering    43
Summary    47
Chapter 4 The ASP.NET AJAX Client APIÂ Â Â Â 49
The Namespaces    49
Global    49
Sys    52
Sys.Net    53
Sys.Serialization    54
Sys.Services    62
Sys.UIÂ Â Â Â 66
Sys.WebForms    68
Summary    71
Chapter 5 The UpdatePanel and Timer Controls    73
About the UpdatePanel Control    73
Using the UpdatePanel Control    74
Advanced Features of the UpdatePanel Control    78
Triggers    78
Multiple UpdatePanel Controls on a Single Page    81
The Timer Control    89
Using the Timer Control with Partial-Page Rendering    90
Summary    92
Chapter 6 Advanced Techniques with the ASP.NET AJAX PageRequestManager Object    93
Using the PageRequestManager Object    93
A Practical Example of the PageRequestManager Object    95
Summary    100
Chapter 7 Using the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit    101
ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit: The Controls    102
Using Controls in the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit    105
Configuring Visual Studio to Use the Toolkit    105
The Accordion and AccordionPane Controls    106
The CalendarExtender Control    110
The CollapsiblePanelExtender Control    112
The ConfirmButtonExtender Control    118
The DragPanelExtender Control    120
The DropDownExtender Control    122
The FilteredTextBoxExtender Control    125
The HoverMenuExtender Control    127
The TextBoxWatermarkExtender Control    130
ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit: A Practical Example    134
Using the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit with Microsoft Expression Web    145
Configuring Expression Web for the ASP.NET AJAX
Control Toolkit    145
Summary     150
Chapter 8 Building an ASP.NET AJAX Extender Control    151
Add ASP.NET Controls    151
How to Build an Extender Control    154
Server-Side Code    156
Client-Side Code    159
Summary    163
Chapter 9 ASP.NET AJAX and SharePoint 2007Â Â Â Â 165
SharePoint and AJAXÂ Â Â Â 165
Modifying Web.Config    166
Developing an AJAX-Based SharePoint Web Part    171
Summary    177
Chapter 10 Creating ASP.NET AJAX-Enabled Vista Sidebar Gadgets    179
Vista Sidebar Gadgets    179
Creating the Gadget    181
Create the Web Service    181
Generate the JavaScript Proxy    183
Create the Vista Gadget    186
Test the Gadget    187
Summary    188
Part III Appendices
Appendix A Microsoft Expression Web 191
An Introduction to the Expression Web Interface    191
Creating Web Pages and Web Sites    191
Customizable Interface    194
Creating Standards-Based Web Sites     198
Quickly Build Standards-Based Sites    198
Code Formatting and IntelliSense    202
Autoformatting Code    202
IntelliSense    204
XML and XSLT Tools in Expression Web    204
Drag and Drop XMLÂ Â Â Â 205
Creating and Updating XSLÂ Â Â Â 207
Summary    209
Appendix B Deploying the .NET Framework 3.5 as a SharePoint Feature 211
Features and Solutions     211
Creating the Solution    213
Using Visual Studio    214
Creating the Feature Receiver    218
Deploying the Solution to SharePoint    228
Compiling the Solution    228
Running STSADM.EXE to Register the Solution    234
Deploying the Solution Using SharePoint
Central Management    235
Activating the Feature    237
Summary    239
Index    241
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