Other AJAX Libraries
In addition to ASP.NET AJAX, many third-party AJAX libraries are available that
can be used with ASP.NET, although not all of them were specifically designed
for it. Some are mostly focused on providing JavaScript libraries for use from
within the browser to make manipulation of the browser DOM (Document Object
Model) easier. Others include some level of server functionality for use within
ASP.NET pages (where server controls will render on the client side). This
section briefly highlights some of what these libraries offer. The ASP.NET AJAX
Framework can coexist with script and controls from other libraries, although
given the dynamic nature of the JavaScript language, it is possible to extend
types so that they conflict with each other. Mixing and matching libraries
might work just fine for many uses, but you might find conflicts in other
cases.
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Ajax.NET Professional: Michael Schwartz developed Ajax.NET Professional as a
tool primarily used to simplify the data transport mechanism that enables a
client JavaScript routine to communicate with a server program. The server code
is simple to use: You merely need to register the control in your page and
decorate some code-behind methods with attributes to designate which ones can
be called from the client. Then you can leverage the script library to make the
calls and pass data. This is intended for developers who are well versed with
DHTML, and there aren’t many prebuilt visual controls. This is a lightweight
solution with very little overhead in terms of bytes transferred and processing
cycles needed on the client and server. The source code is available, and the
package is free (http://www.ajaxpro.info).
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Book Excerpt: Developing Next-Generation Web Applications
Chapter Contents
This excerpt from
Professional ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX by Matt Gibbs, Dan Wahlin, is
printed with
permission from Wrox Publication.
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Anthem.NET: Anthem.NET is a SourceForge project where users are able to
download the sources to the project. It targets ASP.NET 1.1 and ASP.NET 2.0. It
has a set of server controls that use their underlying JavaScript library to
communicate with the server. They provide the ability to access the state of
controls on the page during an asynchronous callback. At the time of writing,
the Anthem.NET web page (http://anthem-dot-net.sourceforge.net) points out that
the Anthem.NET user needs to be an experienced ASP.NET developer to get the
most out of it. However, this is generally easier to use than Ajax.NET
Professional, especially for developers who aren’t well-versed in DHTML. This
project is similar to ASP.NET Ajax in many ways but isn’t as comprehensive.
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DoJo: The DoJo toolkit can be found at http://dojotoolkit.com. It is a
client-side library for AJAX development without ties to any server technology.
DoJo has a type system for JavaScript and a function for binding script to
events from JavaScript objects or DHTML elements. One of its strengths is rich
support for dynamic script loading. You can specify dependencies and ordering
in the way that scripts are retrieved and processed.
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Prototype: The Prototype script library is available at
http://prototype.conio.net. It does not target any server technology for
integration. It has a type system for scripting in a more object-oriented way,
along with some shortcut syntaxes for dealing with JavaScript arrays as well as
accessing and manipulating HTML elements on the page. Prototype provides
networking functionality and a method for automatically updating an HTML
element with the results of an HTTP request when given a URL. The Prototype
library also has functions for associating script objects and methods with DOM
objects and events. The library is focused on simplifying tasks that can be
cumbersome and tedious. It doesn’t provide much help for producing a richer
user interface but puts forth the building blocks for an improved web-scripting
experience.
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Script.aculo.us: The Script.aculo.us library can be found at the website of the
same name: http://script.aculo.us. Their tagline is “it’s about the user
interface, baby!” which accurately describes their focus. Script.aculo.us is
built on top of the Prototype library and picks up where it stops. It includes
functionality for adding drag-and-drop support to an application. It has a lot
of effects code for fading, shrinking, moving, and otherwise animating DOM
elements. Script.aculo.us also has a slider control and a library for
manipulating lists of elements.
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Rico: The Rico library also builds on top of the Prototype system. It has
support for adding drag-and-drop behavior to browser DOM elements. It also has
some controls to bind JavaScript objects to DOM elements for manipulating data.
Rico has constructs for revealing and hiding portions of a page using an
accordion style. It also has animation, sizing, and fading effects prebuilt for
easier use. These UI helpers are available at http://openrico.org.
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