ASP.NET 3.5 AJAX Unleashed: (Unleashed)

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version. 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 2.0     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 AJAX     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 API     49  The Namespaces     49  Global     49  Sys     52  Sys.Net     53  Sys.Serialization     54  Sys.Services     62  Sys.UI     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 2007     165  SharePoint and AJAX     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 XML     205  Creating and Updating XSL     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

Table of Contents:
Introduction     1   Part I Introduction Chapter 1 Introduction to AJAX Technologies     5  AJAX and Web 2.0     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 AJAX     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 API     49  The Namespaces     49  Global     49  Sys     52  Sys.Net     53  Sys.Serialization     54  Sys.Services     62  Sys.UI     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 2007     165  SharePoint and AJAX     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 XML     205  Creating and Updating XSL     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  

About the Author :
Rob Foster is an enterprise architect and MOSS MVP in Nashville, Tennessee. He began writing code at the age of 10 when he purchased his first computer, a Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer 2, with money he received for his birthday. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BBA in Computer Information Systems and holds several certifications, including MCSD, MCSE, MCDBA, and MCT. In 2000 with the PDC bits in hand, Rob founded the Nashville .NET Users Group (www.nashdotnet.org), which is a charter member of INETA. He has been writing and designing .NET applications since version 1.0, as well as implementing SharePoint solutions since SharePoint 2001. In his spare time, Rob enjoys writing books and articles related to .NET and SharePoint. His latest book, which he co-authored, is titled SharePoint 2007 Development Unleashed. Rob lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with his wife, Leigh, and two sons, Andrew and Will.