Understanding Basic Controls of ASP.NET AJAX

ASP.NET AJAX is developed by Microsoft to make dynamic, client-centric, user-friendly, and interactive web applications. ASP.NET AJAX has its own AJAX Library and AJAX controls to develop rich UI Web applications. In this article, I am going to expose some basic controls of Asp.Net AJAX.

Basic Controls of ASP.NET AJAX

1. ScriptManager

   The ScriptManager manages all ASP.NET AJAX resources on a web page. It renders the AJAX library to the browser and supports partial page rendering. It also manages partial page uploads and provide access to web service method. Without script manager we can't use AJAX controls on the web page.

2. ScriplManagerProxy

   A page can have only one ScriptManager control. If your application has a Master-Content page scenario and the MasterPage has a ScriptManager control, then you can use the ScriptManagerProxy control to add different scripts to the content pages.
   Sometimes, there may be the case when you are not required to use AJAX on each and every web page by using the ScriptManagerProxy control then you can add AJAX functionalities to specific web pages. Since, ScriptManager on the Master Page will load the AJAX library on each page that derives from the MasterPage, even if they are not needed, which would lead to a waste of resources.
   

3. Timer

   Timer Control is used to perform postbacks at defined time intervals. You can also use the Timer control with an UpdatePanel control to enable partial-page updates at a defined interval. You can also use the Timer control to post the entire page.

   
   <asp:ScriptManager runat="server" ID="ScriptManager1" />
    <asp:UpdatePanel runat="server" ID="UpdatePanel1" UpdateMode="Conditional">
    <ContentTemplate>
    <asp:Timer ID="Timer1" runat="server" Interval="120000" OnTick="Timer1_Tick"></asp:Timer>
    </ContentTemplate>
   </asp:UpdatePanel>
   
   

4. UpdatePanel

   The UpdatePanel control specifies a part of a Web page which can be updated or refreshed partially based on the update condition. Refreshing a specific part of a Web page is referred as partial-page update. You can also add one or more UpdatePanel control in the Web page. The UpdatePanel control uses the AJAX library to support the partial-page rendering.

5. UpdateProgress

   This is used to display the progress of partial-page updates. You can use one UpdateProgress control to represent the progress of partial-page updates for the entire page. Also, you can include an UpdateProgress control for every UpdatePanel control. You can customize the default layout and content of the UpdateProgress control to make it more attractive.

Basic Validation Controls of ASP.NET AJAX

1. FilteredTextBoxExtender

   This allows you to filter input data to a text box.

2. MaskedEditExtender and MaskedEditValidator

   This restricts a user to enter only a specific pattern of characters within a TextBox by applying a mask to the input.

3. ValidatorCalloutExtender

   This is attached to the ASP.NET validators to show the error messages as a balloon-style ToolTip.

4. NoBot

   This prevents the spam/bot from filling the input forms automatically by any or tool code. This uses the Completely Automated Public Turing Test to ensure that the response is not generated by the any tool.

5. PasswordStrengthExtender

   This measures the strength of the password text entered within the text box by validating with the different strength specified parameters.

What do you think?

I hope you will enjoy the tips while programming with Asp.Net AJAX. I would like to have feedback from my blog readers. Your valuable feedback, question, or comments about this article are always welcome.