The Microsoft AJAX Library - some basics
The Microsoft AJAX library consists of three javascript files:
MicrosoftAjax.js: the core file that deals with communication, DOM, JavaScript extension, etc.
MicrosoftAjaxTimer.js: client side javascript responding to Timer server control
MicrosoftAjaxWebForms.js: deals with the UpdatePanel of Web forms
The Microsoft AJAX library has the following namespaces that cover different classes for different purposes
Sys: base class
Sys.Net: networking class
Sys.UI: client side controls and DOM
Sys.Services: Classes for accessing ASP.NET services like profile, membership, and authentication:
Sys.Serialization: JSON serialization/deserialization
Sys.WebForms: for web form partial rendering
The Microsoft AJAX library emulates an server-side web application in a number of ways:
an application model which has a life-cycle similar to that of a Web form,
a component model that can add and remove event delegates the same way as web server controls,
authentication services to take advantage of server-side membership and profile.
The Microsoft AJAX library has a dedicated communication layer between client and server, the essence of AJAX. It supports server-side web form's partial rendering using updatepanel.
On the pure client side, it provides a API to iron out the incompatible wrinkles among differnt browsers.
The newest Visual Studio 2008 / Visual Web Developer 2008 Express provdies Javascipt debugging and intellisense support.
A simple AJAX-enabled webpage using The Microsoft AJAX library: Client Page Life Cycle
<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server">
</asp:ScriptManager>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
function pageLoad() { alert("Client Page Event: Page load!");
}
function pageUnload() { alert("Client Page Event: Page unload!");
}
//-->
</
script>
The above is just my learning from the book: AJAX in action.