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Microsoft AJAX Library Essentials: Client-side ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 Explained

AJAX is one of the hottest technologies among ASP.NET developers. Even though there is enough material on the Web, nothing can beat a quality book that developers can read to gain more knowledge. Microsoft AJAX Library Essentials from Packt publishing is one of the latest editions that should be an addition to any ASP.NET developer’s bookshelf.

Written by Cristian Darie, an eminent writer of more than a dozen books, and co-authored by Bogdan Brinzarea, Microsoft AJAX Library Essentials examines some of the core aspects of AJAX using the C# language. Even though this book doesn’t teach you the usage of ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit Controls, it delves deep into client-side development with the help of a sample project at the end.

The book begins with a brief introduction to AJAX and ASP.NET with the help of a simple AJAX program. Chapter 2 provides a detailed overview of JavaScript, DOM, CSS, and more. The next chapter examines Object-Oriented Programming, with detailed reference to JavaScript functions and classes. Toward the end of the chapter, the authors also provide a brief introduction to JSON.

Chapters 4 and 5 provide an introduction to the Microsoft AJAX Library and its relationship with Object-Oriented Programming. The remaining chapters delve deep into the creation of client components. The book includes an excellent case study that examines the creation of Timer and Enhanced Textbox components. An interesting feature of the book is that the authors provide complete source code with relevant explanations, which I hope will help readers follow the content more easily.

Beginners may find it difficult to grasp the content because the book is highly code intensive — and also because of the advanced nature of the subject matter. Moreover, many beginners tend to initially work with Microsoft AJAX Toolkit Controls rather than spending long hours coding.

The final chapter provides nice coverage of the various tools and techniques for debugging AJAX applications using both Internet Explorer and Firefox (with a special note about Fiddler). The book concludes with an appendix that lists all the available classes, methods, and namespaces of the Microsoft AJAX Library.

The authors have mentioned references to articles available on the Web at appropriate places in each chapter; this should help readers learn more about each topic. From my point of view, the book will be highly useful for advanced Web developers who wish to master the internals of AJAX in a short period of time.

— Anand Narayanaswamy

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Title: Microsoft AJAX Library Essentials: Client-side ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 Explained

Author: Cristian Darie and Bogdan Brinzarea

Publisher: Packt Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-847190-98-7

Web Site: http://www.packtpub.com/ajax-csharp-essentials/book

Price: US$39.99

Page Count: 300