What is ASP.NET AJAX ?

ASP.NET includes many components that help to enable AJAX features for developers. These components have a common goal:-

To improve the user’s experience by providing developers with the ability to create more responsive web applications.

The following are the ASP.NET components related to AJAX capabilities:
1)Microsoft AjAX Library :- The Microsoft AJAX Library is a set of JavaScript files that make programming client-side JavaScript easier.
2)ASP.NET AjAX server controls :-ASP.NET ships with a set of AJAX server controls that can be embedded in your webpages to enable partial-page updates, communicate with a server process to indicate progress, and periodically update portions of a page.
3)jQuery:- jQuery is a code library that makes it easier to write client-side scripts and AJAX applications. It is actually an open source library (see http://jquery.com/). ASP.NET includes the scripts for jQuery and jQuery IntelliSense support within the Visual Studio IDE. 
4)AjAX Control Toolkit :-The AJAX Control Toolkit is a set of community-created and supported controls that show off the power of AJAX. You can use these controls in your webpages to enable many client-side features typically found only in applications running on the desktop, controls such as masked edit boxes, slider controls, filtered text boxes, modal pop-up windows, and much more.
5)Client-side web service support :-ASP.NET and AJAX provide support for calling web services asynchronously from the client by using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) serialization and XML.
6)ASP.NET standard controls:- The controls that ship with ASP.NET also make use of JavaScript on the client. It is easy to forget about this because you are not required to write any JavaScript to get this interactivity. Examples of ASP.NET controls that use JavaScript include the validation controls, the Web Part controls, the menu control, the TreeView control, and the Calendar control.

Uses and Benefits of ASP.NET AJAX :-
1)Partial-page updates :- This feature allows you to define an area of a webpage to post back and update independently from the rest of the page. Only the updated content will be refreshed when the request completes. This ensures that the user stays within his or her current context. It also gives users the feeling that they are interacting with the application (and not a server).

2)Client-side processing :-This interactivity provides immediate feedback and responsiveness to users. With client script, you can enable functionality such as collapsible areas of a page, tabs on a webpage, data sorting on the client, and much more.

3)Desktop-like Ui :- With AJAX, you can provide users with controls such as modal dialog boxes, progress indicators, masked edit boxes, tooltips, and more. This helps make the user experience between web and rich desktop applications much more similar.

4) Progress indication :- This allows you to track the progress of a server-side process and continuously update the user. This gives users the feeling that they are in control and assures them that the application is still processing (as with a desktop application).

5) improved performance and higher scale :- You can achieve increased performance and scale by processing portions of a page on just the client. You then take advantage of the user’s machine, which takes the load off the server. This results in real and perceived performance and scalability increases.

6)Web service calls from the client:- This allows you to call back to the server directly from client script running in a browser and then show the results to the user (often by using partial-page updates).

7)Cross-browser, cross-platform support :- JavaScript, AJAX, and jQuery are all supported on multiple browsers and multiple platforms. This allows you to write interactive applications that run in more client environments than the average desktop application.

The AJAX Server Controls:-
The ScriptManager Controls:-
Each page you write that uses ASP.NET AJAX requires one (and only one) instance of a ScriptManager control. The ScriptManager control is responsible for pushing the Microsoft AJAX Library down to the client when your page is requested.
It also manages partial-page updates, progress indicators, and more. You add the ScriptManager control to your page source. It does not have a visual representation. It is simply a control used to manage AJAX processing.
The basic page markup for a ScriptManager control in Source view looks as follows.

<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server"> 
</asp:ScriptManager>

By default, the ScriptManager control’s EnablePartialRending property is set to true. This indicates that the page supports partial-page updates. You can use this property to turn this feature off if needed.

The ScriptManagerProxy Controls:-
You will often need to support AJAX in a user control you write or directly in the master page of a site. This presents an issue, because a page can contain only a single ScriptManager control. Having one inside your user control and another inside the page that consumes the user control, for example, would be a problem. To overcome this issue, you can use the ScriptManagerProxy control.
The ScriptManagerProxy control can be used either by child pages that use a master page that already defines a ScriptManager control or by user and custom controls that you write. You use it much the same way you would a ScriptManager control. You can register scripts that are specific to the child page or control that you are writing. ASP.NET takes care of the rest.

The UpdatePanel Control :-
The UpdatePanel control allows you to define areas of a page that should post back to the server independent of the rest of the page. The UpdatePanel control is a container for other controls. The controls you put inside the UpdatePanel control that cause a postback to the server will be managed as partial-page updates.

 
<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">   
<Triggers>     
<asp:AsyncPostBackTrigger ControlID="ButtonSearch" EventName="Click" />   
</Triggers>   
<ContentTemplate>     
        ... Grid View markup ...    
</ContentTemplate>
 </asp:UpdatePanel>

The UpdateProgress Control:-
The UpdateProgress control is used to provide information in the form of graphics or text that is displayed to the user during a partial-page update.

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">   <ContentTemplate>            
 <asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server">     </asp:GridView>     <asp:UpdateProgress ID="UpdateProgress1" runat="server">       <ProgressTemplate>        
 <div style="font-size: large">Processing ...</div>       </ProgressTemplate>     
</asp:UpdateProgress>   
</ContentTemplate> 
</asp:UpdatePanel>

The Timer Control:-
The ASP.NET Timer control is an AJAX control that can be used to update portions of a page on a periodic, timed basis. This is useful if you need to update an image such as an advertisement on a webpage or perhaps a value such as a stock ticker or a news ticker. The Timer control can also be used to simply run code on the server on a periodic basis.

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">   <ContentTemplate>    
 <asp:Image ID="Image1" runat="server"        ImageUrl="~/images/contoso.png" />     
<asp:Timer ID="Timer1" runat="server"       Interval="5000" ontick="Timer1_Tick">     </asp:Timer>         
</ContentTemplate> 
</asp:UpdatePanel>

Programming is Easy…..