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Most blog, forum and Wiki applications use an HTML editor as the primary authoring tool for site content. With this type of control, an online user can create and edit an HTML document. The user is able to modify the text  — including its format, fonts and colors  — as well as add links and images. Often, the user may also view and/or edit the HTML source.

Microsoft AJAX (ASP.NET AJAX Extensions) introduces a new implementation model for server controls with related script. This article discusses how to create an HTML editor server control specifically for the Microsoft AJAX environment.

It's a reference for beginners who like to learn AJAX.

When using ASP.NET AJAX Extensions to transition your site to an AJAX experience, there are two main programming models to choose from: partial rendering and script services. In last month's column, I discussed partial rendering from a primarily architectural perspective. Simply put, with partial rendering, you don't need to change the underlying architecture of an ASP.NET application—it's an easy route to implementing some of the best elements of AJAX, such as no-flicker updates to pages on your site. This enhanced behavior is achieved by simply adding a few new server controls (specifically, ScriptManager and UpdatePanel) and having them silently perform a few tricks to transform a traditional postback in an asynchronous request run through the XMLHttpRequest object. This approach is pretty easy as it simply applies AJAX functionality to the existing Web development model...

ASP.NET AJAX opens a wide range of possibilities to developers. One of them is periodic pinging of database and check for changes to the data. It is certainly not a new technique and developers achieved it in the past using JavaScript and XMLHTTP. However, with the help of ASP.NET AJAX the same task becomes much simple.

The ModalPopupExtender control provided by the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit allows the display of content in a div panel that floats in the middle of the page and prevents the user from interacting with the rest of the page until the div panel has been closed, thus creating a modal form type of entry on a web page. This is really useful technology but I wanted to make a few improvements in this modal form-like interface.

Whether you're a system administrator, a designer, or a developer, your job will be significantly affected by AJAX. Administrators have to ensure that the security bar is still high enough to face new types of possible attacks. Intranet administrators have to guarantee that JavaScript is not disabled on any browsers. Web designers have new challenges to pursue due to features attainable with AJAX that were once impossible or impractical. And developers have a new API and a new overall approach to programming to become familiar with. All that said, what does AJAX mean for architects?

AJAX applications are challenging because they introduce brand-new concepts and a new foundation. The role of the architect is essential because the AJAX paradigm straddles both the client and the server environments. A clear architectural vision is critical for determining what logic and processing happens on the client and what remains on the server, as well as what data objects the client and the server are able to exchange.

ASP.NET AJAX was released by Microsoft to answer this need in Web application development. My goal in writing this article is to expand your knowledge of a central component of ASP.NET AJAX called the ScriptManager control and to show how advanced programming of ASP.NET AJAX is achieved using it. ScriptManager is a server-side control that sits on your Web Form and enables the core of ASP.NET AJAX. Its primary role is the arbitration of all other ASP.NET AJAX controls on the Web Form and the addition of the right scripting libraries to the Web browser so that the client portion of ASP.NET AJAX can function. Often you will find yourself using the ScriptManager to register other controls, Web services, and client scripts...

An article on AJAX, providing back button and bookmark functionality in a simplified class. Written in JavaScript, demonstrated in ASP.NET and can be used with any server-side scripting language.

A remote task is a piece of code that executes on the server in response to a client event. There are three possible ways for an ASP.NET AJAX client page to trigger a remote task: by causing a postback managed by an UpdatePanel control, by invoking a method directly on the application’s back end exposed through a local Web service, and by using a page method. Soon there will be a fourth method: a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service..

How to build a more intuitive ListBox server control with ASP.NET AJAX client functionality.