AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX enables us to quickly create Web pages that are rich responsive and familiar user interface (UI) elements. ASP.Net Ajax is integrated to ASP.Net 2.0 sever based development platform. ASP.NET AJAX contains various client-script libraries that incorporate cross-browser ECMAScript (JavaScript) and dynamic HTML (DHTML) technologies. By using ASP.NET AJAX, we can improve the user experience and the efficiency of our Web applications.
Few Advantages of Ajax:
- web page is improved by performing significant parts the web page.
- Mostly used UI elements like progress indicators, tooltips, and pop-up windows.
- Partial-page updates that refresh only the parts of the Web page that have changed.
Availability and Download
- Ajax Library 3.5 for ASP.Net framework 3.5 (will be installed with Visual Studio 2008)
- ASP.Net 2.0 Ajax Extensions 1.0 (add on for Visual Studio 2005)
ASP.Net 2.0 Ajax Extensions 1.0 can be downloaded from
Once you install ASP.Net 2.0 Ajax Extensions, you can install optional ASP.Net Ajax Control Toolkit. The ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit is an open-source project built on top of the Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX framework. The AJAX Control Toolkit contains more than 30 controls that enable you to easily create rich, interactive web pages. Some examples are Calendar control, Modal Popup control etc.
ASP.Net Ajax Control Toolkit can be downloaded from here
http://webscripts.softpedia.com/scriptDownload/AJAX-Control-Toolkit-Download-14014.html
The Ajax Control Toolkit comes in zip file which contains AjaxControlExtender.vsi file (in AjaxControlExtender folder) which is a visual studio content installer. Upon clicking the intaller it adds AjaxControl ToolKit to Visual studio in a seperate tab in Tools.