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Microsoft to Release AJAX Framework

An anonymous reader writes "News.com is announcing that Microsoft has announced plans to release a JavaScript client framework library for use with ASP.NET 2.0 that makes AJAX style browser clients easier to code. Developers who attend Microsoft's PDC conference in September have been promised an early release of the code."

18 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Now maybe I'm just entirely on crack here, but didn't Google recently announce or imply that they're going to be releasing their own internal AJAX framework?

    1. Re:Interesting by cuerty · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, what they do is relased it here. It's an XSL-T parser in JavaScript, really cool stuff.

      --
      >Linux is not user-friendly.
      It _is_ user-friendly. It is not ignorant-friendly and idiot-friendly.
  2. Re:You know this is how it'll start by drewfuss · · Score: 3, Informative

    here is what it looks like

  3. Re:You know this is how it'll start by enkafan · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'll take that bet. Scott Guthrie (project load on the Web Platform and Tools Team at Microsoft) has stated that Atlas client script will work on all modern browsers, and will not be restricted to any web server.

    You can read more on his weblog.P

  4. Before we start bashing Microsoft... by 0kComputer · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lets remember that Microsoft created the XMLHTTP objects that AJAX is built on.

    Ok, resume bashing.

    --
    Top 10 Reasons To Procrastinate
    10.
  5. Re:You know this is how it'll start by Tim+C · · Score: 4, Informative

    You've not used ASP.NET have you? All of the generated HTML and Javascript is guaranteed to work in all major modern browsers. True, some of the cooler DHTML stuff only works in IE, but other browsers get less cool but still functional equivalents.

    Or, you know, you could just mindlessly bash MS, it's your choice.

  6. Didn't see this link yet by prostoalex · · Score: 3, Informative
    More or less official announcement, coming from MSDN Blog. But they've been doing it all along:

    All of the pieces of AJAX - DHTML, JScript, and XMLHTTP - have been available in Internet Explorer for some time, and Outlook Web Access has used these techniques to deliver a great browser experience since 1998. In ASP.NET 2.0, we have also made it easier to write AJAX-style applications for any browser using asynchronous callbacks, and we use them in several of our built-in controls.
  7. Re:You know this is how it'll start by phusikos · · Score: 5, Informative

    While I agree that Microsoft's way leaves much to be desired (primarily because AJAX on IE requires that you leave your browser open to ActiveX insercurities), I'm afraid there isn't really a "correct" way to do it. Your way (testing for the native XMLHttpRequest object, and then falling back to the ActiveX object if necessary) is certainly the best way, however.

    IIRC, Mozilla's XMLHttpRequest object was created to mimic the functionality of Microsoft's ActiveX version, and then Safari and Opera (to a certain extent) followed suit. However, the XMLHttpRequest has never been part of ECMAScript (the standard that Javascript is based on) nor the W3C DOM. It has always been an "extension" that Microsoft has foisted upon the world, much like the <marquee> tags and layers we love to hate.

    As such, it is inconsistently supported -- particularly in Opera and Safari 1.3/2.0. There are also minor differences (e.g. the number of arguments that the send method accepts) that arise due to the lack of a standard specification.

    Fortunately, because of its immense utility in creating modern web-apps, it has become a de-facto standard and thus rather reliable. I would love to eventually see browsers support a standards-based version of AJAX (something like the W3C Level 3 DOM Load and Save specification), but until then, there is no truly "correct" way to do it.

  8. Re:And let me guess...... by sean23007 · · Score: 4, Informative

    You've never used the XmlHttpRequest object, have you? There is one version of it for IE, which is an ActiveX object. There is another for every other browser. Once you get that object, they are almost completely functionally the same. But if Microsoft makes their library only use the ActiveX version, then it simply won't work on anything except IE/Win. And that's not the fault of any other browser.

    By the way, there is no standard yet. XmlHttpRequest is a non-standard technology at the moment.

    --

    Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
  9. xmlhttprequest frameworks... by draed · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re:xmlhttprequest frameworks... by LibyaHistory · · Score: 2, Informative

      See also this list of Web applications frameworks

  10. Ajax .net by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    While people are busy promoting ajax on rails and so on, there is already a great AJAX Library for .net called Ajax.net

    http://weblogs.asp.net/mschwarz/

    Works like a charm

  11. Re:And let me guess...... by grazzy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Lets face it;

    90% of the programmers in the MS area are morons. They are not interested in the higher aspects of computer science, nor do they give a shit about compability or efficient code. They care about one thing.

    Does it do what I want?

    This might sound fine and good to a lot of people, unfortunatly it isn't very so. We all remember the MESS frontpage created on the internet, zillions of so called webmasters broke the gates of pearls we had between THEM and US, the programmers. Now they're back, and they're punching with .NET and now this.

    Have anyone here LOOKED at what the Visual .NET platform produces when you use it to create a simple HTML-form? Let me tell you this my friends, its horrid, ugly and terrible. There was a time where I believed that .NET for the 'net perhaps was something MS had done right. Not so, Sir Willian.

  12. Re:And let me guess...... by ergo98 · · Score: 3, Informative

    ASP.NET (in .net 1.1) already doesn't work without javascript more or less.

    ASP.NET can downgrade to both scriptless and cookieless operations, which was one of the major selling points of it. In fact out of the box it presumes too little out of most clients, though thankfully you can update the browsercaps quite easily.

  13. Try JSON instead of XML by dmeranda · · Score: 3, Informative

    One of the great things about "AJAX" is that the "X" is optional. No reason to do XML at all unless that's what you want. So, if XML is overkill for your application, take a look at JSON, http://www.json.org/

    I think it's better than CSV even. And it's got bindings to tons of languages, not just Javascript. So producing the server-side is also very easy.

  14. XMLHttpRequest is not "standard" by _newwave_ · · Score: 2, Informative

    And your knowledge is pretty far off-base.

    Do you realize the XMLHttpRequest Object (the core javascript object in which AJAX would not exist without) is not a W3C standard? It was first implemented in IE5 as an ActiveX Object (new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP")) and latered implemented by Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, etc.

    Of course, you won't find anyone giving MS credit for innovation here, but you'll get modded 5 if you're the first to mentions "standards!"

  15. That would be funny by ad0gg · · Score: 2, Informative

    if Microsoft hadn't invented Ajax.

    --

    Have you ever been to a turkish prison?

  16. Re:And let me guess...... by PlancksCnst · · Score: 0, Informative

    Mr. "Senior Programmer" Your comment is not standards compliant. It's called ECMAScript.