AJAX Goes Gold
Microsoft announced last Tuesday that it has shipped the ASP.NET AJAX development
tools. The toolkit, codenamed "Atlas," consists of a server-side framework,
a client-side JavaScript library and a controls toolkit. The package adds AJAX
(Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) support to ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005.
Microsoft had originally planned to ship the software with Visual Studio "Orcas"
later this year. The runaway success of AJAX development, however, left Microsoft
little choice but to get the tools out to developers right away. AJAX began
beta testing in late October after several community technology preview (CTP)
releases.
In an e-mail interview
with Redmond Contributing News Editor Stuart Johnston, a company spokesman
wrote: "This tool provides Web developers with the essential tools to simplify
building next-generation, AJAX-style Web applications through seamless integration
with the .NET Framework and Microsoft platform."
ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions will be available under the Microsoft
Reference License (Ms-RL), which will enable developers to view the ASP.NET
2.0 AJAX Extensions code, thus aiding in application debugging, maintenance
and interoperability, the spokesperson's e-mail said.
The ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX tools is available for download
here.
Have you kicked the tires on the ASP.NET AJAX tools? What are your impressions
and what could Microsoft do better? E-mail me at [email protected].
Posted by Michael Desmond on 01/31/2007