Professional DotNetNuke® Module Programming

Chapter 15. DotNetNuke, Modules, and Ajax Functionality

DotNetNuke 4.6.0 was the first version of DotNetNuke to fully support Microsoft's ASP.NET Ajax library. That version changed the expectations of end users by enabling developers to quickly add Ajax functionality to any and all modules developed for use within DotNetNuke. After 4.6.0, subsequent releases refined the Microsoft Ajax functionality, and it became an integral part of the toolkits used by most developers, even allowing for easy implementation and usage of the Ajax Control Toolkit.

Then, in September 2008, when Microsoft announced that it would start shipping the Open Source jQuery JavaScript/Ajax library, DotNetNuke Corporation was quick to include support for jQuery starting with DotNetNuke 5.0 RC1. This additional support provides DotNetNuke developers with numerous tools that can be leveraged to implement rich, interactive, client-facing modules and sites.

This chapter focuses on the integration between DotNetNuke, modules, and the Ajax libraries. The chapter starts out with demonstrations on basic ASP.NET Ajax, and then discusses the ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit, including how it can be leveraged to add even more functionality to the Microsoft offering. This chapter concludes with a brief overview of the jQuery support options available in DNN 5.0 RC1 and later.

ASP.NET Ajax

As mentioned previously, support for ASP.NET Ajax was added in DotNetNuke version 4.6.0. It provides a very robust and easy-to-implement framework ...