Ajaxium - a unique transformer of default and custom ASP.NET controls into a complete AJAX framework

Although there are a lot of AJAX frameworks for ASP.NET around, including Microsoft Atlas and other commercial and open-source components, Ajaxium is the only component that acts as a universal AJAX container for all existing and custom ASP.NET controls and even entire pages. Owing to this, integration of Ajaxium with your project offers a unique possibility of creating custom AJAX frameworks from custom-developed ASP.NET controls and existing third-party controls.

How does Ajaxium work?

To start with, Ajaxium handles the default ASP.NET postback client-side method and tries to perform a hidden AJAX request instead. The server-side code detects that the request has been performed in an AJAX-friendly way and after executing the page, analyzes the difference between the HTML displayed on the client and the newly generated content. All the changes which must be applied are encoded and returned to the client-side code. If the request is successfully completed, the client-side code performs required updates and that is all there is to it. But if the AJAX request has failed for some reason (for example, because the browser doesn't support the XmlHttpRequest object), the client-side code executes the default ASP.NET postback method and the website works in an ASP.NET mode.

In Easy Mode, Ajaxium performs some additional operations for all controls that do not fit into the default scheme. This includes correct handling of HyperLinks (since they just open new url in the browser by default instead of executing the ASP.NET postback method), enabling of AutoPostback for all controls which support AutoPostback and handling of default push buttons, image buttons, etc. Advanced users may turn Easy Mode off and devise their own way of handling such controls as described in the How to eliminate form postbacks article.

What benefits does Ajaxium offer in comparison with traditional AJAX Frameworks

As described above, Ajaxium works mostly with page content and improves ASP.NET controls. This approach differs from a complete replacement of all existing ASP.NET controls with their AJAX-ed equivalents (as it is done in most of commercial AJAX frameworks for ASP.NET).

The first benefit is that you're not constrained by a fixed set of existing components. Each of your own ASP.NET controls becomes AJAX-enabled as soon as it follows minimal compatibility limitations (described in our FAQ page). In addition, most of third-party controls also become AJAX-ed (take a look at our live online demo which we built using some free controls taken from CodeProject).

The second benefit is that your AJAX website will be accessible to all search engines and all visitors who use old browsers in a classic ASP.NET mode (the downgrade is performed automatically and silently).

And last but not least, you will benefit from creating your AJAX applications without spending time and effort on additional learning and mastering of new controls and their limitations.

To find out more about Ajaxium benefits see the AJAX vs Ajaxium Comparison Chart.

Where to go next?

A more detailed comparison of Ajaxium with the Microsoft Atlas framework is provided in the article Microsoft Atlas Framework and Ajaxium - What's the difference?

You can also read the What sets Ajaxium apart from other possible solutions? section, which lists unique features made available by Ajaxium.

Make sure to take a look at the Ajaxium real-time demo if you haven't seen it yet. This demo shows the power of Ajaxium's Easy Mode.