Why Ajax pagemethods are static

Question

Why Ajax pagemethods are static?

Answer 1

When they're called, you're no longer within the context of a page being returned by the server: there isn't any postback data, you're not creating controls on the page etc. The only information you have is what the AJAX call provides you with, which is presented in the method parameters. It wouldn't make sense for them to be instance methods on the page, as there's no logical instance of the page as far as the server is concerned.

They could be instance methods on an "AjaxRequestHandler" type or something like that - but I guess the designers felt it's simpler to keep them with the page as from the client's point of view they're associated with it.