JQuery Ui or AjaxControlToolkit ?

Question

I´m building an asp.net app, which technology I should use to get AJAX capabilities? And why ? By now I only need to use a Confirmation button into a gridview, but possible more features will be needed. I can use both, right? Thanks.

Answer 1

I know you can use both jQuery UI and AjaxControlToolkit in your ASP.NET apps. I've done so in the past.

Answer 2

You can use both at the same time. My project currently uses both, but I wish we'd gone the straight jQuery route because of the ability to use Google's CDN to retrieve the jQuery libraries or the ability to combine libraries on the server. Don't feel that the flexibility is there with the MS stack at the moment.

Answer 3

If you want to get more into the Javascript side of things jQuery will serve you better. If you prefer to code like you do on the server-side and aren't too familiar with JS, then MS AJAX is "easier"

However, I find myself using JQuery for the fancy stuff and MS Ajax when I want something quick and dirty. (And yes, I do feel dirty when I see the size of the MS AJAX library sometimes)

Answer 4

I have used both extensively and would say without a doubt it is worth learning Jquery.

I have found the Ajax Control toolkit starts easily and then gets over complex for no reason where as Jquery seems complex to start with but you end up writing better client side code faster in the long run.

Also if you really want to use ajax effectively I would definitely consider learning ASP.NET MVC as it is the future of .NET web apps (in my opinion)

Answer 5

It should depend heavily on whether you're using WebForms or ASP.NET MVC.

The Ajax Control Toolkit & ASP.NET AJAX relay very heavily on server-side functionality, and integrate very well with WebForms. This is better for developers who need to build apps quickly and productively, without much concern for performance or the need for precise AJAX functionality. This is a more ‘out-of-the-box’ or rapid development model. Tweaking the AJAX though can be very difficult.

jQuery & the jQuery UI are much better suited for the MVC framework. This is better for larger, more complex applications where performance and precise AJAX functionality is of great importance. This model is much better suited for well-crafted, higher quality applications. There’s a bit of a learning curve though, and it requires a higher degree of knowledge in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

In my opinion though, the MVC & jQuery/jQueryUI are a much better choice in most cases. Once you get past the learning curve for them, you’ll hate going back to WebForms.