Book excerpt: Ajax has the power to revolutionize the way web-based applications are designed. This book provides you with a thorough working knowledge of what Ajax has to offer and how to take full advantage of it in your application development. Following an exploration of how Ajax works with .NET, you'll get acquainted with DHTML, the role of JavaScript and the Document Object Model, and the XMLHttpRequest Object, which is the foundation of Ajax. Then you will examine the Ajax-type features built into ASP.NET and explore the Ajax.NET Professional Library in detail. Finally, you will explore client scripting as well as building and using controls with Microsoft's Atlas. With an entire chapter devoted to debugging, you will have all you need to use this cutting-edge technology. What you will learn from this book * What you can do with the open source Ajax.NET Professional Library * How to use the corresponding functionality, Asynchronous Client Script Callbacks, that comes with ASP.NET 2.0 * Techniques for using the XMLHttpRequest Object to communicate between the client web browser and the server * An overview of XML, XSLT, and other ways to send data between client and server * How to integrate Microsoft's Atlas with many of the services available in ASP.NET 2.0 Who this book is for This book is for programmers who use ASP.NET and are just starting to use Ajax technologies to create more responsive, modern applications. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.