ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies®

Chapter 15. Enhancing Pages with the AJAX Control Toolkit

In This Chapter

• Completing data as users type

• Using a lookup Web service

• Masking and watermarking text boxes

• Creating a pop-up calendar

• Keeping content on top

Microsoft is often late to technology parties, but the "embrace and extend" philosophy pays off when the Redmond giant gets rolling. In the case at hand, Microsoft introduced ASP.NET AJAX as a framework for creating dynamic, interactive pages. Suddenly millions of geeks have another platform to play on and show off their stuff.

This chapter looks at a handful of free add-ons that make ASP.NET pages easier to use and more interesting. The basis for the chapter, the AJAX Control Toolkit, shows skilled people grasping a new technology and producing results that the original designers never dreamed of.