25.5. The ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit
The UpdatePanel, UpdateProgress, and Timer controls are fairly useful. However, they're the only ASP.NET AJAX-enabled controls you'll find in ASP.NET. Despite their value, developers who have heard the Ajax hype and used advanced Ajax websites like Gmail might expect a bit more.
In fact, ASP.NET's support for Ajax is a bit deceptive. Although there are only three controls that use ASP.NET AJAX features, ASP.NET actually includes a sophisticated library of JavaScript functions that can be used to create all sorts of advanced effects. Business application developers aren't likely to use these libraries (because they're quite complex and require a significant time investment), but third-party component developers ...
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