Do I need AJAX and ASP.NET for what I am doing?

Question

Easy question. I used to develop websites back in the days of the “classic” ASP, and when I was asked to make a quick and dirty website for family or friends, I still resort to direct HTML / ASP and some basic CSS and Javascript - I can get websites pretty fast that way. However, I had several requests for the design and development of some sites for payment, and I thought that I should catch up with my skills on the website. I am using .NET 3.5, XAML / WPF etc. For Windows applications, so I am on .NET, I am just lagging behind the website.

To the question: If I want to create / encode a site that looks the same on all (at least a few recent) browsers and platforms, should I use ASP.NET and AJAX? There may be a little database-based activity on the site, but not so much, so I don’t need an extensible multi-level architecture at the enterprise level ... just what looks good and works on multiple platforms, without having to code all the options for each browser . Looking at all the ASP.NET books in the bookstore, it seems like they all focus mainly on data and postback materials. Is it still legal to be able to use some basic, boring html and javascript with some built-in flash memory where necessary?

Let me know if I need to clarify the question. Thanks for your advice in advance!

Answer 1

I agree with Aaron Daniels answer about jQuery training. jQuery helps a lot with cross-browser compatibility in JavaScript and some CSS effects.

However, you must also ensure that your site uses well-formed, valid HTML and does not use too many CSS 2+ features. This should ensure that your site complies with the standards, which will mean that it will work well with Firefox, Safari, Opera, and even later versions of IE. You still have to manually configure IE — it broke too long for MS to fix it correctly at one time — so see conditional comments for applying a separate stylesheet for IE users.

AJAX is a convenient technology to “desktop” your web application. It provides an asynchronous callback mechanism on the web server, so you can transfer data back and forth without reloading the page in the browser window. For example, voting buttons work on StackOverflow, for example.

Finally, ASP.NET does not have much impact on the end user interface in terms of the appearance of the site. This is a server technology that provides the ability to write complex applications for delivery over the Internet to a browser. Having said that, MS added some extra goodies to make working with AJAX easier.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Your question is more loaded than you think, but let me try to consider a few points that, in my opinion, are relevant.

Firstly, what the site looks like, it almost entirely depends on the HTML / CSS used and how you code the front of the site and is slightly dependent on the server technology. Therefore, if you want your site to function on different browsers and platforms, learn how to code the following web standards with semantic markup . (You will find more detailed information on these conditions).

In addition, ASP.NET comes in two flavors: ASP.NET MVC and regular ASP.NET. I highly recommend if you are going to get into ASP.NET that you follow the MVC platform. It closely follows similar technologies (for example, Ruby on Rails) and will simplify the transition to other MVC platforms. Furthermore, the MVC platform does not try to output as much pre-prepared HTML as direct ASP.NET when you use your drag and drop controls.

Secondly, it really depends on the sites you build, but directly JS (or JS + jQuery ), CSS and HTML - and please do not use Flash if you do not embed the video - it will actually work on several base sites. If you need some things on the server, PHP makes an excellent platform. If you work with advanced access to the database and the flow of programs, and since you are already familiar with .NET, then stick to it ... MS has excellent tools and resources to help you.

Finally, many developers use their favorite CMS or blogging platform as a backend for simple sites that still need the ability to easily manage content. The Expression Engine (CMS) and WordPress (Blog / Lite-CMS) are often used (based on PHP), but there are tons.

Good luck in your game!

Answer 3

I would recommend learning jQuery . This will give you a browser independent abstraction for your JavaScript.

ASP.NET controls will display controls independent of the browser, but this does not mean that your site will automatically be independent of the browser. You still need to know how items are displayed differently in different browsers.

I would also recommend using CSS Reset as a starting point for your CSS.

In general, if you are developing ASP in the old school, you will surely like ASP.NET, as it will save you a lot of time and cycles. You can go straight to ASP.NET MVC .

At the root of your question, I would study ASP.NET if you are doing something more than a simple brochure site. If you have experience with .NET and classic web development experience, then learning ASP.NET will not be a big obstacle and will be worth the effort.