What is your opinion on the Telerik extensions for MVC?

Question

I started digging with Telerik Extensions for MVC . They do not integrate into my current project, but I could reorganize things to fit them.

But, I wonder if this is at the end. I searched for reviews on extensions, I did not see too much. Therefore, I ask here.

On their website they declare:

You can achieve unprecedented performance for your web application with lightweight, semantically made extensions that fully utilize the ASP.NET MVC model no postbacks, no ViewState and no page life cycle.

So I'm curious, What is your opinion on the Telerik extensions for MVC?

Answer 1

First, a little disclaimer - I am the leader of the Telerik Mvc team, so obviously my opinion is biased.

Telerik Extensions for ASP.NET MVC is our new ASP.NET MVC platform oriented package. It started from scratch and has nothing to do with RadControls for ASP.NET Ajax (our WebForms product), with the exception of features and visual appearance. This means that there is no viewstate, no email messages without web controls. It comes with source code (licensed under GPLv2), so it can be easily verified. In a word, the statement that we ported our WebForms controls to ASP.NET MVC is incorrect.

Indeed, RadControls for ASP.NET Ajax (our WebForms product) supports ASP.NET MVC applications. However, I would agree that all the functions that require ViewState (built-in editing in RadGrid, for example) do not work. And they will never work. We recommend using RadControls inside an ASP.NET MVC application if the required component is still not implemented in the MVC product line (which still performs its child steps and consists of 4 user interface extensions). Of course, our plans are to release additional user interface extensions to match the WebForms package.

For any technical questions or suggestions, you can contact us in our online forums. We are trying to answer every post.

Answer 2

I only played with them for a short time, but so far they seem pretty good. The script combiner, and their quick Intellisense compatible configuration, is certainly good.

My main concern is the side of Javascript. In the past, Teleriks WebForms components have a reputation for slow and fat Javascript. I'm sure Telerik is building this from scratch (they use jQuery for MVC controls), but I'm still worried that old habits will reappear. I would prefer Telerik to continue to use the jQuery UI for the Javascript side, so they would take full advantage of the performance and compatibility efforts that come with the jQuery UI ...

Answer 3

I really did not like them (at least the implementation of the grid). They are simply not enough in comparison with the version of WebForms. In addition, server-side code is confusing at best. Getting helpers to recognize my own jQuery server-side copy was a difficult task (I still didn't work).

But then I found out that client controls are actually just implemented as jQuery plugins :

$(document).ready(function() { $("#Grid").tGrid({ columns: [ {"name":null,"type":""}, {"name":null,"type":""}, {"name":"text","type":"String"} ], pageSize:0, onDataBinding:onDataBinding, onRowDataBound:onRowDataBound }); }); 

There, the tGrid() plugin initializes the table that I defined in my markup in order to “radiate” it;)

Keep in mind that this takes zero server code. There's a lot more client-side plumbing that you have to do of course (for example, including stylesheets, scripts, and a predefined markup structure), but at least I know what I'm doing there.

Answer 4

I have not used Telerik MVC controls before, but I used Telerik controls for several ASP.NET projects before and had no experience with them. Most of the problems associated with formatting or having to do any form of customization. In everything, if I have to start another project, I would try a different component provider (maybe ComponentArt?).

Answer 5

I used ComponentArt controls for several years, but when I looked at their MVC controls, I did not find any decent documentation or examples, so I checked Telerik. Their management of MVC is unbelievable! I mainly use the Grid control (see http://www.pdc.wa.gov/mvcquerysystem ) and it is extremely fast and easy to use. Their support is the best in the software industry - period. And I'm not even a paid customer! Licensing them for internal use is FREE! They have a VERY ACTIVE user community that answers forum questions (Telerik engineers also often visit forums and answer most questions).

Answer 6

Unlike Kane, I had good experience using Telerik controls in ASP.NET Webforms in the past (~ 1 year of use). I have not used Telerik for MVC, and I do not suspect that I will ever be. Telerik extensions require heavy wiring for MVC because they seem to have more or less "ported" their WebForms controls to the MVC environment.

If Telerik ever launched a new line of products for MVC that were mvc built-in helper controls (I use the word "helper" because "control" certainly implies feedback management of WebForms in this context), I may be interesting. But these obviously “hacked” WebForms controls for MVC are ugly at best, and in any case violate the MVC paradigm.

Edit:

Code like this does not support the MVC paradigm:

 IList<CustomerDto> customers = (IList<CustomerDto>)Session["Customers"]; 

Who wants to connect their views to a session like this?