How to populate asp:LinkButton from Json data response - asp.net

Question

first of all apologies for my english.
I'm a newby in json area.
My problem is that i can't parse the data recived in a json response into a asp:LinkButton or whatever asp:element, coz i can't create a correct sintax.
Especifically, What I'm trying to do, is this:
<script type="text/javascript">
$.getJSON("http://www.carqueryapi.com/api/0.3/?callback=?", { cmd: "getMakes", min_year:"1941", max_year:"2012"}, function (data) {
var makes = data.Makes;
for (var i = 0; i < makes.length; i++) {
($("<asp:LinkButton ID=\"lb" + i +"\" runat=\"server\" />").text(makes[i].make_display )).appendTo("#lbProva");
}
});
<script>
<ul id="lbProva" class="lb_prova" >
</ul>
I hope that someone could help me coz i've tryed many possibilities but no one was the right one.
Thank u in advance.

Answer 1

You can't create asp.net server controls in javascript on client side. If you want to use json data on client side, you must apply it to already generated html controls.

Answer 2

Actually, you can create server controls only on a server. So the question is how to pass AJAX call response to server and enforce it to refresh desired area on a page.
First variant
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function () {
$.getJSON("http://www.carqueryapi.com/api/0.3/?callback=?", { cmd: "getMakes", year: "2009" },
function (data) {
//The 'data' variable contains all response data.
var makes = $.map(data.Makes, function (make) { return make.make_display; }).join(";");
document.getElementById("<%= CarMakersHiddenField.ClientID %>").value = makes;
__doPostBack("<%= CarMakersUpdatePanel.ClientID %>", "");
});
});
</script>
<asp:UpdatePanel runat="server" ID="CarMakersUpdatePanel" UpdateMode="Conditional">
<ContentTemplate>
<asp:HiddenField runat="server" ID="CarMakersHiddenField" />
<asp:BulletedList runat="server" ID="MakersList" DisplayMode="LinkButton">
</asp:BulletedList>
</ContentTemplate>
</asp:UpdatePanel>
Server code:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
MakersList.Items.Clear();
foreach (var maker in CarMakersHiddenField.Value.Split(';'))
{
MakersList.Items.Add(maker);
}
}
Second approach is more siutable if you need to pass to server some complex object like array of makers objects. In that case you can serialize this object to JSON string on client and deserialize it on server. Looks like previous version with bit changes:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function () {
$.getJSON("http://www.carqueryapi.com/api/0.3/?callback=?", { cmd: "getMakes", year: "2009" },
function (data) {
//The 'data' variable contains all response data.
var serializedString = Sys.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer.serialize(data.Makes);
document.getElementById("<%= CarMakersHiddenField.ClientID %>").value = serializedString;
__doPostBack("<%= CarMakersUpdatePanel.ClientID %>", "");
});
});
</script>
Markup left the same as in the first version.
Server code:
[Serializable]
public class Make
{
public string make_id;
public string make_display;
public bool make_is_common;
public string make_country;
}
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
MakersList.Items.Clear();
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(CarMakersHiddenField.Value))
{
var serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(Make[]));
using (var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(CarMakersHiddenField.Value)))
{
var makes = serializer.ReadObject(stream) as Make[];
if (makes != null)
{
foreach (var maker in makes)
{
MakersList.Items.Add(new ListItem(maker.make_display, maker.make_id));
}
}
}
}
}