Compatibility between Telerik ASP.Net controls and MS AntiXSS library - asp.net

My questions are hypothetical, but hope I am giving all the info needed to answer them.
Are there any known compatibility issues when using Telerik ASP.Net controls and Microsoft Anti XSS library?
Will the usage of telerik controls affect the WCAG compliance in any way?

Have not worked with MS Anti XSS before, but if it works flawlessly with the MS AJAX Toolkit, it should work with the telerik Ajax controls, too. With regards to the WCAG compliance, I know a page on the telerik site which presents what level of compliance their controls support - view it here: http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-ajax/getting-started/tech-sheets-overview/accessibility-support.aspx

Unless Telerik is using AntiXSS, which seems doubtful, otherwise it would be distributed with it, it's not going to have any effect. If you're swapping out the default encoding using the various hacks around there, or the beta of 4.1 that may affect it, but without viewing the Telerik source there's no way to tell.

Related

Is there something equivalent to PrimeFaces for ASP.NET?

I'm being a ASP.NET developer over years but recently I started to work with some PrimeFaces solutions with JSF 2.0. I haven't nothing to complain about it.
It is worth emphasizing a few points that did ​​me likes the PrimeFaces: many components, easy to use, fully based on jQuery and jQuery UI (which are very important to me) and very focused on web standards (even more important to me).
But there are some cases that I would really want my server-side with ASP.NET. I don't want to start a discussion here about advantages between JSP and ASP.NET, both has many motives to be used.
Well, the standard ASP.NET components aren't jQuery based, aren't themable with jQuery UI Themes, aren't fully based on web standards (a big problem) and the variability is much more simple (there aren't Carousel, Accordion, Captcha, Slider, Spinner, etc, etc, etc).
EDIT
Continuing the saga, the #Raynos answers inspired me to study lighter possibilities, like the suggested manos. But I really would like something a little more automated, at least in the HTML generation for common controls. Someone known working CRUD samples for manos or additional modules supporting this task?
Recalling that the main question is still open anyway: Do you know any UI Framework for ASP.NET based on the same ideas of PrimeFaces, prefered open-source like it is?
I suppose we cannot answer your question with something simple. As showed by other answers, unfortunately we don't have in ASP.NET any UI framework fully web standards based.
You surelly have that choice about not using ASP.NET but another .NET Framework based engine. I really think that ASP.NET MVC would be the more closest to JSF and so to PrimeFaces. But it haven't a large set of builtin controls based on jQuery as you liked on PrimeFaces. Also, if you only used up to now the vanilla ASP.NET, the MVC concept can be very confusing to start through a professional project.
It may be safer to continue with your technology knowledge while learning something totally new. Even so I don't indicate manos to your project, although it shows to be very light and stable. Furthermore, with it you would need to "recreate the wheel" for many tasks that ASP.NET knows to do well within the standards and such.
Based on these arguments, it seems that in your case you (or your team) is so familiar with ASP.NET that your immediate need is to use good tools to improve the shortcomings of ASP.NET on HTML5, web standards and themes. Then you don't need to change everything you knows right now, just improve what you already know (and of course we recommend that you consider these other approaches gradually).
So let a few helpful hints for you:
First read about and download a sample of a good architecture using HTML5, jQuery and jQuery UI. This post covers all those technologies and have the full source code to download.
Also have in mind that you don't need start your project from scratch. There is the great HTML5 BoilerPlate which comes with dozens of good pratices (and a nice Web.config created with many nice ideas). Important note that it's also based on jQuery as you want.
Maybe you already have some incredible themes created for PrimeFaces and you would like to use on your ASP.NET projet. Then remember: to take advantage of the jQuery UI Themes you just needs using class names and DOM hierarchy. If your PrimeFaces Complex DataTable gerenates an incredible HTML which is so beautifull with your CSS, just use the same generated HTML inside a UserControl so you can reuse it around all yours pages without needing rewriting all the HTML.
Also remember that PrimeFaces is opensource and because of it you always can open the sources, read the jQuery codes and reuse what you really think are perfect for you.
Then, finally, there are many tools and approaches to support you enjoy what you've done with PrimeFaces and also enjoy your existing knowledge in ASP.NET. Unfortunately we don't have done something like this to ASP.NET, but maybe what you'll do will be so good that you can publish opensource for everyone?
PrimeFaces for ASP.NET is announced. http://blog.primefaces.org/?p=2128
Sounds like you need ASP.Net MVC instead of ASP.Net Web Forms, this gives you much more control.
You have the asp.net mvc html helpers toolkit, see: http://weblogs.asp.net/gunnarpeipman/archive/2010/08/16/asp-net-mvc-meets-html5.aspx
I'm not aware of great open-source .NET integrated UIs, but Telerik RadControls are themeable (sp?), standards compliant, integrated with ASP.NET, and built with jQuery. They are really great if you have a few hundred dollars to burn.
Otherwise, AjaxControlToolkit is integrated with ASP.NET and open source but I'm not crazy about it. It's not based on jQuery but I think it is standards compliant.
Sadly, the open source communities tend to shy away from .NET (and Microsoft in general).
PrimeFaces For .NET Cancelled
PrimeFaces for ASP.NET WebForms project has been cancelled after two releases and as PrimeTek we have decided not to do further investments. Instead of .NET, our secondary focus will be PrimeUI who is very close to 1.0 release already and can be used with any web framework.
You can check out the PrimeUI library which is:
a collection of rich javascript widgets based on jQuery UI. PrimeUI is a spin-off from the popular JavaServer Faces Component Suite, PrimeFaces.

What technologies were used to create Smartermail by Smartertools and Action Method by Behance?

What technology was used to create the User Interface of "Smartermail" by Smartertools and the User Interface of "Action Method" by Behance?
They both have great user interfaces that expand to fit a full browser window, they are both very repsonsive (especially SmarterMail) and I don't believe they require a plugin?
Are these technologies suitable for ASP.NET MVC based sites?
The forum post referenced by another responder was from over a year ago, and some things have changed since then.
Since SmarterMail 7.x, Telerik was abandoned for most of the user interface controls due to some issues with the weight of the scripts and processing time to render things. Instead, custom versions of controls that render simpler HTML and script were developed to ensure things went quickly. SmarterTools still uses Telerik's radEditor HTML editing control, and the DateTimePicker control in applications, however, since they have shown to be the best option.
Charting is now accomplished through the built-in .Net Charting controls that were added in Microsoft .Net 4.0. We found then to be a suitable replacement for the Nevron Charting controls in most cases, and almost as fast.
SmarterMail does not use MVC as of version 8.x. It could be written as such, but at this point the advantages of rewriting it to be in MVC did not yield a good enough return on investment.
jQuery is the primary method of resizing and adding visual effects, and has proven to be quite effective. Most of the performance problems we ran into were related to resizing, so the order of operations when resizing had to be continually tuned.
ASP.Net AJAX with page methods is used to perform a "keep-alive" function on a regular basis that updates counters, signals the session is still active, and retrieves notifications from the server about new email, etc. Many other page functions use AJAX as well to make the pages feel more responsive and to reduce the amount of data flying around.
Grady Werner (SmarterTools)
Here's a discussion about the technologies used in SmarterMail:
We use components from Telerik for the
Splitters, treeviews, editor, menus,
date/time pickers, panelbars,
tabstrips, and popup windows. With our
own custom skins and a lot of hacks
for efficiency. Though I think someone
at telerik spies on us because every
time we hack in an optimization, they
follow suit in their next version
The grid is our own control. Other
than that we use asp.net ajax and
jquery and thats it.
And because your question was tagged with asp.net-mvc-2, you could use the same controls in your application. Telerik provide controls specifically designed for ASP.NET MVC. And jquery and jquery UI are totally server technology agnostic.

Maintainability: jQuery or the Ajax Control Toolkit?

My team is currently working on a substantial update to an existing ASP.NET 3.5 application which uses the Ajax Control Toolkit on virtually every page. We've found that in many cases that its use is unwarranted (clearly a previous developer decided to "Ajaxafy" everything), and a richer - and simpler - experience can be found using jQuery.
We've also found that the AjaxControlToolkit can be a pain to work with frankly in terms of maintainability and performance when you have half a dozen developers working it. We're debating scrapping its use completely, and going with jQuery for the UI experience. We're fortunate to have enough time to do this safely, and every feature we use can be replicated without any problems (AutoComplete, Calendar Control, etc).
It seems Microsoft are siding with jQuery with its addition to Visual Studio lately, and the current Ajax Control Toolkit isn't in ASP MVC (client side files only). Therefore I'm personally siding with jQuery for the moment, as it seems to have a future, while the Control Toolkit's future is a little more cloudy.
However, from a maintainability perspective, how is jQuery to work with?
It's essentially just Javascript, so no plugins required. Are updates stable, and do they often break existing functionality?
We use jquery extensively with asp.net 3.5 and have upgrade jquery and jquery ui about 3 times without a hitch. Both times we have had noticeable speed increases. Maintenance has never been an issue in about 2 years of use with 5 developers.
We find jQuery very readable and enjoyable to code with.
Don't give up on AJAX just yet. Both AJAX and jQuery are useful as long as you're using them to do what they're suited to. I really don't see too much of a difference in maintainability, it's all still code. You need to test new releases/updates before putting them into production; vet any 3rd party code you're integrating into your code base, and make sure that you're not using AJAX/jQuery to pound a square peg into a round hole.
As to the pros/cons of AJAX vs jQuery:
AJAX beats out jQuery when it comes to:
Server-Side integration
CLR Features and Feel
JSON and WCF
jQuery beats out AJAX when it comes to:
Animations
Being Lightweight
DOM Selection
Attribute / CSS Manipulation
The ACT isn't in MVC because the control structure is deeply embedded in the web forms product; most vendors (like Telerik, Component Art etc) are actually writing a separate code-base for MVC because of the complexity of making it work with two frameworks, although Telerik did a good job of it (you can use the web form controls in MVC, though the MVC-specific controls are much nicer to use).
I like JQuery, and for a project, I believe we are going to go Telerik/JQuery and plugins, so that is always a good bet.
Also, the ACT does have a lot of scripts and may not be applicable in all scenarios, but the real issue is adding too much AJAX when it isn't warranted, something that can be a problem with any other framework too.
HTH.
jQuery is tested pretty extensively. I don't remember a break caused by an update, you mileage may vary. They would likely know about any compat problems and warn about them in the release notes or elsewhere.

Client side library or AJAX Control toolkit? - ASP.NET

For a slick UI, I am deciding between using a client side library (JQuery or ExtJS) or go with the AJAX Control toolkit. I understand that the widgets supported by ExtJS rich library does not match what's there in the toolkit.
What are the pros of cons of using one over the other?
I'd choose AJAX Control Tool Kit + PageMethods (avoid UpdatePanel, it's easy to use at the beginning but it can be a real nightmare ) + JQuery to parse/display the result of the page methods.
PageMethods are really easy to use.
But do not use ajax control toolkit 's controls, it's easy to do the basic stuff , but when you want to be more specific, you're fighting against the toolkit (sometime you have bug with IE but not with FF it's really fun).
I am a asp.net developer and php+joomla developer.
With due respect to microsoft, i am completely fed up with ASP.net AJAX.
Working with Asp.net Ajax sucks(pardon my french).
You dont have complete control of your html code, because it generates freaky divs.
Asp.net Ajax carries a dead weight of code and javascripts with it, thus consumes the lot of bandwith which affect on your page load response time.
If you go with asp.net AJAX, you will be limited to it.
Jquery is very fast and can be implemented within no time.
Jquery has thousands of plugins developed by community developers and for free.
If you have any javsacript error with asp.net AJAX, it takes hell lot of time to get solved, or you have to change the code to different concept. I mean its complicated to debug asp.net ajax code.
After, trying hardly to use asp.net ajax, i finally landed to jquery and very happy to use it. One thing to be clear i am here, by not any means, not promoting jquery.
But using jquery is far more easier, flexible and performance oriented than ASP.NET AJAX.
From my perspective, vendor specific frameworks like the AJAX control toolkits only benefit from the ecosystems and examples published by that specific vender (and 3rd party devs). In this case, only Microsoft and ASP.NET developers.
In the case of a vendor agnostic toolkit like jquery, you gain the benefit from every type of web developer that's out there publishing blogs and articles: ruby, python, coldfusion, asp.net, etc.
So my vote is usually for jQuery unless there is a very specific reason (ie. specific control) that I absolutely have to use from the ajax control toolkit. And even in those cases, chances are that someone has a jquery plugin that'll be equivalent.

Optimizing Telerik ASP.NET AJAX Controls

Any good sources(links) about optimizing Telerik Web controls? I imagine that there are features that are turned on by default. These features require resources (javascript, css, images) to be downloaded on request. It would be nice to know what these feature are and to turn them off if not used.
Do you know of such features? I'm primarily interested in Telerik AJAX components.
Does this help?
Optimizing output, page load time and the overall performance of RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX
RadInput vs. RadInputManager
Using RadAjaxManagerProxy Controls
Did you even try searching anything?
I also found these sources on the Telerik site recently when looking for performance boost techniques:
Top performance page
Support Center RadControls Performance section
They look pretty descriptive and cover most of their controls.
Dick
Here is more:
Optimizing output, page load time and overall performance
Top 15 optimization tips and tricks in public forums

Resources