Anthem.NET with Minimal JS

Developing an Ajax based application with minimal JavaScript coding is possible with the use of VS 2005, ASP.NET and a simple but powerful library called Anthem.NET. This open source library might not be popular but it has been given a pretty good ranking as it provides any developer the ability to build an Ajax based website without using too much Ajax. In short

Visual Studio 2005 + ASP.NET = Anthem.NET with Minimal JS

As you may have already noticed, it uses a lot of frameworks and software development tools to compensate with the minimal use of JavaScript.

To use Anthem.NET you need to fire it up first in ASP.NET. Basically, you will just have to use the libraries DLL as a reference point to make it work. It is really simple at first glance but apparently Antem.NET’s DLL is not precompiled first. Make sure that you compile the project carefully as the DLL could get extracted in different places.

The indication that you have properly extracted the DLL and used it as a point of reference is the ability to locate the DLL in the Toolbox. Create a new tab, right click and select “choose items”. When you browse for information, the DLL should show as part of the many options.

Now that you have set-up the source info of your application, it is time to use the proper coding on the application. You cannot encode the application up-front since the tools and source has become the sub-category of ASP.NET. But that should not hinder you from developing a good application. Basically, the hardest part of developing the application is that it has been limited to a sub-category.

To build an application with an Ajax behavior, you now need to use Visual Studio 2005. In the code editor, you should be able to build the application that you want with all the necessary JavaScript functions. Fortunately, Anthem.NET has a library with the JS functions that you need. The library has minimal JavaScript but good enough to build a good application. It has all the things that you need for this application to work properly.

The trick in this coding is that the function is not written as a regular postback function. Ajax based applications communicate through this function but since you are in a subcategory, the postback might not work well as a function. To ensure that the code works well, the function has to be coded as callback function.

It is basically a play of words since you call a particular function a callback instead of a postback. Everything else is almost the same: the XMLHttpRequest and the binding of OnClick actions is possible.

The beauty of this library is that you can actually build a very small Ajax based function in a website. Although the downside of this is that you have to do it one by one to activate the function. It can be easily fired up in Visual Studio 2005 using ASP.NET with Anthem.NET as a subcategory. You can replicate the function with as many as you like and end up with a well prepared Ajax based application.