Announcing the Aikido™ Framework March CTP

NetAdvantage for ASP.NET 2008 volume 1 was the first release of our next generation Web User Interface Framework named "Aikido" and you can read all about the new features it added.  Now we are pleased to announce the next release of the Aikido Framework March 2008 CTP with a new and evolving breed of lightweight controls that are standards conformant with industry recognized standards and proven practices such as CSS 2 and XHTML compliance and innately AJAX-enabled to remain aligned with the new Web 2.0 paradigms.

Wins for ASP.NET Developers

Design goals we're delivering through the Aikido Framework in our next generation of NetAdvantage for ASP.NET controls empower your user interface development through:

  • High-Performance - Lightweight markup and optimized code improve performance.
  • Standards Conformance - CSS 2 and XHTML 1.0 compliance.
  • Major Browser Support - IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
  • Simplified Object Model - Reductions in the object model to make these controls easier to understand and employ.
  • AJAX-Enabled - Microsoft® ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0 foundation, leveraging native AJAX capabilities.

Previous controls built on the Aikido Framework included the WebSplitter™, the WebDialogWindow™ and the WebImageViewer™ controls.

NetAdvantage for ASP.NET "Aikido" CTP

We are releasing the NetAdvantage for ASP.NET Aikido Framework March 2008 CTP (Community Technical Preview) with an updated WebDataGrid™ and three new ASP.NET controls built on it so that you can become familiar with the new APIs of these controls and give us your feedback. We have also greatly increased the number of Application Styling Framework™ style sets includeded with the CTP controls.  The four controls you will find included in this early access release are:

WebDataGridClick to see the new AJAX data grid for ASP.NET styled with a new Electric Blue style set and displaying paged data.

This is an updated version of the WebDataGrid with enhancements for adding, updating and deleting rows.  Templating is supported for rendering at the cell, column, pager and empty grid level.  Most of all, the WebDataGrid remains lightweight, high performance, and an easy to use ASP.NET data grid control with deeply integrated AJAX capabilities even with all of this added functionality.

WebDataTree™Click to see our new AJAX tree control for ASP.NET 2.0 in action.

New in this release is the hierarchical, innately AJAX WebDataTree control that allows users to expand and collapse tree nodes to see the specific portions of data they are interested in.  A highly programmable nodes collection can represent any tree structure, and a broad range of supported data sources make this ASP.NET control very accommodative of the kinds of data you wish to display.  For traditional use cases revolving around navigation, you can associate a valid URL on any tree node.

WebSlider™Click to see our new AJAX slider control for ASP.NET used to select several ranges.

The WebSlider control for ASP.NET is an AJAX-enabled track bar you display offering users an intuitive way to enter data values that are incremental and confined to a range.  Users can specify either a numeric value or value subrange as the slider displays either one or two handles, respectively.  This slider control can be oriented horizontally or vertically, and has many applications.

WebHierarchicalDataSource™Click to see an architectural diagram of our ASP.NET hierarchical data source control at work.

This non-visual control is of greatest benefit within the design-time environment where it allows you to combine disparate data source controls such as SqlDataSources, AccessDataSources, ObjectDataSources and more. Its designer wizard guides you through identifying the parent-child relationships across data sources, and then our hierarchical data source control exposes it as a single hierarchical data source to other ASP.NET controls.

How do I get the CTP?

You can download the NetAdvantage for ASP.NET Aikido Framework March 2008 CTP by clicking the download button below. The .zip download contains one installer (.exe) package that includes the controls, local help (.chm format) and a special samples browser focusing on the four ASP.NET controls included with this prerelease of the Aikido Framework controls.  As this is an early release of our newest controls, documentation is limited.  Once installed, please read the Quick Start for additional information on using this release.

This version of the Aikido Framework March 2008 CTP requires you to have installed a licensed copy of NetAdvantage for ASP.NET 2008 Vol. 1 CLR 2.0 on your machine.  At this time, the Aikido Framework March 2008 CTP will not install or run on a machine that has only the ASP.NET 3.5 builds of NetAdvantage for ASP.NET 2008 Vol. 1. 

Download the Aikido Framework CTP Installer

Where can I get support for the CTP?

This community technical preview is not supported by Developer Support. If you have any questions or feedback, please visit the new peer-to-peer Aikido forum that we have set-up for you.