Announcing the Aikido™ Framework November CTP
NetAdvantage ASP.NET controls in the 2008 Vol. 3 release continue our long-term commitment to evolving newer, lighter-weight controls built upon the Aikido Framework. In this latest Community Technology Preview (CTP) we are sharing with the development community the latest, enhanced builds of several Aikido controls and a new generic API we're very excited about for drag-and-drop functionality! Experience the latest Aikido Framework samples online at labs.infragistics.com/aikido.
What are the goals of the Aikido Framework?
If this is your first time reading about the Aikido Framework, let me tell you about the design goals we're delivering through this framework in our next generation of NetAdvantage ASP.NET controls that empower your user interface development:
- 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 - Built on the Microsoft® ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0 foundation (this is an extension to ASP.NET 2.0 you must install, it is included automatically on the ASP.NET 3.5 platform) leveraging native AJAX capabilities.
The growing list of controls that have graduated from previous Aikido Framework CTPs include:
More are on their way!
What can I expect to find in this Community Technology Preview?
We are releasing the NetAdvantage ASP.NET controls' Aikido Framework November 2008 CTP with early access releases of the following ASP.NET controls:
WebDataTree™
The November 2008 Aikido Framework CTP still includes the no-touch AJAX WebDataTree control that allows users to navigate through hierarchical tree nodes with drag and drop nodes support, so users can re-order nodes within a single WebDataTree or across different WebDataTrees.
WebDataMenu™
This new hierarchical navigation control empowers users to navigate your Web site or application as the main menu or a custom context menu. Orient your menu as your environment requires, WebDataMenu has no trouble appearing in either horizontally or vertically. It generates its hierarchy in two ways: adding items and subitems, or databinding to a hierarchical data source like the SiteMapDataSource.
WebDropDown™
New dropdown control with editor display. With the WebDropDown you can display a multi-column combo box, having AJAX capabilities built-in so that it loads its contents on demand.
WebLaunchBar™
The launch bar (also known as a fisheye bar) is new in this CTP of the Aikido Framework, and lets you give your Web pages the look and feel of a Mac-style launch bar. Use it for navigation or dock it on any side of your browser. Its images will automatically zoom in and out as the user moves their mouse over its items, giving it that characteristic fisheye effect for which WebLaunchBar is known.
WebPanel™
An expandable content container for your Web pages, this is the next generation of the familiar WebPanel you know and love. Users can expand and collapse this container's contents with a click of the panel's header, but now it comes with both horizontal and vertical orientation styles allowing you to control its expansion in either direction.
WebProgressBar™
Increase user awareness of long-running Web page operations with the new progress bar control. Its complete client-side and server-side APIs give you freedom to update users of your operation's progress on-the-fly. With its animation support you can tailor how you want the progress bar to update itself, and with its stylability you can align and format labels at key points along the progress bar.
WebDataGrid (Virtual Scrolling)
The WebDataGrid, released just a couple of weeks ago, debuts another behavior within the CTP, called Virtual Scrolling. This behavior when added to the grid can let you load the grid data on demand as the user uses the scrollbar. This can help you get the page to the user as fast as you can and let the user decide if he or she wants to see more data. You can configure the virtual scrolling in deferred and standard modes and also set the threshold level to configure it as per the data you are displaying.
Drag-and-Drop Functionality
This Aikido Framework CTP release presents you with a drag-and-drop framework for providing generic drag-and-drop in your Web 2.0 applications that is simple to use and operates in a completely cross-browser fashion.
How do I get the CTP?
You can download the NetAdvantage ASP.NET controls' Aikido Framework November 2008 CTP by clicking the download button below. The .zip download contains one installer (.exe) package that includes the updated framework assemblies, local help (.chm format) and a special samples browser focusing on the new ASP.NET functionality 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 November 2008 CTP requires you to have installed a licensed copy of the NetAdvantage ASP.NET Controls 2008 Vol. 3 CLR 2.0 on your machine. At this time, the Aikido Framework November 2008 CTP will not install or run on a machine that has only the ASP.NET 3.5 builds of the NetAdvantage ASP.NET controls.
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.