Foundations of Atlas

Ajax technologies have enjoyed a meteoric rise in profile and popularity over the last few months. Ajax is a new way of combining and using a number of Web technologies that have been invented and standardized over the last few years. It includes JavaScript, dynamic HTML and a feature known as XmlHttp which reduces the need for client browsers to constantly reconnect to the Server every time new information is downloaded. It is widely argued that Ajax-based applications perform better than their standard competition (compare the scrolling maps at http://maps.google.com with the static maps at http://www.streetmap.com.). Microsoft Atlas is a web-client framework designed to make the job of building Ajax-style applications easier. At the moment, people developing with Ajax are having to write their code from the ground up, which is both complex and time consuming. Atlas provides a pre-written framework that gives developers a structured environment in which to work. It provides them with an object model and standardized debugging to make development both faster and simpler.

This book provides an introduction to the technology written by a seasoned .NET professional working closely with the Atlas development team at Microsoft. It is designed to give developers a fast-track introduction to Atlas and explain how they can use the technology to increase the power and functionality of their code while simultaneously saving themselves both time and effort. The book begins with a bare-bones introduction that explains how Atlas relates to Ajax before guiding readers through a series of practical examples that demonstrate the framework and controls that are available within the Atlas technology. By the end of this short book readers will be able to put together seamless Atlas-based applications of their own.