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Bitkraft: An AJAX Library for ASP.NET

BitFlash! - Bitkraft No Longer Requires Base Classes!

Tuesday August 30th 2005

Due to overwhelming popular demand for Bitkraft to become compatible with other frameworks such as DotNetNuke, the requirement to inherit from the PageTemplate?, UserControlTemplate? and ControlTemplate? base classes! This means that you can use Bitkraft functionality on normal ASP.NET pages and in other frameworks such as DNN Portals, Modules and User Controls!..

click here! to go straight to the new No Inheritance Demonstration!

What is Bitkraft?

Bitkraft is a CLR based (.NET) web framework that allows distributed web content to be created and served in a unique fashion. It is written in C# and compiles for operation under the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1+ or the .Mono Framework, making it portable to almost any platform.

At it's core, the Bitkraft framework extends the ASP .NET Architecture to fully support Javascript-based Server callbacks using the XmlHttpRequest? object as a transport layer in a fashion referred commonly today as AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript Over XmlHttpRequest?). There are many "AJAX" fameworks available today however, the Bitkraft framework is unique in the way that it seeks to blur the lines between client (browser) and server and the manner that it allows the development of truly Smart Web-Based applications that intelligently distribute their functionality between Client and Server in a seamless manner.

Indeed, Bitkraft deliberately tries not to describe it's technology as "AJAX" based because of the connotation of the use of XML (a'la SOAP/Webservices). Bitkraft does NOT use XML, instead JSON (JavaScript? Object Notation) is used as the main transport for communications between client and server. Using JSON as opposed to XML for message formatting produces a lighter-weight message and also has the advantage of being a native format that can be accessed as a real object by most modern clients (browsers). the Bitkraft framework translates CLR Types directly to and from the JSON format resulting in objects that behave and appear the same both at the client and at the server.

The Bitkraft framework allows web content to be developed in a single environment and promotes the distribution of functionality between the client and the server. It allows objects to be created that behave predictably regardless of whether the implementation is being run at the client or at the server and allows objects to expose methods that are implemented either on the client or on the server without re-posting or rendering page content. This approach reduces the size and quantity of round-trips to the server, updating the content provided on a single page by requesting it on-demand from the server instead of relying on full -page re-posts and re-rendering of complete pages.

The end result?.....

* Web content that is dynamic and fast!
* A way of developing web content that hides the complexity of communicating between client and server from both the developer and the user.
* A whole new breed of web applications that run inside the ever-popular and familiar Web Browser but break away from the mould of traditional a "Network Of Pages".
* Not just Web Pages but real Web Applications.
* Simply; a smarter web framework.

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