ASP.NET 2003 can use AJAX?

Split off fromhttp://forums.asp.net/t/1118842.aspx by moderator XIII:

pls kindly send me steps for adding the Ajax tool kit to visual studio 2003..

kindly help me asap..

I have a problem i.e i have two textboxes and a chechbox.

if i check the checkbox then the value of textbox1 should be transferred to textbox2 so.. i need this is to be written using client side as well as the data should be stored in the database..

so can v do this using AJAX.. how is it possible

vijai

As the MVP said at http://forums.asp.net/t/1118842.aspx:

No. Visual Studio 2003 is specifically made to work with .NET 1.1. If you want to use ASP.NET AJAX you need to use Visual Studio 2005 or the free Visual Web Developer Express tool to use the server side components. If however you only need the client scripts, download the Microsoft AJAX Library and include them in your ASP.NET 1.1 pages like you would with any other external .js file.

So what you could do is create your webservices with the free VWD tool, integrate ASP.NET AJAX into them, deploy them and use the client scripts from the Microsoft AJAX Library in your ASP.NET 1.1 pages to call those webservices. You won't have access to the UpdatePanel or related server controls but you can use the client side behavior of ASP.NET AJAX in your pages today which will make it much easer later on to upgrade your application to ASP.NET 2.0.

True that you cannot use the ASP.NET AJAX Extensions from ASP.NET 1.x, but not entirely. TheMicrosoft AJAX Library (which is the JavaScript library that ASP.NET AJAX Extensions uses) can be used with any server-side platform, because it is just another client-side JavaScript AJAX library.

I'm sure they were meaing to use the full AJAX Extension within ASP.NET 1.x with all the UpdatePanel goodness, so sorry you have to upgrade to .NET 2.0. But at least it's free to upgrade, just go download the Visual Web Developer Express and get Ajaxifying!