Hello,
Having reviewed the updates and additions in 2007 Q2 release I feel somewhat disappointed. I use RadGrid alot; however, the latest version seems lacking as a new version. The frozen column is a nice feature but the other 4 'new' features seem non-exciting (obviously subjective.) Export to CSV and PDF while nice are not what users care about from my experience (Export to something is important but it already exports to Excel and Word.) RTL support may be important to some and ControlState doesn't seem like a new feature (the explanation is not clear to me on first read.)
Filtering data in a grid is extremely important and yet the filtering does not appear updated. It would seem things like easy filtering of columns using dropdown boxes, calendars, custom selections for each column would have been a great addition for a Grid....much much much much more important than Export to CSV. I know this can be done with custom code, but I use controls to cut down on custom code. Alphabet paging without writing code would be great.A couple more off the top of my head...merging of header cells...merging of same value row cells.
And that is the only ASP.NET control with a new major revision in about 5 months.
I use RadAjax on most of my pages and in my web user controls. It is very time consuming to switch over to the Prometheus version of Ajax because only one manager is allowed on a page. This means a complete retesting of an application. It would have been nice to supply a conversion tool for this control.
My first experience with Prometheus was with the Splitter and it didn't work. Even though this a 'Go Live' product it took about a month for a fix to happen. Not a big deal for a Beta product but I feel expected to use Beta products now or I don't get anything new. This particular Splitter experience really affect my view of all this. I spent 8 hours trying to get a control to work and thinking it was my fault because I didn't understand how to set up my application.
Also, Sitefinity doesn't support Prometheus which is stopping me from using that product because I am afraid of mid development or post development nightmares.
I just released a new application and can't upgrade the product in the 'near' future without a recoding of the site.
I feel like development of RadControls for ASP.NET for the most part ceased in April 2007.
Maybe its me but I just have a bad feeling from all of this, like everything is getting more complicated instead of easier.
Thanks for listening,
John
Having reviewed the updates and additions in 2007 Q2 release I feel somewhat disappointed. I use RadGrid alot; however, the latest version seems lacking as a new version. The frozen column is a nice feature but the other 4 'new' features seem non-exciting (obviously subjective.) Export to CSV and PDF while nice are not what users care about from my experience (Export to something is important but it already exports to Excel and Word.) RTL support may be important to some and ControlState doesn't seem like a new feature (the explanation is not clear to me on first read.)
Filtering data in a grid is extremely important and yet the filtering does not appear updated. It would seem things like easy filtering of columns using dropdown boxes, calendars, custom selections for each column would have been a great addition for a Grid....much much much much more important than Export to CSV. I know this can be done with custom code, but I use controls to cut down on custom code. Alphabet paging without writing code would be great.A couple more off the top of my head...merging of header cells...merging of same value row cells.
And that is the only ASP.NET control with a new major revision in about 5 months.
I use RadAjax on most of my pages and in my web user controls. It is very time consuming to switch over to the Prometheus version of Ajax because only one manager is allowed on a page. This means a complete retesting of an application. It would have been nice to supply a conversion tool for this control.
My first experience with Prometheus was with the Splitter and it didn't work. Even though this a 'Go Live' product it took about a month for a fix to happen. Not a big deal for a Beta product but I feel expected to use Beta products now or I don't get anything new. This particular Splitter experience really affect my view of all this. I spent 8 hours trying to get a control to work and thinking it was my fault because I didn't understand how to set up my application.
Also, Sitefinity doesn't support Prometheus which is stopping me from using that product because I am afraid of mid development or post development nightmares.
I just released a new application and can't upgrade the product in the 'near' future without a recoding of the site.
I feel like development of RadControls for ASP.NET for the most part ceased in April 2007.
Maybe its me but I just have a bad feeling from all of this, like everything is getting more complicated instead of easier.
Thanks for listening,
John
2 Answers, 1 is accepted
0
Hello John,
Let me introduce myself first - my name is Stephen Rahnev and I am Technical Support Director here at Telerik.
I apologize if the Q2 2007 release of our controls appears to be below your expectations. I would like to assure you that we always strive to deliver the top wanted features for our controls (with every subsequent release) and at the same time include the most important enhancements/bugfixes which to facilitate the development as much as possible. On top of that, we are constantly working on performance and speed optimizations to enrich additionally the user experience and ease when operating with our controls on the web.
Our web grid is one of most commonly used controls from our RadControls suite and you probably guess that we receive numerous requests about new features almost every day. The practice is to log them in our database and later set their priority for implementation depending on the frequency of the requested functionality (mainly) and the feedback from our development team. That is why we decided to develop the frozen columns feature and export to PDF/CSV as main parts of RadGrid v5. You can see the rest of the new features for the major version of the product here.
Of course, it is in our plans to enhance the filtering capabilities of our web grid and expose columns with embedded dropdown and calendar filters, new built-in column types using the controls from our RadInput suite, extended client-side object model along with other useful new aspects, however these will most probably appear in the RadGrid "Prometheus" version at the end of this year or in the beginning of the next one. Supporting both standard ASP.NET version of our controls along with versions based on ASP.NET AJAX (which stands for the "Prometheus" suite) inevitably consumes additional resources and time, however finally I believe that you will be content with the results.
The migration to "Prometheus" is surely a major decision and the process may not be smooth as it seems to be at first sight. That is why we are doing our best to explain why you can choose the controls from RadControls "Prometheus", describe in detail our future plans for development and include FAQ section on our site:
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/what-is-radcontrols-prometheus.aspx
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/faq.aspx
Additionally, we added comparison sheet for RadAjax ASP.NET vs Prometheus to expedite the migration process as much as possible:
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/controls/ajax/RadAjax-aspnet-vs-RadAjax-prometheus.aspx
It is true, though, that RadControls "Prometheus" is still in Beta phase and fixes/updates are provided less frequently than those for our standard ASP.NET controls. This is going to change with the official release of RadControls "Prometheus", scheduled at the beginning of the next year.
Regarding the "Prometheus" support for our CMS Sitefinity:
Generally speaking, there should be no problems using the "Prometheus" counterparts of our controls in Sitefinity. I have consulted with our Sitefinity Product Manager and got a confirmation that RadControls "Prometheus" will become part of Sitefinity v3.2 when it is released in 2008.
To summarize, we will focus on developing new features for RadControls "Prometheus" while providing bugfixes and minor enhancements for the ASP.NET suite. I will appreciate if you share your thoughts/comments in this thread. Keep in mind that we will continue to value our customers' feedback and aspire to deliver more than expected as our slogan says.
Kind regards,
Stephen Rahnev,
Technical Support Director, Telerik
Instantly find answers to your questions at the new Telerik Support Center
Let me introduce myself first - my name is Stephen Rahnev and I am Technical Support Director here at Telerik.
I apologize if the Q2 2007 release of our controls appears to be below your expectations. I would like to assure you that we always strive to deliver the top wanted features for our controls (with every subsequent release) and at the same time include the most important enhancements/bugfixes which to facilitate the development as much as possible. On top of that, we are constantly working on performance and speed optimizations to enrich additionally the user experience and ease when operating with our controls on the web.
Our web grid is one of most commonly used controls from our RadControls suite and you probably guess that we receive numerous requests about new features almost every day. The practice is to log them in our database and later set their priority for implementation depending on the frequency of the requested functionality (mainly) and the feedback from our development team. That is why we decided to develop the frozen columns feature and export to PDF/CSV as main parts of RadGrid v5. You can see the rest of the new features for the major version of the product here.
Of course, it is in our plans to enhance the filtering capabilities of our web grid and expose columns with embedded dropdown and calendar filters, new built-in column types using the controls from our RadInput suite, extended client-side object model along with other useful new aspects, however these will most probably appear in the RadGrid "Prometheus" version at the end of this year or in the beginning of the next one. Supporting both standard ASP.NET version of our controls along with versions based on ASP.NET AJAX (which stands for the "Prometheus" suite) inevitably consumes additional resources and time, however finally I believe that you will be content with the results.
The migration to "Prometheus" is surely a major decision and the process may not be smooth as it seems to be at first sight. That is why we are doing our best to explain why you can choose the controls from RadControls "Prometheus", describe in detail our future plans for development and include FAQ section on our site:
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/what-is-radcontrols-prometheus.aspx
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/faq.aspx
Additionally, we added comparison sheet for RadAjax ASP.NET vs Prometheus to expedite the migration process as much as possible:
http://www.telerik.com/products/aspnet-prometheus/controls/ajax/RadAjax-aspnet-vs-RadAjax-prometheus.aspx
It is true, though, that RadControls "Prometheus" is still in Beta phase and fixes/updates are provided less frequently than those for our standard ASP.NET controls. This is going to change with the official release of RadControls "Prometheus", scheduled at the beginning of the next year.
Regarding the "Prometheus" support for our CMS Sitefinity:
Generally speaking, there should be no problems using the "Prometheus" counterparts of our controls in Sitefinity. I have consulted with our Sitefinity Product Manager and got a confirmation that RadControls "Prometheus" will become part of Sitefinity v3.2 when it is released in 2008.
To summarize, we will focus on developing new features for RadControls "Prometheus" while providing bugfixes and minor enhancements for the ASP.NET suite. I will appreciate if you share your thoughts/comments in this thread. Keep in mind that we will continue to value our customers' feedback and aspire to deliver more than expected as our slogan says.
Kind regards,
Stephen Rahnev,
Technical Support Director, Telerik
Instantly find answers to your questions at the new Telerik Support Center
0
John S.
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answered on 14 Jul 2008, 06:40 PM
Hello Stephen,
This is just an update on my previous comments.
I have moved most of my applications over to the AJAX control set without much headache.
The RadAjaxProxy was a huge help in this matter. Also, I like the move to the single dll.
Contrary to my previous posting on this matter, I am very pleased with the way things have turned out and excited about the future direction of telerik.
Sincerely,
John Stewart