Productivity Options for ASP.NET Developers
Understanding the Options
ASP.NET developers have three options for improving productivity: the standard controls built into the ASP.NET platform, the open source AJAX Toolkit and third-party ASP.NET controls.
1. Using the Default Controls
The ASP.NET framework includes about 30 server controls that provide basic web application functionality. For example, ASP.NET includes a GridView control that works well for simple presentations of tabular data, but lacks common features like filtering and grouping. The default controls can be extended, but the process is time consuming and counter-productive for most projects.
The standard controls are best for learning ASP.NET or building projects that do not require rich functionality or sleek UI.
2. Using the Open Source AJAX Toolkit
Microsoft partnered with the open source community to provide a number of “add-on” controls that build on the ASP.NET AJAX framework. The Toolkit adds simple AJAX behaviors to ASP.NET applications, but they lack extensive configuration options. Unlike third-party controls, the AJAX Toolkit does not have a regular release schedule or roadmap, so updates are unpredictable. Further, the Toolkit is not officially supported by Microsoft. Support is available only through online communities.
The AJAX Toolkit is best for projects that require open source or have the time to solve problems manually.
3. Using Third-Party ASP.NET Controls
For most development teams, choosing third-party controls that provide extensive configurability and comprehensive out-of-the-box features is the best choice for maximizing productivity and profit. UI for ASP.NET AJAX from Telerik, for example, offers over 80 UI controls for rapidly building ASP.NET and SharePoint sites and applications enabling you to focus on value-generating development tasks and reduce time spent on common application functionality.
Telerik controls are best for projects that need to deliver rich functionality in real world projects constrained by time and resources.
Not Convinced Third-Party Controls Can Make You More Productive?
This whitepaper will walk you through the challenge Telerik Developer Evangelist, Jeff Fritz gave himself: Build the same application by allocating 30 minutes to working with the default Visual Studio toolset and 30 minutes to Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX. He then compared the results based on how much functionality he implemented and the amount of code he had to write. The productivity gap may surprise you.
Get the free whitepaperAJAX Toolkit vs. Default Controls vs. Telerik Controls
| Feature | Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX | Default ASP.NET Controls | AJAX Toolkit Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toolset | More Than 80 Controls | Approx. 30 Controls | Approx. 50 Controls & Extenders |
| Free | Some | Yes | Yes |
| 24-Hour Support | Yes | Yes | No |
| Built on ASP.NET AJAX | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-Browser Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rich Client-Side Functionality | Yes | No | Some |
| HTML5-Ready | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adaptive Mobile rendering | Yes | No | No |
| Extensive Documentation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live Online Demos | Yes | No | Yes |
| Public Roadmap | Yes | No | No |
| Frequent Updates | Yes | No | No |
| Professional Themes | Yes | No | No |
| Theme Customizer | Yes | No | No |
| Visual Studio Configuration Wizards | Yes | No | No |
| TypeScript Intellisense | Yes | No | No |
Some controls offer more functionality than others, such as Grids and TreeViews. The following charts compare out-of-the-box features in the Telerik controls to the default ASP.NET AJAX control equivalents.
Telerik RadGrid vs. Default ASP.NET GridView
| Feature | Telerik RadGrid | Default ASP.NET GridView |
|---|---|---|
| Column Templates | (TemplateColumn) | Yes (TemplateField) (Custom Code) |
| Basic Paging | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Paging | Yes | No |
| Item Templates (Row) | Yes | No |
| Built-In Filter Control | Yes | No |
| Binding: Server-Side | Yes | Yes |
| Binding: Client-Side | Yes | No |
| Binding: WebService | Yes (Markup) | Yes (Code-Behind) |
| Frozen Columns | Yes | No |
| Virtual Scrolling | Yes | No |
| Automatic CRUD Operations | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Row Edit | Yes (Simple Property) | No |
| Batch Editing | Yes | No |
| Context Menu | Yes (Property) | No |
| Grouping | Yes | No |
| Exporting to PDF/Excel/Word | Yes | No |
| Client-Side API | Yes | No |
See more than 60 online examples of RadGrid for ASP.NET AJAX
RadTreeView vs. default ASP.NET TreeView
| Feature | Telerik RadTreeView | Default ASP.NET TreeView |
|---|---|---|
| Design-Time Wizard | Yes | Yes |
| Checkbox Support | Yes | Yes |
| Extensive Client-Side Functionality | Yes | No |
| Node Templates | Yes | No |
| Singular Node Templates | Yes | No |
| Load-on-Demand: Server-Side | (defined on a node-by-node basis) | No |
| Load-on-Demand: Client-Side | Yes | (via runat=”server” script) |
| Load-on-Demand: WebService | Yes | No |
| Lazy initialization | Yes | No |
| Drag-and-Drop | Yes | No |
| Editable Nodes | Yes | No |
| Context Menu Support | Yes | No |
| Keyboard Support | Yes | Yes |
| Right-to-Left | Yes | Yes |
See more than 30 online examples of RadTreeView for ASP.NET AJAX
RadComboBox vs. default ASP.NET DropDownList vs. AJAX Toolkit ComboBox
| Feature | Telerik RadComboBox | Default ASP.NET DropDownList | AJAX Toolkit ComboBox |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoComplete | Yes | No | Yes |
| Load-on-Demand: Server-Side | Yes | No | (via usage of the AutoCompleteExtender) |
| Load-on-Demand: Web Service | Yes | No | (via usage of the AutoCompleteExtender) |
| Load-on-demand: Page Methods | Yes | No | (via usage of the AutoCompleteExtender) |
| Item Templating | Yes | No | No |
| Built-in Animation Configuring | Yes | No | No |
| Extensive Client-Side API | Yes | No | No |
| Right-to-Left Support | Yes | No | No |
See more than 30 online examples of RadComboBox for ASP.NET AJAX
More Than Expected with Telerik
In addition to control-by-control comparisons, Telerik offers value that goes beyond the default ASP.NET controls by providing tools that help optimize and configure ASP.NET applications.
Telerik vs. Default ASP.NET Controls
- RadAjax - UpdatePanels make Ajax easy in ASP.NET, but Telerik goes further by offering RadAjax, a tool that dramatically simplifies UpdatePanel configuration and management. Stop worrying about Triggers and UpdateMode and instead focus on simple configuration.
- RadScriptManager - A superset of the default Microsoft ScriptManager, RadScriptManager adds powerful functionality to ASP.NET AJAX applications for optimizing performance. Without assistance, RadScriptManager will combine Telerik JavaScript files, enabling rich pages to load faster.
- RadCompression - Make pages load even faster with this simple tool that automatically compresses AJAX and WebService responses. It’s a perfect complement to HTTP Compression offered by IIS7, which misses these Ajax responses by default.
- Visual Studio Extensions - Minimize your Telerik learning curve with these built-in Visual Studio helpers. The Telerik Visual Studio Extensions (VSE) can help you start a new project, upgrade existing projects or even add code to your project for advanced Telerik scenarios.
- Semantic Rendering - Telerik ASP.NET controls employ semantic HTML rendering, which improves a page’s SEO with no extra effort.
- Theming - Telerik controls enable you to use a single property to apply any of the 20 ready-to-use built-in themes, including an innovative mobile skin. You create a consistence look for your apps, while saving design and front-end development time.
Telerik vs. AJAX Toolkit
- Works with both RadScriptManager and ScriptManager - UI for ASP.NET AJAX works with both the RadScriptManager and the default ASP.NET ScriptManager, regardless of the target framework version.
- Extensive documentation & API reference - While the AJAX Toolkit does offer some documentation, API reference, and online demos, the resources are limited. Telerik controls offer extensive documentation, API reference, knowledge-base articles, videos and online demos for every control.
- Multi-functional controls - The AJAX Toolkit provides some very “specialized” controls that only perform a single function, like the Accordion and Modal Popup. Telerik controls offer all of the functionality found in the Toolkit and more through rich, multi-featured controls. For example, RadPanelBar provides Accordion behavior via a single property, and RadWindow has a single property to enable modal support.
- Support - UI for ASP.NET AJAX are backed by industry-leading support from Telerik. The official and active Telerik community forums also provide a wealth of knowledge and support. The AJAX Toolkit, meanwhile, only offers online community support. It is not officially supported by Microsoft due to its open source license.