When to use XMLHtttpPanel, UpdatePanel, or RadAjaxPanel

[Mr. Plinko]

Hello!

I am unsure of when to use each of these (and what their individual benefits are).

I have tried reading through documentation, but I still don't get it.

Any help?

Thanks in advance.

[Mira]

Hello Mr. Plinko,

RadAjaxPanel and asp:UpdatePanel have very similar functionality but RadAjaxPanel provides the easiest way to AJAX-enable ASP.NET web control(s). To do this you simply need to place the controls that you want ajaxified into  AJAX Panel and Telerik RadAjax takes care of the rest. Best of all this happens transparently to the framework and the controls that are being ajaxified.

The main features of AJAX Panel are:

• Ajaxifies all controls inside that normally work with postbacks.
• Defines visually and codeless (in Visual Studio design-time) which elements should be updated via AJAX requests. All elements wrapped in the panel will be updated via AJAX
• No need to modify your application logic
• Allows you to update a number of page elements at once
• No need to write any JavaScript or invoke AJAX requests manually.

For more information on RadAjaxPanel please take a look at the corresponding help topic and the demo.

Telerik RadXmlHttpPanel is a panel that can load content on demand. Unlike UpdatePanel, or RadAjaxPanel, it is not universal, and cannot be used in all scenarios. However, in scenarios where it is possible to use it, it will deliver much better performance compared to its AJAX counterparts. Here you can read further information about it and here - see it live.
I hope I managed to answer your question. Please contact us if you need any further information.

Best wishes,
Mira
the Telerik team

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[Mr. Plinko]

Thanks Mira!

So RadAjax eliminates the need for a postback when sending and retrieving content, while XMLHttpPanel is mostly used for retrieving content and is much quicker?

[Mira]

Hi Mr. Plinko,

Your observations are right - RadAjaxPanel makes only partial postback when sending and retrieving content and RadXmlHttpPanel is a panel that can load content on demand. Any content in the Telerik XmlHTTP panel can be updated quickly without the need of full page lifecycle or Viewstate which makes RadXmlHttpPanel deliver much better performance compared to its AJAX counterparts.

Regards,
Mira
the Telerik team

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