1. Chapter 1 Atlas, Ajax, and ASP.NET

   1. Atlas and Ajax

   2. Atlas and ASP.NET

   3. Atlas and Future Development

   4. Atlas Prerequisites and Installation

   5. Atlas Structure and Architecture

   6. A First Atlas Example: Hello User

   7. The ScriptManager Control

   8. Summary

   9. For Further Reading

2. Chapter 2 JavaScript

   1. The JavaScript Language

   2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

   3. Accessing Page Elements

   4. DOM Methods

   5. Summary

   6. For Further Reading

3. Chapter 3 Ajax

   1. The XMLHttpRequest Object

   2. The XMLDocument Object

   3. JSON

   4. Summary

   5. For Further Reading

4. Chapter 4 Controls

   1. Introducing Atlas Client Controls

   2. Using Atlas Controls

   3. Handling Control Events

   4. Summary

   5. For Further Reading

5. Chapter 5 Data Binding and Validation

   1. Data Binding

   2. Data Validation

   3. Summary

   4. For Further Reading

6. Chapter 6 Components and Behaviors

   1. Using Behaviors

   2. Using Components

   3. Summary

   4. For Further Reading

7. Chapter 7 Animations

   1. Using Animations

   2. Using an Animation to Create a Fade Effect

   3. Summary

   4. For Further Reading

8. Chapter 8 Client Script Library

   1. Atlas OOP Features for JavaScript

   2. Client-Side Versions of .NET Classes

   3. Summary

   4. For Further Reading

9. Chapter 9 Using Server Data

   1. Using a ListView Control

   2. Creating a Custom Data Source

   3. Summary

10. Chapter 10 Web Services

    1. Error Handling

    2. Inline Web Service Methods

    3. Maintaining Session State

    4. Consuming External Web Services

    5. Summary

    6. For Further Reading

11. Chapter 11 Extending Controls

    1. Adding Drag and Drop to a Control

    2. Adding Autocomplete to a Control

    3. Making a Page Region Updateable

    4. Summary

    5. For Further Reading

12. Chapter 12 Virtual Earth

    1. Displaying a Map

    2. Adding Pushpins with Pop-Ups to a Map

    3. Summary

    4. For Further Reading

13. Chapter 13 Web Parts and Gadgets

    1. Using Atlas with ASP.NET Web Parts

    2. Creating Windows Live Gadgets with Atlas

    3. Summary

    4. For Further Reading

14. Chapter 14 Atlas Control Toolkit

    1. Installing the Toolkit

    2. Using the Toolkit

    3. Writing Custom Controls

    4. Summary

    5. For Further Reading

15. Chapter 15 Using Atlas with Other Server Technologies

    1. Using Atlas with PHP

    2. Summary

    3. For Further Reading

16. Chapter 16 Other Ajax Tools

    1. Client Callbacks

    2. Ajax.NET

    3. Pure JavaScript

    4. Consuming Web Services with JavaScript

    5. Summary

    6. For Further Reading

1. Appendix A XMLHttpRequest Reference

   1. Methods

   2. Properties

2. Appendix B DOM Reference

   1. Generic Methods and Properties

   2. Document Methods and Properties

3. Appendix C Atlas Reference

   1. JavaScript Extensions

   2. Web Controls

   3. Validation Controls

   4. Behaviors

   5. Data Controls

   6. Animations

   7. Virtual Earth Maps

   8. Web Parts

   9. Helper Classes

4. Appendix D ScriptManager and UpdatePanel Declarative Reference

   1. ScriptManager

   2. UpdatePanel

5. About the Author

6. Colophon

The animal on the cover of Programming Atlas is a black murex snail shell (hexaplex nigritus). The black murex is found off the gulf coast of California and Mexico. As the black murex ages, its shell turns from white to predominately black. However, pure white or black shells are very rare. Mature black murexes are about 6 inches (15 cm) long.

Black murex snails are carnivorous gastropods. Their diet is composed of bivalve mollusks, including oysters, clams, and sea anemone. Gastropods kill their prey by various means, including smothering, tearing, or boring into the shell by using an acidic mucus to weaken the outside surface.

The murex snail played a crucial role in the culture and trade of the ancient Phoenicians. They crushed the murex in order to extract a purple-red secretion used to dye fabric. It is estimated that some 10,000 snails were needed to dye one toga. As a result, only royalty could afford the precious dye for clothing. When the dye was combined with silk imported from China, the purple garments were worth more than their weight in gold. Purple has since been equated with royalty, but the red of papal robes and the blue in the flag of Israel are also derivative of murex snail dye.