Chapter 2. JavaScript
The ability to embed scripts in web pages is key to making them more interactive. Scripts can be used to respond to events, such as the loading of a web page or the click of a button by a user, and are the means for dealing with data sent to and from the server via HTTP requests and responses.
For most web developers, JavaScript is the script language of choice, since it is the only language supported by all major browsers. Although an Ajax framework like Atlas makes it easy to use the technology without having to know too much about its details, a sound knowledge of JavaScript is, in my view, absolutely mandatory to make the most of Atlas (but Atlas can even help developers not familiar with JavaScript at all, thanks to the framework approach). Since Atlas is a framework, without the ability to use JavaScript, you are limited to the functionality exposed by the Atlas controls. Some client scenarios actually require more work in Atlas than when using custom JavaScript. Therefore, the best strategy for a modern Ajax-enabled web site is to use the best of both worlds: the Atlas framework extended with your JavaScript code.
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