Updating ASP.NET projects to AJAX

OK, you have an ASP.NET project and decided to add the AJAX funcionality, using the ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 toolkit.

You downloaded the toolkit, installed, added the System.Web.Extensions reference, and, after you added the ScriptManager in your page, you got a script error telling that Sys was not an object.

Well, grasshopper, there is a little bit more than simply add the reference.

To really convert an ASP.NET application to use AJAX, you need not only to add the reference, but make the following changes on the Web.config file:

• In the <configSections> add:
  

  <sectionGroup 
    name="system.web.extensions" 
    type="System.Web.Configuration.SystemWebExtensionsSectionGroup, 
          System.Web.Extensions, 
          Version=1.0.61025.0, 
          Culture=neutral, 
          PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
    <sectionGroup 
      name="scripting" 
      type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingSectionGroup, 
            System.Web.Extensions, 
            Version=1.0.61025.0, 
            Culture=neutral, 
            PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
      <section 
        name="scriptResourceHandler" 
        type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingScriptResourceHandlerSection,  
              System.Web.Extensions,  
              Version=1.0.61025.0,  
              Culture=neutral,  
              PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"  
        requirePermission="false"  
        allowDefinition="MachineToApplication"/>
      <sectionGroup  
        name="webServices" 
        type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingWebServicesSectionGroup, 
              System.Web.Extensions, 
              Version=1.0.61025.0, 
              Culture=neutral, 
              PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
        <section 
          name="jsonSerialization" 
          type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingJsonSerializationSection, 
                System.Web.Extensions, 
                Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                Culture=neutral, 
                PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" 
          requirePermission="false" 
          allowDefinition="Everywhere" />
        <section 
          name="profileService" 
          type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingProfileServiceSection, 
                System.Web.Extensions, 
                Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                Culture=neutral, 
                PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" 
          requirePermission="false" 
          allowDefinition="MachineToApplication" />
        <section 
          name="authenticationService" 
          type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingAuthenticationServiceSection, 
                System.Web.Extensions, 
                Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                Culture=neutral, 
                PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" 
          requirePermission="false" 
          allowDefinition="MachineToApplication" />
      </sectionGroup>
    </sectionGroup>
  </sectionGroup>

• Find or create the <httpHandlers> section and then add:

  <remove 
     verb="*" 
     path="*.asmx"/>
  <add 
     verb="*" 
     path="*.asmx" 
     validate="false" 
     type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, 
           System.Web.Extensions, 
           Version=1.0.61025.0, 
           Culture=neutral, 
           PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>
  <add 
     verb="*" 
     path="*_AppService.axd" 
     validate="false" 
     type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, 
           System.Web.Extensions, 
           Version=1.0.61025.0, 
           Culture=neutral, 
           PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>
  <add 
     verb="GET,HEAD" 
     path="ScriptResource.axd" 
     type="System.Web.Handlers.ScriptResourceHandler, 
           System.Web.Extensions, 
           Version=1.0.61025.0, 
           Culture=neutral, 
           PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" 
     validate="false"/>

• Find or create the <httpModules> section and then add:

  <add 
     name="ScriptModule" 
     type="System.Web.Handlers.ScriptModule, 
           System.Web.Extensions, 
           Version=1.0.61025.0, 
           Culture=neutral, 
           PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>

• Find or create the <system.webServer> section and then add:

  <validation validateIntegratedModeConfiguration="false"/>
     <modules>
        <add 
           name="ScriptModule" 
           preCondition="integratedMode" 
           type="System.Web.Handlers.ScriptModule, 
                 System.Web.Extensions, 
                 Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                 Culture=neutral, 
                 PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>
     </modules>
     <handlers>
        <remove 
           name="WebServiceHandlerFactory-Integrated" />
        <add 
           name="ScriptHandlerFactory" 
           verb="*" 
           path="*.asmx" 
           preCondition="integratedMode" 
           type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, 
                 System.Web.Extensions, 
                 Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                 Culture=neutral, 
                 PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <add 
           name="ScriptHandlerFactoryAppServices" 
           verb="*" 
           path="*_AppService.axd" 
           preCondition="integratedMode" 
           type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, 
                 System.Web.Extensions, 
                 Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                 Culture=neutral, 
                 PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <add 
           name="ScriptResource" 
           preCondition="integratedMode" 
           verb="GET,HEAD" 
           path="ScriptResource.axd" 
           type="System.Web.Handlers.ScriptResourceHandler, 
                 System.Web.Extensions, 
                 Version=1.0.61025.0, 
                 Culture=neutral, 
                 PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" />
     </handlers>

And then, grasshopper, your ASP.NET application will be trully AJAX enabled.