AJAX Architecture (Big Picture)

Based on Shawn Burke's excellent presentation, I tried to put two overview pictures about the different components of Microsoft AJAX (RC1) and their relationship. - Big pictures are one of the things I really miss within Microsoft's documentation. A picture can often tell more than pages of continuous text.

Microsoft AJAX is based on a client part (called the Microsoft AJAX Library), a complex JavaScript Framework, which brings the power of a base class library out to the browser programmers. The server part (called the ASP.NET AJAX Extension) is a .NET Assembly, bringing smooth AJAX communication and updates to the ASP.NET Framework. These two parts are also referred as AJAX Core.

Based on AJAX Core, we get the ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit, an Add-On to create AJAX Controls and AJAX Extenders. The Toolkit is set-up as "Shared Source" bringing Microsoft and the Community together - working on fancy, attractive Controls for everybody.

The ASP.NET AJAX Value-Add CTP's (called Future CTP's as well) are additional libraries, containing features and functionality, which could be included in further releases of the AJAX Core. CTP's are targeting eary adopters and development, interested in using upcoming codes, and ready to give (optional) feedback to the Microsoft Team.