ASP.NET AJAX Interview Questions

The ASP.NET AJAX Interview Questions contains the most frequently asked questions in ASP.NET AJAX. These lists of questions will gauge your familiarity with the ASP.NET AJAX platform.

What is Ajax?

The term Ajax was coined by Jesse James Garrett and is a short form for "Asynchronous Javascript and XML". Ajax represents a set of commonly used techniques, like HTML/XHTML, CSS, Document Object Model(DOM), XML/XSLT, Javascript and the XMLHttpRequest object, to create RIA's (Rich Internet Applications).

Ajax gives the user, the ability to dynamically and asynchronously interact with a web server, without using a plug-in or without compromising on the user’s ability to interact with the page. This is possible due to an object found in browsers called the XMLHttpRequest object.

What is ASP.NET AJAX?

‘ASP.NET AJAX’ is a terminology coined by Microsoft for ‘their’ implementation of AJAX, which is a set of extensions to ASP.NET. These components allow you to build rich AJAX enabled web applications, which consists of both server side and client side libraries.

Which is the current version of ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit?

As of this writing, the toolkit version is Version 1.0.20229 (if you are targeting Framework 2.0, ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 and Visual Studio 2005) and Version 3.0.20229 (if targeting .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008).

What role does the ScriptManager play?

The ScriptManager manages all ASP.NET AJAX resources on a page and renders the links for the ASP.NET AJAX client libraries, which lets you use AJAX functionality like PageMethods, UpdatePanels etc. It creates the PageRequestManager and Application objects, which are prominent in raising events during the client life cycle of an ASP.NET AJAX Web page. It also helps you create proxies to call web services asynchronously.

Can we use multiple ScriptManager on a page?

No. You can use only one ScriptManager on a page.

What is the role of a ScriptManagerProxy?

A page can contain only one ScriptManager control. If you have a Master-Content page scenario in your application and the MasterPage contains a ScriptManager control, then you can use the ScriptManagerProxy control to add scripts to content pages.

Also, if you come across a scenario where only a few pages in your application need to register to a script or a web service, then its best to remove them from the ScriptManager control and add them to individual pages, by using the ScriptManagerProxy control. That is because if you added the scripts using the ScriptManager on the Master Page, then these items will be downloaded on each page that derives from the MasterPage, even if they are not needed, which would lead to a waste of resources.

What are the requirements to run ASP.NET AJAX applications on a server?

You would need to install ‘ASP.NET AJAX Extensions’ on your server. If you are using the ASP.NET AJAX Control toolkit, then you would also need to add the AjaxControlToolkit.dll in the /Bin folder.

Note: ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 was available as a separate downloadable add-on for ASP.NET 2.0. With ASP.NET 3.5, the AJAX components have been integrated into ASP.NET.

Explain the UpdatePanel?

The UpdatePanel enables you to add AJAX functionality to existing ASP.NET applications. It can be used to update content in a page by using Partial-page rendering. By using Partial-page rendering, you can refresh only a selected part of the page instead of refreshing the whole page with a postback.

Can I use ASP.NET AJAX with any other technology apart from ASP.NET?

To answer this question, check out this example of using ASP.NET AJAX with PHP, to demonstrate running ASP.NET AJAX outside of ASP.NET. Client-Side ASP.NET AJAX framework can be used with PHP and Coldfusion.

How can you cancel an Asynchronous postback?

Yes you can. Read my article over here.

Difference between Server-Side AJAX framework and Client-side AJAX framework?

ASP.NET AJAX contains both a server-side Ajax framework and a client-side Ajax framework. The server-side framework provides developers with an easy way to implement Ajax functionality, without having to possess much knowledge of JavaScript. The framework includes server controls and components and the drag and drop functionality. This framework is usually preferred when you need to quickly ajaxify an asp.net application. The disadvantage is that you still need a round trip to the server to perform a client-side action.

The Client-Side Framework allows you to build web applications with rich user-interactivity as that of a desktop application. It contains a set of JavaScript libraries, which is independent from ASP.NET. The library is getting rich in functionality with every new build released.

 How can you debug ASP.NET AJAX applications?

Explain about two tools useful for debugging: Fiddler for IE and Firebug for Mozilla.

Can you nest UpdatePanel within each other?

Yes, you can do that. You would want to nest update panels to basically have more control over the Page Refresh.

How can you to add JavaScript to a page when performing an asynchronous postback?

Use the ScriptManager class. This class contains several methods like the RegisterStartupScript(), RegisterClientScriptBlock(), RegisterClientScriptInclude(), RegisterArrayDeclaration(),RegisterClientScriptResource(), RegisterExpandoAttribute(), RegisterOnSubmitStatement() which helps to add javascript while performing an asynchronous postback.

Explain differences between the page execution lifecycle of an ASP.NET page and an ASP.NET AJAX page?

In an asynchronous model, all the server side events occur, as they do in a synchronous model. The Microsoft AJAX Library also raises client side events. However when the page is rendered, asynchronous postback renders only the contents of the update panel, where as in a synchronous postback, the entire page is recreated and sent back to the browser.

Is the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit(AjaxControlToolkit.dll) installed in the Global Assembly Cache?

No. You must copy the AjaxControlToolkit.dll assembly to the /Bin folder in your application.

 Those were some frequently asked questions you should have knowledge about. In one of the coming articles, we will cover some more ASP.NET AJAX FAQ’s which were not covered in this article. I hope this article was useful and I thank you for viewing it.

General .NET Interview Questions

What is an application server?

As defined in Wikipedia, an application server is a software engine that delivers applications to client computers or devices. The application server runs your server code. Some well known application servers are IIS (Microsoft), WebLogic Server (BEA), JBoss (Red Hat), WebSphere (IBM).

Compare C# and VB.NET

A detailed comparison can be found over here.

What is a base class and derived class?

A class is a template for creating an object. The class from which other classes derive fundamental functionality is called a base class. For e.g. If Class Y derives from Class X, then Class X is a base class.

The class which derives functionality from a base class is called a derived class. If Class Y derives from Class X, then Class Y is a derived class.

What is an extender class?

An extender class allows you to extend the functionality of an existing control. It is used in Windows forms applications to add properties to controls.

A demonstration of extender classes can be found over here.

What is inheritance?

Inheritance represents the relationship between two classes where one type derives functionality from a second type and then extends it by adding new methods, properties, events, fields and constants.

C# support two types of inheritance:

·         Implementation inheritance

·         Interface inheritance

What is implementation and interface inheritance?

When a class (type) is derived from another class(type) such that it inherits all the members of the base type it is Implementation Inheritance.

When a type (class or a struct) inherits only the signatures of the functions from another type it is Interface Inheritance.

In general Classes can be derived from another class, hence support Implementation inheritance. At the same time Classes can also be derived from one or more interfaces. Hence they support Interface inheritance.

Source: Exforsys.

What is inheritance hierarchy?

The class which derives functionality from a base class is called a derived class. A derived class can also act as a base class for another class. Thus it is possible to create a tree-like structure that illustrates the relationship between all related classes. This structure is known as the inheritance hierarchy.

How do you prevent a class from being inherited?

In VB.NET you use the NotInheritable modifier to prevent programmers from using the class as a base class. In C#, use the sealed keyword.

When should you use inheritance?

Read this.

Define Overriding?

Overriding is a concept where a method in a derived class uses the same name, return type, and arguments as a method in its base class. In other words, if the derived class contains its own implementation of the method rather than using the method in the base class, the process is called overriding.

Can you use multiple inheritance in .NET?

.NET supports only single inheritance. However the purpose is accomplished using multiple interfaces.

Why don’t we have multiple inheritance in .NET?

There are several reasons for this. In simple words, the efforts are more, benefits are less. Different languages have different implementation requirements of multiple inheritance. So in order to implement multiple inheritance, we need to study the implementation aspects of all the languages that are CLR compliant and then implement a common methodology of implementing it. This is too much of efforts. Moreover multiple interface inheritance very much covers the benefits that multiple inheritance has.

What is an Interface?

An interface is a standard or contract that contains only the signatures of methods or events. The implementation is done in the class that inherits from this interface. Interfaces are primarily used to set a common standard or contract.

When should you use abstract class vs interface or What is the difference between an abstract class and interface?

I would suggest you to read this. There is a good comparison given over here.

What are events and delegates?

An event is a message sent by a control to notify the occurrence of an action. However it is not known which object receives the event. For this reason, .NET provides a special type called Delegate which acts as an intermediary between the sender object and receiver object.

What is business logic?

It is the functionality which handles the exchange of information between database and a user interface.

What is a component?

Component is a group of logically related classes and methods. A component is a class that implements the IComponent interface or uses a class that implements IComponent interface.

What is a control?

A control is a component that provides user-interface (UI) capabilities.

What are the differences between a control and a component?

The differences can be studied over here.

What are design patterns?

Design patterns are common solutions to common design problems.

What is a connection pool?

A connection pool is a ‘collection of connections’ which are shared between the clients requesting one. Once the connection is closed, it returns back to the pool. This allows the connections to be reused.

What is a flat file?

A flat file is the name given to text, which can be read or written only sequentially.

What are functional and non-functional requirements?

Functional requirements defines the behavior of a system whereas non-functional requirements specify how the system should behave; in other words they specify the quality requirements and judge the behavior of a system.

E.g.

Functional - Display a chart which shows the maximum number of products sold in a region.

Non-functional – The data presented in the chart must be updated every 5 minutes.

What is the global assembly cache (GAC)?

GAC is a machine-wide cache of assemblies that allows .NET applications to share libraries. GAC solves some of the problems associated with dll’s (DLL Hell).

What is a stack? What is a heap? Give the differences between the two?

Stack is a place in the memory where value types are stored. Heap is a place in the memory where the reference types are stored.

Check this link for the differences.

What is instrumentation?

It is the ability to monitor an application so that information about the application’s progress, performance and status can be captured and reported.

What is code review?

The process of  examining the source code generally through a peer, to verify it against best practices.

What is logging?

Logging is the process of persisting information about the status of an application.

What are mock-ups?

Mock-ups are a set of designs in the form of screens, diagrams, snapshots etc., that helps verify the design and acquire feedback about the application’s requirements and use cases, at an early stage of the design process.

What is a Form?

A form is a representation of any window displayed in your application. Form can be used to create standard, borderless, floating, modal windows.

What is a multiple-document interface(MDI)?

A user interface container that enables a user to work with more than one document at a time. E.g. Microsoft Excel.

What is a single-document interface (SDI) ?

A user interface that is created to manage graphical user interfaces and controls into single windows. E.g. Microsoft Word

What is BLOB ?

A BLOB (binary large object) is a large item such as an image or an exe  represented in binary form.

What is ClickOnce?

ClickOnce is a new deployment technology that allows you to create and publish self-updating applications that can be installed and run with minimal user interaction.

What is object role modeling (ORM) ?

It is a logical model for designing and querying database models. There are various ORM tools in the market like CaseTalk, Microsoft Visio for Enterprise Architects, Infagon etc.

What is a private assembly?

A private assembly is local to the installation directory of an application and is used only by that application.

What is a shared assembly?

A shared assembly is kept in the global assembly cache (GAC) and can be used by one or more applications on a machine.

What is the difference between user and custom controls?

User controls are easier to create whereas custom controls require extra effort.

User controls are used when the layout is static whereas custom controls are used in dynamic layouts.

A user control cannot be added to the toolbox whereas a custom control can be.

A separate copy of a user control is required in every application that uses it whereas since custom controls are stored in the GAC, only a single copy can be used by all applications.

Where do custom controls reside?

In the global assembly cache (GAC).

What is a third-party control ?

A third-party control is one that is not created by the owners of a project. They are usually used to save time and resources and reuse the functionality developed by others (third-party).

What is a binary formatter?

Binary formatter is used to serialize and deserialize an object in binary format.

What is Boxing/Unboxing?

Boxing is used to convert value types to object.

E.g. int x = 1;

object obj = x ;

Unboxing is used to convert the object back to the value type.

E.g. int y = (int)obj;

Boxing/unboxing is quiet an expensive operation.

What is a COM Callable Wrapper (CCW)?

CCW is a wrapper created by the common language runtime(CLR) that enables COM components to access .NET objects.

What is a Runtime Callable Wrapper (RCW)?

RCW is a wrapper created by the common language runtime(CLR) to enable .NET components to call COM components.

What is a digital signature?

A digital signature is an electronic signature used to verify/gurantee the identity of the individual who is sending the message.

What is garbage collection?

Garbage collection is the process of managing the allocation and release of memory in your applications. Read this article for more information.

What is globalization?

Globalization is the process of customizing applications that support multiple cultures and regions.

What is localization?

Localization is the process of customizing applications that support a given culture and regions.

What is MIME?

The definition of MIME or Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions as stated in MSDN is “MIME is a standard that can be used to include content of various types in a single message. MIME extends the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) format of mail messages to include multiple content, both textual and non-textual. Parts of the message may be images, audio, or text in different character sets.