GridView with UpdatePanel OR DataTables with JQuery

Question

I worked with java and jsp and have always used jquery , json data from serer side and custom HTML code with datatables . I have to work on a project with C# and I was introduced to GridView and AJAXControl Toolkit .

While reading some posts I learned that ASP.NET server controls are not exactly right way to work with web project but MVC is a better solution but learning curve so I am thinking to stick with webforms , use webmethods returning JSON , Jquery to call webmethods and binding it to DataTables . Is that a better approach than using Gridview and UpdatePanel ?

Answer 1

Gridview/Update Panel approach:

Pro: Super easy to build

Con: Results in uglier HTML (and extra javascript in the back), much more difficult to customize once in place.

MVC/jquery approach:

Pro: Very clean/lean HTML and javascript, easy to customize and maintain.

Con: Steeper learning curve, a few minutes longer to code assuming equal proficiency in both approaches.

Cheers.

Answer 2

Ok Microsoft hasn't declared yet that MVC is better than WebForms. It's just a matter of what you like better. Second, I think that your idea of building a RESTful WCF Service that accepts and returns JSON is an incredible idea and very light-weight and easy to work with.