What's In a Name? Part 2 - "Atlas" Revealed!

Three weeks ago, I posted about how the game was on to figure out what the "real" name of the Atlas framework would be.  Yesterday, Scott Guthrie ended the suspense with his post revealing the formal name(s) for what has been known as "Atlas", Microsoft's AJAX framework.

Drumroll please...

"Atlas" is so cool, it doesn't get just one name.  It gets THREE names!  That is because the various components of "Atlas" are being released in three separate packages.  From now on "Atlas" will be known as:

  • Microsoft AJAX Library - The client-side "Atlas" JavaScript library
  • ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions - The server-side "Atlas" functionality that integrates with ASP.NET
  • ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit - A set of free, shared source controls and components built on top of the other two.

Well, that's a heck of a lot better than "Microsoft Asynchronous Internet Platform 2007 for ASP.NET 2005"!

One of the most exciting things about "Atlas" is the Microsoft AJAX Library.  This JavaScript library will work with any browser, as well as any backend server.  This includes PHP and Cold Fusion.

I'm looking forward to talking about the Microsoft AJAX Library at the upcoming BarCamp in NYC.  This is a very cool library that will help make developing AJAX websites easier, resulting in richer web experiences for users.