NewsGator Developer Authors Book Revealing Secrets for Creating Great AJAX Applications On Microsoft SharePoint Server

Software engineer Daniel Larson outlines methods for coding rich Internet applications like NewsGator Social Sites

DENVER, Daniel Larson, one of the key developers of NewsGator’s Social Sites enterprise social computing software, has released a new book titled, “Developing Service-Oriented AJAX Applications on the Microsoft® Platform,” published by Microsoft Press.

The NewsGator software engineer is an expert in AJAX Web development and a Microsoft MVP for SharePoint Server which is the foundation for Social Sites, NewsGator’s software for activating a “Facebook for the Enterprise.”

“NewsGator Social Sites is one of the coolest applications you’ll ever see on SharePoint, and the slick user interface is built from the ground up using the Microsoft AJAX Library, including the SharePoint AJAX Toolkit (free at www.codeplex.com/sharepointajax),” says Larson. “A service-oriented AJAX application means we can deliver a rich Internet application that performs like a desktop application, and an architecture that can harness the energy of real-time social computing for business benefit. The book describes the approach we take to software development (writing Web Services and client-side user interfaces), how we do it, and how any developer can too.

“It’s really a simple concept - write simple Web services using a service-oriented design, and then write as little JavaScript as possible to create a user interface,” continues Larson. “Using the Microsoft AJAX Library and Windows Communications Foundation (WCF) greatly simplifies this process. This book deals with design issues and gets deep into the core technologies used to develop this type of application.”

Larson’s MVP title is an elite designation available to less than one hundredth of one percent of the world’s technologists and “recognizes exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who voluntarily share their high-quality, real-world expertise with others.”

This is Larson’s second book after “Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0,” published by Microsoft Press, co-authored with Ted Pattison. Topics covered in Larson’s second book “Service Oriented AJAX” include:
• A complete client-side approach to AJAX with Microsoft technologies
• A robust service-oriented approach to developing rich internet applications
• REST Web Services using Microsoft’s .NET 3.5 WCF library
• AJAX development and deployment with SharePoint Server

Social Sites 3.0 extends the capabilities of the Office SharePoint Server content management and collaboration platform by providing a Facebook-like social computing experience. It presents users with carefully selected content, connects them to important colleagues and involves them in productive communities. Social Sites features include: online communities, social network graphs, social profiles, social profile building, activity streams, innovation management, social computing analytics, enhanced RSS, social bookmarking, microblogging, and social search.

About NewsGator Technologies, Inc.
NewsGator Technologies helps enterprises and media companies leverage social computing solutions to deliver real business value. The company’s enterprise social networking and widget services are in use by hundreds of the world’s most recognized brands, including Biogen Idec, CBS, CNN, Discovery, National Geographic, Procter & Gamble and USA Today. NewsGator Social Sites and Enterprise Server give enterprises better ways to collaborate, share content, expand employee knowledge and improve productivity. For more information, visit www.newsgator.com.