Need suggestions for ASP.NET application

Question

I would like to use more client-side scripts on my aspx page. I'm not an expert in this area and I'm a bit overwhelmed at the options. First, let me spell out what the page is displaying and then what I am trying to accomplish.

The Page: The page containts a GridView (on the left-hand side) which is pulling data from a DB for different types of products a user can request. For example's sake, let's say we have table, chair, and couch.

What I want to Accomplish: When the user clicks on a row of the GridView (let's say "table"), the ID of that selected row and the title is copied over to the right-hand side of the page into an accordion pane (or a similar display). The header of the accordion pane will be "Product: Table". When the accordion is expanded, the user has the option to specify the color and size of the table (via check boxes, text boxes, etc.). So essentially this is shopping cart functionality on the right-hand side of this page.

I should also point out I would like a "remove" button for each pane in the accordion so it can dynamically be deleted.

What is the best option for this situation? Should I use jQuery, AJAX (AJAX Control Toolkit?), a combination or a different tool? Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer 1

I would use knockoutJs because it's easy to use, has reasonable documentation and good online support. At a glance it looks easy than backbone as well (I don't know backbone).

I would not use the AJAX Control Toolkit unless I had too. I HATE the ajax toolkit as everything happens 'by magic' and once you step off the path shown in the simple demo's you are dead.

Knockout does require a little investment of time, but I consider it a great framework for web apps that require moderate javaScript use.