Is it possible to make a client call back from javascript and use the return with out some control triggering it?

Well my control would trigger the first JS but it would loop through and have to make a few calls to the server -

Or how can I return a whole list of value key pairs and parse them into a list

TIA

Does the clientapi have anyway to generate JSON or xml in the return or do I have to do that?

TIA

Funny you should ask about a JSON parser.   I was just investigating whether or not the clientapi should have one, or wait until the framework gets one with the integration of Atlas into the .NET Framework.

I am leaning towards waiting since I have no desire to write that type of code, nor do I have the time to. 

So what do I do in the meantime, since I need this as well.   I am writing my own ToJSON method on my objects I need it.  Eventually I probably will call a serialize method, but for now I am hand-coding each property.  In my case I have a DNNToolBar object with properties, one of which is a Buttons collection, which contains a collection of DNNToolBarButtons.

DNNToolBar.vb
Friend Function ToJSON() As String
  Dim oHash As Hashtable = New Hashtable
  If Len(Me.CssClass) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("css", "'" & Me.CssClass & "'")
  End If
  If Me.MouseOutDelay <> 250 Then
    oHash.Add("mod", Me.MouseOutDelay)
  End If
  If Len(Me.Visible) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("vis", CInt(Me.Visible))
  End If
  Dim sb As System.Text.StringBuilder = New System.Text.StringBuilder
  sb.Append("[")
  For Each objBtn As DNNToolBarButton In Me.Buttons
    If sb.Length > 1 Then sb.Append(",")
    sb.Append(objBtn.ToJSON())
  Next
  sb.Append("]")
  oHash.Add("btns", sb.ToString)
  sb = New System.Text.StringBuilder
  sb.Append("{")
  For Each strKey As String In oHash.Keys
    If sb.Length > 1 Then sb.Append(",")
    sb.Append(strKey & ":" & CStr(oHash(strKey)))
  Next
  sb.Append("}")
  Return sb.ToString
 
DNNToolBarButton.vb
Public Function ToJSON() As String
  Dim oHash As Hashtable = New Hashtable
  Dim sb As System.Text.StringBuilder = New System.Text.StringBuilder
  If Len(Me.CssClass) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("css", "'" & Me.CssClass & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.CssClassHover) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("cssh", "'" & Me.CssClassHover & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.ImageUrl) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("img", "'" & Me.ImageUrl & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.JSFunction) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("js", "'" & Me.JSFunction & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.Key) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("key", "'" & Me.Key & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.NavigateUrl) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("url", "'" & Me.NavigateUrl & "'")
  End If
  If Len(Me.Text) > 0 Then
    oHash.Add("txt", "'" & Me.Text & "'")
  End If
  If Me.Visible = False Then
    oHash.Add("vis", CInt(Me.Visible))
  End If
  sb.Append("{")
  For Each strKey As String In oHash.Keys
    If sb.Length > 1 Then sb.Append(",")
    sb.Append(strKey & ":" & CStr(oHash(strKey)))
  Next
  sb.Append("}")
  Return sb.ToString
End Function
 
On the Client I simply take the string value and do an eval
 
var oToolBar = eval(myJSON);
 
Then I can do things like oToolbar.css or oToolbar.btns[0].txt