ASP.NET

Book Review: Pro ASP.NET MVC 3 Framework

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EDT

This is the perfect book for the beginner and the advanced MVC developer. It is a one stop shop for learning the ASP.NET MVC 3 Framework. It starts out with a nice little sample application that will get beginners up to speed fast. It then covers the MVC Pattern in detail and how it relates to Domain-Driven Development, Repositories, Dependency Injection, and Automated Testing. Next the is a chapter on the C# features a good MVC developer needs in their tool belt, as well as the Razor syntax. This chapter does a good job of introducing the Razor view engine. Then there is a chapter on the essential tools MVC developers should understand. This chapter covers Ninject, Unit Testing and Moq. In the next three chapters the authors take you through building a real application. Everything is included from the views to the repository (using Entity Framework 4.1), to the database. They also include the unit tests. The application is a complete store front and an administration site.

Book Review: Beginning ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010

Sun, 01 May 2011 11:45:00 EDT

It’s a daunting task to author a book of over 1000 pages and maintain the interest of the reader. Matthew MacDonald is able to do so for several reasons. He maintains a good sense of humor and he is not afraid to express his opinion about a topic. Two examples come to mind. The first example is during his mention of the creation of a new Microsoft framework for the Internet called “MVC.” He states that “to some the MVC pattern is cleaner and more suited to the web, to others it’s a whole lot of extra effort with no clear payoff.” In regard to some of Microsoft’s practices he states, “Microsoft has a time-honored reputation for creating innovative technologies and wrapping them in buzzwords that confuse everyone.” His examples are small and to the point and his goal is to be "as relentlessly practical as possible.” If you already have experience with ASP.NET and C#, the author directs you to read a companion volume Pro ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010 instead.

What’s New in PowerBuilder 12.1?

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:15:00 EST

The PowerBuilder 12.1 maintenance release is now available. For people who believe that you should never use the .0 release of any product, the maintenance release means they should feel comfortable using PowerBuilder 12 now. However, there are several good reasons other than that to get the maintenance release, including a number of important new features it introduces. We’ll look at the important ones below. The maintenance release adds support for connectivity to ASE 15.5 and SQL Anywhere 12.0. There is no additional functionality specific to those versions though.

Right Click, Analyze Team

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:15:00 EST

A great agile team is a highly disciplined team. Embracing new levels of discipline consistently across teams is tough without guidance and continual feedback. Wouldn’t it be great to have an experienced Agile Development Coach entrenched into every single one of your project teams? This coach could consistently make recommendations on how to optimize your team, make sure your team accurately tracks progress and detects conditions that could lead to increased project risk. Wouldn’t it be great if this experienced coach could be built right into the software you use to manage your project?

Book Review: Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EDT

In recent years there has been a growing interest in applying design patterns to various aspects of programming. One of the more well-known patterns is the Model-View-Controller pattern or MVC. This pattern has a great deal of appeal in the web design environment because it offers the developer more control and a greater separation between the major aspects of web design – the presentation layer (View), the business layer (Controller), and the data layer (Model). In fact the pattern should probably have been called MCV as the controller portion really serves as the glue that holds the Model layer with the View layer.

Book Review: Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 4

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EDT

There are certain authors whose books I look forward to reading because they don't just repackage a manual but offer practical real-work examples and advice. One such author is Scott Mitchell. He has revised his previous version of this book to encompass ASP.NET 4 . This book is well written and directed at beginners. If, however, you have the 3.5 version of this book, I would not recommend this version as there is very little new being offered. On the other hand, if you are new to ASP.NET, this book is a great starting-off point to learning the basics of ASP.NET 4.

How ASP.NET PostBacks and Redirects Work

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:39:01 EDT

Last week I got the following two questions from one of our clients * “We use ASP.NET PostBacks but can’t find the PurePath for the request triggering the PostBack handler – any hints?” * “We see many ThreadAbortExceptions in our ASP.NET Application and we are not sure why they happen – are they expected?” Time for a little blog that gives some internals on PostBacks as well as Redirects (which are commonly used in PostBack handlers).

Book Review: Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 3.5

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:15:00 EST

There are several authors of .NET books who not only know their material but are able to present the information in a practical manner. One such author is Scott Mitchell. This book is well written and is divided into four parts with a total of 24 chapters. While the level of the book is directed at beginners, it’s a good refresher for more experienced developers who want to learn some of the new features available in ASP.NET 3.5.

Space Based Programming in .NET

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:45:00 EDT

At a recent Skills Matter event in the UK Goyko Adzic presented for over an hour on Space Based programming in .Net. The slides are embedded below, but as this blog is syndicated and sometimes the slides get stripped out, you can find them here.

PowerDesigner 15: Expanding Data Modeling into Your Enterprise

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EDT

In today’s business world change is a constant and companies need to ensure that they keep up with that change. Whether the change is an opportunistic response to new conditions – requirements, regulations, market conditions, a merger/acquisition – or a major transformation, companies need the power to succeed and that power is knowledge.

SQL Anywhere Server and AJAX

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:45:00 EDT

AJAX has dominated the web space so extensively that it needs no introduction. Connecting to a server via XMLHttpRequest and making a partial page refresh is what makes this technique so attractive. However, use of these AJAX requests, although very attractive, can pose dangers as well. JavaScript acts as a vector to infect websites with worms, such as SAMY, using cross-site scripting, also known as CSS or XSS.

Exposing a WCF Service in Silverlight

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EDT

I am having a blast with the series where I am updating my simple Mix 09 Business Application demo. In this part, I wanted to consider the scenario that I hope is a common one. The developer writes their Silverlight app using the RIA Services pattern and the application becomes wildly successful. So successful in fact there is a demand to put a services head on top of the same application logic to facilitate writing a bunch of other clients. This is the sort of pattern we see happening with applications like Twitter and Sharepoint.

ASP.NET MVC For Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 Released

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Microsoft released ASP .NET MVC for Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1, you can find the installer on CodePlex. Many of the new Visual Studio 2010 features intended to support the TDD workflow fit very nicely with ASP.NET MVC, which ScottGu will describe in an upcoming blog post.

DMTF to Develop Standards For Managing a Cloud Computing Environment

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EDT

The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), today announced that it has formed a group dedicated to addressing the need for open management standards for cloud computing. The “Open Cloud Standards Incubator” will work to develop a set of informational specifications for cloud resource management. No specific standards currently exist for enabling interoperability between private clouds within enterprises and [...] Related posts:

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Google Maps and ASP.NET

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EDT

I am sure that most of you have heard about or have had a chance to use Google Maps. It's a great service and I was really impressed by the responsiveness of the application and the ease with which users could drag and zoom maps from a Web browser. It has in many ways heralded the arrival of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), which I am sure will revitalize Web development in the days to come.

Deploying PowerBuilder Applications as ASP.NET WebForm Applications

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT

PowerBuilder 11.0 supports deploying existing PowerBuilder client/server business applications as an ASP.NET WebForm application. This greatly improves developer productivity without having to learn a new development language and preserves PowerBuilder development skills. Although the deployed WebForm application retains all the functionality of its original client/server application, due to the technological shift in the running environment from a two-tier client/server environment to a three-tier Web paradigm, some features of PowerScript will not be supported in a Web environment.

WinForms and ASP.NET Reporting Controls

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:21:00 EDT

Developer Express announced the immediate availability of its reporting platform for WinForms and ASP.NET – the XtraReports Suite v2008 vol 2. Built and optimized for Visual Studio, the DevExpress suite of reporting components allows software developers to deliver cutting-edge capabilities to their end-users with ease.

Solutions for Optimizing ASP.NET Applications

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:30:00 EDT

One of the reasons that ASP.NET has become popular as a framework for Web developers is the availability of third-party controls and tools. This third-party product support means that, when you’re developing features and functionality in an ASP.NET application, you have "buy versus build" options in many areas. Usually, if the options are buying a third-party control or rolling up your sleeves and manually coding the solution yourself, the choice is an easy one.

Building Great AJAX Applications from Scratch Using ASP.NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Come see a no-slides, code-only presentation that starts with a blank directory and builds a data-driven, AJAX enabled, ASP.NET web application from scratch that implements common AJAX patterns with the rich set of AJAX Control Toolkit, accesses data with LINQ, and implements standards-based styling and layout using CSS and clean HTML. Learn the new features of ASP.NET 3.5 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and how they integrate together to provide the world's most productive web development experience. This talk uses the 100% free .NET Framework and Visual Studio tools and the resulting application will work with all browsers, Safari, Firefox and of course IE.

Deploying an ASP.NET AJAX RSS Reader on Linux

Thu, 22 May 2008 07:30:00 EDT

Have you ever wished you could run ASP.NET applications on Linux, without having to rewrite your code or leave the Visual Studio development environment? In this article, I show you how to port Steve Clements' AJAX ASP.NET RSS Reader to native Java and deploy it to Apache Tomcat on Linux. I also show you how to add an AnimationExtender and a HoverMenu from the AJAX Control Toolkit in Visual Studio, while targeting Java.

Book Review: ASP.NET 2.0

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

ASP.NET developers are bored with traditional books that outline concepts in a lengthy way. These books are good if you like to learn the features in a detailed manner. However, by the time the book is read, a new version will be released. Hence, many learners including myself prefer short and succinct books that not only explain the topics in a user-friendly way, but also enable the reader to learn the concepts of the current technology before a new version is released.

CLINQ v1.1.0.0 Released

Fri, 02 May 2008 17:15:00 EDT

CLINQ v1.1 has been released. Some of you may have already downloaded some of the new builds, but here's a rundown of what the new release includes: Support for Continuous Aggregation. Now, in addition to being able to have your result sets automatically update themselves in response to changes in the source set as well as changes to items in the source set, you can have aggregate scalar values that continuously update in the same fashion. The following is a list of the supported aggregation types that can now be done continuously:

Avoiding Blocking Issues in ASP.NET Session State Databases

Thu, 31 May 2007 17:00:00 EDT

As soon as ASP.NET systems grow to the point that more than a single Web server needs to be deployed, decisions need to be mode about where the session state will be held. By default, ASP.NET session state lives in the memory of the server hosting the application. The problem with this is that a user who connects to one of our Web servers will not have the same session if their next request is sent to another one of our Web servers, yet this is exactly what we want to achieve to improve the robustness of our systems.

AJAX and Atlas

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:45:00 EST

One of the big buzzwords that rose to fame in 2005 was 'Ajax.' The term 'Ajax' was first coined by Jesse James Garrett in his essay 'Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications' (www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php), and it refers to the use of asynchronous JavaScript and XML to drive Web applications. Rather than reloading the entire Web page every time data needs to be transmitted, only small, necessary chunks are sent and received, with JavaScript manipulating the UI in response to the data received. This gives the look and feel of a regular client application while still being hosted inside of your Web browser. While Ajax methodologies have been used for years - most notably in Microsoft's Outlook Web Access - they have just recently become incredibly popular via services such Google's Gmail and Google Maps.

Google Maps! AJAX-Style Web Development Using ASP.NET

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:45:00 EDT

In the past few months, the design pattern of combining Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) to develop highly interactive Web applications has been growing in popularity. High-profile Web applications such as Google Maps and A9 are currently leveraging the combination of these technologies to produce rich client-side user experiences. The individual technologies that compose AJAX are not recent developments; they have been around for some time and have been continuously updated and improved. However, it is the recent confluence of these technologies that is leading to interesting possibilities.

.NET Cover Story — Adding Validation Capabilities to a BoundField

Fri, 12 May 2006 11:45:00 EDT

The new family of bound controls lets developers build data-driven applications almost without writing a line of code at page level, but there's more work to do to build really robust, fully featured controls. With the new version of .NET Framework, developers can extend base controls to build 'powered' ones that satisfy particular needs that base controls can't.

Interop Update: A Fast Track to Rehost Your .NET Applications

Tue, 02 May 2006 10:30:00 EDT

You already know the sheer productivity advantages of developing applications that run on the .NET framework using the Visual Studio.NET IDE, and have likely developed and deployed one or more of these in the years since they became generally available. But did you know that you can double your market reach for .NET Web and server applications by rehosting them, without major modifications, to run on Java-enabled platforms such as WebSphere running on Linux? According to Forrester Research, J2EE is used by 56 percent of financial services and insurance companies, and by 44 percent of the overall market.

ComponentArt Releases Charting for .NET Version 2006.1

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 10:15:00 EDT

ComponentArt has released version 2006.1 of its next-generation 3D charting line: ComponentArt Charting for .NET. The release consists of WebChart for ASP.NET for web-based solutions, and WinChart for .NET for Windows Forms development, and the controls are available individually or together as a bundle. With the release of version 2006.1 the ComponentArt Charting line now supports the advanced features of .NET 2.0, ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005.

ASP.NET 2.0 Callbacks

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:30:00 EST

Web sites are based on a client-server model. While the client (usually a browser) can use client-side script such as JavaScript to do simple tweaking of existing data, getting new data requires a request to the server. The server does the heavy processing and makes a response back, which redraws the entire Web page. Most development required these interactions to be atomic so that each request to the server returns a completely new page.

Summing Up the New ASP.NET Controls

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 15:30:00 EST

On the eve of the official release of .NET 2.0, developers around the world were anxiously waiting and priming their PCs for a speedy download from MSDN. And who could blame them? Microsoft's .NET development platform has been a hit with the developer community ever since the first betas came out years ago.

AJAX-Driven Websites: Under The Hood

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:15:00 EST

Recently, a number of Web sites have begun to raise some eyebrows within the developer community. What's unique about these sites is that they behave more like a desktop application than a Web application. As you interact with them, they quickly display an endless amount of information to your browser without reloading the page. At the Google Maps site for example (http://maps.google.com/), you can click on the map, zoom in, zoom out, and move around as much as you like. Your browser continues to be fed with data from the server, yet your browser doesn't have to refresh. They're not using applets, or anything like Flash, so how are they doing it? Introducing Asynchronous JavaScript + XML, also known as Ajax. To properly describe what Ajax is, it's easiest to contrast it with what it's not. For most Web sites, interaction with a Web server is simplex communication - like talking to your buddy on a walkie-talkie. You speak while he receives, and vice versa, but never at the same time. For a Web user, when he or she fills out an online form and then clicks the submit button, the entire page is posted to the Web server and the user must wait for the server to receive the request. When the server finishes processing the request, it sends the processed content back. Only then does the user's page finally refresh (see Figure 1). Ajax is an attempt to alleviate this choppy sequence of events. When the user is at an Ajax Web site the browser can call the Web server asynchronously, behind the scenes - without posting the entire page.

Rapid Module Development for DotNetNuke

Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:45:00 EST

Before there were Web parts, DotNetNuke created installable private assemblies nicknamed modules to encapsulate the functionality desired within a modular environment. It doesn't take much experience developing modules for DotNetNuke before you start asking the age-old questions: I know that it's powerful, but where do I start? I know this is handled in DNN, but how? How do I structure the module and create the installable package? At this point you are most likely starting to think instinctively about how to utilize a combination of existing tools and reusable code or templates to streamline development time.

"Skinning" – When Design and Development First Met

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:15:00 EST

Did you know that the terminology known as skinning has been around for quite some time, but never in the hands of mainstream designers and Web developers in the content management space? Simple skinning or skin themes, which are more familiar, started back in the days of Windows when you could change the color/background of your desktop.

Creating Composite Server Controls in ASP.NET 2.0

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:30:00 EST

One underutilized technique for maximizing code reuse and increasing developer productivity is the creation and utilization of ASP.NET Server controls. Even when the problem domain is well known and understood, each new project has many developers starting at square one, dragging and dropping the common Visual Studio.NET controls onto a blank form and having to manually repeat the same processes that other developers in the company have had to perform in the past.

Jon Box's .NET Blog: ASP.NET Membership Provider and Different Servers

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 16:15:00 EST

I'm working on an application where I built a custom membership provider because of custom database scheme requirement. My custom membership provider is using the hashed format for passwords and user answers. I've got that working and now want to deploy the new application including the new provider. Due to the encryption in ASP.NET being based on the MachineKey and wanting to share the data in development and early testing (ie. different web servers), I needed a MachineKey at the application level.

Managing an Open Source Project for DotNetNuke

Mon, 26 Dec 2005 16:00:00 EST

In December 2004 it was decided that DotNetNuke would break out its existing core modules into separate Projects so that they could be enhanced, released, and supported independently from the core Web Application Framework. It was further decided that some additional modules would also be added as official Projects to provide an increased level of richness to the platform. The first modules that we determined were going to be added were the TTT Forum and TTT Gallery, authored by Tam Tran Minh of TTT Corporation. I was already working closely with Tam on these modules, and I volunteered to co-lead the development of these Projects and to help morph them into modules that take full advantage of the DotNetNuke Web Application Framework.

ASP.NET - Introducing the "DotNetNuke" Web Application Framework

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 14:15:00 EST

Over the past few years, a paradigm shift of monumental proportions has been quietly occurring on the World Wide Web. The traditional 'brand-builder' Web site whose sole purpose was the delivery of static marketing information to potential customers has finally lost its appeal. Fuelled by the demands of Web-savvy business owners and consumers, a new breed of highly functional Web applications has emerged; these applications deliver dynamic content, community collaboration, interactive behavior, and real-time communication.

Using an RSS Feed as a Content Service in ASP.NET

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 11:00:00 EDT

RSS is the technology driving the blogging craze that's sweeping the Internet, but it's far more than a blogging technology. It's a prime foundation on which to build 'service-oriented' applications.

Bring Windows to the Web: Bringing Desktop Apps to Your Web Sites

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 02:30:00 EDT

Since the introduction of CGI in 1993, the Web has become an increasingly popular medium for interactive content and application development. The evolution of Web programming has come a long way in 12 years, and new technologies are being introduced on an almost daily basis. As a developer, it can be difficult to determine which new technologies are worth implementing and which should just be left alone.

Introducing ASP 2.0 Master Pages

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 15:00:00 EDT

While meeting with the development staff of a local company we began discussing a project that the CIO had assigned them earlier that morning. The project was actually the first in a series of about 15 planned Web sites scheduled over the next year. Each site was designed to expose sales and marketing collateral to their international reseller community. Their lead developer explained that the first site would contain about a hundred pages, but when complete they expected each site to have several thousand distinct pages. He said, 'Layout control and reusability are key for this project to have any chance of success.'