Today I have found a very good article on ASP.Net development. Here it is
ASP.NET
ASP.NET, the next version of ASP, is a programming framework used to create enterprise-class Web Applications. These applications are accessible on a global basis leading to effecient information managment. The advantages ASP.NET offers is more than just the next version of ASP.
Why ASP.NET?
Since 1995, Microsoft has been constantly working to shift it's focus from Windows-based platforms to the Internet. As a result, Microsoft introduced ASP (Active Server Pages) in November 1996. ASP offered the efficiency of ISAPI applications along with a new level of simplicity that made it easy to understand and use. However, ASP script was an interpreted script and consisted unstructured code and was difficult to debug and maintain. As the web consists of many different technologies, software integration for Web development was complicated and required to understand many different technologies. Also, as applications grew bigger in size and became more complex, the number of lines of source code in ASP applications increased dramatically and was hard to maintain. Therefore, an architecture was needed that would allow development of Web applications in a structured and consistent way.
The .NET Framework was introduced with a vision to create globally distributed software with Internet functionality and interoperability. The .NET Framework consists of many class libraries, includes multiple language support and a common execution platform. It's a very flexible foundation on which many different types of top class applications can be developed that do different things. Developing Internet applications with the .NET Framework is very easy. ASP.NET is built into this framework, we can create ASP.NET applications using any of the built-in languages.
Unlike ASP, ASP.NET uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) provided by the .NET Framework. This CLR manages execution of the code we write. ASP.NET code is a compiled CLR code instead of interpreted code (ASP). CLR also allows objects written in different languages to interact with each other. The CLR makes developement of Web applications simple.
Advantages Using ASP.NET
ASP.NET drastically reduces the amount of code required to build large applications
ASP.NET makes development simpler and easier to maintain with an event-driven, server-side programming model
ASP.NET pages are easy to write and maintain because the source code and HTML are together
The source code is executed on the server. The pages have lots of power and flexibility by this approach
The source code is compiled the first time the page is requested. Execution is fast as the Web Server compiles the page the first time it is requested. The server saves the compiled version of the page for use next time the page is requested
The HTML produced by the ASP.NET page is sent back to the browser. The application source code you write is not sent and is not easily stolen
ASP.NET makes for easy deployment. There is no need to register components because the configuration information is built-in
The Web server continuously monitors the pages, components and applications running on it. If it noticies memory leaks, infinite loops, other illegal software or activities, it seamlessly kills those activities and restarts itself
ASP.NET validates information (validation controls) entered by the user without writing a single line of code
ASP.NET easily works with ADO .NET using data-binding and page formatting features
ASP.NET applications run fater and counters large volumes of users without performance problems
Differences between ASP.NET and Client-Side Technologies
Client-side refers to the browser and the machine running the browser. Server-side on the other hand refers to a Web server.
Client-Side Scripting
Javascript and VBScript and generally used for Client-side scripting. Client-side scripting executes in the browser after the page is loaded. Using client-side scripting you can add some cool features to your page. Both, HTML and the script are together in the same file and the script is download as part of the page which anyone can view. A client-side script runs only on a browser that supports scripting and specifically the scripting language that is used. Since the script is in the same file as the HTML and as it executes on the machine you use, the page may take longer time to download.
Server-Side Scripting
ASP.NET is purely server-side technology. ASP.NET code executes on the server before it is sent to the browser. The code that is sent back to the browser is pure HTML and not ASP.NET code. Like client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is similar in a way that it allows you to write your code alongside HTML. Unlike client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is executed on the server and not in the browser. The script that you write alongside your HTML is not sent back to the browser and that prevents others from stealing the code you developed
Monday, April 21, 2008
All About ASP.Net Development
Today I have found a very good article on ASP.Net development. Here it is
ASP.NET
ASP.NET, the next version of ASP, is a programming framework used to create enterprise-class Web Applications. These applications are accessible on a global basis leading to effecient information managment. The advantages ASP.NET offers is more than just the next version of ASP.
Why ASP.NET?
Since 1995, Microsoft has been constantly working to shift it's focus from Windows-based platforms to the Internet. As a result, Microsoft introduced ASP (Active Server Pages) in November 1996. ASP offered the efficiency of ISAPI applications along with a new level of simplicity that made it easy to understand and use. However, ASP script was an interpreted script and consisted unstructured code and was difficult to debug and maintain. As the web consists of many different technologies, software integration for Web development was complicated and required to understand many different technologies. Also, as applications grew bigger in size and became more complex, the number of lines of source code in ASP applications increased dramatically and was hard to maintain. Therefore, an architecture was needed that would allow development of Web applications in a structured and consistent way.
The .NET Framework was introduced with a vision to create globally distributed software with Internet functionality and interoperability. The .NET Framework consists of many class libraries, includes multiple language support and a common execution platform. It's a very flexible foundation on which many different types of top class applications can be developed that do different things. Developing Internet applications with the .NET Framework is very easy. ASP.NET is built into this framework, we can create ASP.NET applications using any of the built-in languages.
Unlike ASP, ASP.NET uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) provided by the .NET Framework. This CLR manages execution of the code we write. ASP.NET code is a compiled CLR code instead of interpreted code (ASP). CLR also allows objects written in different languages to interact with each other. The CLR makes developement of Web applications simple.
Advantages Using ASP.NET
ASP.NET drastically reduces the amount of code required to build large applications
ASP.NET makes development simpler and easier to maintain with an event-driven, server-side programming model
ASP.NET pages are easy to write and maintain because the source code and HTML are together
The source code is executed on the server. The pages have lots of power and flexibility by this approach
The source code is compiled the first time the page is requested. Execution is fast as the Web Server compiles the page the first time it is requested. The server saves the compiled version of the page for use next time the page is requested
The HTML produced by the ASP.NET page is sent back to the browser. The application source code you write is not sent and is not easily stolen
ASP.NET makes for easy deployment. There is no need to register components because the configuration information is built-in
The Web server continuously monitors the pages, components and applications running on it. If it noticies memory leaks, infinite loops, other illegal software or activities, it seamlessly kills those activities and restarts itself
ASP.NET validates information (validation controls) entered by the user without writing a single line of code
ASP.NET easily works with ADO .NET using data-binding and page formatting features
ASP.NET applications run fater and counters large volumes of users without performance problems
Differences between ASP.NET and Client-Side Technologies
Client-side refers to the browser and the machine running the browser. Server-side on the other hand refers to a Web server.
Client-Side Scripting
Javascript and VBScript and generally used for Client-side scripting. Client-side scripting executes in the browser after the page is loaded. Using client-side scripting you can add some cool features to your page. Both, HTML and the script are together in the same file and the script is download as part of the page which anyone can view. A client-side script runs only on a browser that supports scripting and specifically the scripting language that is used. Since the script is in the same file as the HTML and as it executes on the machine you use, the page may take longer time to download.
Server-Side Scripting
ASP.NET is purely server-side technology. ASP.NET code executes on the server before it is sent to the browser. The code that is sent back to the browser is pure HTML and not ASP.NET code. Like client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is similar in a way that it allows you to write your code alongside HTML. Unlike client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is executed on the server and not in the browser. The script that you write alongside your HTML is not sent back to the browser and that prevents others from stealing the code you developed.
ASP.NET
ASP.NET, the next version of ASP, is a programming framework used to create enterprise-class Web Applications. These applications are accessible on a global basis leading to effecient information managment. The advantages ASP.NET offers is more than just the next version of ASP.
Why ASP.NET?
Since 1995, Microsoft has been constantly working to shift it's focus from Windows-based platforms to the Internet. As a result, Microsoft introduced ASP (Active Server Pages) in November 1996. ASP offered the efficiency of ISAPI applications along with a new level of simplicity that made it easy to understand and use. However, ASP script was an interpreted script and consisted unstructured code and was difficult to debug and maintain. As the web consists of many different technologies, software integration for Web development was complicated and required to understand many different technologies. Also, as applications grew bigger in size and became more complex, the number of lines of source code in ASP applications increased dramatically and was hard to maintain. Therefore, an architecture was needed that would allow development of Web applications in a structured and consistent way.
The .NET Framework was introduced with a vision to create globally distributed software with Internet functionality and interoperability. The .NET Framework consists of many class libraries, includes multiple language support and a common execution platform. It's a very flexible foundation on which many different types of top class applications can be developed that do different things. Developing Internet applications with the .NET Framework is very easy. ASP.NET is built into this framework, we can create ASP.NET applications using any of the built-in languages.
Unlike ASP, ASP.NET uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) provided by the .NET Framework. This CLR manages execution of the code we write. ASP.NET code is a compiled CLR code instead of interpreted code (ASP). CLR also allows objects written in different languages to interact with each other. The CLR makes developement of Web applications simple.
Advantages Using ASP.NET
ASP.NET drastically reduces the amount of code required to build large applications
ASP.NET makes development simpler and easier to maintain with an event-driven, server-side programming model
ASP.NET pages are easy to write and maintain because the source code and HTML are together
The source code is executed on the server. The pages have lots of power and flexibility by this approach
The source code is compiled the first time the page is requested. Execution is fast as the Web Server compiles the page the first time it is requested. The server saves the compiled version of the page for use next time the page is requested
The HTML produced by the ASP.NET page is sent back to the browser. The application source code you write is not sent and is not easily stolen
ASP.NET makes for easy deployment. There is no need to register components because the configuration information is built-in
The Web server continuously monitors the pages, components and applications running on it. If it noticies memory leaks, infinite loops, other illegal software or activities, it seamlessly kills those activities and restarts itself
ASP.NET validates information (validation controls) entered by the user without writing a single line of code
ASP.NET easily works with ADO .NET using data-binding and page formatting features
ASP.NET applications run fater and counters large volumes of users without performance problems
Differences between ASP.NET and Client-Side Technologies
Client-side refers to the browser and the machine running the browser. Server-side on the other hand refers to a Web server.
Client-Side Scripting
Javascript and VBScript and generally used for Client-side scripting. Client-side scripting executes in the browser after the page is loaded. Using client-side scripting you can add some cool features to your page. Both, HTML and the script are together in the same file and the script is download as part of the page which anyone can view. A client-side script runs only on a browser that supports scripting and specifically the scripting language that is used. Since the script is in the same file as the HTML and as it executes on the machine you use, the page may take longer time to download.
Server-Side Scripting
ASP.NET is purely server-side technology. ASP.NET code executes on the server before it is sent to the browser. The code that is sent back to the browser is pure HTML and not ASP.NET code. Like client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is similar in a way that it allows you to write your code alongside HTML. Unlike client-side scripting, ASP.NET code is executed on the server and not in the browser. The script that you write alongside your HTML is not sent back to the browser and that prevents others from stealing the code you developed.
ASP.NET page preprocessing
One of the things we love to do is remove tedium from code. That subject will probably be the topic of this post, and many of our posts in the future I'm sure, as we've done a lot of things in that department. ASP.NET is lacking in a number of areas, as I'm sure most of you know. It's "strong point" is supposed to be its declarative nature--but that often leads to very difficult to test pages. Not only that, but it's declarative syntax leaves much to be desired. My primary complaint is with its verbosity. There's nothing simple about ASP.NET syntax. Here's an example:
Next, we've got the ID tag. I don't really have a problem with that, it's implemented just fine. Then there's the NavigateUrl. Notice the ~. I love that. It's something that ASP.NET did right. It makes it a breeze to make pages location agnostic... unless of course you want to use a non-asp control. Then you've got to use this lovely syntax:
OK, let's move on to my favorite subject--Globalization/Localization. ASP.NET 2.0 has come a long way on this front. It's much easier to localize your pages the way ASP.NET 2.0 wants you to than the way ASP.NET 1.0 wanted you to, especially with the new meta:resourcekey attribute and automatic generation of resources. Unfortunately, it's still not as simple and elegant as it could be. If you don't want to use the meta:resource attribute (because you have a shared string) then you have to use the lovely Resources: syntax seen up above, and you have to manually create your resx file, and manually name and fill in your default locale value. If you want to localize a literal, you get to use wonderfully verbose <asp:Localize> control.
Another complaint that isn't demonstrated in the example is with Databinding. The databinding syntax is pretty clean, I don't have any complaints about that, but its implementation is a bit poor, mainly because of its use of uncached reflection. It's been a while since I benchmarked it, but if my memory serves me (and often it doesn't) then it took about 30% longer to databind using the reflexive <%# Field %> syntax than it did to use <%# ((Class)Container.DataItem).Field %>. Who wants to write all of the latter, especially with autocomplete in aspx pages being flaky at best?
So how could ASP.NET be less verbose and more elegant? How could WE make it better without being able to extend the many internal and sealed classes that make up the webforms engine?
Preprocessing!
Here's an overview of what you do.
<asp:HyperLink runat="server" ID="_lnkForgot" NavigateUrl='~/ForgotPassword.aspx' Text='<%$ Resources: PageStrings, Login_lnkForgot_Text %>' />
Now, let's complain a little. First, we've got that runat="server" tag. Who's idea was that? I mean, I understand why it's there, but how often are you going to want <asp:Anything> to be sent to the client in that form? Wouldn't it make more sense to just ASSUME that <anything:Anything> was runat="server" and just allow us to specify runat="client" and strip that attribute when rendering if we really want to send that to the client?
Next, we've got the ID tag. I don't really have a problem with that, it's implemented just fine. Then there's the NavigateUrl. Notice the ~. I love that. It's something that ASP.NET did right. It makes it a breeze to make pages location agnostic... unless of course you want to use a non-asp control. Then you've got to use this lovely syntax:
<img src='<%= ResolveClientUrl("~/Images/img.gif") %>' />
Ah yes, that just screams beautiful. Now would it have really been that difficult to replace ~ with ApplicationPath and let ~~ by as ~ in attributes?
OK, let's move on to my favorite subject--Globalization/Localization. ASP.NET 2.0 has come a long way on this front. It's much easier to localize your pages the way ASP.NET 2.0 wants you to than the way ASP.NET 1.0 wanted you to, especially with the new meta:resourcekey attribute and automatic generation of resources. Unfortunately, it's still not as simple and elegant as it could be. If you don't want to use the meta:resource attribute (because you have a shared string) then you have to use the lovely Resources: syntax seen up above, and you have to manually create your resx file, and manually name and fill in your default locale value. If you want to localize a literal, you get to use wonderfully verbose <asp:Localize> control.
Another complaint that isn't demonstrated in the example is with Databinding. The databinding syntax is pretty clean, I don't have any complaints about that, but its implementation is a bit poor, mainly because of its use of uncached reflection. It's been a while since I benchmarked it, but if my memory serves me (and often it doesn't) then it took about 30% longer to databind using the reflexive <%# Field %> syntax than it did to use <%# ((Class)Container.DataItem).Field %>. Who wants to write all of the latter, especially with autocomplete in aspx pages being flaky at best?
So how could ASP.NET be less verbose and more elegant? How could WE make it better without being able to extend the many internal and sealed classes that make up the webforms engine?
Preprocessing!
Here's an overview of what you do.
- Create a generator that extends Microsoft.CustomTool.BaseCodeGeneratorWithSite for .aspx files and do your preprocessing here.
- Create a wizard that extends Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizard.IWizard to set up a file hiearchy like this:
- Page.myaspx
- Page.aspx
- Page.aspx.cs
- Page.aspx.designer.cs
- Page.aspx
- Page.myaspx
- Create an ItemTemplate for your item that contains these files and sets your custom tool to the generator you created in step one.
- Add a new myaspx to your project and make sure you don't ever modify the aspx directly (this takes some getting used to)
- Add runat="server" tags to all <anything:anything> nodes that don't have it.
- Replace "~/blah" with an appropriate call to ResolveClientUrl
- Do some localization magic
<asp:HyperLink ID="_lnkForgot" NavigateUrl='~/ForgotPassword.aspx' Text="$:Forgot your Username or Password?" />
This is actually the markup that we wrote to generate the markup at the beginning of this post. See the $:? That tells the generator to create a resource in PageStrings.resx with the format Page_ID_Property that has the value that appears after the $:. You never need to touch that resx file. You can just write your markup, define your strings, and not be interrupted, or even have to name your strings. If you want to name your strings, say something global. Just do "$Name: This is a string" and if you want to use it later just use "$Name".
- Make databinding strongly typed. This requires a bit of help, as you can't easily infer the type being bound by just inspecting the source. Our solution was to add a DataType="Class" attribute to whatever the repeating control was. For example:
<asp:Repeater ID="repeater" DataType="BoundClass">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:Label ID="textBox" Text='<%#@Name%>' />
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:Repeater>
Notice the @ in the <%#%> tag. That gets replaced with ((BoundClass)Container.DataItem), so you can do things like <%# String.Format("{0} {1}", @FirstName, @LastName) %>
So that's how we made ASP.NET more manageable. Now, there are still several issues with ASP.NET WebForms that caused us to eventually switch to MonoRail, which also benefits from preprocessing, but I'll post on that later.
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