ASP.NET: Getting Set To Go
Ok, let's get started on our rough (emphasis should be on that word) guide to getting going with ASP.NET.
First things first you'll need to do is setup your (Windows) machine as a development environment. Quickest way to do this is with the Web Platform Installer, which will install Visual Web Developer 2010 Express and SQL Server Express, as well as any add-ons you choose.
You can find the installer on this page. It's all very straight-forward. There's a video here that's worth watching (requires Silverlight! Hey, welcomes to MS world).
Be sure to install SQL Server Management Studio and choose "mixed mode" authentication.
Once done, you can visit http://localhost in your browser and should see the IIS7 default page. If not, something went wrong.
Your start menu should have entries for Visual Studio Web Developer and for SQL Server Management Studio. If not you'll need to start over as these will be essentials.
If you plan to work along with me then why not get all of the above done now in preparation for starting on Monday.
Where We Going From Here?
Here's what I want to cover:
- Adding a database in SQL Server
- Creating a new web project in Visual Studio
- Connecting to the database from Visual Studio
- Creating a DataSet in Visual Studio
- Creating a web page to display data from the database
- Creating a class to represent the data as objects.
- Using "factories" to load sets of data objects
- Displaying the objects in web pages
- Using forms to add data to the database
- Adding validation to the forms
- Adding authentication to the site
- Using Localization for a multi-lingual site
- Configuring redirect rules in IIS
- Deploying the app to a live server
There's lots more to talk about, but they're the main points. Maybe I'll need more than a week...
I'll be assuming, naturally, that you're all web developers and that you have the wherewithal not to need a complete step-by-step guide. If you do then there are plenty of guides and videos out there.
My aim is not to duplicate what's already out there, but to offer an alternate slant and also fill some holes. There are lots of little things (as with any platform) that the guides and videos neglect to mention, but which are essential to "getting started". I want to try and cover as many of those as possible.
What I need now is a fictional website to create. Any ideas? Book store, wine store? What about a site for a zoo that lists all the animals? Or maybe best to create something that usable in the "real world"?
It needs to be something fairly simple, but also complicated enough to be able to show working with "complex" data. A zoo might not cut it, as it's just a list of animals. Although I suppose there's the zookeepers and the pens etc. Maybe I'll go with a zoo...
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Go with something original..I like the zoo.
You can get into feeding schedules, deliveries of supplies, animals at the vets, bookings for behind the scenes experiences...the example can certainly be as complicated as you require.
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And make sure there is a fish called Wanda
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Yeah, I guess you're right. At there's one relationship to handle -- keeper to animal. I just didn't want it to be a completely "flat" data file.
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Hi jake ... i have not been back for a visit for a while i knew you were keen on visual studio, but LAMP, PHP was the new direction for website dev, is this a new direction?
i have developed a little in both and know some of the issues of each, but i am interested as to your choice ... ASP?
what are the latest costs for hosting both environments? it would be interesting to see a present day comparison.
i am always interested in your work and your blog's have something to offer everyone.
keep up the good work,
glyn.
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Hosting ASP.NET will always be more expensive, as LAMP is licensing-free. There's not that much in it though. Just look at any hosting providers site for examples. I paid under a grand for a year of hosting for a well-specked Windows server.
I prefer ASP partly because (don't laugh) it feels more "businessey". But mainly because Visual Studio makes working a pleasure. No other IDE i've used has ever made me feel that.
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FDT - http://www.fdt.powerflasher.com/ for Flex / Actionscript development is pretty close in terms of a pleasure & speed of development.
It would be good if you could relate how you would done a specific step in Domino or even if it was possible while working through your tutorials.
Boring I know but what some form of task management type app aka Basecamp? Always got room for one more of those.
That way theres more incentive to build on your example.
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This should be interesting and usefull - I'm in... :)
Couple of mistakes I already made (though I installed IIS and SQLExpress without the WPI thinking it isn't working for me):
- installer needs to run from IE, won't work well with Chrome (my default browser) *shame*
- connection to SQLExpress works with server name ".\SQLExpress", not the default "(local)" it gave me (if you named your instance SQLExpress)
Why is there "29 days remaining" in the Visual Web Developer 2010 Express? I thought the Express versions were free permanently...
About the sample application. I tend to start experimenting with "Person". It alone gives a lot of choices:
Person<Me>
Person<Mother, Father>
Person<Children>
Or in java, something like:
public class Person {
private String lastname;
private String firstname;
private Person father;
private Person mother;
private Vector<Person> children;
etc.
}
If I need to, I often add something like Order and OrderLine etc. For the Person...
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I believe that the Express version needs to be registered with Microsoft, using menu item under help menu, for continued use after the 30 days.
Jake, thank you for writing the series of articles. I am cross training from domino to .net and have found the microsoft training courses did not cover everything that I would have liked.
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I'm just starting a project to move both of my locations to Windows 7. Once I get that done I will all in, watching the entire time though as not to get behind.
I was thinking, why not a bakery or manufacturing. A bakery needs all of its ingredients per recipe, using different amounts per recipe, and then cooking times and even cooking methods (fried, baked, grilled, roasted, raw, etc). Or manufacturing, you need components a, b, and c to go into assembly 123 that goes into three or four configurations. Just a thought.
Looking forward to it.
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Looking forward to your posts on the matter Jake, very interesting.
Although I won't watch the install video, Silverlight will not be installed anymore on my Mac. It is the prime example of a product that breaks compatibility between months releases. Crap.
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So far so good. I will be ready for class on Monday.
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Jake, I hope you will follow MVC architecture..
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Do you mean following a general MVC discipline or actualling using ASP.NET MVC?
I've not yet used ASP.NET MVC, but will at some point and then I'll probably write about it too.
Whether what I'm about to talk about now follows an MVC architecture or not I'm not sure.
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