ASP. NET V. 2. 0-the Beta Version

by Homer, Alex; Sussman, Dave; Howard, Rob

• ISBN13: 9780321257277
• ISBN10: 0321257278
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Summary

Fully supported by Microsoft's ASP.NET team, this is an authoritative and practical look at the new version of ASP.NET

Author Biography

Alex Homer is managing director of Stonebroom, Ltd. Dave Sussman speaks frequently at Microsoft development conferences and has been writing about ASP since its earliest releases Rob Howard founded Telligent Systems

Table of Contents

Figures	xvii
Tables	xxiii
Foreword	xxix
Preface	xxxiii
1 An Introduction to ASP.NET 2.0	1	(26)
What's Wrong with ASP.NET 1.x?	1	(2)
New Features	3	(21)
Templates for a Consistent Look and Feel	3	(2)
Styles for Controls	5	(2)
Securing Your Site	7	(2)
Personalizing Your Site	9	(2)
Creating Portals	11	(5)
Setting Up and Managing Your Site	16	(2)
Using Images on Your Site	18	(1)
Using Data on Your Site	19	(2)
Internationalization	21	(1)
Adding Mobility Support	22	(2)
Compilation and Deployment	24	(1)
Development Tools	25	(1)
Summary	26	(1)
2 Tools and Architecture	27	(26)
Visual Studio 2005	28	(12)
Project-less Development	30	(2)
The Solution Explorer	32	(1)
The Toolbox	32	(1)
The Design Window	32	(2)
The Design Surface	34	(1)
The Server Explorer	35	(3)
Visual Inheritance	38	(1)
Built-in Administration	39	(1)
Code Separation	40	(2)
Dynamic Compilation	42	(6)
New Folders for Dynamic Compilation	42	(1)
Using the \Code Folder in Visual Studio 2005	43	(1)
Folder Hierarchy	44	(4)
Pre-compilation of Applications	48	(4)
In-place Pre-compilation	48	(2)
Pre-compilation for Deployment without Source	50	(1)
Pre-compilation for Deployment with Source	51	(1)
The Compilation API	51	(1)
Summary	52	(1)
3 Data Source Controls and Data Binding	53	(52)
Code-Free Data Binding	54	(10)
Displaying Data with a Data Source Control	54	(2)
Adding Row Sorting Capabilities	56	(1)
Adding Row Paging Capabilities	56	(1)
Built-in Small-Screen and Mobile Device Support	57	(2)
Linking Page Controls and Data Source Control Parameters	59	(2)
Editing Data with a GridView and a Data Source Control	61	(2)
The Details View Control	63	(1)
Data Source Controls	64	(38)
Types of Data Source Controls	65	(1)
The SqlDataSource Control	66	(18)
The AccessDataSource Control	84	(2)
The Base Classes for the Data Source Controls	86	(1)
The XmlDataSource Control	87	(5)
The DataSetDataSource Control	92	(2)
The ObjectDataSource Control	94	(8)
Possible Forthcoming Data Source Controls	102	(1)
Summary	102	(3)
4 The GridView, DetailsView, and FormView Controls	105	(64)
The GridView Control	106	(36)
An Overview of the GridView Control	106	(1)
Declaring a GridView Control	107	(16)
Defining the Columns in a GridView Control	123	(13)
Using a Mixture of Column Types	136	(6)
The DetailsView Control	142	(14)
Using a Stand-Alone Details View Control	143	(2)
Creating a Master-Detail Page with GridView and Details View Controls	145	(1)
Inserting and Editing Rows with a Details View Control	146	(4)
The Details View Control Interface	150	(6)
The FormView Control	156	(5)
Declaring a FormView Control	156	(1)
Declaring Templates for a FormView Control	157	(4)
The New and Simplified Data Binding Syntax	161	(5)
The ASP.NET 1.0 Syntax for Data Binding	161	(1)
Simplified ASP.NET 2.0 Syntax for Nonhierarchical Data Binding	162	(1)
Simplified ASP.NET 2.0 Syntax for Hierarchical (XML) Data Binding	162	(2)
Two-Way Data Binding Syntax for Templated Controls	164	(2)
New and Simplified Data Binding Syntax Options	166	(1)
Building Data-Bound Pages with Visual Studio 2005	166	(2)
Summary	168	(1)
5 Master Pages and Navigation	169	(34)
Master Pages in Detail	169	(14)
Creating Master Pages	170	(2)
Using a Master Page	172	(2)
Default Content	174	(1)
Nested Master Pages	174	(5)
Master Page Configuration	179	(1)
Device-Specific Master Pages	180	(1)
Event Ordering	181	(1)
Setting the Master Page Programmatically	181	(1)
Accessing the Master Page	181	(2)
Navigation	183	(19)
Site Maps	184	(1)
Site Map Providers	184	(2)
Site Map Configuration Files	186	(2)
Using a Site Map File	188	(1)
Site Maps in Depth	189	(3)
Showing a Navigation Path	192	(3)
SiteMapPath Events	195	(2)
The SiteMapNode Object	197	(1)
Accessing the Site Map at Runtime	198	(1)
Navigation Controls	199	(3)
Summary	202	(1)
6 Security	203	(50)
Membership	206	(18)
Membership Providers	208	(1)
Setting Up Membership	209	(1)
Creating a New User	209	(4)
Validating User Credentials	213	(1)
Retrieving a User	213	(5)
The Membership User Class	218	(3)
Updating a User's Properties	221	(1)
Deleting a User	222	(2)
Security Server Controls	224	(10)
The CreateUserWizard Control	224	(1)
The Login Control	225	(2)
The Login Status Control	227	(2)
The Login View Control	229	(2)
The Password Recovery Control	231	(3)
Role Manager	234	(11)
Setting Up Role Manager	235	(2)
Creating Roles	237	(2)
Adding Users to Roles	239	(1)
Returning a User's Roles	240	(2)
Checking Whether a User Is in a Role	242	(1)
Removing Users from Roles	242	(1)
Deleting a Role	242	(2)
Role Caching	244	(1)
Cookieless Forms Authentication	245	(2)
Enabling Cookieless Forms Authentication	245	(2)
The Web Site Administration Tool	247	(4)
The Home Page	248	(1)
The Security Page	248	(1)
Security Management	249	(2)
Other Pages	251	(1)
Summary	251	(2)
7 Personalization and Themes	253	(46)
Storing and Retrieving User Personalization Data	255	(16)
Configuring Personalization	256	(5)
Accessing Other Users' Personalization Data	261	(1)
Setting Up the Databases for Personalization	261	(7)
Data Access Optimizations	268	(3)
Membership and Personalization	271	(1)
Anonymous Identification	271	(2)
Anonymous Personalization	273	(3)
Migrating from Anonymous to Authenticated Users	275	(1)
The Provider Design Pattern	276	(3)
Configuration	276	(2)
Implementation of the ProviderBase Base Class	278	(1)
Implementation of the Feature-Specific Interface	279	(1)
Writing a Personalization Provider	279	(5)
Configuring Profile Properties	284	(2)
Themes	286	(12)
Themes and Skins	286	(1)
Customization Themes and Stylesheet Themes	287	(1)
Global Themes	287	(1)
Creating Themes	287	(3)
Setting a Page Customization Theme	290	(1)
Setting a Page Stylesheet Theme	290	(1)
Setting a Skin	291	(1)
Applying Skins to All Controls	292	(1)
Applying Skins to Dynamically Created Controls	292	(1)
Allowing User Selection of Skins 293`
Using Personalization for Themes	293	(2)
Collections of Controls	295	(1)
Disabling Themes	296	(1)
Adding Themes to a Site	297	(1)
Enabling Themes in Custom Controls	297	(1)
Summary	298	(1)
8 Web Parts and the Portal Framework	299	(42)
The ASP.NET 2.0 Portal Framework	300	(6)
The Goals of the Portal Framework	301	(3)
About the Web Parts Framework	304	(2)
A Simple Web Parts Example Page	306	(16)
An Overall View of the Example Page	306	(5)
The Events Zone Declaration	311	(1)
The Web Part User Control Declarations	312	(2)
Catalog Zones	314	(3)
Editor Zones	317	(1)
Page Design and Web Part Editing	318	(3)
Help Features for Web Parts	321	(1)
Connecting Web Parts	322	(2)
Declaring Static Connections	323	(1)
Editing Web Part Connections	323	(1)
Working with Web Parts in Code	324	(15)
The WebPartManager Class	326	(4)
The Zone Classes	330	(5)
The GenericWebPart Class	335	(4)
Web Parts and Visual Studio 2005	339	(1)
Summary	340	(1)
9 Pages, Posting, Resources, and Validation	341	(52)
Cross-Page Posting	342	(4)
Posting to Another Page	342	(1)
Accessing the Previous Page	343	(1)
Transferring to Another Page in Code	344	(1)
Detecting Cross-Page Posting	345	(1)
The Page Life Cycle	346	(1)
Posting to Another Application	346	(1)
Validation	346	(3)
The ValidationGroup Property	347	(2)
The SetFocusOnError Property	349	(1)
The ValidateEmptyText Property	349	(1)
URL Mapping	349	(2)
Client-Side Script Features	351	(10)
Registering Script Blocks	351	(1)
Client Callbacks	352	(9)
New Form Capabilities	361	(2)
Form Focus	362	(1)
Client Click Events	362	(1)
Submitting Disabled Controls	363	(1)
Changes to Page Directives	363	(3)
The Page Directive	364	(1)
The Master Directive	364	(1)
The MasterType Directive	365	(1)
The PreviousPageType Directive	365	(1)
Changes to Page Headings	366	(1)
xHTML Compliance	366	(1)
The Page and Control Life Cycle	367	(2)
Site and Page Counters	369	(8)
Using Site Counters	371	(3)
Configuring Site and Page Counters	374	(3)
Resources and Localization	377	(11)
Code-Free Localization	377	(9)
What Expression Type to Use, and When	386	(1)
User-Selectable Localization	386	(1)
Programmatic Access of Resources	387	(1)
Extensibility	388	(1)
Web Resources	388	(2)
Summary	390	(3)
10 The New Browser and Mobile Device Controls	393	(74)
Programming for Different Types of Devices	394	(2)
The Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit	395	(1)
The Unified Control and Adapter Architecture	396	(8)
Browser Definitions	400	(1)
The BrowserCapabilities Class	401	(1)
Page Design and Device Support	402	(1)
Device Filters	402	(2)
Summary of the New Controls in AS'P.NET 2.0	404	(4)
Standard Form- and Page-Based Controls	404	(1)
Rich Controls	405	(1)
Login and Authentication Controls	406	(1)
Navigation Controls and Counters	406	(1)
Data Access and Display Controls	407	(1)
Mobile Device Controls	408	(1)
The New Controls in Detail	408	(47)
New Controls within the HtmlControls Namespace	408	(10)
The BulletedList Control	418	(5)
The Dynamiclmage Control	423	(4)
The Image Generation Service	427	(2)
The ImageMap Control	429	(5)
The FileUpload Control	434	(3)
The HiddenField Control	437	(2)
The MultiView and View Controls	439	(7)
The Wizard Control	446	(9)
Controls and Attributes Specific to Mobile Devices	455	(9)
The ContentPager Control	456	(6)
The PhoneLink Control	462	(1)
The SoftKeyLabel Attribute	463	(1)
Mobile Browser Emulators	464	(1)
Summary	465	(2)
11 Enhancements to Existing Controls	467	(40)
Summary of New Control Features	468	(5)
Accessibility Improvements	468	(1)
Input Control Enhancements	469	(1)
Changes to the Forms and Postback Architecture	470	(1)
Validation Controls and Validation Groups	470	(1)
Data Source Control Integration	471	(1)
Mobile Device Support	471	(1)
Site and Page Counter Integration	472	(1)
List Control Enhancements	472	(1)
Themes Integration	472	(1)
Tables of Control Enhancements	473	(8)
Enhancements to Existing Controls in the HtmlControls Namespace	473	(1)
Enhancements to Existing Controls in the WebControls Namespace	474	(7)
Details of Individual Control Enhancements	481	(24)
The AdRotator Control	481	(6)
The Button, LinkButton, and ImageButton Controls	487	(1)
The CheckBox Control	488	(1)
The DataGrid Control	489	(1)
The HyperLink Control	490	(1)
The Image Control	491	(1)
The Label Control	491	(1)
The List and Listltem Controls	492	(3)
The Literal Control	495	(1)
The Panel Control	496	(2)
The Table, TableHeaderCell, and TableCell Controls	498	(7)
Summary	505	(2)
12 Caching	507	(16)
Enabling Database Cache Invalidation	510	(4)
Enabling a Database for SQL Cache Invalidation	512	(1)
Enabling a Table for SQL Cache Invalidation	512	(1)
Listing Tables Enabled for SQL Cache Invalidation	513	(1)
Invalidating the ASP.NET Cache	514	(4)
Configuration	514	(1)
Invalidating Output-Cached Pages	515	(3)
The SqlCacheDependency Class	518	(2)
Creating SQL Server 7 and 2000 Dependencies	519	(1)
Creating SQL Server 2005 Dependencies	519	(1)
The CacheDependency Class	520	(1)
Summary	521	(2)
13 Configuration and Administration	523	(62)
Application Configuration Files	524	(46)
Changed Sections	524	(9)
New Sections	533	(37)
State Management	570	(6)
Control State	571	(1)
Page State Persistence	572	(1)
Session State Plugability	573	(3)
The Web Site Administration Tool	576	(4)
The Management API	580	(1)
IIS Integration	581	(3)
Management Classes	582	(2)
Summary	584	(1)
Index	585

Excerpts

Dynamic Web page generation techniques have been around for many years, but ASP.NET took the world by storm when it was released in February 2002. The advent of a new page and postback architecture, server controls, and the whole .NET Framework made it easier to build Web sites and Web applications that performed better while reducing the amount of work required by the developer. So, it comes as no surprise to see a new version of the .NET Framework, and with it version 2.0 of ASP.NET, starting to appear on the horizon. Sometime in 2005 we should have the final release of version 2.0 of the .NET Framework, together with new versions of Visual Studio and other tools. In the meantime, Microsoft is following its usual policy of involving developers as early in the process as possible, giving them the chance to provide feedback on the new product. So, with the final release of version 2.0 still some way off, why would you be interested in it now? The simple answer is, of course, that as a developer you need to keep abreast of what's going on in your industry. And more than that, being aware of what's coming in the future might well in- fluence what you do today, in the overall design of your applications and the preparations and plans you make for upcoming products and applications. This book will help by introducing you to the new features that will be in version 2.0 of ASP.NET and how they can benefit your Web site and Web application development. And perhaps you don't actually intend to install the early releases of version 2.0, but you just want to know more about what it offers. No problem-that's OK with us as well! Versions and Release Schedules Before you read any further, it's important that you understand what this book covers and how it relates to the future and final releases of ASP.NET version 2.0. The first public beta of version 2.0 of the .NET Framework arrives in mid-2004. There will probably be another beta release later in 2004, followed by a final release. However, there are unlikely to be any significant changes between the first beta release and the finished product because this phase of the development cycle concentrates on moving from "code complete" status though fine-tuning and bug fixing to final release. This book covers the first beta release, and as such the class interface listings and code samples you see here cannot be guaranteed to work in exactly the same way right through to the final release version. However, the principles and general syntax are unlikely to differ by anything more than minor details. What This Book Covers This is not just a reference book but also a feature-packed exploration of version 2.0 of ASP.NET. It covers the changes between ASP.NET 1.x and ASP.NET 2.0 that make it even easier to build efficient, attractive, and interactive Web sites and Web applications using the new features in ASP.NET, while considerably reducing developer effort and code requirements. The first chapter presents an overview of the new version and also lays out the roadmap for the remainder of the book. The following chapters discuss how the common requirements of developers have been addressed, starting with the ubiquitous need to access data from your pages and then progressing through to a detailed look at the new configuration and management features that version 2.0 provides. Along with the final release of ASP.NET 2.0 we will, of course, see a new version of Visual Studio and other tools. While we do include some details of the new version of Visual Studio, called Visual Studio 2005, the book does not concentrate on this area. Many developers will be writing ASP.NET pages using other tools (including, we suspect, a text editor) while Visual Studio 2005 is still under development. What You Need to Use This Book The main thing you need to use this book is the beta release of versio