Developing Killer Web Apps with Dreamweaver MX^® and C#^TM

by Chuck White

• ISBN13: 9780782142549
• ISBN10: 0782142540
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: Sybex

Summary

Dreamweaver MX 2004 is a great tool, and a great teacher. Its finely tuned support for ASP.NET makes it the fastest way to build serious data-driven web applications. And its transparent interface and the ultra-clean code it generates gives you ample opportunity to learn ASP.NET in its purest form. For those who aren't yet adept with ASP.NET, Developing Killer Web Apps with Dreamweaver MX and C# gives you the help you need interpreting what you see as Dreamweaver does its thing. This book provides a succinct and incisive tutorial on the C# syntax and classes that Dreamweaver uses to generate code for dynamic web applications. This is just the start, however. Once you've gotten your head around ASP.NET--or if it already is--you'll find this book to be a highly efficient guide to the business of saving time and solving difficult development problems with Dreamweaver as an integrated development environment. This includes help with some of Dreamweaver's most important, and yet most poorly documented, capabilities, such as working with stored procedures and generating web services. Here's more of what you'll find covered inside: * Building ASP.NET web controls * Writing ASP.NET scripts * Putting together web services using Dreamweaver * Using SQL inside Dreamweaver * Getting the most out of Dreamweaver's custom user control for .NET * Working with DataGrids and other databound controls * Validating pages Detailed examples address the real runtime problems that can adversely affect your applications, showing you how to avoid them, fix the ones that slip through, and make coding tweaks that measurably boost performance.

Author Biography

Chuck White has been working in web development since the mid 1990s. He is the lead author of Mastering XML Premium Edition with the W3C's XML Activity Lead, Liam Quin, and author of Mastering XSLT, both from Sybex. He is also co-author of the HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible, Third Edition, with Steve Schafer. Chuck currently works at eBay as a web engineer.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xv
Chapter 1 Configuring Dreamweaver for ASP.NET	1	(36)
Defining a Site	3	(8)
Using the Site Definition Wizard	3	(3)
Using the Advanced Tab to Define a Site	6	(5)
Setting Up the IIS Environment for Development	11	(3)
Installing IIS	12	(1)
Configuring IIS	13	(1)
Configuring Dreamweaver MX for Use in Versioning Software	14	(5)
Checking In and Checking Out	14	(2)
Configuring for Concurrent Versions System (CVS)	16	(1)
Configuring for Perforce	16	(2)
Configuring for Visual SourceSafe	18	(1)
The Art of Managing the Web.config File	19	(16)
Web.config Elements and Attributes	22	(13)
Deploying the Dreamweaver Control	35	(1)
Wrapping Up	36	(1)
Chapter 2 SQL and Dreamweaver Web Applications	37	(32)
Learning About SQL	38	(1)
The Fastest Primer Ever on Relational Databases	39	(7)
Tables: The Building Blocks of Databases	40	(1)
Creating Relationships with Keys	40	(6)
Creating Tables	46	(11)
Determining Datatypes	47	(3)
Creating a Table Using a GUI	50	(5)
Creating a Table Using SQL	55	(2)
A Crash Course in Data Manipulation	57	(10)
The SELECT Statement	57	(6)
The INSERT Statement	63	(3)
The UPDATE Statement	66	(1)
The DELETE Statement	66	(1)
Stored Procedures	67	(1)
Wrapping Up	68	(1)
Chapter 3 Working with Databases: An Introduction	69	(58)
How to Build Connection Strings	70	(10)
Another Way to Make a Connection String	74	(2)
Creating a New Data Source	76	(4)
Creating DataSets	80	(17)
Checking for Primary and Foreign Keys	80	(1)
Building the DataSet	81	(6)
Understanding Form Variables and the Process of Passing Them	87	(10)
Building Dynamic Tables	97	(17)
Introducing Templates	99	(2)
Working with Repeating Regions	101	(5)
Using DataLists	106	(6)
Using DataGrids	112	(2)
Customizing a DataGrid	114	(6)
Accessing Data in Stored Procedures	120	(5)
Wrapping Up	125	(2)
Chapter 4 Working with the Dreamweaver Custom Control	127	(60)
Using .NET Controls	128	(4)
HTML Controls	130	(1)
Web Controls	131	(1)
Custom Controls	132	(1)
Introducing .NET Custom Tags	132	(3)
Working with Dreamweaver Custom Tags	135	(50)
The Dreamweaver Control	135	(2)
The MM:DataSet Element	137	(25)
The MM:Insert Tag	162	(8)
The MM:Update Element	170	(2)
The MM:Delete Element	172	(7)
The MM:PageBind Element	179	(2)
The MM:If Element	181	(3)
Deploying DreamweaverCtrls.dll	184	(1)
Wrapping Up	185	(2)
Chapter 5 Using Web Server Controls	187	(58)
The Vast World of Web Server Controls	188	(6)
Inserting Web Server Controls Using Dreamweaver	190	(4)
Getting Information about Controls	194	(1)
Text and Layout Controls	194	(11)
Using the Panel Control	194	(1)
Using the Label Control	195	(3)
Using The PlaceHolder Control to Store Dynamically Created Controls	198	(2)
Using TextBox Controls	200	(3)
Using the Literal Control	203	(2)
Button and Hyperlink Controls	205	(16)
Using Button Controls	206	(10)
Using HyperLink Controls	216	(5)
Check Boxes and Radio Controls	221	(6)
Using CheckBox Controls	221	(4)
Using RadioButton Controls	225	(2)
ListBox Controls	227	(8)
Using the ListItem Control	228	(1)
Using CheckBoxList and RadioList Controls to Group Controls	229	(5)
Using ListBox and DropDownList Controls	234	(1)
Table Controls	235	(5)
Working with the Table Control	235	(2)
Managing Row Sets	237	(3)
Creating a Calendar Control In Dreamweaver	240	(4)
Wrapping Up	244	(1)
Chapter 6 Working with .NET Validation Controls	245	(32)
Understanding Validation Controls	246	(1)
Comparing Values Using a CompareValidator Control	247	(15)
Creating a CompareValidator Control In Dreamweaver	253	(3)
CompareValidator Control Syntax	256	(6)
The RequiredFieldValidator Control	262	(3)
Creating a RequiredFieldValidator Control	262	(3)
The RangeValidator Control	265	(3)
Creating a RangeValidator Control	265	(1)
Using RangeValidator Datatypes	266	(2)
The RegularExpressionValidator Control	268	(5)
Creating a RegularExpressionValidator Control	270	(3)
The ValidationSummary Control	273	(3)
Creating a ValidationSummary Control	273	(3)
Wrapping Up	276	(1)
Chapter 7 Getting Your Hands Dirty: Hand-Coding with Dreamweaver MX	277	(44)
The Dreamweaver IDE	278	(1)
Working with Script	279	(1)
The Fastest Primer Ever on C#	280	(30)
Storing Data in C#	280	(19)
Working with Control Structures	299	(11)
Using Code-Behind with Dreamweaver MX and .NET	310	(3)
Accessing a Code-Behind Page	312	(1)
Event Handling	313	(2)
Building and Using Custom Controls	315	(4)
Using the .NET Compiler	316	(3)
Wrapping Up	319	(2)
Chapter 8 Web Services and Dreamweaver MX	321	(32)
What Are Web Services?	322	(1)
Consuming a Web Service	323	(15)
Finding a Web Service	324	(2)
Steps Toward Analyzing WSDL Files	326	(7)
Building an ASP.NET File for Consuming a Web Service	333	(5)
Creating a Web Service	338	(14)
First Step: Building a Stored Procedure	338	(1)
Building the Web Service Function	339	(5)
Testing the Web Service	344	(5)
Generating a Proxy	349	(2)
Compiling the Web Service Using a Batch File	351	(1)
Consuming the Notes Service	352	(1)
Wrapping Up	352	(1)
Chapter 9 Putting It All Together: The Realtor Application	353	(24)
An Overview of the Realtor Application	354	(1)
Developing the Administrative Area	354	(16)
First Things First: Building the Login Page	355	(6)
Building the Administrative Area	361	(9)
Developing the Public Access Area	370	(3)
Building the Public Entry Page	370	(3)
Building the Registration and Login Area	373	(1)
Exploring the Realtor Site	373	(1)
Wrapping Up	374	(3)
Appendix A Errors Using Dreamweaver MX and ASP.NET	377	(12)
Configuration Issues with Dreamweaver and .NET	378	(3)
Unsuccessful URL Test or FTP Connection	378	(1)
Dreamweaver's Nefarious "Waiting For Server" Message	379	(1)
Human-Readable ASPX Files Appear in the Browser or No Documents Are Served	380	(1)
403 Forbidden: Execute Access Forbidden	380	(1)
DreamweaverCtrls Not Found	380	(1)
Unable to find script library	381	(1)
Troubleshooting Runtime Errors	381	(6)
Browser Tries to Download an ASP.NET File	381	(1)
You're Unable to Create a Web Application on a LAN That Uses a Proxy Server	382	(1)
System.IndexOutOfRangeException	382	(1)
SQL Errors Show Up on Return Pages	382	(1)
Page.IsValid cannot be called before validation has taken place	383	(1)
Empty Values for Dreamweaver Elements	383	(1)
'System.Data.DataRowView' does not contain a property with the name undefined	384	(1)
Identifier expected, 'checked' is a keyword	384	(1)
Array Initializer Error	384	(1)
The type or namespace name 'xxxxx' could not be found	385	(1)
'TextBox' cannot have children of type 'DataBoundLiteralControl'	385	(1)
allowDefinition='MachineToApplication' Error	386	(1)
Dreamweaver Sets Quotes Improperly on the Hyperlink Control	386	(1)
not all code paths return a value	387	(1)
Macromedia's Error Website	387	(2)
Index	389