THE EXPERTS VOICE IN .NET

Beginning

ASP.NET 4in C# 2010

Matthew MacDonald

Start your journey with the fundamentals of building ASP.NET websites

Beginning ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010

Matthew MacDonald

Beginning ASP.NET in C# 2010

Copyright 2010 by Matthew MacDonald

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright the publisher.

ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-2608-6

ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-2609-3

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For my wonderful family,

Faria, Maya, and Brenna

CONTENTS

v

Contents

About the Author .................................................................................................. xxv About the Technical Reviewer ............................................................................. xxvi Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. xxvii Introduction ....................................................................................................... xxviii

Part 1: Introducing .NET ...........................................................................................1

Chapter 1: The .NET Framework ..........................................................................3 The Evolution of Web Development .................................................................................3

HTML and HTML Forms ..........................................................................................................................3

Server-Side Programming ......................................................................................................................6

Client-Side Programming .......................................................................................................................7

The .NET Framework .......................................................................................................9 C#, VB, and the .NET Languages ..........................................................................................................11 The Common Language Runtime .........................................................................................................13 The .NET Class Library..........................................................................................................................14 Visual Studio.........................................................................................................................................15

The Last Word................................................................................................................16

Chapter 2: The C# Language ..............................................................................17 The .NET Languages ......................................................................................................17 C# Language Basics ......................................................................................................18

Case Sensitivity ....................................................................................................................................18 Commenting .........................................................................................................................................18 Statement Termination.........................................................................................................................19

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Blocks...................................................................................................................................................20

Variables and Data Types ..............................................................................................20 Assignment and Initializers ..................................................................................................................22

Strings and Escaped Characters ..........................................................................................................24

Arrays ...................................................................................................................................................24

Enumerations .......................................................................................................................................26

Variable Operations .......................................................................................................27 Advanced Math.....................................................................................................................................29

Type Conversions .................................................................................................................................29

Object-Based Manipulation ...........................................................................................31 The String Type ....................................................................................................................................32

The DateTime and TimeSpan Types .....................................................................................................34

The Array Type......................................................................................................................................36

Conditional Logic ...........................................................................................................37 The if Statement ...................................................................................................................................38

The switch Statement...........................................................................................................................39

Loops .............................................................................................................................40 The for Loop..........................................................................................................................................40

The foreach Loop..................................................................................................................................41

The while loop ......................................................................................................................................42

Methods.........................................................................................................................43 Parameters ...........................................................................................................................................44

Method Overloading .............................................................................................................................45

Optional and Named Parameters..........................................................................................................46

Delegates..............................................................................................................................................47

The Last Word................................................................................................................48

Chapter 3: Types, Objects, and Namespaces .....................................................49 The Basics About Classes..............................................................................................49

Static Members ....................................................................................................................................50

A Simple Class......................................................................................................................................51

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Building a Basic Class ...................................................................................................51 Creating an Object ................................................................................................................................53

Adding Properties .................................................................................................................................54

Automatic Properties ............................................................................................................................56

Adding a Method ..................................................................................................................................56

Adding a Constructor ............................................................................................................................57

Adding an Event....................................................................................................................................59

Testing the Product Class.....................................................................................................................60

Value Types and Reference Types.................................................................................63 Assignment Operations ........................................................................................................................63

Equality Testing ....................................................................................................................................64

Passing Parameters by Reference and by Value ..................................................................................64

Reviewing .NET Types ..........................................................................................................................65

Understanding Namespaces and Assemblies................................................................67 Using Namespaces ...............................................................................................................................68

Importing Namespaces.........................................................................................................................69

Assemblies ...........................................................................................................................................70

Advanced Class Programming.......................................................................................71 Inheritance............................................................................................................................................71

Static Members ....................................................................................................................................73

Casting Objects.....................................................................................................................................74

Partial Classes ......................................................................................................................................76

Generics................................................................................................................................................77

The Last Word................................................................................................................79

Part 2: Developing ASP.NET Applications...............................................................81

Chapter 4: Visual Studio.....................................................................................83 The Promise of Visual Studio .........................................................................................83 Creating Websites..........................................................................................................84

Creating an Empty Web Application .....................................................................................................85

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Websites and Web Projects ..................................................................................................................89

The Hidden Solution Files .....................................................................................................................90

The Solution Explorer ...........................................................................................................................91

Adding Web Forms ...............................................................................................................................92

Migrating a Website from a Previous Version of Visual Studio.............................................................93

Designing a Web Page...................................................................................................95 Adding Web Controls ............................................................................................................................96

The Properties Window ........................................................................................................................98

The Anatomy of a Web Form .......................................................................................100 The Web Form Markup .......................................................................................................................100

The Page Directive..............................................................................................................................101

The Doctype........................................................................................................................................102

The Essentials of XHTML ....................................................................................................................104

Writing Code ................................................................................................................110 The Code-Behind Class ......................................................................................................................110 Adding Event Handlers .......................................................................................................................110 Outlining .............................................................................................................................................112 IntelliSense .........................................................................................................................................113 Code Formatting and Coloring ............................................................................................................117

Visual Studio Debugging..............................................................................................118 The Visual Studio Web Server ............................................................................................................118

Single-Step Debugging.......................................................................................................................119

Variable Watches................................................................................................................................124

The Last Word..............................................................................................................125

Chapter 5: Web Form Fundamentals................................................................127 The Anatomy of an ASP.NET Application .....................................................................127

ASP.NET File Types.............................................................................................................................128

ASP.NET Application Directories.........................................................................................................129

Introducing Server Controls .........................................................................................130 HTML Server Controls.........................................................................................................................131

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Converting an HTML Page to an ASP.NET Page..................................................................................131

View State ..........................................................................................................................................134

The HTML Control Classes..................................................................................................................135

Adding the Currency Converter Code .................................................................................................138

Event Handling....................................................................................................................................140

Behind the Scenes with the Currency Converter................................................................................142

Error Handling.....................................................................................................................................144

Improving the Currency Converter...............................................................................144 Adding Multiple Currencies ................................................................................................................145

Storing Information in the List ............................................................................................................146

Adding Linked Images ........................................................................................................................147

Setting Styles .....................................................................................................................................150

A Deeper Look at HTML Control Classes......................................................................151 HTML Control Events ..........................................................................................................................151

Advanced Events with the HtmlInputImage Control ...........................................................................152

The HtmlControl Base Class ...............................................................................................................154

The HtmlContainerControl Class.........................................................................................................155

The HtmlInputControl Class ................................................................................................................155

The Page Class ............................................................................................................156 Sending the User to a New Page ........................................................................................................157

HTML Encoding...................................................................................................................................158

Application Events .......................................................................................................160 The global.asax File............................................................................................................................161

Additional Application Events .............................................................................................................162

ASP.NET Configuration ................................................................................................163 The web.config File ............................................................................................................................163

Nested Configuration ..........................................................................................................................164

Storing Custom Settings in the web.config File .................................................................................166

The Website Administration Tool (WAT) .............................................................................................168

The Last Word..............................................................................................................170

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Chapter 6: Web Controls ..................................................................................173 Stepping Up to Web Controls . .....................................................................................173

Basic Web Control Classes . .................................................................................................................174

The Web Control Tags...........................................................................................................................175

Web Control Classes . ..................................................................................................176 The WebControl Base Class..................................................................................................................177

Units . ....................................................................................................................................................179

Enumerations .......................................................................................................................................179

Colors . ..................................................................................................................................................180

Fonts. ....................................................................................................................................................181

Focus . ...................................................................................................................................................183

The Default Button................................................................................................................................183

List Controls. ...............................................................................................................184 Multiple-Select List Controls . ..............................................................................................................185

The BulletedList Control .......................................................................................................................187

Table Controls. ............................................................................................................188 Web Control Events and AutoPostBack . .....................................................................193

How Postback Events Work. ................................................................................................................197

The Page Life Cycle ..............................................................................................................................198

A Simple Web Page. ....................................................................................................201 Improving the Greeting Card Generator. ..............................................................................................206

Generating the Cards Automatically . ...................................................................................................208

The Last Word. ............................................................................................................211

Chapter 7: Error Handling, Logging, and Tracing.............................................213 Common Errors. ..........................................................................................................213 Exception Handling . ....................................................................................................215

The Exception Class .............................................................................................................................215

The Exception Chain .............................................................................................................................217

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Handling Exceptions ....................................................................................................218 Catching Specific Exceptions .............................................................................................................219

Nested Exception Handlers.................................................................................................................221

Exception Handling in Action..............................................................................................................222

Mastering Exceptions .........................................................................................................................224

Throwing Your Own Exceptions ...................................................................................224 Logging Exceptions......................................................................................................229

Viewing the Windows Event Logs.......................................................................................................229

Writing to the Event Log .....................................................................................................................232

Custom Logs.......................................................................................................................................234

A Custom Logging Class .....................................................................................................................236

Retrieving Log Information .................................................................................................................237

Page Tracing................................................................................................................239 Enabling Tracing.................................................................................................................................240

Tracing Information ............................................................................................................................240

Writing Trace Information...................................................................................................................246

Application-Level Tracing...................................................................................................................250

The Last Word..............................................................................................................252

Chapter 8: State Management .........................................................................253 The Problem of State ...................................................................................................253 View State....................................................................................................................253

The ViewState Collection....................................................................................................................254

A View State Example.........................................................................................................................254

Making View State Secure .................................................................................................................255

Retaining Member Variables ..............................................................................................................257

Storing Custom Objects ......................................................................................................................259

Transferring Information Between Pages ....................................................................260 Cross-Page Posting ............................................................................................................................260

The Query String.................................................................................................................................265

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Cookies ........................................................................................................................269 A Cookie Example ...............................................................................................................................271

Session State...............................................................................................................272 Session Tracking ................................................................................................................................272

Using Session State............................................................................................................................273

A Session State Example....................................................................................................................274

Session State Configuration ........................................................................................277 Cookieless ..........................................................................................................................................278

Timeout...............................................................................................................................................281

Mode...................................................................................................................................................281

Application State..........................................................................................................286 An Overview of State Management Choices................................................................288 The Last Word..............................................................................................................290

Part 3: Building Better Web Forms .......................................................................291

Chapter 9: Validation .......................................................................................293 Understanding Validation.............................................................................................293

The Validation Controls.......................................................................................................................294

Server-Side Validation........................................................................................................................295

Client-Side Validation .........................................................................................................................295

The Validation Controls................................................................................................295 A Simple Validation Example ..............................................................................................................297

Other Display Options .........................................................................................................................299

Manual Validation ...............................................................................................................................302

Validating with Regular Expressions ..................................................................................................304

A Validated Customer Form................................................................................................................308

Validation Groups................................................................................................................................313

The Last Word..............................................................................................................314

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Chapter 10: Rich Controls ................................................................................315 The Calendar................................................................................................................315

Formatting the Calendar.....................................................................................................................317

Restricting Dates ................................................................................................................................319

The AdRotator ..............................................................................................................323 The Advertisement File.......................................................................................................................323

The AdRotator Class ...........................................................................................................................325

Pages with Multiple Views...........................................................................................326 The MultiView Control ........................................................................................................................328

The Wizard Control .............................................................................................................................333

The Last Word..............................................................................................................341

Chapter 11: User Controls and Graphics ..........................................................343 User Controls ...............................................................................................................343

Creating a Simple User Control ..........................................................................................................344

Independent User Controls .................................................................................................................347

Integrated User Controls.....................................................................................................................349

User Control Events ............................................................................................................................352

Passing Information with Events ........................................................................................................354

Dynamic Graphics........................................................................................................357 Basic Drawing ....................................................................................................................................357

Drawing a Custom Image ...................................................................................................................360

Placing Custom Images Inside Web Pages.........................................................................................361

Image Format and Quality ..................................................................................................................363

The Last Word..............................................................................................................366

Chapter 12: Styles, Themes, and Master Pages...............................................367 Styles ...........................................................................................................................367

Style Types .........................................................................................................................................368

Creating a Basic Inline Style...............................................................................................................368

Creating a Style Sheet ........................................................................................................................377

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Applying Style Sheet Rules.................................................................................................................380

Themes ........................................................................................................................383 How Themes Work .............................................................................................................................383

Applying a Simple Theme...................................................................................................................385

Handling Theme Conflicts...................................................................................................................386

Creating Multiple Skins for the Same Control ....................................................................................388

More Advanced Skins.........................................................................................................................389

Master Page Basics .....................................................................................................391 A Simple Master Page and Content Page ...........................................................................................392

How Master Pages and Content Pages Are Connected ......................................................................396

A Master Page with Multiple Content Regions ...................................................................................398

Default Content...................................................................................................................................401

Master Pages and Relative Paths .......................................................................................................402

Advanced Master Pages ..............................................................................................403 Style-Based Layouts...........................................................................................................................403

Code in a Master Page........................................................................................................................408

Interacting with a Master Page Programmatically .............................................................................409

The Last Word..............................................................................................................410

Chapter 13: Website Navigation.......................................................................411 Site Maps.....................................................................................................................411

Defining a Site Map ............................................................................................................................412

Seeing a Simple Site Map in Action....................................................................................................416

Binding an Ordinary Page to a Site Map.............................................................................................416

Binding a Master Page to a Site Map .................................................................................................418

Binding Portions of a Site Map ...........................................................................................................420

The SiteMap Class ..............................................................................................................................425

URL Mapping and Routing ...........................................................................................427 URL Mapping ......................................................................................................................................428

URL Routing ........................................................................................................................................428

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The SiteMapPath Control .............................................................................................430 Customizing the SiteMapPath ............................................................................................................431

Using SiteMapPath Styles and Templates ..........................................................................................432

Adding Custom Site Map Information.................................................................................................434

The TreeView Control...................................................................................................435 TreeView Properties ...........................................................................................................................436

TreeView Styles ..................................................................................................................................438

The Menu Control ........................................................................................................442 Menu Styles........................................................................................................................................444

Menu Templates .................................................................................................................................445

The Last Word..............................................................................................................448

Part 4: Working with Data ....................................................................................449

Chapter 14: ADO.NET Fundamentals ................................................................451 Understanding Databases............................................................................................451 Configuring Your Database ..........................................................................................453

SQL Server Express ............................................................................................................................453

Browsing and Modifying Databases in Visual Studio .........................................................................454

The sqlcmd Command-Line Tool ........................................................................................................457

SQL Basics...................................................................................................................458 Running Queries in Visual Studio .......................................................................................................459

The Select Statement .........................................................................................................................461

The SQL Update Statement.................................................................................................................463

The SQL Insert Statement...................................................................................................................465

The SQL Delete Statement..................................................................................................................465

The Data Provider Model .............................................................................................466 Direct Data Access ......................................................................................................467

Creating a Connection ........................................................................................................................469

The Select Command .........................................................................................................................475

The DataReader ..................................................................................................................................476

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Putting It All Together .........................................................................................................................476

Updating Data .....................................................................................................................................481

Disconnected Data Access ..........................................................................................491 Selecting Disconnected Data..............................................................................................................492

Selecting Multiple Tables ...................................................................................................................494

Defining Relationships........................................................................................................................495

The Last Word..............................................................................................................498

Chapter 15: Data Binding .................................................................................499 Introducing Data Binding .............................................................................................499

Types of ASP.NET Data Binding..........................................................................................................500

How Data Binding Works ....................................................................................................................500

Single-Value Data Binding ...........................................................................................500 A Simple Data Binding Example .........................................................................................................501

Simple Data Binding with Properties..................................................................................................504

Problems with Single-Value Data Binding..........................................................................................505

Using Code Instead of Simple Data Binding .......................................................................................506

Repeated-Value Data Binding......................................................................................506 Data Binding with Simple List Controls ..............................................................................................507

A Simple List Binding Example...........................................................................................................508

Strongly Typed Collections .................................................................................................................509

Multiple Binding..................................................................................................................................510

Data Binding with a Dictionary Collection ..........................................................................................512

Using the DataValueField Property .....................................................................................................513

Data Binding with ADO.NET ................................................................................................................514

Creating a Record Editor.....................................................................................................................516

Data Source Controls ...................................................................................................521 The Page Life Cycle with Data Binding...............................................................................................523

The SqlDataSource .............................................................................................................................523

Selecting Records...............................................................................................................................525

Parameterized Commands .................................................................................................................527

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Handling Errors...................................................................................................................................532

Updating Records ...............................................................................................................................533

The Last Word..............................................................................................................537

Chapter 16: The Data Controls .........................................................................539 The GridView................................................................................................................539

Automatically Generating Columns ....................................................................................................540

Defining Columns ...............................................................................................................................542

Formatting the GridView..............................................................................................546 Formatting Fields................................................................................................................................546

Using Styles........................................................................................................................................547

Formatting-Specific Values ................................................................................................................550

Selecting a GridView Row............................................................................................552 Adding a Select Button .......................................................................................................................553

Using Selection to Create Master-Details Pages ................................................................................554

Editing with the GridView ............................................................................................556 Sorting and Paging the GridView .................................................................................559

Sorting ................................................................................................................................................559

Paging.................................................................................................................................................561

Using GridView Templates...........................................................................................563 Using Multiple Templates ...................................................................................................................565

Editing Templates in Visual Studio .....................................................................................................566

Handling Events in a Template ...........................................................................................................567

Editing with a Template......................................................................................................................568

The DetailsView and FormView ...................................................................................573 The DetailsView ..................................................................................................................................573

The FormView.....................................................................................................................................575

The Last Word..............................................................................................................578

Chapter 17: Files and Streams.........................................................................579 Files and Web Applications..........................................................................................579

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File System Information...............................................................................................580 The Path Class ....................................................................................................................................581

The Directory and File Classes ...........................................................................................................582

The DirectoryInfo and FileInfo Classes ...............................................................................................587

The DriveInfo Class.............................................................................................................................589

A Sample File Browser .......................................................................................................................590

Reading and Writing with Streams ..............................................................................594 Text Files ............................................................................................................................................594

Binary Files.........................................................................................................................................596

Shortcuts for Reading and Writing Files .............................................................................................597

A Simple Guest Book ..........................................................................................................................598

Allowing File Uploads ..................................................................................................604 The FileUpload Control .......................................................................................................................604

The Last Word..............................................................................................................607

Chapter 18: XML...............................................................................................609 XML Explained .............................................................................................................609

Improving the List with XML...............................................................................................................611

XML Basics .........................................................................................................................................612

Attributes ............................................................................................................................................613

Comments ..........................................................................................................................................614

The XML Classes..........................................................................................................615 The XML TextWriter ............................................................................................................................615

The XML Text Reader..........................................................................................................................618

Working with XML Documents in Memory .........................................................................................623

Reading an XML Document ................................................................................................................628

Searching an XML Document .............................................................................................................631

XML Validation .............................................................................................................632 XML Namespaces ...............................................................................................................................632 XML Schema Definition ......................................................................................................................635 Validating an XML Document..............................................................................................................637

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XML Display and Transforms.......................................................................................640 The Xml Web Control ..........................................................................................................................642

The Last Word..............................................................................................................643

Part 5: Website Security .......................................................................................645

Chapter 19: Security Fundamentals.................................................................647 Understanding Security ...............................................................................................647

Testing and Deploying Security Settings............................................................................................648

Authentication and Authorization ................................................................................649 Forms Authentication ..................................................................................................649

Web.config Settings ...........................................................................................................................651

Authorization Rules ............................................................................................................................651

The WAT .............................................................................................................................................655

The Login Page ...................................................................................................................................657

Windows Authentication ..............................................................................................663 Web.config Settings ...........................................................................................................................663

A Windows Authentication Test..........................................................................................................666

The Last Word..............................................................................................................667

Chapter 20: Membership..................................................................................669 The Membership Data Store ........................................................................................669

Membership with SQL Server Express ...............................................................................................671 Using the Full Version of SQL Server ..................................................................................................673 Configuring the Membership Provider................................................................................................676 Creating Users with the WAT..............................................................................................................679 The Membership and MembershipUser Classes ................................................................................682 Authentication with Membership .......................................................................................................686 Disabled Accounts ..............................................................................................................................687

The Security Controls ..................................................................................................687 The Login Control................................................................................................................................688

The CreateUserWizard Control............................................................................................................694

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The PasswordRecovery Control. ..........................................................................................................698

Role-Based Security . ..................................................................................................700 Creating and Assigning Roles. .............................................................................................................701

Restricting Access Based on Roles . ....................................................................................................705

The LoginView Control..........................................................................................................................705

The Last Word. ............................................................................................................707

Chapter 21: Profiles .........................................................................................709 Understanding Profiles . ..............................................................................................709

Profile Performance..............................................................................................................................710

How Profiles Store Data........................................................................................................................710

Using the SqlProfileProvider . ......................................................................................712 Enabling Authentication........................................................................................................................712 Using SQL Server Express ....................................................................................................................713 Using the Full Version of SQL Server . ..................................................................................................713 The Profile Databases...........................................................................................................................714 Defining Profile Properties....................................................................................................................716 Using Profile Properties ........................................................................................................................717 Profile Serialization ..............................................................................................................................719 Profile Groups .......................................................................................................................................721 Profiles and Custom Data Types. .........................................................................................................722 The Profile API . .....................................................................................................................................725 Anonymous Profiles..............................................................................................................................728

The Last Word. ............................................................................................................731

Part 6: Advanced ASP.NET....................................................................................733

Chapter 22: Introducing ASP.NET.....................................................................735 Why Use Components? . ..............................................................................................735 Component Jargon . ....................................................................................................736

Three-Tier Design.................................................................................................................................736

Encapsulation . ......................................................................................................................................738

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Business Objects ................................................................................................................................738

Data Objects .......................................................................................................................................738

Components and Classes ...................................................................................................................738

Creating a Component .................................................................................................739 Classes and Namespaces...................................................................................................................740

Class Members ...................................................................................................................................742

Adding a Reference to the Component...............................................................................................742

Using the Component .........................................................................................................................745

Properties and State ....................................................................................................747 A Stateful Account Class ....................................................................................................................748

A Stateless AccountUtility Class .........................................................................................................749

Data-Access Components............................................................................................750 A Simple Data-Access Component .....................................................................................................750

Using the Data-Access Component ....................................................................................................754

Enhancing the Component with Error Handling..................................................................................757

Enhancing the Component with Aggregate Information.....................................................................758

The ObjectDataSource .................................................................................................759 Making Classes the ObjectDataSource Can Understand ....................................................................759

Selecting Records...............................................................................................................................760

Using Method Parameters ..................................................................................................................761

Updating Records ...............................................................................................................................762

The Last Word..............................................................................................................764

Chapter 23: Caching.........................................................................................765 Understanding Caching ...............................................................................................765

When to Use Caching..........................................................................................................................766 Caching in ASP.NET ............................................................................................................................767

Output Caching ............................................................................................................767 Caching on the Client Side .................................................................................................................769 Caching and the Query String.............................................................................................................769 Caching with Specific Query String Parameters.................................................................................770

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A Multiple Caching Example ...............................................................................................................771

Fragment Caching ..............................................................................................................................772

Cache Profiles.....................................................................................................................................773

Data Caching ...............................................................................................................774 Adding Items to the Cache .................................................................................................................774

A Simple Cache Test...........................................................................................................................776

Caching to Provide Multiple Views .....................................................................................................777

Caching with the Data Source Controls ..............................................................................................781

Caching with Dependencies ........................................................................................785 File Dependencies ..............................................................................................................................785

Cache Item Dependencies ..................................................................................................................786

SQL Server Cache Dependencies .......................................................................................................787

The Last Word..............................................................................................................790

Chapter 24: LINQ and the Entity Framework....................................................791 Understanding LINQ.....................................................................................................791 LINQ Basics..................................................................................................................792

LINQ Expressions................................................................................................................................795

The Entity Framework..................................................................................................799 Creating an Entity Data Model ............................................................................................................800

The Data Model Diagram ....................................................................................................................803

Updating a Data Model .......................................................................................................................806

The Data Model Code .........................................................................................................................808

Querying the Data Model ....................................................................................................................809

Handling Errors...................................................................................................................................810

Navigating Relationships ....................................................................................................................812

Getting More Advanced with the Entity Framework ....................................................815 Querying with LINQ to Entities............................................................................................................815 Controlling When Data is Loaded........................................................................................................818 Updates, Inserts, and Deletes.............................................................................................................820 Managing Concurrency.......................................................................................................................822

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The EntityDataSource ..................................................................................................823 Displaying Data...................................................................................................................................823

Editing Data ........................................................................................................................................828

The Last Word..............................................................................................................828

Chapter 25: ASP.NET AJAX...............................................................................829 Understanding Ajax......................................................................................................829

Ajax: The Good....................................................................................................................................830

Ajax: The Bad......................................................................................................................................830

The ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit ..................................................................................................................831

The ScriptManager .............................................................................................................................831

Partial Refreshes .........................................................................................................833 A Simple UpdatePanel Test ................................................................................................................834

Handling Errors...................................................................................................................................837

Conditional Updates............................................................................................................................839

Triggers ..............................................................................................................................................840

Progress Notification ...................................................................................................845 Showing a Simulated Progress Bar ....................................................................................................845

Cancellation........................................................................................................................................847

Timed Refreshes..........................................................................................................849 The ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit...............................................................................851

Installing the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit.......................................................................................851

The Accordion.....................................................................................................................................853

The AutoCompleteExtender ................................................................................................................856

Getting More Controls.........................................................................................................................859

The Last Word..............................................................................................................864

Chapter 26: Deploying ASP.NET Applications ..................................................865 ASP.NET Applications and the Web Server..................................................................865

How Web Servers Work ......................................................................................................................865

The Virtual Directory ...........................................................................................................................867

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Web Application URLs.........................................................................................................................867

Web Farms .........................................................................................................................................869

Internet Information Services (IIS) ...............................................................................869 The Many Faces of IIS ........................................................................................................................869

Installing IIS in Windows 7 or Windows Vista.....................................................................................870

Installing IIS 7 in Windows Server 2008 .............................................................................................871

Managing Websites with IIS Manager .........................................................................873 Creating a Virtual Directory ................................................................................................................874

Understanding Application Pools........................................................................................................876

The ASP.NET Account .........................................................................................................................878

Configuring a Website ........................................................................................................................882

The Default Page ................................................................................................................................885

Custom Error Pages............................................................................................................................886

The Machine Key ..................................................................................................888 Windows Authentication.....................................................................................................................890

Confidentiality with SSL and Certificates ...........................................................................................892

Deploying a Simple Site...............................................................................................895 Web Applications and Components ....................................................................................................895

Other Configuration Steps ..................................................................................................................896

Code Compilation ...............................................................................................................................896

Deploying with Visual Studio .......................................................................................897 Creating a Virtual Directory for a New Project....................................................................................898

Copying a Website ..............................................................................................................................901

Publishing a Website ..........................................................................................................................904

The Last Word..............................................................................................................905

Index.....................................................................................................................907

CONTENTS

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About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is an author, educator, and Microsoft MVP. Hes the author of more than a dozen books about .NET programming, including Pro Silverlight 4 in C# (Apress, 2010) and Pro WPF in C# 2010 (Apress, 2010). Hes also the coauthor of Pro ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010 (Apress, 2010). He lives in Toronto with his wife and daughters.

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About the Technical Reviewer

Damien Foggon is a developer, writer, and technical reviewer in cutting-edge technologies and has contributed to more than 50 books on .NET, C#, Visual Basic, and ASP.NET. He is the cofounder of the Newcastle-based user-group NEBytes (http://www.nebytes.net), is a multiple MCPD in .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.5, and can be found online at http://blog.littlepond.co.uk.

http://www.nebytes.nethttp://blog.littlepond.co.uk

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Acknowledgments

No author could complete a book without a small army of helpful individuals. Im deeply indebted to the whole Apress team, including Anne Collett, who helped everything move swiftly and smoothly; Kim Wimpsett, who performed the copy edit; Damien Foggon, who performed a thorough technical review; and many other individuals who worked behind the scenes indexing pages, drawing figures, and proofreading the final copy. I also owe a special thanks to Gary Cornell, who always offers invaluable advice about projects and the publishing world.

Id also like to thank those who were involved with previous editions of this book. This includes Emma Acker and Jane Brownlow at Osborne McGraw-Hill, as well as previous tech reviewers Ronald Landers, Gavin Smyth, Tim Verycruysse, Julian Skinner, and Andy Olsen. I also owe a hearty thanks to all the readers who caught errors and took the time to report problems and ask good questions. Keep sending in the feedbackit helps make better books!

Finally, Id never write any book without the support of my wife and these special individuals: Nora, Razia, Paul, and Hamid. Thanks, everyone!

INTRODUCTION

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Introduction

ASP.NET is Microsofts platform for developing web applications. Using ASP.NET, you can create e-commerce shops, data-driven portal sites, and just about anything else you can find on the Internet. Best of all, you dont need to paste together a jumble of HTML and script code in order to program the Web. Instead, you can create full-scale web applications using nothing but code and a design tool such as Visual Studio 2008.

The cost of all this innovation is the learning curve. To master ASP.NET, you need to learn how to use an advanced design tool (Visual Studio), a toolkit of objects (the .NET Framework), and an object-oriented programming language (such as C# 2010). Taken together, these topics provide more than enough to overwhelm any first-time web developer.

Beginning ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010 assumes you want to master ASP.NET, starting from the basics. Using this book, youll build your knowledge until you understand the concepts, techniques, and best practices for writing sophisticated web applications. The journey is long, but its also satisfying. At the end of the day, youll find that ASP.NET allows you to tackle challenges that are simply out of reach on many other platforms.

About This Book This book explores ASP.NET, which is a core part of Microsofts .NET Framework. The .NET Framework is not a single applicationits actually a collection of technologies bundled into one marketing term. The .NET Framework includes languages such as C# 2010 and VB 2010, an engine for hosting programmable web pages, a model for interacting with databases (ADO.NET), a higher-level framework for performing queries (LINQ and the Entity Framework), and a class library stocked with tools for everything from reading files to validating a password. To master ASP.NET, you need to learn about each of these ingredients.

This book covers all these topics from the ground up. As a result, youll find yourself learning many techniques that will interest any .NET developer, even those who create Windows applications. For example, youll learn about component-based programming; youll discover structured error handling; and youll see how to access files, XML, and relational databases. Youll also learn the key topics you need for web programming, such as state management, web controls, and caching. By the end of this book, youll be ready to create your own rich web applications and make them available over the Internet.

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