Table Of Content488 CHAPTER 9: Super Jumper: A 2D OpenGL ES Game
For your convenience Apress has placed some of the front
matter material after the index. Please use the Bookmarks
and Contents at a Glance links to access them.
Contents at a Glance
About the Author .................................................................................................. xxvii
About the Technical Reviewer ............................................................................. xxviii
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. xxix
PART I: Getting Started ............................................................................................... 1
■ Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................... 3
■ Chapter 2: Getting Ready ......................................................................................... 7
■ Chapter 3: Putting ASP.NET in Context .................................................................. 13
PART II: Getting to Know ASP .NET ........................................................................... 19
■ Chapter 4: Working with Pages ............................................................................. 21
■ Chapter 5: Working with Context and Events ........................................................ 51
■ Chapter 6: Working with Forms and State ............................................................ 77
■ Chapter 7: Handling Errors .................................................................................. 105
■ Chapter 8: Working with Data ............................................................................. 139
■ Chapter 9: Styling Content ................................................................................... 181
■ Chapter 10: Adding Interactivity ......................................................................... 205
■ Chapter 11: Working with Ajax ............................................................................ 241
■ Chapter 12: Working with Routes ........................................................................ 277
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C ■ONTENTS AT A GLANCE
PART III: Using Web Forms ..................................................................................... 307
■ Chapter 13: Putting Web Forms in Context .......................................................... 309
■ Chapter 14: Working with the Web Forms Designer ............................................ 317
■ Chapter 15: Working with Web Forms Controls .................................................. 343
■ Chapter 16: Customizing Web Forms Controls .................................................... 375
■ Chapter 17: Validating Form Data ....................................................................... 405
■ Chapter 18: Using Web Forms Data Sources ....................................................... 427
■ Chapter 19: Using Web Forms Data Binding ........................................................ 459
■ Chapter 20: Using the Rich Data Controls ........................................................... 489
■ Chapter 21: The Web Forms Triathlon App .......................................................... 519
PART IV: Using the MVC Framework ....................................................................... 551
■ Chapter 22: Putting MVC in Context .................................................................... 553
■ Chapter 23: A First MVC Application ................................................................... 561
■ Chapter 24: Implementing a Persistent Repository ............................................. 593
■ Chapter 25: Working with Views ......................................................................... 607
■ Chapter 26: Using HTML Helpers and Templates ................................................ 639
■ Chapter 27: Using Routing and Areas .................................................................. 671
■ Chapter 28: Working with Action Methods .......................................................... 689
■ Chapter 29: Working with Model Binding and Validation ................................... 719
■ Chapter 30: Using Unobtrusive Ajax .................................................................... 743
■ Chapter 31: The MVC Framework Triathlon App ................................................ 763
v
■ CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
PART V: Wrapping Up .............................................................................................. 807
■ Chapter 32: Preparing a Server for Deployment ................................................. 809
■ Chapter 33: Deploying an ASP .NET Application .................................................. 821
■ Chapter 34: Authentication and Authorization .................................................... 847
Index ....................................................................................................................... 875
vi
P A R T I
■ ■ ■
Getting Started
Before you can begin to explore the ASP.NET framework, we have some preparation to do. In the next
three chapters, I’ll describe the structure of the book, show you how to set up your workstation and
server for ASP.NET development, and provide a high-level overview of how the various parts of the
ASP.NET framework fit together.
1
C H A P T E R 1
Introduction
My first experience with ASP.NET wasn’t very positive. It was back in 2003, and I had agreed to write a
book for Microsoft Press about using ASP.NET to create XML web services.
This was when ASP.NET 1.0 was released. In those days, .NET was interesting but nothing special. It
was widely regarded as Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Java, and the whole platform had a “me
too” feel about it. ASP.NET itself was a very rigid and limited platform. It hadn’t been thought through
and had a lot of rough edges. It was difficult to use, the tools support was lacking, and programmers had
to work hard to get even the most basic functionality working.
Most Microsoft products follow a standard pattern of evolution. Version 1 shows promise but is
rushed out the door and has major flaws. It is more a statement of intent rather than something to bet
on. Version 2 fixes the worst flaws and delivers more of the original promise. Version 3 starts to look
polished, but there are breaking changes. Version 4 is a solid performer, which adds innovative features
and has the capability to lead the market segment.
This is the story of ASP.NET (and, of course, .NET as a whole). We are at the point where Microsoft
excels: building on a solid and widely adopted product set to produce tools and features that shine.
ASP.NET 4 is a very solid web application platform. It is packed with features, contains a choice of
development frameworks, and has excellent tool support in Visual Studio. ASP.NET has reached
maturity and is a platform to bet on.
In this book, I’ll take you on a tour through ASP.NET, starting with the core platform features,
moving on to the Web Forms and MVC framework development frameworks, and finishing with the
information you need to know to successfully deploy an ASP.NET web application.
As we go from chapter to chapter, you’ll learn everything you need to write effective ASP.NET web
applications and understand how to solve the most commonly encountered web application challenges.
Who Should Read This Book?
This book was written for programmers who have some experience with C# and the .NET Framework
and have a basic knowledge of web technologies such as HTML and HTTP. No prior knowledge of
ASP.NET, Web Forms, or the MVC framework is required. You should have a basic familiarity with Visual
Studio.
3
CHAPTER 1 ■ INTRODUCTION
What Is Covered in This Book?
This book covers the major features of ASP.NET version 4, including core platform features, Web Forms,
and the MVC framework. The emphasis of this book is about applying ASP.NET. To that end, I cover the
core features in depth and leave the more academic and theoretical coverage to other authors. This book
is about getting things done with ASP.NET.
What Is the Structure of This Book?
There are five parts to this book. The first helps you get ready to use ASP.NET and to understand the
building blocks of the ASP.NET platform. By the end of these chapters, you will have all the software you
require installed and ready to go.
Part II introduces the core features of the ASP.NET platform. You will learn how ASP.NET handles
browser requests, how to create ASP.NET web pages, how to apply JavaScript to those pages, and how to
create and consume web services.
Part III covers Web Forms, a set of features designed to make developing web applications similar to
developing traditional Windows programs. Web Forms has fallen out of favor lately, but it is a powerful
and flexible system, and it is worth taking the time to read these chapters.
Part IV covers the MVC framework, which is a relatively new addition to ASP.NET and which has
stolen the limelight from Web Forms in the ASP.NET world. The MVC framework takes an approach to
web application development that has a lot in common with platforms such as Ruby on Rails.
Part V covers some advanced topics, including web application security and deployment.
What Do You Need to Read This Book?
To get the most benefit from this book, you should have a modern Windows PC, set up for .NET
development. Chapter 3 gives you complete details of the software you will need. With the exception of
Windows itself, Microsoft makes free-of-charge versions of every software component that this book
requires. These free versions are suitable for following all the examples in this book, with the exception
of some unit testing examples in Part IV (for which a paid-for edition of Visual Studio is required).
Part V of this book includes examples of deploying an ASP.NET web application to a server. These
tasks require a machine running Windows Server 2008 R2. These examples are optional. Many ASP.NET
developers don’t need to deploy the application they create themselves since these tasks are handled by
operations teams.
Getting the Example Code
The code for all the examples in this book is freely available for download from Apress.com. Most of the
more substantial examples relate to triathlons. As I write this book, I am training for my first competitive
triathlon, and I felt that these were better examples than the stock or employee tracking examples that
programming books usually contain.
4
CHAPTER 1 ■ INTRODUCTION
Finding More Information
I have tried to cover everything important in ASP.NET, but there are bound to be aspects that interest
you that I have left out. If that should be the case, then I recommend the resources described next.
The MSDN Library
The MSDN library contains a lot of useful information about ASP.NET, although the quality and depth
can be patchy. The starting point for ASP.NET 4 is at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/
ee532866.aspx.
Online Forums
Numerous web sites discuss ASP.NET. The one that seems to have the most knowledgeable participants
and the lowest amount of useless noise is Stackoverflow.com. This site is not specific to ASP.NET, but
there is a very active .NET and ASP.NET community, and when you get stuck, chances are someone has
had the same problem and has already asked for help.
Other Books
I have written a couple of other books you might like to consider as complements to this one. I wrote a
more traditional ASP.NET 4 reference with Matt MacDonald called Pro ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010. This is
focused more on the Web Forms side of things but provides broad coverage. I also wrote Pro ASP.NET
MVC 3 Framework with Steve Sanderson. Steve is a member of the Web Platform and Tools team at
Microsoft, the group responsible for the MVC framework. Both of these books are published by Apress.
Summary
ASP.NET 4 is a fantastic platform for web development. The depth of functionality and the breadth of
options are excellent, especially if you are moving to web application development from another area of
.NET. As we go through this book, you’ll see just how rich the ecosystem is and how rapidly and easily we
can create functional and robust web applications.
5
C H A P T E R 2
Getting Ready
We must do some preparation before we can start working with ASP.NET. In the following sections, I’ll
tell you what you need.
I have split the preparation into two sections. You’ll need to install a couple of additional
components when you reach the part of the book that deals with the part of ASP.NET called the MVC
framework. The rest of ASP.NET is installed as part of Visual Studio and .NET 4, but you need an update
and an additional third-party library to get the best from the MVC framework.
Installing Visual Studio 2010
The first step in preparing a workstation for development with ASP.NET is to install Visual Studio 2010.
Visual Studio is Microsoft’s integrated development environment (IDE), a tool that you will most likely
have used if you have done any prior development for a Microsoft platform.
Microsoft produces a range of different Visual Studio 2010 editions, each of which has a different set
of functions and attracts a different price. For this book, you will require one of the following editions:
• Visual Studio 2010 Professional
• Visual Studio 2010 Premium
• Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate
The features that we require are available in all three editions, and all three editions are equally
suited to our purposes. Install Visual Studio as you would any Windows application and make sure that
you have the latest updates and service packs installed.
USING VISUAL WEB DEVELOPER EXPRESS
Microsoft produces a set of light-weight versions of Visual Studio known as the Express editions. The
Express edition for web application development is called Visual Web Developer 2010 Express. Microsoft
differentiates the Express editions by removing some features, but you can still use Visual Web Developer
to create ASP.NET applications.
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