Table Of Content00 0672326477 fm 4/29/04 9:49 AM Page i
Dan Kent
ASP NET
.
E V O L U T I O N
800 East 96th Street,Indianapolis,Indiana 46240
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ASP.NET Evolution Associate Publisher
Michael Stephens
Copyright © 2004 by Sams Publishing
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction..................................................................................1
1 Getting Started..............................................................................3
2 The Online Community Application....................................................11
3 Exploring the Code........................................................................25
4 Experimenting with the Code...........................................................69
5 Improving the User Interface............................................................91
6 Improving the Modules.................................................................135
7 Managing Members.....................................................................169
8 Keeping Members Under Control....................................................207
9 Improving the Code.....................................................................247
10 Extending the Application..............................................................295
Index.......................................................................................345
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 Getting Started 3
What You Need to Run the Application.........................................................3
Versions of the Application on the CD-ROM...........................................4
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Installing the Application.................................4
Copying the Source Code Files ..........................................................4
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Setting Up the Web Application.........................5
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Compiling the Source Code..............................6
Setting Up the Database..................................................................7
Checking the Application Configuration................................................8
Copying the WebControl Client Script Files............................................9
Testing the Application.....................................................................9
Troubleshooting.....................................................................................9
Access Is Denied Microsoft.Web.UI.WebControls..........................9
Directory Not Found Exception for C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\community\
global\OJB.NET\repository.xml.............................................9
SQL Server Does Not Exist or Access Denied......................................10
Could Not Load Type......................................................................10
Moving On..........................................................................................10
2 The Online Community Application 11
What Does the Online Community Application Do?........................................11
Members....................................................................................13
Modules.....................................................................................14
Global Module Instances................................................................16
Adding Information to Module Instances.............................................18
Member Settings..........................................................................19
Search.......................................................................................22
Moving On..........................................................................................23
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3 Exploring the Code 25
Terminology.........................................................................................25
Why Was the Online Community Built the Way It Was?...................................26
The Overall Logical Structure...................................................................27
ASP.NET Pages.............................................................................27
Controls.....................................................................................28
Business Services........................................................................28
Persistent Objects........................................................................29
Member.....................................................................................30
CommunityModule......................................................................31
ModuleView..............................................................................32
ModuleInstance.......................................................................33
SectionItem.............................................................................34
Section....................................................................................34
The Persistence Service.................................................................35
The Database......................................................................................36
The Modules.......................................................................................37
The ModuleBaseClass.................................................................37
How the Code Files Are Organized............................................................38
CODE TOUR: Default.aspx.......................................................40
CODE TOUR: CoreModule.vb.....................................................47
CODE TOUR: DisplayLatestHeadlines.ascx.............................55
CODE TOUR: NewsModule.vb.....................................................57
Search...............................................................................................60
Security.............................................................................................66
Moving On..........................................................................................67
4 Experimenting with the Code 69
Changing the Style of the Application........................................................69
EXPERIMENT: Playing with the Style Sheet......................................69
CODE TOUR: Navigation.ascx..................................................77
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding Icons to the Navigation........................86
Moving On..........................................................................................89
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vi ASP.NET Evolution
5 Improving the User Interface 91
Section Items......................................................................................91
CODE TOUR: Global/Controls/SectionItemHeader.ascx..........91
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding the Number of Images to the
Header of ImageGalleryModule Instances....................................94
CHALLENGE: Displaying the Number of Images for Global Instances......95
IDEA: Customizing the Header for Other Modules.............................95
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding Icons to Module Headers.....................96
CHALLENGE: Distinguishing Global Instances..................................99
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding a New Icon to Module Instances
That Have Been Updated in the Last Week........................................99
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding New Icons to the Navigation................103
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding an Automated What’s New? Page..........108
CHALLENGE: Showing Only Non-global Sections in What’s New?.........115
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Displaying the Latest Member to Join..............115
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Allowing Members to Have a Custom Image
on Their Page...........................................................................119
CHALLENGE: Imposing a Size Limit on Uploaded Images..................126
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding Configurable Module Names................126
CHALLENGE: Display Names for Module Views...............................132
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Solving a Problem with the Return Key.............132
CHALLENGE: Adding Default Buttons to Other Controls.....................134
Moving On........................................................................................134
6 Improving the Modules 135
The Send Message Module...................................................................135
CODE TOUR: SendMessageModule.vb.......................................135
CODE TOUR: Modules/SendMessage/
SimpleSendMessageBox.ascx.................................................137
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Requiring a Valid Email Address.....................139
CHALLENGE: Requiring a Valid Email Address from New Members......142
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Dealing with Errors.....................................142
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Allowing a Global SendMessageInstance........145
CHALLENGE: User-Definable Subject Line......................................148
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Contents vii
The News Module...............................................................................148
CODE TOUR: Modules/News/DisplayItem.ascx .......................149
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Formatting News Items Better.......................152
Entering and Editing News Items............................................................155
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Validating the Length of the Inputs.................157
CHALLENGE: Automatic Summaries.............................................158
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Allowing Markup Code.................................159
CHALLENGE: Adding More Markup Options....................................162
CHALLENGE: Allowing Members to Upload an Image to Accompany
Each News Item .......................................................................162
The ImageGallery Module.....................................................................163
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Generating Thumbnails................................163
Moving On........................................................................................167
7 Managing Members 169
Building a Member Administration System................................................169
Protecting the Administration System...............................................169
CODE TOUR: Global/CommunityPrincipal.vb.........................171
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding General Member Management
Facilities.................................................................................172
Helping Users Who Forget Their Passwords...............................................189
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Automating Password Resetting.....................190
CHALLENGE: One-Use-Only Change Password Emails.......................197
Improving the Registration Process.........................................................198
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Requiring Approval for New User
Registrations...........................................................................198
CHALLENGE: Email Reminders...................................................205
CHALLENGE: Requiring Email Confirmation for Registration...............205
IDEA: Requiring Agreement to Terms and Conditions........................205
Moving On........................................................................................206
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viii ASP.NET Evolution
8 Keeping Members Under Control 207
Managing Members’ Resource Usage......................................................207
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Setting a Quota for Members’ Data................207
CHALLENGE: Including the Member’s Personal Page Image
and Text in Her Resource Usage...................................................223
IDEA: Personalized Resource Quotas...........................................223
Dealing with Troublesome Users.............................................................224
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Temporarily Banning a Member......................224
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Hiding Deactivated Members’ Data.................226
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Deleting a Member.....................................228
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Logging IP Addresses..................................233
CHALLENGE: Updating the Date on Existing IP Addresses.................240
Security Configuration Options...............................................................241
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Changing the Timeout Period.........................241
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Remembering Members Between Visits...........241
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Building a Private Community........................243
Moving On........................................................................................246
9 Improving the Code 247
Improving Performance with Caching........................................................247
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Caching Page Output...................................248
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Partial-Page Caching...................................250
CHALLENGE: Caching a Dynamic Control.......................................251
Viewstate.........................................................................................251
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Pruning the Viewstate .................................252
Improving Text-Handling Performance with StringBuilder.........................253
Eliminating Magic Numbers...................................................................260
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Making the Thumbnail Width Configurable........264
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Removing the Community.RandomTextItem
Duplication..............................................................................269
CHALLENGE: Removing the Type.GetTypeDuplication in All Module
Classes..................................................................................270
Reorganizing Code......................................................................271
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Contents ix
STEP-BY-STEP: Breaking Out Databinding Code into a Databinding
Subroutine..............................................................................278
CHALLENGE: Breaking Out Databinding Code.................................279
Creating Reusable Code.......................................................................279
More Efficient Data Access...................................................................281
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Using Custom SQL to Get Recent News Items...283
Retrieving Less Data with Summary Objects..............................................285
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Using a NewsItemSummaryClass.................286
CHALLENGE: Implementing Another Summary Class........................291
Improving File Naming..........................................................................292
Moving On........................................................................................294
10 Extending the Application 295
Adding a New View..............................................................................295
CHALLENGE: Improving the DisplaySingleImageView.................299
Adding a New Module..........................................................................299
Required Items...........................................................................299
Optional Items...........................................................................300
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Implementing the Persistent Object................300
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Creating a Business Service Class for the
Module...................................................................................306
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Implementing the Display Module Control.........314
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Implementing a View to Display Upcoming
Events....................................................................................318
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Adding a View to Display a Graphical
Calendar.................................................................................320
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Implementing the View Item Control................326
Making the Calendar Module Work..................................................331
CHALLENGE: Adding a Delete Event Option ...................................333
CHALLENGE: Displaying an Error Message....................................333
Integrating ASP.NET Forums with the Online Community Application.................334
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Integrating ASP.NET Forums..........................334
Moving On........................................................................................342
Index 345
