ASP.NET MVC Framework Unleashed

744 Pages·2009·12.304 MB·English

by  Stephen Walther

Stephen Walther
ptg
ASP.NET
MVC Framework
U N L E A S H E D
800 East 96th Street,Indianapolis,Indiana 46240 USA
ASP.NET MVC Framework Unleashed Editor-in-Chief
Karen Gettman
Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education,Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,stored in a retrieval Executive Editor
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damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Managing Editor
ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32998-2 Kristy Hart
ISBN-10: 0-672-32998-0
Project Editor
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Betsy Harris
Walther,Stephen.
Copy Editor
ASP.NET MVP framework unleashed / Stephen Walther.
Apostrophe Editing
p. cm.
Services
ISBN 978-0-672-32998-2
Indexer
1. Active server pages. 2. Microsoft .NET Framework. 3. Web site development. I. Title.
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TK5105.8885.A26W3522 2010
006.7'882--dc22 Proofreader ptg
2009021084 Keith Cline
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First Printing July 2009 Rebecca Riordan
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction 1
Part I Building ASP.NET MVC Applications 5
1 An Introduction to ASP.NET MVC.................................................................7
2 Building a Simple ASP.NET MVC Application..............................................23
3 Understanding Controllers and Actions......................................................47
4 Understanding Views....................................................................................83
5 Understanding Models................................................................................119 ptg
6 Understanding HTML Helpers....................................................................159
7 Understanding Model Binders and Action Filters......................................207
8 Validating Form Data..................................................................................241
9 Understanding Routing..............................................................................269
10 Understanding View Master Pages and View User Controls.....................295
11 Better Performance with Caching..............................................................325
12 Authenticating Users..................................................................................365
13 Deploying ASP.NET MVC Applications......................................................401
14 Working with Ajax......................................................................................427
15 Using jQuery...............................................................................................479
Part II Walkthrough: Building the Unleashed Blog Application 503
16 Overview of the Application......................................................................505
17 Database Access...........................................................................................511
18 Creating the Routes....................................................................................543
19 Adding Validation.......................................................................................567
20 Paging, Views, and Ajax..............................................................................593
21 Adding Comments......................................................................................621
Part III Appendixes 645
A C# and VB.NET Language Features............................................................647
B Using a Unit Testing Framework................................................................659
C Using a Mock Object Framework...............................................................679
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
How This Book Is Organized..........................................................................1
What You Should Know Before Reading This Book.......................................2
What Software Do You Need?........................................................................2
Where Do You Download the Code Samples?...............................................3
If You Like This Book......................................................................................3
Part I Building ASP.NET MVC Applications
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1 An Introduction to ASP.NET MVC 7
A Story with a Moral.......................................................................................7
What Is Good Software?.................................................................................8
Avoiding Code Smells............................................................................9
Software Design Principles..................................................................10
Software Design Patterns.....................................................................11
Writing Unit Tests for Your Code........................................................12
Test-Driven Development....................................................................13
Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain......................................................14
What Is ASP.NET MVC?................................................................................14
ASP.NET MVC Is Part of the ASP.NET Framework..............................14
The Origins of MVC............................................................................15
The Architecture of an ASP.NET MVC Application......................................16
Understanding the Sample ASP.NET MVC Application...............................17
ASP.NET MVC Folder Conventions.....................................................19
Running the Sample ASP.NET MVC Application................................19
2 Building a Simple ASP.NET MVC Application 23
Starting with a Blank Slate............................................................................23
Creating the Database...................................................................................25
Creating the Model.......................................................................................27
Creating the Controller................................................................................30
Creating the Views........................................................................................37
Adding the Index View........................................................................38
Adding the Create View......................................................................42
Contents v
3 Understanding Controllers and Actions 47
Creating a Controller....................................................................................47
Returning Action Results..............................................................................51
Returning a View Result......................................................................52
Returning a Redirect Result.................................................................55
Returning a Content Result.................................................................57
Returning a JSON Result......................................................................59
Returning a File Result.........................................................................63
Controlling How Actions Are Invoked.........................................................65
Using AcceptVerbs...............................................................................65
Using ActionName...............................................................................70
Using ActionMethodSelector...............................................................72
Handling Unknown Actions.........................................................................76
Testing Controllers and Actions...................................................................78 ptg
4 Understanding Views 83
Creating a View.............................................................................................83
Using View Data...........................................................................................87
Typed and Untyped Views............................................................................88
Creating Strongly Typed Views...........................................................94
Preventing JavaScript Injection Attacks.......................................................95
Using Alternative View Engines...................................................................97
Creating a Custom View Engine.........................................................99
Testing Views...............................................................................................105
Test the View Result...........................................................................105
Test HTML Helpers............................................................................108
Test a Custom View Engine...............................................................114
5 Understanding Models 119
Creating a Data Model................................................................................120
Creating a Data Model with the Microsoft Entity Framework.........120
Listing Records...................................................................................124
Getting a Single Record.....................................................................126
Creating Records................................................................................127
Editing Records..................................................................................128
Deleting Records................................................................................131
Using the Repository Pattern......................................................................132
Creating a Product Repository..........................................................133
Using the Dependency Injection Pattern.........................................138
vi ASP.NET MVC Framework
Creating a Generic Repository....................................................................139
Using the Generic Repository with the Entity Framework..............141
Using the Generic Repository with LINQ to SQL.............................144
Extending the Generic Repository....................................................147
Testing Data Access.....................................................................................149
Testing with a Mock Repository........................................................150
Testing with a Fake Generic Repository............................................155
6 Understanding HTML Helpers 159
Using the Standard HTML Helpers.............................................................160
Rendering Links.................................................................................160
Rendering Image Links......................................................................161
Rendering Form Elements.................................................................162
Rendering a Form..............................................................................166 ptg
Rendering a Drop-Down List.............................................................167
Encoding HTML Content..................................................................169
Using Antiforgery Tokens..................................................................169
Creating Custom HTML Helpers................................................................173
Using the TagBuilder Class................................................................176
Using the HtmlTextWriter Class........................................................180
Creating a DataGrid Helper........................................................................183
Adding Sorting to the DataGrid Helper............................................190
Adding Paging to the DataGrid Helper.............................................192
Testing Helpers............................................................................................201
7 Understanding Model Binders and Action Filters 207
Understanding Model Binders....................................................................207
Using the Default Model Binder.......................................................210
Binding to Complex Classes..............................................................212
Using the Bind Attribute...................................................................218
Using Bind with Classes....................................................................221
Using Prefixes When Binding...........................................................225
Using the Form Collection Model Binder.........................................228
Using the HTTP Posted File Base Model Binder................................231
Creating a Custom Model Binder.....................................................233
Understanding Action Filters......................................................................236
Creating a Log Action Filter..............................................................237
8 Validating Form Data 241
Understanding Model State........................................................................241
Understanding the Validation Helpers.......................................................245
Contents vii
Styling Validation Error Messages..............................................................247
Prebinding and Postbinding Validation.....................................................248
Validating with a Service Layer..................................................................251
Validating with the IDataErrorInfo Interface.............................................258
Testing Validation.......................................................................................264
9 Understanding Routing 269
Using the Default Route.............................................................................269
Debugging Routes.......................................................................................274
Creating Custom Routes.............................................................................275
Creating Route Constraints........................................................................277
Using Regular Expression Constraints..............................................278
Using the HttpMethod Constraint....................................................280
Creating an Authenticated Constraint..............................................280 ptg
Creating a NotEqual Constraint........................................................283
Using Catch-All Routes...............................................................................285
Testing Routes.............................................................................................288
Using the MvcFakes and RouteDebugger Assemblies.......................289
Testing If a URL Matches a Route.....................................................289
Testing Routes with Constraints.......................................................292
10 Understanding View Master Pages and View User Controls 295
Understanding View Master Pages.............................................................295
Creating a View Master Page.............................................................295
Creating a View Content Page..........................................................300
Setting the Master Page from the Controller....................................302
Setting the Master Page Title.............................................................303
Nested Master Pages..........................................................................306
Passing View Data to Master Pages...................................................308
Understanding View User Controls............................................................311
Passing View Data to User Controls..................................................314
Using a View User Control as a Template.........................................319
11 Better Performance with Caching 325
Using the OutputCache Attribute..............................................................325
Don’t Cache Private Data..................................................................330
What Gets Cached?...........................................................................331
Setting the Cache Location...............................................................333
Varying the Output Cache by Parameter..........................................335
Varying the Output Cache................................................................337
Removing Items from the Output Cache.........................................341
Using Cache Profiles..........................................................................343
viii ASP.NET MVC Framework
Using the Cache API...................................................................................344
Using the HttpCachePolicy Class......................................................345
Using the Cache Class.......................................................................347
Testing the Cache........................................................................................353
Testing the OutputCache Attribute...................................................353
Testing Adding Data to the Cache....................................................355
12 Authenticating Users 365
Creating Users and Roles............................................................................365
Using the Web Site Administration Tool..........................................365
Using the Account Controller...........................................................367
Authorizing Users.......................................................................................368
Using the Authorize Attribute...........................................................368
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Using the User Property....................................................................372
Configuring Membership...........................................................................374
Configuring the Membership Database............................................375
Configuring Membership Settings....................................................378
Using the Membership and Role Manager API..........................................381
Using Windows Authentication.................................................................385
Configuring Windows Authentication.............................................385
Authenticating Windows Users and Groups.....................................386
Testing Authorization.................................................................................390
Testing for the Authorize Attribute...................................................390
Testing with the User Model Binder.................................................393
13 Deploying ASP.NET MVC Applications 401
Configuring IIS for ASP.NET MVC..............................................................401
Integrated Versus Classic Mode.........................................................402
Using ASP.NET MVC with Older Versions of IIS...............................403
Adding Extensions to the Route Table..............................................403
Hosted Server.....................................................................................408
Creating a Wildcard Script Map........................................................410
Mixing ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC.......................................414
Modifying the Visual Studio Project File..........................................415
Adding the Required Assemblies.......................................................415
Modifying the Web Configuration File.............................................416
Modify the Global.asax File...............................................................422
Using Web Forms and MVC..............................................................424
Bin Deploying an ASP.NET MVC Application............................................424
Contents ix
14 Working with Ajax 427
Using the Ajax Helpers...............................................................................427
Debugging Ajax...........................................................................................428
Posting a Form Asynchronously.................................................................430
Displaying Progress............................................................................435
Updating Content After Posting.......................................................443
Performing Validation.......................................................................447
Providing Downlevel Browser Support.............................................452
Retrieving Content Asynchronously..........................................................454
Highlighting the Selected Link..........................................................459
Creating a Delete Link.......................................................................462
Providing Downlevel Browser Support.............................................468
Using the AcceptAjax Attribute..................................................................473
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15 Using jQuery 479
Overview of jQuery.....................................................................................479
Including the jQuery Library......................................................................480
jQuery and Visual Studio Intellisense........................................................481
Using jQuery Selectors................................................................................482
Adding Event Handlers...............................................................................487
Using jQuery Animations...........................................................................489
jQuery and Ajax..........................................................................................491
Using jQuery Plug-Ins.................................................................................498
Part II Walkthrough: Building the Unleashed Blog Application
16 Overview of the Application 505
What Is Test-Driven Development?...........................................................505
Why Do Test-Driven Development?..........................................................506
The KISS and YAGNI Principles..................................................................507
Waterfall Versus Evolutionary Design........................................................507
TDD Tests Are Not Unit Tests.....................................................................508
Tests Flow from User Stories.......................................................................508
Unit Testing Frameworks............................................................................509
Bibliography of Test-Driven Development.................................................509
17 Database Access 511
Creating the Unleashed Blog Project.........................................................511
Creating Our First Test................................................................................514
Creating New Blog Entries..........................................................................520