Pro Business Applications with Silverlight 4

564 Pages·2010·7.043 MB·English

by  Chris Anderson (auth.)

Pro Business Applications
with Silverlight 4

(cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:2)
Chris Anderson
Pro Business Applications with Silverlight 4
Copyright © 2010 by Chris Anderson
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For my grandmother Connie, a great role model for will power, optimism,
generousity, patience, and love. I miss her dearly.
Contents at a Glance
(cid:2) Contents at a Glance..............................................................................................iv
(cid:2) Contents..................................................................................................................v
(cid:2) About the Author..................................................................................................xix
(cid:2) Acknowledgments................................................................................................xx
(cid:2) Chapter 1: Introduction...........................................................................................1
(cid:2) Chapter 2: Getting Started with Silverlight...........................................................13
(cid:2) Chapter 3: An Introduction to XAML.....................................................................35
(cid:2) Chapter 4: The Navigation Framework.................................................................73
(cid:2) Chapter 5: Exposing Data from the Server: Using WCF RIA Services....................93
(cid:2) Chapter 6: Implementing Summary Lists...........................................................141
(cid:2) Chapter 7: Building Data Entry Forms................................................................189
(cid:2) Chapter 8: Securing Your Application.................................................................245
(cid:2) Chapter 9: Styling Your Application....................................................................269
(cid:2) Chapter 10: Advanced XAML and Data Binding..................................................287
(cid:2) Chapter 11: Creating Custom Controls ...............................................................331
(cid:2) Chapter 12: The Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) Design Pattern......................373
(cid:2) Chapter 13: Printing and Reporting....................................................................403
(cid:2) Chapter 14: Out of Browser Mode, and Interacting with the
Operating System...............................................................................................427
(cid:2) Chapter 15: Application Deployment..................................................................483
(cid:2) Index...................................................................................................................513
iv
(cid:2) C
Contents
(cid:2) Contents at a Glance..............................................................................................iv
(cid:2) Contents..................................................................................................................v
(cid:2) About the Author..................................................................................................xix
(cid:2) Acknowledgments................................................................................................xx
(cid:2) Chapter 1: Introduction...........................................................................................1
Who This Book Is For.........................................................................................................1
About This Book.................................................................................................................2
About the Author................................................................................................................3
Silverlight Overview...........................................................................................................4
What Is Silverlight?...................................................................................................................................4
A Short History of Silverlight....................................................................................................................6
What Can Silverlight Bring to Your Business Application?.......................................................................7
When Should You Not Use Silverlight?.....................................................................................................8
Comparing Silverlight to Other Microsoft Platforms.................................................................................9
Comparison with Adobe Flash/Flex........................................................................................................11
Business Applications Overview......................................................................................11
Summary.........................................................................................................................12
(cid:2) Chapter 2: Getting Started with Silverlight...........................................................13
Required Tools.................................................................................................................13
Visual Studio...........................................................................................................................................13
Expression Blend 4 and SketchFlow......................................................................................................14
v
(cid:2) CONTENTS
Silverlight 4 Tools...................................................................................................................................15
WCF RIA Services...................................................................................................................................15
Silverlight Toolkit....................................................................................................................................15
SQL Server 2008 Express Edition...........................................................................................................15
Silverlight Spy (and .NET Reflector)........................................................................................................16
Creating a Silverlight Application....................................................................................16
Silverlight Application.............................................................................................................................17
Silverlight Navigation Application...........................................................................................................18
Silverlight Business Application.............................................................................................................18
Silverlight Class Library..........................................................................................................................18
WCF RIA Services Class Library..............................................................................................................19
Silverlight Unit Test Application..............................................................................................................19
Running and Exploring the Default Silverlight Business Application Project...................19
Exploring the Initial Silverlight Project Structure.............................................................22
Project Links...........................................................................................................................................24
The Web Application Project Structure...................................................................................................26
The Silverlight Application Project Structure..........................................................................................28
Recommended Project Template Modifications..............................................................31
XAP Files..........................................................................................................................32
Summary.........................................................................................................................33
(cid:2) Chapter 3: An Introduction to XAML.....................................................................35
Overcoming XAML’s Steep Learning Curve.....................................................................35
Why Learn XAML?............................................................................................................36
XAML Syntax, Document Structure, and Features...........................................................37
Core XAML Syntax..................................................................................................................................37
Creating an Object Hierarchy..................................................................................................................38
Namespaces...........................................................................................................................................39
Assigning Property Values to Controls....................................................................................................41
vi
(cid:2) CONTENTS
Attached Properties................................................................................................................................44
XAML Namespace Properties.................................................................................................................45
Design-Time Properties..........................................................................................................................46
Markup Extensions.................................................................................................................................47
Namescopes...........................................................................................................................................49
Controls...........................................................................................................................50
Base Control Classes..............................................................................................................................51
Layout Controls.......................................................................................................................................53
XAML vs. Windows Forms Controls’ Property Names............................................................................57
Assigning Event Handlers.......................................................................................................................58
Creating a Simple User Interface............................................................................................................60
Resources and Resource Dictionaries.............................................................................62
Styles...............................................................................................................................64
Templates........................................................................................................................65
Data Binding....................................................................................................................65
Binding to an Object...............................................................................................................................66
Binding to a Collection............................................................................................................................69
Designing User Experiences............................................................................................70
The Designer/Developer Workflow..................................................................................71
XAML User Interfaces: A Different Perspective................................................................71
Summary.........................................................................................................................72
(cid:2) Chapter 4: The Navigation Framework.................................................................73
Getting Started with the Navigation Framework.............................................................73
Components of the Navigation Framework.....................................................................75
The Frame Control..................................................................................................................................75
The Page Class.......................................................................................................................................76
The NavigationService Object.................................................................................................................76
The NavigationContext Object................................................................................................................77
vii
(cid:2) CONTENTS
Navigating Between Views..............................................................................................77
View URIs................................................................................................................................................77
Navigation Methods on the Frame Control.............................................................................................78
Navigation Methods on the NavigationService Object............................................................................78
Using a HyperlinkButton Control.............................................................................................................79
Using the Source Property of the Frame Control....................................................................................79
User-Initiated Navigation........................................................................................................................79
Passing Data Between Views..........................................................................................80
Passing Data Using Query String Parameters........................................................................................80
Reading Query String Parameters..........................................................................................................81
Passing Complex Data Types Between Views........................................................................................82
Deep Links.......................................................................................................................82
URI Mapping to Enable Friendly URIs...............................................................................83
Integrating with the Browser History...............................................................................85
Handling Navigation Events.............................................................................................87
Frame Events..........................................................................................................................................87
View Events............................................................................................................................................88
Caching Views.................................................................................................................89
Visual Transition Effects..................................................................................................90
Alternative User Interface Frameworks...........................................................................91
Summary.........................................................................................................................91
(cid:2) Chapter 5: Exposing Data from the Server: Using WCF RIA Services....................93
What Is WCF RIA Services?..............................................................................................94
How the WCF RIA Services Code Generator Works..........................................................95
How Do You Use WCF RIA Services?...............................................................................96
Linking Your Silverlight and Web Projects..............................................................................................97
Creating Your Domain Services..............................................................................................................97
Creating Domain Operations on Your Domain Services..........................................................................97
viii
(cid:2) CONTENTS
Consuming the Domain Services............................................................................................................98
Getting Started.................................................................................................................98
Creating a Data Access Layer Using the Entity Framework...........................................101
Configuring the Database.....................................................................................................................101
About the Entity Framework.................................................................................................................101
Creating an Entity Model......................................................................................................................102
Domain Services............................................................................................................102
Understanding the Domain Service Life Cycle......................................................................................103
Creating a Domain Service...................................................................................................................104
Domain Operations........................................................................................................107
Query Operations..................................................................................................................................107
Insert/Update/Delete Operations..........................................................................................................109
Invoke Operations.................................................................................................................................111
Custom Operations...............................................................................................................................111
Decorating Entities........................................................................................................112
Metadata Classes.................................................................................................................................113
Controlling Client Entity Generation......................................................................................................113
Validation..............................................................................................................................................115
Presentation.........................................................................................................................................118
Miscellaneous Data Annotations..........................................................................................................118
Presentation Model Types.............................................................................................119
Creating the Presentation Model Class.................................................................................................120
Populating and Exposing Your Presentation Model Types....................................................................121
Updating Your Presentation Model Types.............................................................................................122
Sharing Code/Logic Across Tiers...................................................................................123
Inspecting the Generated Code in the Silverlight Project..............................................124
Encapsulating Logic in a Separate WCF RIA Services Class Library..............................125
Handling Server Errors..................................................................................................126
ix
(cid:2) CONTENTS
Handling Data Concurrency Violations...........................................................................127
Methods of Identifying Concurrency Violations....................................................................................127
Configuring the Entity Model to Check for Concurrency Violations......................................................128
Testing Your Solution...........................................................................................................................129
Resolving Conflicts in the Domain Service...........................................................................................130
Transactions..................................................................................................................131
WCF RIA Services Toolkit...............................................................................................132
Alternative Communication Technologies.....................................................................133
WCF Services........................................................................................................................................134
WCF Data Services...............................................................................................................................137
HTTP Requests.....................................................................................................................................138
Sockets.................................................................................................................................................139
Summary.......................................................................................................................139
(cid:2) Chapter 6: Implementing Summary Lists...........................................................141
Exposing a Summary Collection from the Server..........................................................142
Collections and Collection Views...................................................................................144
ObservableCollection<T>.....................................................................................................................144
Views....................................................................................................................................................144
Consuming Data from the Server..................................................................................146
Understanding the Domain Context......................................................................................................146
XAML-Based Approach.........................................................................................................................146
Code-Based Approach..........................................................................................................................148
Choosing the Right Approach...............................................................................................................149
Explicitly Specifying a Domain Service Host........................................................................................150
Using the BusyIndicator Control...........................................................................................................150
Displaying the Summary List.........................................................................................152
Retrieving the Data from the Server.....................................................................................................153
Configuring and Customizing a Control for Displaying Data.................................................................153
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