Table Of ContentReal World ASP.NET
Best Practices
FARHAN MUHAMMAD AND MATT MILNER
ApressTM
Real World ASP.NET Best Practices
Copyright © 2003 by Farhan Muhammad and Matt Milner
Originally published by Apress in 2003
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 owner and the
publisher.
ISBN 978-1-59059-100-0 ISBN 978-1-4302-0769-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4302-0769-6
Trademarked names may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, we use the names only in an editorial fashion and to the
benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark.
Technical Reviewer: Scott Stabbert
Editorial Directors: Dan Appleman, Gary Cornell, Simon Hayes, Martin Streicher, Karen
Watterson, John Zukowski
Assistant Publisher: Grace Wong
Project Manager: Tracy Brown Collins
Development Editor: Ami Knox
Copy Editor: Kristen Imler
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Indexer: Lynn Armstrong
Cover Designer: Kurt Krames
Production Manager: Kari Brooks
Manufacturing Manager: Tom Debolski
The information in this book is distributed on an "as is" basis, without warranty. Although every
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be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work.
I would like to dedicate this book to my lovely wife, Luna, whose
continuous support and encouragement made this book possible.
I would also like to dedicate this book to my parents, who taught
me to do my best in everything I start.
-Farhan Muhammad
I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Kristen,
for the patience she exhibits about the many hours spent
in front of the computer and the unlimited amount of
support she provides for all my endeavors. I would not be
where I am without her.
-Matt Milner
Contents at a Glance
About the Author ................................................... xi
About the Technical Reviewer .................................... xii
Introduction ...................................................... xiii
Chapter 1 The Age of ASP. NET .................................. 1
Chapter 2 Cache, Session, and View State ................... 11
Chapter 3 Client-Side JavaScript: Oh, What Fun! ........... 51
Chapter 4 Handling Data Effectively ......................... 71
Chapter 5 Using ASP.NET to Manage Lists ................... 109
Chapter 6 User Controls and Server Controls ............... 137
Chapter 7 Remoting and Web Services ........................ 161
Chapter 8 Configuring ASP.NET Applications ................ 179
Index .............................................................. 203
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Contents
About the Authors ................................................. xi
About the Technical Reviewer .................................... xii
Introduction ...................................................... xiii
Chapter 1 The Age of ASP. NET .. ............................. 1
The Concept of Code Behind: Separating Fact
from Fiction ......................................................1
Using Inheritance in Code Behind ....................................5
Event Wiring ........................................................8
Staying Away from the InitializeComponent Method ....................9
Summary ............................................................ .1 0
Chapter 2 Cache, Session, and View State ............. . 11
Be Mindful of the Cache I .........................................1 1
Cache Pros and Cons .............................................. . 11
Performance Testing with Data Caching .............................. 13
When Good Cache Goes Bad ....................................... . 19
It's Still Too Slow! ..................................................2 2
Refreshing Cached Data ............................................2 3
Extracting Data from a Database and Saving It into an XML File ........ .2 4
Expiring Cache ....................................................2 7
The CacheltemRemovedCallback Delegate ............................2 7
Understanding the CacheDependency Class ..........................2 9
Losing Cached Information When Restarting the Application ...........3 0
The Scalability Issue with Cached Objects .............................3 0
Thrbo-Charging with Output Caching ................................3 1
Deciding Whether to Maintain View State .......................3 6
View State: Behind the Scenes .......................................3 8
Understanding the Session Object .............................. .42
In-Process Session ................................................ .4 3
State Server .......................................................4 3
SQL Server Session .....................· . ......................... ·.43
Performance Testing the Session Object ..............................4 4
Summary ............................................................ .s o
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Contents
Chapter 3 Client-Side JavaScript:
Oh, What Fun! .....................................
51
Capturing Events Raised by HTML Controls
with JavaScript ................................................ .5 2
Server Control Attributes .......................................... .5 3
JavaScript in ASP.NET: A Problematic Solution ........................ .5 4
Dynamically Generating JavaScript Code ......................... .5 5
Using the RegisterArrayDeclaration Method .......................... .5 6
Using the RegisterClientScriptBlock Method ......................... .6 2
Using the RegisterStartupScript Method ............................. .6 5
Using the RegisterOnSubmitStatement Method ........................6 8
Removing JavaScript Code Programmatically ..................... .6 9
Summary ............................................................ .6 9
Chapter 4 Handling Data Effectively ....................
71
Handling Data by Using DataSet .................................. .71
An Inherent Problem with DataSet ................................... 71
Using the Raw DataSet to Create a Vendor Management System ......... 72
Handling Data by Using Business Objects:
A Better Approach ............................................... 76
Methods of the Customers Class ..................................... 79
Adding Business Rules to the Customers Class ........................ . 80
Handling Data by Using Strongly Typed Collections ............ .8 7
Getting to Know the CollectionBase Class ............................ . 87
Making CustomerCollection Strongly JYped .......................... .9 0
Using a Strongly JYped Collection with ASP. NET Server Controls ........ .9 5
The Magic Is Still with the !List Interface ............................. .9 8
Adding a Search Mechanism to the Strongly JYped Collection .......... .9 8
Adding Row State Capability to the Strongly JYped Collection ......... . 1 00
Providing the Ability to Sort the Strongly JYped Collection ............. 10 4
Summary ........................................................... .1 07
Chapter 5 Using ASP. NET to Manage Lists ..............
109
Data Binding Performance Differences .......................... .1 09
Data Binding Performance of the Data Grid Control .................. .1 10
Data Binding Performance of the Data List Control .................. .1 13
Data Binding Performance of the Repeater Control .................. . 116
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Contents
Data Binding Techniques and Their Effects .................... .1 20
Using an Inline Format Expression for Data Binding .................. .1 20
Using an Event Handler for Data Binding ............................ 122
Using Member Methods for Data Binding ............................ 128
Using User Controls Effectively ..................................... 132
Summary ........................................................... .1 36
Chapter 6 User Controls and Server Controls .........
137
Choosing a Control Type ..........................................1 37
Workingwith User Controls ........................................ 137
Benefits of Partial-Page Caching ................................... .1 38
Working with Server Controls ...................................... 141
User Controls vs. Server Controls ...................................1 42
Best Practices with User Controls ............................. .1 43
Exposing Data to Subclasses, Containers, and Siblings ................ .1 43
Using Events to Communicate Between Controls .....................1 46
Supporting Templates with User Controls ........................... .1 49
Dynamically Loading User Controls ................................ .1 52
Best Practices with Server Controls .......................... ..1 53
Raising and Handling Events in Server Controls ..................... .1 53
Design Time Experience with Server Controls ....................... .1 54
Additional Control Best Practices ..............................1 55
Using View State Sparingly but Effectively ........................... .1 55
Using Client-Side Script with Controls .............................. .1 56
Indicating the Script File Version ................................... 157
Summary ............................................................1 60
Chapter 1 Remoting and Web Services ................... 161
Remoting Overview .................................................1 62
Transport ........................................................ 162
Serialization Format .............................................. 162
Server Host ..................................................... .1 62
Activation ....................................................... 162
State Management ................................................ 163
Web Services Overview ............................................1 63
Tell Me Already! When Should I Use One or the Other? ................. 163
Best Practices That Are Common to Remoting
and Web Services ...............................................1 64
Securing Your Remote Communication .............................. 165
Performance ..................................................... 166
ix
Contents
Remoting Best Practices ..........................................1 69
Managing Types and Interfaces ..................................... 170
Web Services Best Practices .................................... .1 74
ManagingWSDL on the Server and Service Locations
on the Client ................................................. 174
Summary ........................................................... .1 77
Chapter 8 Configuring ASP. NET Applications ..........
179
Understanding the XML Configuration System ....................1 79
Identifying Configuration Sections and Handlers ............. .1 81
Leveraging the Built-In Configuration Handlers ...............1 85
User- or Environment-Specific Settings .........................1 86
Application Domains and Automatic Reloading
of Configuration Settings .....................................1 90
Cascading Configuration ..........................................1 91
Creating Custom Configuration Section Handlers ...............1 97
Summary ............................................................2 01
Index .............................................................
203
X
About the Authors
FARHAN MUHAMMAD is the Chief Architect at ILM
Professional Services. He is a technology enthu
siast and has been an evangelist for the .NET
technology since its inception. He leads the 1\vin
Cities .NET User Group, a 400-member-strong
community that focuses on sharing .NET knowl
edge among its members. He sits on the board of
directors for the International .NET Association
(INETA), where he is responsible for developing
strategies for supporting .NET-focused communi
ties in every corner of the world. He also leads
INETA's Speakers Bureau, a very successful pro
gram that connects user groups throughout the U.S. with top-notch .NET
experts. Farhan hosts the Executive .NET seminar on a regular basis, where exec
utives are educated on the short-and long-term impact of the .NET technology
on their businesses. He has a masters degree in software engineering from the
University of Minnesota.
MATT MILNER is a consultant in Minneapolis,
where he designs and develops .NET applications.
He focuses on solving business problems by using
Microsoft technologies and is enthusiastic about
.NET's capabilities for building enterprise class
applications. In addition to his work with clients,
Matt enjoys helping others learn about .NET,
which is why he has contributed to several other
books and articles on .NET, and is an active partic
ipant and presenter in the local .NET user group.
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