ASP.NET 2.0 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................1

About This Book...............................................................................................2

How to Use This Book .....................................................................................3

How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................3

Book I: ASP.NET Basics ..........................................................................3

Book II: Web Controls.............................................................................3

Book III: HTML ........................................................................................3

Book IV: C# ..............................................................................................4

Book V: Visual Basic...............................................................................4

Book VI: Database Programming..........................................................4

Book VII: Using the .NET Framework ...................................................4

Book VIII: Advanced ASP.NET Programming.......................................4

Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................4

Where to Go from Here....................................................................................5

Book I: ASP.NET Basics .................................................7

Chapter 1: Welcome to ASP.NET Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

What Is ASP.NET, and Why Is It So Great? .....................................................9

Windows and IIS dependence .............................................................10

Object orientation ................................................................................11

Choice of languages .............................................................................11

Visual Studio .........................................................................................12

Understanding Web Servers and Browsers ................................................12

Understanding Static Web Pages..................................................................13

Understanding Dynamic Web Pages ............................................................14

Looking at a Simple ASP.NET Application...................................................15

The .aspx (Markup) File for the Simple Calculator Application ..............17

The Code-Behind File of the Simple Calculator Application ....................18

Chapter 2: Installing Visual Studio Web Developer 2005

Express Edition or Visual Studio 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Looking at Visual Studio 2005 Editions .......................................................21

Considering Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition ........................22

Installing Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition .............................22

Registering Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition..........................27

Installing Visual Studio 2005 .........................................................................30

Chapter 3: Creating Your First ASP.NET 2.0 Application . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Understanding Visual Studio Projects.........................................................35

Creating a New Web Site................................................................................36

Using the Solution Explorer ..........................................................................39

Working with Controls...................................................................................40

Setting Properties ..........................................................................................44

Setting the Page Title .....................................................................................46

Looking at the Source Code..........................................................................47

Adding Some Code.........................................................................................48

Running the Application................................................................................51

Chapter 4: Understanding Postback, Events, and Code-Behind . . . . .53

Understanding Postback...............................................................................53

Using the IsPostBack Variable ......................................................................54

Understanding Events ...................................................................................55

Using the Handles Clause in Visual Basic ...................................................56

Designating an Event Handler in C# ............................................................58

Using C#’s Auto Event Wireup......................................................................58

Understanding Code-Behind.........................................................................59

Using Single-File Pages ..................................................................................60

Chapter 5: Creating Multipage Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Understanding the Basics of a Multipage Application ..............................63

Adding Pages ..................................................................................................66

Redirecting to Another Page.........................................................................67

Adding Classes ...............................................................................................68

Using Session State ........................................................................................71

Looking into Data Binding.............................................................................74

Using Master Pages........................................................................................75

Creating a Master Page ........................................................................75

Creating a content page.......................................................................78

The C# Version of the Shopping Cart Application .....................................79

The VB.NET Version of the Shopping Cart Application ............................83

Chapter 6: Testing and Debugging Your ASP.NET Applications . . . . .87

Creating a Simple Calculator Application ...................................................87

Running an ASP.NET Application .................................................................89

Dealing with Errors ........................................................................................91

Working in Break Mode .................................................................................93

Displaying Variable Data ...............................................................................93

Stepping Through a Program........................................................................95

Setting Breakpoints........................................................................................96

Using Response.Write for Debugging ..........................................................97

Book II: Web Controls..................................................99

Chapter 1: Using Basic Web Server Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Using Label Controls....................................................................................101

Using TextBox Controls...............................................................................103

Using Button Controls .................................................................................105

Using CheckBox Controls............................................................................107

Checking the Checked property.......................................................108

Another way to check the Checked property.................................109

Using RadioButton Controls .......................................................................111

Using Image Controls...................................................................................112

Chapter 2: Using Validation Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Validating the Hard Way ..............................................................................115

Validation Controls to the Rescue!.............................................................117

Using the RequiredFieldValidator Control ................................................118

Using the CompareValidator Control.........................................................120

Using the RangeValidator Control..............................................................122

Using the RegularExpressionValidator......................................................123

Using a CustomValidator Control...............................................................125

Using the ValidationSummary Control ......................................................126

Using the CausesValidation and ValidationGroup Properties ................128

Chapter 3: Using List Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Using the CheckBoxList Control ................................................................131

Creating columns................................................................................133

Aligning text with check boxes.........................................................134

Spacing things out..............................................................................135

Working with ListItem Elements.................................................................135

Using the Text property.....................................................................135

Using the Value property...................................................................136

Determining which items are selected ............................................136

Using the Collection Editor dialog box............................................137

Toiling with the RadioButtonList Control .................................................138

Utilizing ListBox Controls ...........................................................................139

Employing DropDownList Controls ...........................................................141

Accomplishing More with List Items in Code...........................................143

Adding an item to a list......................................................................143

Clearing the list...................................................................................143

Selecting and deselecting items .......................................................144

Finding an item ...................................................................................144

Chapter 4: Using Advanced Web Server Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Using the MultiView Control.......................................................................147

Utilizing the Wizard Control .......................................................................152

Creating steps in Visual Studio.........................................................154

Using Wizard events...........................................................................156

Looking at the code for a Wizard control........................................157

Working with the Calendar Control ...........................................................160

Making Use of the FileUpload Control.......................................................163

Chapter 5: Working with User Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Introducing User Controls...........................................................................165

Creating a User Control ...............................................................................167

Adding a User Control to a Page ................................................................169

Adding Properties to a User Control .........................................................170

Putting User-Control Properties to Work..................................................173

Book III: HTML .........................................................175

Chapter 1: HTML Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177

XHTML Rulez! ...............................................................................................177

XHTML and the W3C..........................................................................178

The strict upbringing of XHTML.......................................................178

Making your HTML well-formed .......................................................179

More XHTML requirements...............................................................180

Taking characters as an entity..........................................................181

VWDE’s Support for XHTML .......................................................................181

A solemn DOCTYPE declaration.......................................................181

Validity spy..........................................................................................182

Letting VWDE fix old code.................................................................185

You can go your own way..................................................................189

Editing Code in Source View.......................................................................190

Preserving source code .....................................................................191

Cleaning up source code ...................................................................192

Using the Tag Navigator ....................................................................192

Collapsing and outlining....................................................................193

No Comment! ......................................................................................193

Editing Pages in Design View......................................................................194

Establishing a position in Design view ............................................194

Positioning a Single Control ..............................................................197

Viewing an HTML document’s structure.........................................197

Manipulating the DOM.......................................................................198

Formatting Text ............................................................................................198

The Formatting toolbar .....................................................................199

The Format menu ...............................................................................199

Properties pages.................................................................................200

Chapter 2: Creating Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201

Some Basic Table Talk .................................................................................202

Adding headers, a caption, and a summary ...................................202

Grouping and spanning columns and rows.....................................205

Creating Tables in the Designers................................................................207

The Toolbox table ..............................................................................207

The table designer..............................................................................208

The ASP.NET table tool ......................................................................209

Creating Tables Programmatically.............................................................212

Building a table by using the Repeater control ..............................212

Building an ASP.NET table from scratch..........................................215

Creating a Table-Based Framework ...........................................................217

Chapter 3: Working with Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

Understanding Forms ..................................................................................221

Creating a Form ............................................................................................223

A call to action — sent by post ........................................................223

Staying on target.................................................................................224

Your special events form...................................................................224

Working with Text Boxes.............................................................................225

Creating text fields with <input> ......................................................226

Creating a password text box ...........................................................227

Super-sizing a text field......................................................................227

Working with Buttons ..................................................................................229

Creating a submit button...................................................................229

Creating a reset button ......................................................................230

Creating an ordinary button .............................................................230

Creating an image button ..................................................................230

Creating submit, reset, and ordinary buttons another way .........231

Working with Check Boxes and Radio Buttons ........................................232

Creating a check box..........................................................................232

Creating a radio button......................................................................232

Using Drop-Down Lists and List Boxes......................................................233

Creating a drop-down list ..................................................................233

Creating a list box...............................................................................234

Creating a hierarchical drop-down list and list box.......................235

Checking Form Submissions with ASP.NET ..............................................237

Setting the Tab Order ..................................................................................238

Chapter 4: Using Styles and Style Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Understanding Styles...................................................................................241

Cascading Style Sheets ......................................................................242

Style selectors and other syntax ......................................................244

Working with Styles in Visual Studio 2005 and

Visual Web Developer ..............................................................................246

Setting the CSS validation schema ...................................................246

Creating inline styles in Design view ...............................................248

Creating inline styles in Source view ...............................................252

Building external style sheets...........................................................254

Creating a class with style.................................................................256

Using Span and Div for Styles and Positions ............................................257

Highlighting text with <span> ...........................................................258

Creating a layer with <div>................................................................259

Showing and hiding the <div>...........................................................260

Creating and Applying Styles in Code .......................................................261

Applying inline styles in code...........................................................261

Inserting embedded styles with code..............................................262

Letting users choose their style sheet ............................................263

Chapter 5: Using Client-Side Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

Sampling Client-Side Script on Microsoft.com .........................................267

Compensating for browser differences ...........................................268

Embedding multimedia content .......................................................268

Tracking page views and statistics ..................................................269

Making the page interactive..............................................................270

Creating random content and surveys............................................270

Embedding Script in an ASP.NET Page ......................................................271

Embedding a block of script .............................................................272

Inserting a hidden field into a page..................................................274

Embedding code so that it executes on startup ............................275

Embedding code to catch a page submit ........................................277

Capturing the hidden field ................................................................278

Referencing external scripts .............................................................279

Storing an array of values in a page.................................................280

Using Client-Side Scripts in ASP.NET .........................................................281

Identifying page elements by using script ......................................282

Using alert( ) to stop users cold.......................................................284

confirm( ) a drastic action.................................................................285

Creating a rollover effect ...................................................................286

Client-Side Script and Validation Controls................................................287

How Auto-Postback Uses Client-Side Script .............................................289

Using Client-Side Callbacks.........................................................................291

Creating the Web page interface ......................................................292

Preparing the JavaScript ...................................................................293

Building the server-side algorithm ..................................................294

Implementing ICallbackEventHandler .............................................294

Generating the callback code ...........................................................296

Making the callback call ....................................................................297

Callback source code.........................................................................298

Book IV: C# ..............................................................301

Chapter 1: C# Programming Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303

Dealing with Keywords................................................................................303

Working with Statements ............................................................................304

Types of statements...........................................................................304

White space.........................................................................................305

Working with Blocks ....................................................................................306

Creating Identifiers ......................................................................................307

Crafting Comments ......................................................................................307

Single-line comments .........................................................................307

Delimited comments ..........................................................................308

Introducing Object-Oriented Programming..............................................308

Understanding classes and objects .................................................308

Coding a class .....................................................................................309

Creating an object from a class ........................................................310

Using .NET Framework Classes..................................................................311

Declaring Variables ......................................................................................312

Declaring two or more variables in one statement........................313

Declaring instance variables.............................................................313

Declaring local variables ...................................................................314

Initializing Variables.....................................................................................315

Initializing variables with assignment statements .........................315

Initializing variables with initializers ...............................................315

Working with Built-in Data Types...............................................................316

Integer (int) types ..............................................................................317

Floating-point types ...........................................................................318

The decimal type................................................................................319

The char type......................................................................................319

The boolean type................................................................................320

Working with Strings....................................................................................320

Declaring and initializing strings......................................................321

Combining strings ..............................................................................321

Converting strings to primitives ......................................................322

Working with Arithmetic Operators ..........................................................323

Dividing Integers ..........................................................................................325

Combining Operators ..................................................................................326

Using the Unary Plus and Minus Operators .............................................327

Using Increment and Decrement Operators.............................................328

Using the Assignment Operator.................................................................329

Using Compound Assignment Operators .................................................331

Chapter 2: Doing Things Conditionally in C# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

Using Simple boolean Expressions ............................................................333

Using if Statements ......................................................................................335

Simple if statements...........................................................................335

if-else statements................................................................................338

Nested if statements ..........................................................................339

else-if statements................................................................................341

Mr. Spock’s Favorite Operators (the Logical Ones, of Course)..............343

Using the ! operator ...........................................................................344

Using the & and && operators..........................................................345

Using the | and || operators............................................................346

Pulling the Ol’ Switch-er-oo ........................................................................347

Creating else-if monstrosities ...........................................................347

Using the switch statement...............................................................348

A better version of the Voter-Error-Code Decoder program ........349

Chapter 3: Going Around in Circles (Or, Looping in C#) . . . . . . . . . . .351

Your Basic while Loop .................................................................................351

The while statement ..........................................................................352

A counting loop ..................................................................................352

Breaking Out of a Loop................................................................................353

Looping Forever ...........................................................................................354

Using the continue Statement ....................................................................355

Understanding do-while Loops ..................................................................356

The Famous for Loop...................................................................................358

The formal format of the for loop ....................................................358

Scoping out the counter variable.....................................................360

Counting even numbers ....................................................................361

Counting backward ............................................................................361

for loops without bodies ...................................................................362

Ganging up your expressions ...........................................................362

Omitting expressions.........................................................................363

Breaking and continuing your for loops..........................................364

Nesting Your Loops......................................................................................365

Chapter 4: Using Methods and Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367

The Basics of Making Methods...................................................................367

A Simple Example.........................................................................................368

Methods that Return Values .......................................................................369

Declaring the method’s return type.................................................370

Using the return statement to return the value..............................370

Using Methods that Take Parameters .......................................................371

Declaring parameters ........................................................................371

Understanding pass-by-value............................................................372

Understanding Exceptions..........................................................................373

Catching Exceptions ....................................................................................374

Catching Different Exception Types ..........................................................375

Using the Exception Message .....................................................................376

Using a finally Block.....................................................................................376

Chapter 5: Getting into Object-Oriented Programming . . . . . . . . . . .377

What Is Object-Oriented Programming? ...................................................377

Understanding Objects................................................................................379

Objects have identity.........................................................................379

Objects have type...............................................................................380

Objects have state..............................................................................381

Objects have behavior.......................................................................381

The Life Cycle of an Object.........................................................................382

Working with Related Classes.....................................................................383

Inheritance ..........................................................................................383

Interfaces.............................................................................................384

Declaring a Class ..........................................................................................385

Picking class names ...........................................................................385

What goes in the class body .............................................................385

Using Fields...................................................................................................386

Creating Properties......................................................................................387

Using Methods..............................................................................................389

Creating Constructors .................................................................................390

Basic constructors .............................................................................391

Default constructors ..........................................................................392

Using this.......................................................................................................392

Working with Static Members.....................................................................393

Working with static fields or properties..........................................394

Using static methods .........................................................................394

Chapter 6: Working with Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397

Understanding Inheritance .........................................................................397

A real-world explanation ...................................................................398

A fun explanation ...............................................................................399

A business-world explanation...........................................................399

Inheritance hierarchies......................................................................400

Creating Derived Classes ............................................................................400

Overriding Methods.....................................................................................401

Protecting Your Members ...........................................................................402

Using this and base in Your Derived Classes............................................403

Inheritance and Constructors ....................................................................404

Casting Up and Down ..................................................................................405

Determining an Object’s Type: The is Operator ......................................406

Poly What? ....................................................................................................407

Book V: Visual Basic .................................................409

Chapter 1: Mastering the Basics of Visual Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

Looking at Classes, Structures, and Modules...........................................411

Working with Source Files...........................................................................412

Creating Sub Procedures.............................................................................413

Working with Statements ............................................................................414

Creating Identifiers ......................................................................................415

Adding Comments to Your Code................................................................416

Declaring Variables ......................................................................................416

Working with Data Types ............................................................................417

Integer types .......................................................................................418

Floating-point types ...........................................................................419

The decimal type................................................................................419

The char type......................................................................................420

The Boolean type ...............................................................................420

Working with Strings....................................................................................420

Declaring and initializing strings......................................................420

Combining strings ..............................................................................421

Converting strings..............................................................................421

Working with Arithmetic Operators ..........................................................422

Combining Operators ..................................................................................423

Using Assignment Statements ....................................................................424

Using Assignment Operators......................................................................425

Chapter 2: Controlling Your Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427

Using If Statements ......................................................................................427

The basic If statement .......................................................................428

The single-line If..................................................................................429

The Else clause ...................................................................................429

Nesting If statements .........................................................................430

The ElseIf structure............................................................................430

Using Conditional Expressions...................................................................433

Getting Logical..............................................................................................434

Using the Not operator ......................................................................435

Working with the And operator........................................................435

Utilizing the AndAlso operator.........................................................435

Using the Or and OrElse operators..................................................436

Using the Select Case Statement ................................................................436

Working with For/Next Loops.....................................................................438

Using While loops...............................................................................439

Utilizing Do loops ...............................................................................440

Exiting a loop ......................................................................................441

Nesting your loops .............................................................................441

Chapter 3: Working With Procedures, Exceptions, and Arrays . . . .443

Using Sub Procedures..................................................................................444

Working with Functions...............................................................................445

Getting Finicky about Parameters..............................................................446

Understanding Exceptions..........................................................................448

Catching exceptions...........................................................................448

Using a Finally block ..........................................................................450

Using Arrays .................................................................................................450

Creating an array ................................................................................451

Initializing an array.............................................................................451

Using For loops with arrays ..............................................................452

Using two-dimensional arrays ..........................................................452

Chapter 4: Exploring Object-Oriented Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . .455

Introducing Object-Oriented Programming..............................................455

Objects have identity.........................................................................456

Objects have type...............................................................................456

Objects have state..............................................................................456

Objects have behavior.......................................................................457

Creating Objects from Classes ...................................................................458

Declaring Classes .........................................................................................458

Using fields ..........................................................................................459

Creating properties ............................................................................460

Using methods ....................................................................................462

Creating constructors........................................................................463

Using Shared Members................................................................................464

Chapter 5: Demystifying Inheritance in VB.NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .467

Understanding Inheritance .........................................................................467

Understanding Inheritance Hierarchies ....................................................469

Creating a Derived Class .............................................................................469

Overriding Methods.....................................................................................470

Using Protected Members...........................................................................471

Using the MyBase Keyword ........................................................................472

Using Casting with Inheritance...................................................................472

Determining an Object’s Type ....................................................................474

Confronting Polymorphism ........................................................................474

Book VI: Database Programming ................................477

Chapter 1: Accessing Data with ADO.NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .479

Understanding the Basics of Relational Databases .................................480

Gathering data into tables.................................................................480

Organizing with rows and columns..................................................481

Distinguishing data with primary keys and foreign keys ..............481

Indexing your data for fast retrieval ................................................484

Working with Databases Using SQL ...........................................................485

Creating a table with CREATE TABLE...............................................486

Deleting a table with DROP TABLE...................................................489

Getting data with SELECT..................................................................490

Selecting only specific rows with the WHERE clause ....................491

Adding data with INSERT ..................................................................491

Modifying data with UPDATE............................................................492

Removing data with DELETE ............................................................493

Piecing Together SQL Statements..............................................................494

Connecting to Data with ADO.NET ............................................................495

Issuing Database Commands......................................................................498

Calling statements that return no data............................................498

Calling a stored procedure................................................................499

Calling statements that return one data item.................................500

Displaying Data on a Web Page ..................................................................501

Retrieving Data from a Table ......................................................................503

Adding Security to Your SQL Statements — Read This!..........................504

Chapter 2: Displaying and Editing Data for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . .507

Writing Data to a Page with a Label ...........................................................507

Binding to Data.............................................................................................509

Creating a data source.......................................................................509

Using a data source............................................................................516

Repeating Through a Result Set .................................................................518

Setting server control properties in a Repeater control ...............519

Adding some style to the Repeater control ....................................520

Altering the look of the Repeater control’s rows ...........................521

Creating a Data-Entry Page .........................................................................523

Chapter 3: Displaying and Editing with the GridView Control . . . . .529

Setting Up the AdventureWorks Database................................................529

Creating a GridView Control .......................................................................530

Formatting the Display ................................................................................532

Editing and Deleting Data with a GridView...............................................534

Sorting and Paging the Data in Your Grid .................................................540

Customizing the Columns in a Grid ...........................................................542

Specifying headers .............................................................................546

Displaying formatted text with the BoundField type.....................546

Displaying images from a URL with the ImageField type ..............547

Chapter 4: Displaying and Editing Detail Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .551

Introducing the DetailsView and FormView Controls .............................552

Displaying a Record with a DetailsView Control......................................552

Moving through data by paging........................................................556

Using GridView and DetailsView controls together.......................556

Editing Data with a DetailsView........................................................560

Searching and displaying details......................................................564

Displaying Record Details with a FormView Control...............................566

Using GridView and FormView controls together..........................567

Editing data with a FormView...........................................................569

Chapter 5: Advanced Data Retrieval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575

Ditching the Eval Method............................................................................575

Binding to Different Kinds of Data .............................................................578

Skipping the SQLDataSource.............................................................578

Binding SqlDataAdapter results to controls ...................................580

Attaching arrays to data-bound controls ........................................581

Advanced Usage of Repeater Controls .....................................................584

Creating a table around a Repeater .................................................584

Handling Repeater events .................................................................586

Chapter 6: Reading XML and Generic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591

Putting Together Some XML .......................................................................591

Transforming XML into a Formatted Table...............................................594

Displaying XML in a TreeView Control......................................................600

Accessing Generic Data with an ObjectDataSource Control ..................604

Book VII: Using the .NET Framework ..........................609

Chapter 1: Handling Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .611

Formatting Strings........................................................................................611

Supplying parameters other than strings .......................................612

Formatting the numeric parameters................................................613

Formatting dates and times ..............................................................615

Customizing data formats .................................................................616

Handling Special HTML Characters in Strings..........................................619

Splitting and Combining Strings.................................................................620

Splitting strings...................................................................................621

Combining strings ..............................................................................622

Converting to Strings with the ToString Method .....................................623

Converting Strings to Numbers..................................................................625

Piecing Together Strings with a StringBuilder..........................................626

Chapter 2: Manipulating Dates and Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .629

Getting the Current Date and Time............................................................629

Reading the Components of a DateTime Structure .................................630

Streaming a DateTime Structure ................................................................632

Handling Local Times Versus Universal Times ........................................634

Calculating with Dates.................................................................................637

Parsing a Date-Time String..........................................................................642

Chapter 3: Storing Objects in Specialized Collections . . . . . . . . . . .647

Iterating Through a Collection ...................................................................647

Using the ArrayList Class............................................................................651

Sorting a list ........................................................................................652

Comparing different types ................................................................655

Using the Hashtable Class...........................................................................657

Using the Stack Class...................................................................................660

Using the Queue Class.................................................................................662

Collecting Strings .........................................................................................664

Using the StringCollection class.......................................................664

Using the StringDictionary class ......................................................664

Ordering Associations with the OrderedDictionary................................665

Chapter 4: Building Strongly Typed Collections

with Generic Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .667

Understanding the Name Game .................................................................668

Using the Generic List Class .......................................................................668

Working with the Generic LinkedList Class ..............................................670

Employing the Generic Dictionary Class ..................................................676

Using the Generic SortedDictionary Class................................................679

Using the Generic Stack Class ....................................................................679

Working with the Generic Queue Class .....................................................681

Book VIII: Advanced ASP.NET Programming ...............683

Chapter 1: Security: Using Login Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .685

Understanding Authentication and Authorization ..................................685

Implementing Forms Authentication.........................................................686

Creating the Web site .........................................................................687

Adding pages to the resto Web site .................................................688

Implementing membership features................................................689

Creating users .....................................................................................692

Creating access rules for the pages .................................................693

Using the Login control .....................................................................697

Using the LoginName control ...........................................................700

Using the LoginStatus control...........................................................701

Using the LoginView control.............................................................702

Using the PasswordRecovery control .............................................703

Using the ChangePassword control .................................................705

Assigning users to roles.....................................................................706

Giving permissions to a role .............................................................707

Peering into the Application Programming Interface (API)....................709

Using the Membership and MembershipUser classes ..................709

Using the Roles class .........................................................................711

Chapter 2: Using Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .715

Understanding Profiles................................................................................715

Enabling Anonymous User Profiles............................................................716

Deciding what data to store..............................................................717

Enabling profiles in the configuration file .......................................717

Generating the database ...................................................................719

Exploring the profile database..........................................................719

Building the Profile-Based Web Page.........................................................721

Adding control markup to the page .................................................721

Adding code to retrieve profile values ............................................723

Displaying the date and time in the chosen language ...................723

Storing the language choice in the profile ......................................724

Storing the image choice in the profile............................................724

Storing the background color in the profile....................................725

Testing the profile properties ...........................................................725

Using Profiles with Authenticated Users ..................................................726

Viewing the list of profiles.................................................................727

Maintaining the Profiles Database .............................................................729

Deleting inactive profiles...................................................................730

Deleting a specific profile ..................................................................731

Using a Custom Profile Provider ................................................................732

Obtaining the Access provider.........................................................733

Building the Access provider............................................................733

Chapter 3: Site Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .739

Understanding Site Navigation...................................................................739

Using a Web.sitemap File.............................................................................740

Creating the Web.sitemap file ...........................................................740

Adding data to the sitemap file ........................................................742

Using the SiteMapDataSource control .............................................743

Using the TreeView Control ........................................................................744

Creating a TreeView in Design view .................................................745

Creating a TreeView programmatically ...........................................750

Creating a TreeView from a sitemap ................................................754

Using the Menu Control...............................................................................756

Creating a Menu in Design view........................................................756

Creating a Menu programmatically..................................................760

Creating a Menu from a sitemap.......................................................764

Using the SiteMapPath Control ..................................................................764

Creating a SiteMapPath in Design view ...........................................765

Creating a SiteMapPath control programmatically........................766

Using an image as a path separator.................................................768

Chapter 4: Working with Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .771

Understanding Site Themes........................................................................771

Creating an Opening Theme .......................................................................772

Adding the App_Themes folder........................................................773

Adding a .skin file ...............................................................................774

Creating rough skin ............................................................................775

Refining the skin properties..............................................................776

Testing the skin...................................................................................776

Letting Users Choose a Theme...................................................................777

The Normal theme .............................................................................778

The Accountant theme ......................................................................779

A theme for lawyers ...........................................................................779

Applying a Theme Programmatically ........................................................780

Storing the Theme in a Profile ....................................................................782

Dos and Don’ts for Themes ........................................................................783

Shifting Definitions to Styles.......................................................................783

Overriding Themes and Who’s the Boss...................................................784

Theme vs StyleSheetTheme..............................................................784

Implementing a global theme ...........................................................786

Exempting a page from theming.......................................................787

Exempting a control from theming ..................................................787

Where to Get Themes ..................................................................................787

Chapter 5: Building Portals with Web Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .789

Understanding Portals.................................................................................789

An Example Web Portal ...............................................................................790

Security for your custom page .........................................................791

Personalization of your page ............................................................791

Choice of language .............................................................................792

Choice of content ...............................................................................792

Custom layout.....................................................................................794

Show and hide content ......................................................................794

Themes ................................................................................................794

Understanding the Parts of Web Parts ......................................................795

Web parts infrastructure elements ..................................................795

Personalization, logins, and Web parts ...........................................796

Creating a Simple Web Part.........................................................................796

Faking a login for development purposes.......................................796

Create a page and Web-part zones...................................................798

Add some Web-part content .............................................................800

Test the Web-part page......................................................................801

Oops, I closed the Web part and it’s gone!......................................804

Letting the User Move Web Parts Around ................................................805

Adding code to support Web-part Design mode ............................805

Playing with Web-part Design mode ................................................807

Connecting Web Parts Together.................................................................809

Creating a data consumer Web part ................................................809

Creating a data provider Web part...................................................811

Creating a connectable data provider .............................................812

Creating a data exchange interface..................................................813

Getting Web parts on the same page ...............................................814

Connecting Web Parts Dynamically...........................................................820

Web parts à la mode ..........................................................................821

Creating a mode selector...................................................................821

Adding a ConnectionsZone interface...............................................823

Making connections ...........................................................................824

Breaking connections ........................................................................826

Using the Editor Controls............................................................................827

Adding EditorZone and AppearanceEditorPart controls..............827

Changing a Web part’s appearance..................................................828

Using other editor parts ....................................................................829

Letting Users Select Their Web Parts ........................................................829

Adding CatalogZone and DeclarativeCatalogPart controls ..........830

Selecting a part from the catalog .....................................................831

Chapter 6: Creating and Consuming Web Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . .833

Understanding Web Services......................................................................834

A supercomputer scenario................................................................834

A super solution .................................................................................834

The black box .....................................................................................835

Exposing an API ..................................................................................835

Not just HTTP .....................................................................................836

Expanding demands...........................................................................836

It can be done .....................................................................................836

Creating a Web Service................................................................................837

Add a Web service to your project ..................................................837

Analyze this! ........................................................................................838

Replace the default namespace........................................................840

Add the RomanNumerals function...................................................841

A quick test of the Web service ........................................................843

Other valuable information...............................................................844

Providing information to clients.......................................................846

Consuming a Web Service...........................................................................846

Using the service in a Web page and project..................................847

Using the service from Windows Forms..........................................852

Using the service from VBScript ......................................................853

Pick a platform....................................................................................855

Serving a Larger Helping of Data................................................................856

Preparing the RockHits Web service ...............................................856

Securing a Web Service ...............................................................................860

Index........................................................................863