The .NET Framework is a library used to
create both
computer-based and web-based applications. It is made of different
parts. The section that deals with computer applications is referred to
as Windows Forms. The part dedicated to the web is called ASP.NET.
Although these various sub-libraries make up the .NET Framework, you can
create fully functional applications using only ASP.NET. One of the
differences between ASP.NET and ASP is that ASP applications were mostly
interpreted (except for some libraries (DLLs) that were working in the
background at the server level during processing) by the browser while
ASP.NET applications are compiled.
To create ASP.NET applications, you must prepare
your computer, the one you will be using to develop your applications.
To start, your computer should run one of the following operating
systems:
Also, you should (according to Microsoft, "must";
but you will see in our lessons that we will be using different browsers
to test the pages) install the latest Internet Explorer browser. The
minimum you should have is Internet Explorer 5.5 but, unless you have
any particular reason, you should install the 6.0 version.
To support databases (even if you don't intend to
create web-based databases), you must install MDAC 2.7 or later, which
is a free download from the Microsoft web site. Normally, you may have
MDAC installed already but just in case you need it...
Along with one of the above operating systems, you
must install Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 or later.
Normally, during the installation of the operating system, you would
have been prompted to install it. Otherwise, you can install it from
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Add/Remove Windows Components ->
Internet Information Services (IIS) and follow the steps:
If you are using Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, IIS
is not installed by default. To install it:
If necessary, you must install the .NET Framework. It is likely to be installed
already. You should install he latest. If you want to check, you can
open the Add/Remove Programs from Control Panel and you should see an
entry for Microsoft .NET Framework:
You can also see its entry in the Start menu. If you
don't have it already, you can download it (free) from the
Microsoft web site
at http://www.asp.net.
To follow the lessons on this site, you must be a
little familiar with HTML. It is not
realistic to teach HTML and web application development at the same
time.
In our lessons, we will mostly assume that you don't
know the Visual Basic language.
Starting in the next lesson, we will learn how to create web pages. After creating a web page,
you should test it. You have two options. You can test a page locally by
executing your project as we will learn in the next lesson. Alternative,
you can test it on a real web site. You have various alternative. You
can setup a web server at home or at your job to host your (own) web
site. The process is, or can be, long and there are various issues
involved (name registration, DNS, etc).
An alternative to hosting your web site is to let
another company host it for you. We wrote
a few topics on this issue.
When selecting a company that would host your web site, make sure that
(specify to your hosting company that) your site can display ASP.NET web
pages. Also make sure they have tested it and it works fine.
A web site is a
series of files as web pages grouped in a main parent folder. An ASP.NET project is one or more files
presented as an application.
Like any regular web site, an ASP.NET application
can include different types of files, that is, files with different
extensions intended to serve different purposes. This means that, to
create an ASP.NET application, you can start by creating HTML files
which are files with .htm or .html extension. You can also use Cascading
Style Sheet (CSS) files that would allow you to better format or
interpret HTML tags. You can also use script-oriented files that have
the .js, .vbs. .pl, etc extensions to complement the other pages.
As you would proceed for a normal web site, to start
an ASP.NET application, you can create a folder with a name of your
choice. Here is an example of a new folder named Grier Summer Camp:
After creating a folder for your project, you should
create a virtual directory. To do this, you can first display the
Internet Information Services or the Internet Services Manager window
(if you are using Microsoft Windows XP Professional, from Control Panel,
double-click Administrative Tools then double-click Internet Information
Services). Then, in the left frame (of the MMC), expand the name of your
server (if you are planning to use another server or computer but is not
listed, right-click Internet Information Services, click Connect, type
the name of the computer and click OK) and optionally expand the Default
Web Site node (if you are using MS Windows XP Professional, you must
expand the Web Site node under the computer). Right-click Default Web
Site -> New -> Virtual Directory. In the first page of the wizard, you
would click Next. In the second page, you must type the name you will
use on the browser to access the application you are creating. Here is
an example:
In the third page, you can type the full path to the
folder you created or you can click Browse to locate and select the
folder you had previously created. In the Browse For Folder dialog box,
locate the folder you created:
The fourth page allows you to specify how the pages
on this site will be accessed:
After clicking Next in the fourth page, you can
click Finish in the fifth page: A new web site would have been created
for your application.
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After creating the web site, you can add the
necessary files to it. You can create text files and save them with the
appropriate extension. When saving the files, make sure you store them
in the folder you would have created. This would make it possible for
the browser to locate them through the virtual directory.
ASP.NET own pages are text-based files with the .aspx
extension. The content of the file is up to you and it doesn't have to
have special code than regular HTML tags. Here is an example of a normal
HTML-tagged file:
<html> <head> <title>Grier Summer Camp</title> </head> <body> <center><h1>The Grier Summer Camp</h1></center> <p>Located in the heart of Rockville, Maryland, the <b>Grier Summer Camp</b> is an attractive setting aimed at entertaining and supporting youth activities during their summer vacation.</p> <h2>Program Presentation</h2> <p>We feature a state of the art, regularly renovated mansions with world class sport facilities.</p> <p>Coolfront Island, our star house of the season, is a 2-story like chateau featuring nicely finished brown bricks whose sight is tremendously appealing. The estate introduces two large living rooms with exquisite velour furniture. The colonial veranda offers a patio spanning two walls with a lost view down the far-reaching landscape. In this particular setting, besides their usual activities, children will learn special human needs to make their experience unforgettable.</p> <p>Please consult our catalogue and see why the Washington Tribune called us <i>the most attractive summer camp of the area</i>.</p> </body> </html>
After creating the file, you should save it with the
.aspx extension in a folder of your choice:
After saving the file, to preview it, in the
Internet Information Services window, first locate the virtual directory
of the project. Then, you can right-click the file (if you don't see the
file, right-click the virtual directory and click Refresh) and click
Browse. Alternatively, you can open the browser and access its
Address bar, change the address to http://localhost/ followed by
the name of the virtual directory, and followed by the name of the file
with its extension:
Your browser may show only the source code:
If this happens, in the Address bar, change localhost to the name of
your computer. For example, mine is named Central:
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