Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 In C# and VB

To build effective and eye–catching database–driven web sites, you must first have a solid framework on which to run your web pages as well as a rich environment in order to create and program these web pages. Microsoft's ASP.NET 3.5 and Visual Web Developer 2008 combine forces to provide you with the ultimate platform on which you can create dynamic and interactive web applications.

Popular Wrox author Imar Spaanjaars begins by demonstrating how to obtain and install Visual Web Developer. With each successive chapter, he introduces you to new technologies that build on knowledge gained from previous chapters. You'll learn that both ASP.NET 3.5 and Visual Web Developer now come with an extensive set of tools that will help you smoothly program your web applications. With the knowledge you gain from this book, you will be able to create feature–rich, database–driven, interactive web sites.

What you will learn from this book

• Ways that ASP.NET Server controls allow you to create complex web sites with very little code

• How to use the extensive set of CSS tools that help you design your web pages

• How to program responsive and interactive web pages with either C# or Visual Basic®

• How to work with databases to create rich, data–driven web pages

• How you can easily create a centralized and maintainable site design

• How to secure your web site, providing login functionality and role–based access to content

Who this book is for
This book is for anyone who wants to build rich and interactive web sites that run on the Microsoft platform. No prior experience in web development is assumed.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xxiii

Chapter 1: Getting Started with ASP.NET 3.5 1

Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2

Getting Visual Web Developer 3

Installing Visual Web Developer Express Edition 3

Creating Your First ASP.NET 3.5 Web Site 5

An Introduction to ASP.NET 3.5 9

Understanding HTML 10

A First Look at ASP.NET Markup 14

A Tour of the IDE 15

The Main Development Area 15

Informational Windows 21

Customizing the IDE 22

Rearranging Windows 22

Modifying the Toolbox 23

Customizing the Document Window 25

Customizing Toolbars 25

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts 26

Resetting Your Changes 27

The Sample Application 28

Practical Tips on Visual Web Developer 30

Summary 30

Exercises 31

Chapter 2: Building an ASP.NET Web Site 33

Creating Web Sites with VWD 2008 34

Different Project Types 34

Choosing the Right Web Site Template 35

Creating and Opening a New Web Site 36

Working with Files in Your Web Site 39

The Many File Types of an ASP.NET 3.5 Web Site 39

Adding Existing Files 43

Organizing Your Site 44

Special File Types 46

Working with Web Forms 47

The Different Views on Web Forms 47

Choosing between Code Behind and Pages with Inline Code 48

Adding Markup to Your Page 53

Connecting Pages 59

Practical Tips on Working with Web Forms 61

Summary 61

Exercises 62

Chapter 3: Designing Your Web Pages 63

Why Do You Need CSS? 63

Problems of HTML Formatting 64

How CSS Fixes Formatting Problems 65

An Introduction to CSS 65

CSS The Language 69

The Style Sheet 69

Adding CSS to Your Pages 80

Working with CSS in Visual Web Developer 82

Creating New Styles in External Style Sheets 83

Creating Embedded and Inline Style Sheets 88

Applying Styles 94

Managing Styles 96

Practical Tips on Working with CSS 99

Summary 100

Exercises 100

Chapter 4: Working with ASP.NET Controls 103

Introduction to Server Controls 103

A Closer Look at ASP.NET Server Controls 107

Defining Controls in Your Pages 108

Common Properties for All Controls 108

Types of Controls 110

Standard Controls 111

HTML Controls 124

Data Controls 124

Validation Controls 125

Navigation Controls 125

Login Controls 125

Ajax Extensions 125

WebParts 125

The ASP.NET State Engine 126

What Is State and Why Is It Important? 126

How the State Engine Works 127

Not All Controls Rely on ViewState 131

A Note About ViewState and Performance 131

Practical Tips on Working with Controls 132

Summary 132

Exercises 133

Chapter 5: Programming Your ASP.NET Web Pages 135

Introduction to Programming 136

Data Types and Variables 136

Converting Data Types 140

Using Arrays and Collections 142

Statements 146

Operators 147

Making Decisions 154

Loops 161

Organizing Code 164

Methods: Functions and Subroutines 165

The App—Code Folder 167

Organizing Code with Namespaces 171

Writing Comments 173

Object Orientation Basics 176

Important OO Terminology 176

Events 188

Practical Tips on Programming 189

Summary 190

Exercises 191

Chapter 6: Creating Consistent Looking Web Sites 193

Consistent Page Layout with Master Pages 194

Creating Master Pages 196

Creating Content Pages 198

Using a Centralized Base Page 203

An Introduction to the ASP.NET Page Life Cycle 204

Implementing the Base Page 206

Creating Reusable Page Templates 210

Themes 214

Different Types of Themes 215

Choosing Between Theme and StyleSheetTheme 215

Applying Themes 215

Extending Themes 219

Dynamically Switching Themes 222

Skins 228

Creating a Skin File 229

Named Skins 231

A Final Note on Skins 232

Practical Tips on Creating Consistent Pages 232

Summary 233

Exercises 234

Chapter 7: Navigation 235

Different Ways to Move around Your Site 236

Understanding Absolute and Relative URLs 236

Understanding Default Documents 240

Using the Navigation Controls 241

Architecture of the Navigation Controls 242

Examining the Web.sitemap File 242

Using the Menu Control 244

Using the TreeView Control 253

Using the SiteMapPath Control 257

Programmatic Redirection 259

Programmatically Redirecting the Client to a Different Page 259

Server–Side Redirects 261

Practical Tips on Navigation 264

Summary 264

Exercises 265

Chapter 8: User Controls 267

Introduction to User Controls 267

Creating User Controls 268

Adding User Controls to a Content Page or Master Page 271

Site–Wide Registration of User Controls 274

User Control Caveats 275

Adding Logic to Your User Controls 277

Creating Your Own Data Types for Properties 277

Implementing ViewState Properties 283

ViewState Considerations 288

Practical Tips on User Controls 289

Summary 289

Exercises 290

Chapter 9: Validating User Input 291

Gathering Data from the User 292

Validating User Input in Web Forms 293

Processing Data at the Server 307

Sending E–mail from Your Web Site 307

Reading from Text Files 313

Practical Tips on Validating Data 318

Summary 318

Exercises 319

Chapter 10: ASP.NET AJAX 321

Introducing Ajax 322

Using ASP.NET AJAX in Your Projects 323

Creating Flicker–Free Pages 323

Providing Feedback to Users 328

Using the Timer Control 332

Using Web Services in Ajax Web Sites 337

What Are Web Services? 337

Creating Web Services 338

Using Web Services in Your Ajax Web Site 342

This Is Just the Beginning 349

Practical Ajax Tips 349

Summary 350

Exercises 351

Chapter 11: Introduction to Databases 353

What Is a Database? 354

Different Kinds of Relational Databases 355

Using SQL to Work with Database Data 355

Retrieving and Manipulating Data 358

Creating Your Own Tables 371

Data Types in SQL Server 371

Understanding Primary Keys and Identities 373

Creating Relationships Between Tables 377

Practical Database Tips 380

Summary 381

Exercises 381

Chapter 12: Displaying and Updating Data 383

Data Controls 383

Data–Bound Controls 384

Data Source Controls 386

Data Source and Data–Bound Controls Working Together 386

Displaying and Editing Data with GridView 386

Inserting Data with DetailsView 392

Storing Your Connection Strings in web.config 395

Filtering Data 397

Customizing the Appearance of the Data Controls 403

Configuring Columns or Fields of Data–Bound Controls 403

Updating and Inserting Data 409

Using DetailsView to Insert and Update Data 409

Practical Tips for Displaying and Updating Data 422

Summary 423

Exercises 423

Chapter 13: LINQ 425

Introducing LINQ 426

Different Types of LINQ 427

Introducing LINQ to SQL 427

Mapping Your Data Model to an Object Model 428

Introducing Query Syntax 433

Standard Query Operators 433

Shaping Data with Anonymous Types 437

Using Server Controls with LINQ Queries 443

New Controls Introduced in ASP.NET 3.5 443