About the Book
Discover how to use ADO.NET and ASP.NET essentials
to take your Web programming skills to the next level.
Most Web applications follow a simple “3F”
pattern: fetch, format, and forward to the browser. With this in-depth
guide, you’ll take your ASP.NET and ADO.NET skills to the next level and
learn key techniques to develop more complex Web applications. Discover
how to build applications for ad-hoc and effective Web reporting, applications
that work disconnected from the data source and use XML to communicate
with non-.NET systems, and general-purpose applications that take advantage
of the data abstraction of ADO.NET. Along the way, you’ll learn how to
take advantage of code reusability, user controls, code-behind, custom
Web controls, and other time-saving techniques employed by ASP.NET experts.
Topics covered include:
• Data-bound .NET controls
• Templated and editable data grids
• Code reusability in .NET
• Advanced reporting
• Disconnected applications
• Interoperable applications
• XML Web services
• .NET Managed Providers
CD-ROM FEATURES:
• A fully searchable electronic copy of
the book
• Sample code written in Microsoft®
Visual C#™ .NET and Visual Basic® .NET
Related Books
Performance Testing Microsoft® .NET Web
Applications
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
xiii
Introduction
xvii
PART I DATA ACCESS AND
REPORTING
1 Data Bound .NET Controls
3
ASP.NET
Data Binding 3
Feasible Data-Binding Sources 4
Simple Data Binding 5
Complex Data Binding 6
The DropDownList
Web Control 7
The CheckBoxList
Web Control 9
The RadioButtonList
Web Control 11
The ListBox
Web Control 12
The Repeater
Control 14
Accessing Data Bound Information 14
Repeater Control Events 16
The DataList
Control 19
Templates Specific to DataList 20
Events Specific to DataList 21
Relating Graphical and Data Elements 23
The DataGrid
Control 26
2 Pageable Data Grids
29
Constituent
Items of DataGrid 29
Column
Types 31
Binding
Columns 32
Bound Columns 33
Button Columns 34
Link Columns 37
Programmatic Binding 40
Data
Pagination 43
Semi-Automatic Pagination 43
Properties for Pagination 45
The Pager Bar 45
Pagination in Action 47
Customizing the Pager Bar 48
Custom Pagination 54
Sorting
Columns 59
Setting Up Sorting 60
Auto-Reverse Sorting 61
Sorting Multiple Fields 64
Auto-Reverse Sorting for Multiple Columns 64
Showing Sorting Information 66
DataGrid
Controls and Data Persistence 68
Scalability? What Was That? 69
Using the Session Object 69
Using the Cache Object 70
Using XML Files 71
Using Data Readers and Adapters 72
The Paradox of Pagination 73
3 Templated DataGrid Controls
75
Binding
Templated Columns 75
Templated
Columns in Action 78
Concatenating Data Fields 79
Sorting Templated Columns 80
Grouping Columns Under a Single Header 81
Adjusting Column Margins 83
Customizing Column Headers 85
Creating
Templates Dynamically 88
Loading Templates from Files 88
Managing Multiple Views for a Column 89
Loading Templates from Strings 93
Implementing ITemplate 94
Adapting
Columns to Data 97
Showing Boolean Values 97
Showing Images 99
Showing Arrays 100
4 Editing DataGrid Controls
105
The In-Place
Editing Feature 106
Enabling In-Place Editing 106
Reading Text from Edited Fields 111
Updating the Data Source 113
A Long List of Drawbacks 116
Editing
In Place Using Templates 117
Working with Template Controls 118
Adapting Layouts to Data 120
Adding
New Rows 126
Setting Up the Add-Row Feature 126
Adding Blank Rows 128
Switching to Edit Mode 129
Updating the Table and the Grid 130
PART II SMART AND EFFECTIVE
DATA ACCESS AND REPORTING
5 Code Reusability in ASP.NET
139
Layers
of ASP.NET Pages 139
From Spaghetti Code to Lasagna Code 140
Slimmer Pages 141
The Code-Behind
Approach 141
Enabling Code-Behind 142
Writing Code-Behind Pages 142
Visual Inheritance for ASP.NET Pages 145
Embeddable
Web Forms 147
Writing User Controls 147
Creating a New DateBox Control 153
Firing Events 157
Writing
Custom Controls 162
A Labeled TextBox Control 162
Using Custom Controls 165
An Off-the-Shelf DataGrid Control 167
The UpdateView Event 170
The SortExpression Property 171
6 Advanced Data Reporting
175
Item
Selection 175
Enabling Item Selection 176
Using the SelectedIndexChanged Event 179
Selecting Rows Programmatically 181
Selection and Drill-Down 183
Filtered Views 185
Allowing
the Selection of Multiple Items 186
Properties of the SuperGrid Control 187
Layout of the SuperGrid Control 188
Retrieving the Selected Items 193
Selecting
by Condition 195
Changing the Background Color 196
Evaluating the Condition 197
Adding an Extra Column 198
Aggregates
and Summary Rows 201
The Right Way to Query 202
Creating Relations Between Tables 202
7 Disconnected Web Applications
211
What
Is the DataSet Object Really For? 212
Implications for Web Applications 212
DataSet and the DataGrid Control 213
Towards Disconnected Applications 214
Transparent
Data Sources 215
Working with the Cache Object 216
Loading Data from a Generic Source 216
Creating Subtables 217
Batch
Updates 219
Locking Rows 220
Applying In-Memory Changes 221
Auto-Increment Fields 224
Delete and Remove 226
States of a Row 228
An Offline
Buffer for Data 229
Loading a DataSet from XML 229
The DiffGram Format 230
Submitting
Changes 233
Detecting Changes 233
Rejecting Changes 235
Viewing Changes 235
Generating Commands 239
Command Builders 242
Data Conflicts 246
PART III INTEROPERABILITY
8 Interoperable Web Applications
255
The COM
Interop Services 256
Using
ADO in .NET Applications 257
The ADODB Assembly 258
Getting a Recordset 259
ADO Server Cursors 261
Migration Issues 262
Adapting
Recordset Objects to DataSet Objects 262
Loading a Recordset Object into a DataSet Object 263
Loading a Recordset Object into a DataTable Object 264
A Common Migration Scenario 265
From
DataSet Objects to ADO Recordset Objects 269
Serializing DataSet Objects to XML Recordset Objects 269
XML Schemas for DataSet Objects 270
The ADO XML Schema 271
Creating an ADO XML Schema 272
From .NET Data to XML 276
XML Object
Serialization 278
Enabling Object Serialization 278
Serializing to XML 281
9 Web Services
285
Dynamic
Link Web Libraries 286
Web Service Specifications 286
Underlying Technologies 287
.NET
Web Services 288
The WebService Attribute 288
Changing the Default Namespace 289
Defining Web Methods 290
Under the Hood of .NET Web Services 293
Invoking .NET Web Services 296
Creating Proxy Classes 300
Web Service
Implementation 304
Contract Design 304
Minimizing Round-Trips 305
Authentication and Authorization 306
Managing State 308
Publishing and Deploying Web Services 308
Web Service
Optimization 309
Asynchronous Calls 310
SOAP Extensions 312
Extreme Optimization 314
10 Exposing Data to .NET
Applications 317
Exposing
Proprietary Data 318
Using Tailor-Made Classes 319
The DirectoryListing Class 320
Creating In-Memory Tables 324
Using the DirectoryListing Class 330
Using OLE DB Providers 333
Inside
.NET Data Providers 335
The Architecture of .NET Data Providers 336
Implementing a Connection 338
Implementing a Command 340
Implementing a Data Reader 341
Implementing a Data Adapter 342
Simple vs. Complex Data Providers 343
Writing
a Simple Data Provider 344
The Table Mapping Mechanism 345
Filling the DataSet Object 346
Using the Simple Data Provider 347
Updating the Data Source 348
AFTERWORD
Some Final Thoughts on the Future of ADO.NET 355
INDEX 359 |
