In case you haven't heard, the production version of ASP.NET AJAX is finally here.

I just came across an article titled "At a Glance: ASP.net vs. PHP."  Let's be clear up front: I don't know diddly-squat about PHP.  I'm not here to start yet another language battle, in a war that will never be won :)  However, I do have some comments for the article regarding ASP.NET.  And, since there doesn't seem to be a way to post comments on the "Market Day" site, you get the benefit of reading them here :)

Ian Wilson writes:

In order to develop with ASP.Net one must obtain the extremely expensive Microsoft Visual Studio Programming Suite.

I won't argue that Visual Studio 2005 Professional or Team Edition is very expensive when compared to free.  However, the author fails to mention that you can develop ASP.NET using one of the free Visual Studio Express Editions, or even your favorite text editor.  What can you do with an Express Edition?  Just about anything you can imagine.  If you really need features that aren't available in the Express Editions, chances are you're developing for a company that can afford to pay for the upgrade.  For the individual Web developer, check out Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition and one of the many starter kits that are available.

One of the arguments the author uses for PHP is the wealth of community resources.  I believe the same argument is true for ASP.NET.  Check out my list of free tools and resources.  There are lots of other great sites and online blogs for ASP.NET developers.

ASP.NET is a viable solution, even for individual developers who are community-minded, budget-conscious, and into open source.  Happy coding!

Speaking of great apps that keep getting better, there's an interesting mojoPortal vs. DotNetNuke post over at mojoPortal.  Also, take a look at the interesting comments from a DNN user (www.wwwcoder.com). 

Joe reports that a new release is just around the corner.

dasBlog continues to improve.  The list of new features is very impressive.  I was able to upgrade without much effort.  If you're looking for simple-to-use and yet very powerful blog application, dasBlog is worth a look.  Also, check out the dasBlog documentation.

I just watched a very cool web cast for SubSonic (aka ASP.NET ActionPack).  Inspired by Ruby on Rails, it delivers to ASP.NET some of the same features such as rapid prototyping and data scaffolding.  Here's a quote from the SubSonic Community site:

This is our first step to try and pull the fun that Ruby On Rails is back into .NET. ASP.NET is getting bogged down with sooooo much ... "bloat" that it's hard to do our work on a daily basis without feeling like our code is not "best practice". We got into this because we thought it was fun - let's make it that way again!

Add the assembly, update your web.config, add a couple files, and away you go.  Out of the box it supports SQL 2K/2K5, MySQL, and the EnterpriseLibrary.  SubSonic also includes built-in code generators for your apps that must live in a Medium Trust environment.  Definitely worth a closer look.

Like a few others, I eventually ditched ASP.NET 1.1 Web Form projects in in favor of Class Library projects.  For any of you out there converting your 1.1 Class Library projects to ASP.NET 2.0 and want to use the after-market Web Application Project, here's what you need to do.

1. Convert your 1.1 project to 2.0 using the VS 2005 conversion wizard (just open the project in VS 2005)
2. Close VS 2005
3. Edit your .csproj or .vbproj file with a text editor
4. Find the line that reads <ProjectType>Local</ProjectType> and change it to:
   
   [C#]
   
   <ProjectTypeGuids>{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21};{fae04ec0-301f-11d3-bf4b-00c04f79efbc}</ProjectTypeGuids>
   
   [VB.NET]
   
   <ProjectTypeGuids>{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21};{F184B08F-C81C-45F6-A57F-5ABD9991F28F}</ProjectTypeGuids>
   
   

For any of you still developing under VS 2003, check out Fritz Onion's ASP.NET without Web Projects.

UPDATE: Found out that settings for VB.NET projects are different.

UPDATE 2: If you've upgraded a 1.1 project to WAP, you'll probably want to also right-click on the project and choose the "Convert to Web Application" option.  This will split the code-behind files into partial classes and enable designer support.  Thanks for the tip, Scott!

Matt Hawley has been working around the clock, it seems, and has publicly released v2.0 of his free ASP.NET server controls.  Controls included:

CalendarPopup	a great calendar tool to allow users to choose a date
CollapsablePanel	a panel that can be collapsed on the client
FaqRepeater	databound FAQ-style listing control
ListTransfer	(re-order listbox or move items from one listbox to another)
MaskedTextBox	add a masked textbox to your forms
MultiTextDropDownList	drop-down list with multiple columns
MultiTextListBox	listbox with multiple columns
NumericBox	add a textbox that only accepts numerical input
TimePicker	add time selections to a form

I believe that each of these controls are cross-browser compatible.  Download the release candidate and check them out!

ArgoSoft have just announced a free e-mail validation Web service, based on their years of experience with their Mail Server product.  Plug it into your ASP.NET app for real-time e-mail address verfication!

I've used ArgoSoft's Mail Server for years and have found it to be a great product at an unbeatable price.  ArgoSoft support has always been top-notch, as well.  Highly recommended.

For anyone interested in learning Visual Basic 2005, you can now grab all the chapters from "Introduction to Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 for Developers" from MSDN.

Get a focused, first look at the features and capabilities in Microsoft Visual Basic 2005, Visual Studio 2005, and the .NET Framework 2.0. If you currently work with Visual Basic 6, these authors fully understand the adoption and code migration issues you'll encounter. They'll step you through a quick primer on .NET Framework programming, offering guidance for a productive transition. If you already work with .NET, you'll jump directly into what's new, learning how to extend your existing skills. From the innovations in rapid application development, debugging, and deployment, to new data access, desktop, and Web programming capabilities, you get the insights and code walkthroughs you need to be productive right away.

Download here.

As a follow-up to my previous post on creating a DataManager class for WilsonORMapper that uses the IsolatedContext, I'm posting a download that includes updates for Paul Welter's excellent CodeSmith templates for WilsonORMapper.  These templates are intended for use with Web projects.  The DataManager stores the IsolatedContext instance in the current HttpContext so that the same IsolatedContext is used throughout the current Request.

To use the new templates, just unzip the files in the /Internal folder where the existing DataManager templates are stored.

FYI, although I've confirmed that they compile, I have not tested the VB.NET and VB.NET 2.0 DataManager versions.  If you find any issues, I would appreciate your feedback.

Download the Templates

I'm sure Paul Wilson will be announcing this soon, but just noticed this morning that he's updated his web sites, and added a new one: http://www.wilsonwebportal.com

It appears that Paul is releasing the WilsonWebPortal as a free download with sample source code demonstrating how to create modules for the portal.  I'm really looking forward to taking the WilsonWebPortal for a spin.

Congratulations on relasing version 1.0, Paul!

I think I just wasted somewhere around 10 hours over the last several days trying to track down an issue I've been having.  It started out as what should have been a painless project upgrade from VS 2003 to 2005.  This particular project happens to use Crystal Reports XI. 

"Well, that's your first problem!"

Yes, I know.  Crystal.  A fool to be pitied, am I.  Alas, it's a customer requirement... on with the story.

Everything compiles and runs great.  However, now none of the reports are working.  I'm getting all kinds of weird exceptions.  I fight with references and what-not for a couple of hours.  Turns out, for .NET 2.0 you need to download Crystal Reports XI Release 2.  No problem.  It's only a 1GB download.  That should only take, what, three days?

Fast forward download and 2 hour upgrade install.  Everything compiles and runs great.  However, now none of the reports that have parameters are working.  I'm getting a weird exception whining that ParameterDiscreteValue can't be cast to ParameterValue, even though ParameterDiscreteValue inherits from ParameterValue.  Only makes sense, right?

I run through and fix all my references again, and then start narrowing down and eliminating all the possible culprits.  I double-check my code against all samples and Google results I can find.  No dice.  So, I give up and open a support case with Crystal.  Insert typical support response: "Have you tried running the samples?"

At this point I'm so desparate that I actually do run a sample project that sets parameters dynamically.  It works.  So, I set out to plug one of my own reports into the sample project.  It works.  WHAT?!

After stepping through every line of code for the millionth time (give or take 3 builds), I finally go back and check my references again.  Hmm... that's odd.  All my Crystal references are OK except the Crystal Engine is pointing to the 10.0 version that ships with VS 2005.  Update the reference and recompile.  Run a report.  Exception.  Check my references again.  Hmm... that's odd.  The old reference is back again.

OK... the fix??  After setting the reference, I have to set the "Specific Version" property to "True."  If I don't, VS 2005 is kind enough to automagically change my reference back to the previous version.

This is actually not the first time this issue has happened to me.  At this point I'm so frustrated I could spit.

Hey, wait. These spots on my laptop might be dried spittle.  I'm not sure.

Scott Guthrie points out the new "How Do I?" series of videos on MSDN.  According to Scott, these are 10-15 minute "pure code" walkthroughs using some of the new ASP.NET 2.0 features and the free Visual Web Developer.  There are currently 11 videos available, and Scott says that more are on the way.

ComponentArt announced yesterday their new beta Web.UI 2006 suite.  Included are two new controls: WebChart Lite for ASP.NET and Splitter for ASP.NET.  I had a chance to install the beta today and play around with the demos.  Once again, ComponentArt have outdone themselves.

WebChart Lite has all the features and API of its WebChart for ASP.NET big brother, but only supports 2-D charts.  Actually, from what I've seen, WebChart Lite will generate 3-D charts, but they are rendered with ComponentArt watermark.  I think it is outstanding that ComponentArt chose to provide WebChart Lite to its Web.UI subscription customers.  I'll also add that the licensing for the full version is quite reasonable when compared to some of the other charting components on the market.

The new Splitter control is very impressive.  With it you can create resizable panels that can be split horizontally and vertically, and can also collapse and expand.  The Splitter "panes" can have minimum and maximum heights and widths, or can fill the entire window area.  Layouts can be changed dynamically.  The demos provided look like an RSS reader or e-mail client.  There aren't any online demos yet, but if you download the beta you can view the demos locally.  I can think of quite a few areas in my own applications where I'll be using this new control.

Web.UI 2006 will also include ASP.NET 2.0 versions of their controls with support for new features such as skins, themes, and the ASP.NET 2.0 navigation architecture.  Way to go, ComponentArt!

I am very pleased to announce that www.ChristianASP.NET is now running on mojoPortal! 

The great news is that I now have discussion forums, which is a goal I have had for ChristianASP.NET from the beginning.  The bad news is, if you've registered for an account on this site in the past, you will need to register again.  I don't have any plans at this time to convert old user accounts.

Joe Audette and other contributors have done an outstanding job and a great service to the ASP.NET community over the last couple of years with the development of mojoPortal.  mojoPortal has been designed to run not only on Windows but also on Linux and Mac OS/X using Mono.  It features a pluggable data access layer and comes with support for MS SQL, MySQL and PostgreSQL.  Other application features include:

• Html Content Management
• Blogs
• RSS Feed Aggregator
  
• Event Calendar
• Search
• Image Gallery
• File Manager
• Localization
• Skinnable Design
• Host Multiple Sites From One Database

mojoPortal is a fantastic open-source alternative with a very bright future ahead.  I know that Joe has been hard at work to incorporate some of the latest ASP.NET 2.0 features, including updated Master Pages, Themes and skins.

I forgot to mention in my previous post an important aspect of the Web Part Framework.  There is the concept of Web Part Zone controls that allow you to set up containers for Web Part controls or other specialized management features.  Specifically, there is a WebPartZone container class used for Web Part controls, an EditorZone used to change properties on selected Web Part control instances, a CatalogZone used to add new Web Parts to a page, and a ConnectionsZone that can be used to manage connections between Web Parts.

There are five Web Part display modes: Browse, Design, Catalog, Editor, and Connections.  Under Design mode, for example, users can drag and drop (IE) web parts around on the page.  Under Catalog display mode, the CatalogZone container is visible and users can choose from a list of available Web Part controls to add to one of the available WebPartZone containers on the page.

Web Parts Control Set Overview on MSDN

One of the best new features in ASP.NET 2.0 I have seen this week is the new Web Part Framework.  I assumed this was only for building SharePoint components.  Not at all.  This is a very rich tool set of components and controls that allow you to easily build a web portal application.  For example, you can allow users to:

• Edit the layout of your page by dragging and dropping Web Parts around on the page
• Add Web Part controls to a page (and restrict which controls are available to add)
• Collapse/Minimize Web Parts
• Remove/Hide Web Parts
• All changes are automatically stored away in the Personalization framework so that they are remembered each time the user returns to your site

Adding the Web Part Framework to your site appears to be extremely easy.  There are some base classes you can implement for maximum functionality, but you don't have to.  You can take your existing User Controls and drop them on the page inside Web Part containers and the framework will automatically provide a wrapper around your controls.

Another great feature is that Web Parts can communicate with each other.  It is possible to allow a user to dynamically add a Web Part to a page and it automatically detect and consume data exposed by one or more other Web Parts on the page.

One thing to note: Not only is SharePoint not required, but Web Parts created in ASP.NET 2.0 are currently not compatible with the current version of SharePoint.  The next version of SharePoint will be based on the Web Part framework in ASP.NET 2.0, and there may be a service pack in the meantime to allow 2.0 Web Parts to be used.

One of the cool new features in VS 2005 I’ve seen a couple of presenters use is Code Snippets.  Basically, it is a customizable code generation tool that allows you to type some quick short hand or alias, and VS 2005 will automatically expand it into a block of code.  For example, if you type “foreach” and press TAB a couple of times, you’ll get a new foreach block with customizable types and variable names.  You just have to see it for yourself.

There are a number of built-in Code Snippets (just do a help search in VS 2005), but you can also create your own.  As a matter of fact, someone has already started an online library of code snippets at GotCodeSnippets.net.  Also, there is a Code Snippet editor named Snippy (of course) that will help you build your own Code Snippets and add them to VS 2005.

News spread today of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 being released to manufacturing (RTM) and being made available to MSDN subscribers.  MSDN Subscriber Downloads quickly melted and I wonder if anyone is able to get any downloads started, let alone successfully finish a download.

However, Microsoft Downloads has the RTM versions of the .NET Framework 2.0 redistributable and SDK.  I've downloaded these and have upgraded ChristianASP.NET shared hosting.

Let the good times roll...