Introduction to ASP.

NET
Some references:
Beginning ASP.NET using VB.NET; Wrox; 2002 chpt 2.
Kalata, K, Introduction to ASP.NET 2002, chpt 1.
Esposito, D. Programming Microsoft ASP.NET, chpt 1.
Morrison, M. and Morrison, J. Database driven web sites (2nd
edn). Chpt 6.
VS.NET on line documentation + Quickstart tutorials
What is ASP.NET and how is different from ASP
ASP: server side technology for creating dynamic web pages
using scripting languages eg vb script.
ASP.NET: server side technology for creating dynamic web
pages using Fully Fledged programming languages supported by
.NET
VB.NET: our chosen language for writing ASP.NET pages
What is .NET?
A Microsoft strategy and new technology for delivering software
services to the desktop and to the web
Components include:
MS Intermediate Language; all code is complied into a more abstract,
trimmed version before execution. All .NET languages are compiled to
MSIL the common language of .NET
The CLR- common language runtime; responsible for executing MSIL
code; interfaces to Windows and IIS
A rich set of libraries (Framework Class Libraries) available to all .NET
languages
The .NET languages such as C#, VB.NET etc that conform to CLR
ASP.NET is how the Framework is exposed to the web, using IIS to
manage simple pages of code so that they can be complied into full .NET
programs. These generate HTML for the browser.
Built on open protocols (XML, SOAP)
Future for development of MS & non-MS based systems.
Also heading towards the Internet Operating System

Common Language
Runtime Type System
Compilers use the runtime type system to produce type
compatible components

Components
Compilers
Common Type System
C#
VB C++
Runtime Environment
Robust And Secure
Native code compilation
MSIL
No interpreter
Install-time or run-time IL to native compilation

Code correctness and type-safety
IL can be verified to guarantee type-safety
No unsafe casts, no uninitialized variables, no out-of-bounds array
indexing

Evidence-based security
Policy grants permissions based on evidence (signatures, origin)

.NET Execution Model

VB VC ... Script
IL
Native
Code
Native
Code
Common Language Runtime
Standard JIT
Compiler
Common Language Runtime
Lightweight Just-in-time compiler:
MSIL to Native machine language; Can be ported to numerous platforms
The compiled code is transformed into an intermediate language
called the Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL or IL)
An integer in Visual Basic .NET or an int in C# are converted to
the same .NET data type, which is Int32
The IL that is created is the same for all languages
The assembly is the compiled .NET program
The assembly contains the IL along with additional information
called metadata
Metadata contains information about the assembly
Use the IL Disassembler (ildasm.exe) to view the IL within an
assembly
Framework Overview

Base Class Library
Common Language Specification
Common Language Runtime
Data and XML
VB C++ C#
V
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l

S
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N
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Web Forms
(ASP.NET)
JScript
Win Forms
.NET Framework Architecture

Common Language Runtime
Metadata Type System Execution
System Base Framework
IO Net Security ServiceProcess
ADO.NET XML SQL Threading
System.Web
Web Services Web Forms
ASP.NET Application Services
System.WinForms
Controls Drawing
Windows Application Services
Namespace
The base class libraries are organized into logical
groupings of code called namespaces
A namespace is a hierarchical way to identify
resources in .NET
The System object is at the top of the namespace
hierarchy, and all objects inherit from it
ASP.NET: System.Web namespace
WebForms: System.Web.UI namespace
HTML Server Controls:
System.Web.UI.Control.HTMLControl
ASP.NET Server Controls:
System.Web.UI.Control.WebControl
Importing Namespaces
Visual Studio .NET adds references to your projects
commonly used namespaces by default
You can import the namespaces into your page using
the @Import directive
The following is the syntax for importing a .NET
namespace
<%@ Import NamespaceName %>
Below is a sample of how you would import the
ASP.NET Page class
<%@ Imports System.Web.UI.Page %>
Some ASP.NET namespaces

System Defines fundamental data types eg
system.string
System.Collections Definitions and classes for creating
various collections
System.IO File reading & writing operations
System.Web Support browser/server
communication
System.Web.UI Creates the Page object whenever
an .aspx page is requested
System.Web.UI.web
controls
Classes and definitions to create
server controls
ASP.NET class browser
ASP.NET provides a means of exposing the .NET
Framework and its functionality to the WWW
Contains a number of pre-built types that take
input from .NET types and represents them in a
form for the web (such as HTML)
Class browser (over 9000 classes; lists the
namespaces):
http://interdev.csse.monash.edu.au/quickstart/aspp
lus/samples/classbrowser/vb/classbrowser.aspx
ASP.NET
The latest version of ASP is known as ASP.NET
Visual Studio .NET is a developer application used
to create ASP.NET Web applications
There are two main types of Web resources created
with ASP.NET applications
WebForms are ASP.NET pages within an ASP.NET
application
Web Services are ASP.NET Web pages that contain
publicly exposed code so that other applications can
interact with them
Web Services are identified with the file extension .asmx
WebForms
The ASP.NET WebForm is separated into two
logical areas:
The HTML template
A collection of code behind the WebForm
The HTML template
Contains the design layout, content, and the controls
Creates the user interface, or presentation layer
Instructs the browser how to format the Web page
Is created using a combination of HTML controls,
HTML Server controls, Mobile Controls, and
ASP.NET controls
Server Controls
HTML Server controls are similar to the HTML
controls, except they are processed by the server
Add runat = "server" to the HTML control to
transform it into an HTML Server control
HTML control: <input type="text">
HTML Server control:
<input type="text" runat="server"/>
<input type=radio runat=server value=Yes/> Yes
Server-side programs can interact with the control
before it is rendered as a plain HTML control and
sent to the browser
ASP.NET Controls
ASP.NET form controls will create the HTML code
ASP.NET Server controls are organized as:
ASP.NET Form Controls
Data Validation Controls
User Controls
Mobile Controls
ASP.NET controls are usually identified with the
prefix asp: followed by the name of the control
ASP.NET button:
<asp:Button id="ShowBtn" runat="server"
Text="Show the message." />
HTML Server Vs
ASP.NET Server, Controls
ASP.NET form controls can interact with client-
side events such as when the user clicks on a
button
When the event occurs, ASP.NET can trigger a script to
run on the server
ASP.NET form controls also have different
properties than their HTML server control
counterparts
HTML Server label control
Message1.InnerHTML = "Product 1"
ASP server label control
Message2.Text = "Product 2"
User Controls
User controls are external files that can be
included within another WebForm
User controls allow you to reuse code across
multiple files
For example, you can create a user control that
displays the a navigation bar
You can use this control on the home page; they
are often used for creating self-contained code,
headers, menus, and footers
User controls replace the functionality of ASP
server-side include pages
They are identified with the file extension .asmx
Other ASP.NET Server Controls
Data validation controls
A series of controls that validate form data without extensive
JavaScript programming
Mobile controls
A series of controls that provide form functionality within
wireless and mobile devices
Literal controls
Page content that is not assigned to a specific HTML control
such as a combination of HTML tags and text to the browser
Server Controls within
Visual Studio .NET
In Visual Studio
.NET most of the
ASP.NET Server
controls are located
on the Web Forms
tab in the toolbox
Server controls with Visual Studio.NET
The Code Behind
Server programs are written in a separate file
known as the code behind the page
By separating the programming logic and
presentation layer, the application becomes
easier to maintain
Only Server controls can interact with the code
behind the page
Written in any ASP.NET compatible language such
as Visual Basic .NET, C#, Perl, or Java
Filename is the same as the WebForm filename
Add a file extension that identifies the language
Visual Basic .NET use .vb (mypage.aspx.vb)
C# use .cs (mypage.aspx.cs)
Code Behind file
The location of the code behind the page is determined
via a property that is set on the first line in the page
using the @Page directive
<%@ Page Language="vb" Codebehind="WebForm1.vb"
Inherits=MyFirstApp.WebForm1"%>
The @Page directive allows you to set the default
properties for the entire page such as the default
language
The CodeBehind property identifies the path and
filename of the code behind file
The Inherits property indicates that the code behind the
page inherits the page class
This page class contains the compiled code for this
page
Compiling the Page Class
The compiled code behind the page is the class
definition for the page
A class is a named logical grouping of code
The class definition contains the functions, methods, and
properties that belong to that class
In Visual Studio .NET the process of compiling a
class is called building
When you build the application, you compile the code
into an executable file
Visual Studio .NET compiles the code behind the page
into an executable file and places the file in the bin
directory
Page Class Events
The Page Class consists of a variety of methods,
functions, and properties that can be accessed
within the code behind the page
The first time a page is requested by a client, a
series of page events occurs
The first page event is the Page_Init event
which initializes the page control hierarchy
The Page_Load event loads any server controls
into memory and occurs every time the page is
executed
Page class events
Page_init
Page_load
Server_Controls
Page_prerender
Page_Unload
Web Services
Web Services also provide a means to
expose .NET functionality on the web but
Web Services expose functionality via
XML and SOAP (cf: function calls over the
web)
Web Services
If your business partner is Course Technology
and you want to query that companys product
catalog from your Web site, you could:
Post a link
Scrape a Web site (use a program to view a Web site and
capture the source code)
Provide a Web Service to their catalog application
Web Services are used to create business-to-
business applications
Web Services allow you to expose part or all of your
programs over the Internet. The Web Service source file
has the extension .asmx
A public registry known as UDDI contains registered
public Web Services. Third party Web Services are
available at http://www.xmethods.com
How ASP.NET works
When .NET is installed, IIS is configured to
look for files with the .aspx extension and to
use the ASP.NET module (aspnet_isapi.dll)
to handle them.
ASP.NET parses the .aspx file and arranges
it in a predefined class definition and
generates an asp.net page object.
The page object generates html that is sent
back to IIS and then the browser.
NOTE: only .aspx files are parsed (if it is
pure html dont save it as an aspx file as it
will slow down the server.
ASP.NET samples
Page directives: <%@ page language = VB
debug="true" trace="true %>
<script language = VB runat=server> VB.NET
code declarations .. </script>
Message.aspx
<html>
<head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</title> </head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
</body>
</html>
Note this has no asp code so better to use .html extension

Message2.aspx
<script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />")
End Sub
</script>
<html> <head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</TITLE> </head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
</body>
</html>

Message3.aspx
html>
<head><title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</title></head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
<script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />")
End Sub
</script>
</body>
</html>

Render or inline code block
interweave1.aspx
<html>
<head>
<title>Interweaving ASP.NET code and HTML Example</title>
</head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
</body>
</html>

NOT RECOMMENDED.
Interweave2.aspx A Server control
script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Message.Text="The ASP.NET line"
End Sub
</script>
<html>
<head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</TITLE> </head>
<body>
First HTML Line<br/>
<asp:label id=Message runat="server"/> <br />
Second HTML Line<br/>
</body>
</html>
Web application project files

AssemblyInfo.vb Info about the compiled project file stored in
/bin and named project.dll
Global.asax Event handler commands visible to all web
forms in a project
Global.asax.resx Define application resources such as text
strings, images. Can change without
recompiling project.
Global.asax.vb Asp.net code for application events eg
session.start
Project.sln Stores links to all project files
Project.suo VS.NET IDE configuration info for the proj.
Project.vbproj Configuration and build settings for project
files.
Web application project files cont.

Project.vbproj.webinfo URL to project web server
Project.vsdisco Enables search for web services
Styles.css Project style sheet
Web.config Project and folder configuration information
Webform.aspx Web form .aspx file;Html
Webform.aspx.resx Resources in corresponding web form
Webform.aspx.vb Code written for the form (code behind)
Bin\project.dll Compiled project output file (assembly)
Bin\project.pdb Debugging information used by developer
Viewing the Assembly
Create a simple class, compile the class into an assembly,
then view the class using the IL Disassembler
Open Notepad and type the code shown:
' hello.vb - displays hello world
' Created 06/01/2002
Imports System
Public Module Hello
Sub Main()
Dim s1 As String = "1 - Hello World"
Console.WriteLine(s1)
End Sub
End Module
' Run this at the command line
' vbc hello.vb
Using the ILDASM to
View the Assembly and Classes
Using the ILDASM to view the assembly and classes
Examples
quickstart webforms
Intro4 shows VIEWSTATE
Intro6 shows a click event
Intro7 shows a usercontrol with a calander
Intro8 shows a db connection
Intro9 & 10 show asp.net templates
Intro11shows validation controls
Intro13 shows code behind pages
Server directives eg trace and debug
trace

The lab environment.
Each machine is set up to be an IIS server
http://localhost:1900/..
You create your web projects with Visual Studio.Net.
VS.NET will create a subdirectory in c:/inetpub/wwwroot
for your project. You must copy this subdirectory when
moving to another machine or home.
URL
http://localhost:1900/MyfirstApp/homepage.aspx
Alternative to VS.Net is webmatrix
Some samples on another machine
http://interdev.csse.monash.edu.au/cse2030/ Interdev is not
accessible outside the Monash network.
ASP.NET Vs PHP
Feature PHP ASP.NET
HTML Yes Yes
CSS Yes Yes
php Templates Yes UserControls
ServerControls
(buttons,grids etc)
No Yes
Javascript Yes Yes + Validation controls
Database Conn Yes Yes
Cookies & Sessions
Yes Yes
VIEWSTATE No Yes
POSTBACK No Yes