ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts in Action

ASP.Net 2.0 Web Parts in Action: Building Dynamic Web Portals (In Action)
Author: Darren Neimke
Foreword by Andres Sanabria

Published October, 2006
344 pages
ISBN: 1-932394-77-X


The static Web is going out of style. Its click-and-wait user experience is giving way to dynamic personalized content and intuitive interactions. With ASP 2.0, a web developer can compose a page out of separate working parts "Web Parts" that independently communicate with the server to produce rich interactive portals like Yahoo!, Google/ig, and Live.com. The new Web Parts API makes it easy to centrally manage a portal's parts.

ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts in Action is packed with annotated code, diagrams, and crystal-clear discussions. You'll develop a sample project from design to deployment, adding content zones, personalization, and a custom look-and-feel. Since any website is invariably a work-in-progress, you'll appreciate learning how to upgrade your portals on the fly. Along the way you'll pick up handy code instrumentation techniques and a few tricks to help your portals manage themselves. As an added bonus, the book introduces the Microsoft Ajax Library ("Atlas") and shows how you can add Ajax to a web part. You¹ll even create a Live.com gadget.

This book is for web developers familiar with ASP.NET.




contents


Foreword


Preface


Acknowledgments


About this book


About the title


About the cover illustration

Part 1 Portals and web parts

1 Introducing portals and web parts

1.1 Introduction

1.2 What is a portal?

1.3 Using the ASP.NET 2.0 portal framework

1.4 Introducing Adventure Works Cycles database

1.5 Summary

2 Web parts: the building blocks of portals

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Exploring web parts

2.3 Understanding the WebPart class

2.4 Understanding web part internals

2.5 Applying themes and styles

2.6 Adding web parts to the Adventure Works Solution

2.7 Summary

3 Using web part connections

3.1 Dissecting connections

3.2 Creating simple connections

3.3 Sorting out connection types

3.4 Using transformers

3.5 Adventure Works—implementing connections for HR

3.6 Summary

4 The Web Part Manager

4.1 Introduction

4.2 The Page Lifecycle

4.3 Page display modes

4.4 Web part authorization

4.5 Importing and exporting web parts

4.6 Using WebPartManager with master pages

4.7 Adventure Works—additions to the HR code

4.8 Summary

5 Working with zones

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Classifying zones

5.3 Custom rendering of zones

5.4 Using WebPartChrome

5.5 Explaining parts

5.6 Zone additions to the Adventure Works Portal

5.7 Summary

6 Understanding personalization

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Defining personalization

6.3 Personalization in action

6.4 Lifecycle of personalization data

6.5 Working with personalization data

6.6 Personalization of the Adventure Works portal

6.7 Summary

Part 2 Extending the portal framework

7 Creating an enhanced editing experience

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Supplying custom editing controls

7.3 Improving usability

7.4 Summary

8 Useful portal customizations

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Making common tasks accessible

8.3 Versioned personalization data

8.4 Creating an area for tool zones

8.5 Adding a CatalogZone dialog

8.6 Summary

9 Portal management

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Preparing for deployment

9.3 Recovering from errors gracefully

9.4 When all else fails

9.5 Summary

10 Into the future

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Reflecting on the portal

10.3 A world of web portals

10.4 Ajax behavior

10.5 Introducing Live.com—a modern mega-portal

10.6 Call to action



appendix Creating the Adventure Works project


index

Sample Chapter 2:Web parts: the building blocks of portals
Sample Chapter 9:Portal management

Amazon Link: ASP.Net 2.0 Web Parts in Action: Building Dynamic Web Portals (In Action)