Latest Entries
WebMatrix - URLs, UrlData and Routing for SEO
calendar_today 20 December 2010 12:56
There is a certain amount of debate surrounding the importance of friendly URLs in terms of Search Engine Optimisation and improving your ranking. One thing is certain - having friendly URLs helps users to identify whether the content at the end of a link to your site is likely to be relevant to them or not. This article examines how you can make use of the built-in support for Routing provided by ASP.NET Web Pages to not only create friendly URLs, but to work with parameters as well.
Nested Layout Pages with Razor
calendar_today 17 December 2010 13:27
Razor Layout pages are the equivalent to MasterPages in ASP.NET Web Forms and the Web Forms View Engine within ASP.NET MVC. Just as it is possible to nest MasterPages, it is also possible to nest Razor Layout pages. This article explores the process required to achieve nesting of Layout pages using the Razor View Engine in MVC 3, or WebMatrix Web Pages sites.
Building Mobile Apps with WebMatrix and jQuery Mobile
calendar_today 12 December 2010 21:52
jquery Mobile was launched just a month or so ago, and is designed to make it as easy to build JavaScript-enabled web applications for mobile phones as for the desktop browser. Still in Alpha, the library has a way to go, but it already offers a rather interesting experience when used as part of a mobile phone targeted web application. Here's a first look at how to use jQuery Mobile with WebMatrix to build a mobile web application.
WebMatrix - Testing the WebImage Helper With JCrop
calendar_today 17 October 2010 09:06
My original JCrop article which looked at cropping uploaded images in ASP.NET has proven to be the most popular coding article I've ever written, with more views and comments than any other. Revisiting JCrop in the context of Web Pages gives me the opportunity to have a look at the WebImage helper, and see how that might make uploading and cropping images easier.
WebMatrix - Working With The JSON Helper
calendar_today 15 October 2010 18:51
Javascript Object Notation (JSON) is a data exchange format which really grew in popularity as AJAX libraries took off. It's lightweight and human readable, and is a great way of transferring data structures between the browser and the server. The JSON Helper was added in WebMatrix Beta 2, and this article looks at its main methods, and how they can be used.
WebMatrix - Protecting Your Web Pages Site
calendar_today 10 October 2010 20:04
Your Web Pages site is under threat. There are people out there who want to break into restricted areas, download files they shouldn't have access to, mess up your database and steal your passwords. Worse still, they want to use your application as a gateway to the web server so that they can take full control over it. This article examines those threats and how you can protect your application against them.
WebMatrix Beta 2 Changes
calendar_today 08 October 2010 19:29
WebMatrix Beta 2 was released a few days ago, and introduced a number of breaking changes which will affect the downloadable samples in my previous articles. I'm going to update the articles and their downloads when I can, but in the meantime, here are the most important changes introduced within the newer Beta release.
Book Review - CLR Via C# Third Edition
calendar_today 12 September 2010 08:14
I've had a review copy of Jeffrey Richter's CLR via C#, Third Edition for some months, and it has taken until now to get round to publishing my thoughts on the book. It's not my fault. I blame the book. It made me forget why I was given a copy in the first place. Let me explain...
WebMatrix - Database Helpers for IN Clauses
calendar_today 11 September 2010 09:35
There are times when you want to query a database for records matching a range of values, but you do not know what those values are, or even how many there are at design time. You could dynamically build your WHERE clause with multiple ORs, or you can use the SQL IN clause - except that the current database helpers in WebMatrix don't make this easy. It's about time that was fixed....
WebMatrix And jQuery Forms
calendar_today 10 August 2010 17:23
Even though WebMatrix is still in its first Beta, there have been a few requests in forums already for examples illustrating how to create Web Pages forms powered by AJAX. Building on previous articles, I thought I'd put together a little sample that shows how to do this to add a record to a database using jQuery. Here's how it's done.
Looking At The WebMatrix WebGrid
calendar_today 08 August 2010 09:33
One of the most useful helpers provided by ASP.NET Web Pages via WebMatrix is likely to be the WebGrid, which is designed for displaying tabular data. Still in Beta 1, documentation is sparse, so here's a more detailed look the WebGrid Helper.
Inline Razor Syntax Overview
calendar_today 30 July 2010 15:27
With the launch of WebMatrix, and the announcement of the new Razor View Engine for the next version of ASP.NET MVC, here's a quick guide to Razor syntax.
Adding And Editing Data In ASP.NET Web Pages
calendar_today 25 July 2010 09:52
In the first of my WebMatrix articles, I mentioned that entering data via the database design forms is a bit of a pain. I also promised to look at editing data via a web page at some stage. This article keeps that promise, and looks at adding data too.
Extending ASP.NET Web Pages - Create Your Own Helpers
calendar_today 18 July 2010 21:37
The Beta1 version of WebMatrix comes with a number of Web Pages helpers to make your life simple. These include helpers to work with file uploading, images, email, caching, grids, Twitter feeds and a lot more. I suspect that as the product evolves towards full release, more will be added. Nevertheless, the developers of WebMatrix and Web Pages cannot anticipate every requirement, so there will be a time when you feel you need something extra. Adding your own helpers is quite easy, as this article shows.
Web Pages - Efficient Paging Without The WebGrid
calendar_today 17 July 2010 10:48
If you want to display your data over a number of pages using WebMatrix Beta1, you have two options. One is to use the built-in paging support that comes with the WebGrid helper. But that means that your data will be displayed within an HTML table. If that is not your preferred layout choice, you need to write your own paging code. Let's look at how you can do that.
Finding Yesterday in SQL and C#
calendar_today 12 July 2010 21:27
Here's something that comes up often in forums - How To Find Yesterday in SQL or C#. Piece of cake, if you know how, but tricky if you don't. And especially tricky to get the right value if you are not clear on the requirement.
Save And Retrieve Files From a Sql Server CE Database with WebMatrix
calendar_today 09 July 2010 20:28
A perennial choice that web developers have to make is whether to store uploaded files to the file system or a database. Each method has its pros and cons, and the debate over which approach is best continues to rage. This article will not add to the noise. It will simply demonstrate how to upload files to the Sql Server CE database which is the default option in Web Pages, and how to retrieve them for users again.
WebMatrix - Consistent Look And Feel With Razor
calendar_today 07 July 2010 22:04
Most web development frameworks provide features that assist with creating a consistent look and feel across pages, or make provision for managing reusable partial content, such as headers and footers. The Web Pages framework is no exception. This article examines the core features offered by its Razor view engine for handling templated layouts and common blocks of content.
WebMatrix - A First Application
calendar_today 06 July 2010 21:35
This article will take a first look at WebMatrix - Microsoft's new IDE for developing Web Pages applications. In it, I will cover a number of the core features that will make Web Matrix the ideal starter's web development framework as I create a very simple application.
Introducing WebMatrix - An Easier Way To Do ASP.NET
calendar_today 06 July 2010 20:51
There has been a spate of announcements recently from Scott Guthrie, the main Microsoft man responsible for ASP.NET over the last week or so - the launch of IIS Express, a new version of SQL Server Compact Edition (CE) that can be run in medium trust environments, and a new View Engine and syntax called Razor. Each of these announcements have generated a lot of reaction, and they are each significant in themselves. They all make ASP.NET easier for existing developers. However, if you put them all together, and throw in a new framework and IDE, they make ASP.NET much, much easier for new developers coming to ASP.NET for the first time. So that's what Microsoft have gone and done. And today, they have announced the first Beta version of WebMatrix - a head-on competitor to WAMP stacks.
