Real World ASP.NET: Building a Content Management System (Expert's Voice) - Softcover

Fraser, Stephen R.G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590590244 ISBN 13: 9781590590249

Publisher: Apress, 2002

Synopsis

Real World Asp.Net: Building a Content Management System provides web developers with a cost-effective way to develop a content management system within Microsoft's .Net Framework. Unlike other .Net books on Asp.Net that teach technologies on a piecemeal basis, this book explains the underlying technologies and also shows how they are integrated into a complete Asp.Net application suitable for many organizations. Complete source code written in C# and Asp.Net is included, which will enable web developers to create a dynamic content site at a fraction of the cost of a commercial solution. You will learn about the following:

• Content management system: This system used to manage the content of a website consists of the content management, metacontent management, and content delivery applications.
• C# and Asp.Net: These underlying technologies are introduced and then applied extensively.
• Ado.Net: All aspects relevant to dynamic content management are covered.
• Xml: Extensible Markup Language (Xml) is introduced and then applied in the programmatic updating of the config.web file.
• Authentication, authorization, and encryption: These topics are discussed in the book, especially with regard to protected content and system administration.
• Personalization: Many key technologies are used to make the Cms solution truly user-friendly.

Real-World Asp.Net: Building a Content Management System is the complete hands-on guide to mastering the art of content management systems and website development using the .Net Framework.

About this title

Review

Aimed at aspiring .NET developers who want to work with Content Management (CM) applications, Real-World ASP .NET: Building a Content Management System provides both a fine overview of what's involved in managing Web site content and also delivers working code for a free, proprietary CMS using the latest in .NET technology and C#.

With commercial CM systems costing proverbial big bucks, this book shows you that for a small to mid-sized site you can beat licensing fees with a proprietary system built using the powerful .NET framework and ASP .NET. One of this text's most valuable features is its thorough tutorial to what goes into today's commercial CMS applications from basic content types, version control and workflow. These early chapters will be indispensable for anyone working with CM whether Web master, content creator, or developer. (The author provides everything you wanted to know about CM but were afraid to ask. You might well read this book to swot up for a job interview having anything to do with CM in any capacity.)

After describing what goes into an effective CM application, this title turns to .NET and the recommended three-tiered architecture for .NET applications, the basics of .NET, ADO .NET (for database programming with dynamic content) and a quick overview XML support in .NET. The rest of the book delves into the author's own CMS .NET application, which is used to discuss issues in administering (and programming a site).

After first setting up and getting the site up-and-running, the author looks at basic operations like viewing, posting and updating stories, along with sample .aspx Web pages and the code-behind forms written in C# that brings these pages to life. Besides basic CM, the author shows how to provide simple role-based personalisation and security (including protecting pages from certain users).

While CMS .NET may not be a complete substitute for an expensive CM solution, it can no doubt be adapted to meet the needs of a small to medium-sized Web site. As both a way to get a handle on CM and a practical tutorial to getting started with.NET development, Real-World ASP .NET will serve as a useful resource for a good range of readers. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to Content Management Systems (CMS), elements of a CMS system explained: the Content Management Application (CMA), the Metacontent Management Application (MMA) and the Content Display Application (CDA); types of content, benefits of CMS, commercial vs proprietary systems, simple and complex version control, rollback support, CMS and workflow (including the Workflow Definition Application, WDA and workflow engines), personalisation basics (including types of personalisation from using cookies to push content to rule-based personalisation, the law of diminishing returns, privacy issues), building customer relationships, Web architecture explained: the presentation, application and database layers, Web scripting languages compared, introduction to ASP .NET and the .NET Framework, using Visual Studio .NET to build a CMS (using basic control types), tutorial to ADO .NET for database programming (basic objects and database basics including stored procedures for SQL Server), using the DataGrid control, introduction to XML and .NET classes for XML (manipulating XML nodes), overview of CMS .NET (the author's case study for a content management system built with .NET), installing and configuration the sample code, tour of CMS .NET features, an XML-driven navigation bar (NavBar), administering content (adding, editing, updating and removing stories), security issues in .NET (including role-based authentication in CMS .NET), displaying dynamic content (including pre-canned zones for home pages, headlines and stories), workflow support in CMS .NET (including authoring, editing, approval and deployment phases) and protecting content (privacy issues and gathering user information for profiles).

About the Author

Stephen Fraser has over 15 years of information technology experience working for a number of consulting companies, ranging from the large consulting firms of Electronic Data Systems and Andersen Consulting (Accenture) to a number of smaller e-business companies. His IT experience covers all aspects of application and web development and management, ranging from initial concept all the way through to deployment. Stephen resides with his beautiful wife, Sarah, and daughter, Shaina, in the Silicon Valley.

Edition details

• Publisher: Apress
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1590590244
• ISBN 13: 9781590590249
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 572