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Wednesday, July 10, 2013PrintSubscribe
Validation with Code Business Rules

Data integrity is a primary concern of any database application. Data constraints must exist on the database and application server level, while client-side validation will make a web app more responsive and user-friendly.

For example, consider the following screenshot of the New Order Details form. End users can select any product and enter any price, quantity, and discount. The database engine will validate the constraints of the table Order Details and raise an exception when invalid data is submitted.

The database will prevent saving of the record if the table constraints are violated.

Let’s implement a code business rule that will perform more complex validation for Order Details controller.

Configuring Fields

Start the Project Designer. In the Project Explorer, switch to the Controllers tab and double-click on OrderDetails / Fields / ProductID* (Int32) –> Products node.

ProductID field of OrderDetails controller.

Change the following:

Property Value
Copy UnitPrice=UnitPrice

Press OK to save. Next, double-click on UnitPrice* (Decimal) field node.

UnitPrice field of OrderDetails controller.

Make the following changes:

Property Value
The value of this field is calculated by a business rule expression. true
Context Fields ProductID, UnitPrice, Quantity, Discount

Press OK to save.

Configuring Business Rule

Right-click on OrderDetails / Business Rules node, and press New Business Rule.

Creating a new business rule for OrderDetails controller.

Assign the following values:

Property Value
Type C# / Visual Basic
Command Name Calculate|Insert|Update
Phase Execute

Press OK to save. On the toolbar, press Browse to generate the business rule file.

When complete, right-click on OrderDetails / Business Rules / Calculate|Insert|Update (Code / Execute) – r100 node, and press Edit Rule in Visual Studio.

Editing the rule in Visual Studio.

Replace the code base with the following:

C#:

using System;
using System.Data;
using MyCompany.Data;

namespace MyCompany.Rules
{
    public partial class OrderDetailsBusinessRules : MyCompany.Data.BusinessRules
    {
        [Rule("r100")]
        public void r100Implementation(int? orderID,
            string orderCustomerID,
            string orderCustomerCompanyName,
            string orderEmployeeLastName,
            string orderShipViaCompanyName,
            FieldValue productID,
            string productProductName,
            string productCategoryCategoryName,
            string productSupplierCompanyName,
            FieldValue unitPrice,
            short? quantity,
            float? discount)
        {
            // 1. If the collected values are not valid then do not enforce the rule.
            //    The client library will instruct the user to correct the input.
            bool success = this.ValidateInput();
            string commandName = this.Arguments.CommandName;
            string triggerFieldName = this.Arguments.Trigger;

            // 2. Reset the base price for calculation of price limits 
            //    if the product selection has changed or if an existing
            //    data row has been selected for editing
            FieldValue oldProductID = (FieldValue)this.GetProperty("Session_ProductID"); 
            if (oldProductID == null || productID.Value.ToString() != oldProductID.Value.ToString())
            {
                decimal basePrice = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.Value);
                if (!triggerFieldName.Equals("ProductID"))
                    basePrice = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.OldValue);
                this.SetProperty("Session_UnitPrice", basePrice);
                this.SetProperty("Session_ProductID", productID);
                if (triggerFieldName.Equals("ProductID"))
                {
                    quantity = 1;
                    UpdateFieldValue("Quantity", quantity);
                    discount = 0;
                    UpdateFieldValue("Discount", discount);
                    Result.Focus("Quantity");
                }
            }
            // 3. Adjusting base price for an existing record
            decimal originalUnitPrice = (decimal)this.GetProperty("Session_UnitPrice");
            if (originalUnitPrice == null || originalUnitPrice == 0)
            {
                originalUnitPrice = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.OldValue);
                this.SetProperty("Session_UnitPrice", originalUnitPrice);
            }
            // 4. validate Unit Price field
            if (success)
            {
                decimal minPrice = originalUnitPrice;
                decimal maxPrice = originalUnitPrice * (decimal)1.05;
                success = unitPrice != null;
                if (!success)
                    Result.Focus("UnitPrice", "Please enter the price.");
                else
                {
                    decimal price = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.Value);
                    success = minPrice <= price && price <= maxPrice;
                    if (!success)
                        Result.Focus("UnitPrice", "This price must be between {0:c} and {1:c}", 
                            minPrice, maxPrice);
                }
            }
            // 5. validate Quantity field
            if (success)
            {
                success = quantity != null && quantity > 0;
                if (!success)
                    Result.Focus("Quantity", "The quantity must be greater than zero.");
            }
            // Validate Discount field
            if (success)
            {
                // 6. If value > 1, then convert value to percentage
                if (discount > 1)
                {
                    discount = discount / 100;
                    UpdateFieldValue("Discount", discount);
                }
                // 7. Confirm that Discount is between 0.00 and 0.99
                success = discount != null && discount >= 0.00 && discount <= 0.99;
                if (!success)
                    Result.Focus("Discount", 
                        "The discount must be between 0.00 and 0.99 (0% - 99%).");
            }
            // 8. Wrapping Up
            if (commandName == "Calculate" || !success)
                this.PreventDefault();
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic:

Imports MyCompany.Data
Imports System
Imports System.Data

Namespace MyCompany.Rules
    
    Partial Public Class OrderDetailsBusinessRules
        Inherits MyCompany.Data.BusinessRules
        <Rule("r100")> _
        Public Sub r100Implementation(ByVal orderID As Nullable(Of Integer),
                                      ByVal orderCustomerID As String,
                                      ByVal orderCustomerCompanyName As String,
                                      ByVal orderEmployeeLastName As String,
                                      ByVal orderShipViaCompanyName As String,
                                      ByVal productID As Nullable(Of Integer),
                                      ByVal productProductName As String,
                                      ByVal productCategoryCategoryName As String,
                                      ByVal productSupplierCompanyName As String,
                                      ByVal unitPrice As FieldValue,
                                      ByVal quantity As Nullable(Of Short),
                                      ByVal discount As Nullable(Of Single))
            ' 1. If the collected values are not valid then do not enforce the rule.
            '    The client library will instruct the user to correct the input.
            Dim success As Boolean = Me.ValidateInput()
            Dim commandName As String = Me.Arguments.CommandName
            Dim triggerFieldName As String = Me.Arguments.Trigger

            ' 2. Reset the base price for calculation of price limits 
            '    if the product selection has changed or if an existing
            '    data row has been selected for editing
            If Me.GetProperty("Session_ProductID") Is Nothing OrElse
                productID.Value.ToString() <> Me.GetProperty("Session_ProductID").ToString() Then
                Dim basePrice As Decimal = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.Value)
                If Not triggerFieldName.Equals("ProductID") Then
                    basePrice = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.OldValue)
                End If
                Me.SetProperty("Session_UnitPrice", basePrice)
                Me.SetProperty("Session_ProductID", productID)
                If triggerFieldName.Equals("ProductID") Then
                    quantity = 1
                    UpdateFieldValue("Quantity", quantity)
                    discount = 0
                    UpdateFieldValue("Discount", discount)
                    Result.Focus("Quantity")
                End If
            End If
            ' 3. Adjusting base price for an existing record
            Dim originalUnitPrice As Nullable(Of Decimal) =
                CDec(Me.GetProperty("Session_UnitPrice"))
            If originalUnitPrice Is Nothing OrElse originalUnitPrice = 0 Then
                originalUnitPrice = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.OldValue)
                Me.SetProperty("Session_UnitPrice", originalUnitPrice)
            End If
            ' 4. validate Unit Price field
            If success Then
                Dim minPrice As Decimal = originalUnitPrice
                Dim maxPrice As Decimal = originalUnitPrice * CDec(1.05)
                success = unitPrice IsNot Nothing
                If Not success Then
                    Result.Focus("UnitPrice", "Please enter the price.")
                Else
                    Dim price As Decimal = Convert.ToDecimal(unitPrice.Value)
                    success = minPrice <= price AndAlso price <= maxPrice
                    If Not success Then
                        Result.Focus("UnitPrice",
                                     "This price must be between {0:c} and {1:c}",
                                     minPrice, maxPrice)
                    End If
                End If
            End If
            ' 5. validate Quantity field
            If success Then
                success = quantity IsNot Nothing AndAlso quantity > 0
                If Not success Then
                    Result.Focus("Quantity", "The quantity must be greater than zero.")
                End If
            End If
            ' Validate Discount field
            If success Then
                ' 6. If value > 1, then convert value to percentage
                If discount > 1 Then
                    discount = discount / 100
                    UpdateFieldValue("Discount", discount)
                End If
                ' 7. Confirm that Discount is between 0.00 and 0.99
                success = discount IsNot Nothing AndAlso discount >= 0.0 AndAlso discount < 1
                If Not success Then
                    Result.Focus("Discount",
                                 "The discount must be between 0.00 and 0.99 (0% - 99%).")
                End If
            End If
            ' 8. Wrapping Up
            If commandName = "Calculate" OrElse Not success Then
                Me.PreventDefault()
            End If
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

The business rule is written in C# or Visual Basic. The fields are present in the arguments of the method. Changing the data type of the argument to FieldValue allows accessing additional properties of the field.

Click Browse button on the toolbar, sign in as admin/admin123% and navigate to Customers / Order Details page.

The business rule will be engaged as soon as a new record is being entered or an existing one is modified. The business rule will react to changes to the fields specified in the Context Fields property of UnitPrice when Calculate action is raised. The field UnitPrice depends on itself. It does not matter which application field is used to trigger the Calculate action. The only field that cannot trigger the calculation is ProductID. The Context Fields of a lookup will provide filtering information for the lookup window. Any field names in the Context Fields of ProductID will make the client library treat them as context filters, which will prevent users from seeing any products in the lookup window.

Business Rules provide a true abstraction level and separation from the user interface. The business rule is not actively selecting user interface elements to collect input values, which allows flexible modification of the presentation and the rule itself. The same business rule can service any number of data controller views regardless of the view types.

There are eight distinct steps in the business rule.

1. Initial Input Validation

The client library automatically performs basic validation of the entered values. The rule declares success variable, which is used to determine if any special validation needs to be applied to the fields.

The command causing the rule to execute is stored in commandName variable. The possible values are Calculate, Insert, or Update.

The rule also makes a note of the field that has triggered the business rule. The trigger field name will be known only when Calculate action is raised. The possible triggers are ProductID, UnitPrice, Quantity, and Discount.

This is an example of a basic validation that does not require custom coding.

Basic validation performed on the client.

2. Determination of The “Base” Price

The rule will memorize the last ProductID and UnitPrice in the properties of the data view instantiated on the browser page. The base price is used to ensure that users do not enter lesser values and to prevent the price inflation by more than 5%. If the product has just been changed, then the rule will reset values of fields Quantity and Discount and set the focus on the Quantity field.

This screen shot shows the form after the product selection.

The unit price is copied from the Product.

3.  Adjusting Base Price for Existing Records

If the user is editing an existing record then the old (original) value of the UnitPrice is memorized in the data view properties.

4. Price Validation

The business rule figures the minimum and maximum price that can be entered by the user. If the price is blank, then the user is instructed to enter a value. If the price is out of range, then the user is forced to correct the problem.

This is the price validation in the form view.

Validation is performed on the unit price.

This is how the price validation is performed in the data sheet view.

Validation performed in data sheet view.

5. Quantity Validation

The rule ensures that a positive Quantity is entered.

Validation to ensure positive quantity.

6.  Automatic Conversion of Discount

The Discount column in Order Details table has the Single type. There is also a database constraint that requires the value to be between zero and one. The business rule will help the user by automatically converting the discount to a fraction of 100.

A user has entered a value greater than one in this screenshot.

Discount is converted to a percentage.

The value is automatically converted when the user leaves the field.

7. Discount Range Validation

If the end user is trying to enter a particularly high discount that remains out of range even after automatic conversion, then the validation error is displayed.

Validation is performed on Discount field.

8. Wrapping Up

The default behavior of the client library is to send the collected values to the server for processing by application. The business rule will prevent this from occurring. The business rule prevents server-side execution of Calculate action. It is also preventing server-side processing of Insert and Update if the validation has not been successful.

Saturday, July 6, 2013PrintSubscribe
How to Configure Azure Factory Project

With the release of Windows Azure, Microsoft has provided a great cloud database, storage, and computing service platform. Windows Azure offers many benefits, such as guaranteed 99.95% uptime, automatic OS and service  patching, integrated network load balancing, and easy scaling.

While the Windows Azure cloud may offer the perfect platform to deploy your next web application, you still need to build this application. This is where Code On Time’s Azure Factory comes in. All you have to do is paste in your SQL Azure database connection string, and hit Generate. In a minute, your advanced web application will start in your default browser, complete with sorting, adaptive filtering, reporting, charts, and much more. Hit Publish, and the application will be packaged. Upload the published deployment package to Windows Azure, and within minutes you’ll have your app running in the cloud.

Need to add more features and customize your app? Just make your changes in the easy to use Project Designer. While no coding is needed to make a great app, you can always open the source code in Visual Studio and change it to precisely fit your requirements.

The following article will explain how to generate and deploy an Azure Factory application. View our learning system if you need help setting up a Windows Azure account or creating a database using SQL Azure tools.

In order for the application created in this article to work properly, make sure to install Microsoft Azure SDK.

Creating the Azure Factory Project

Start the app generator, and click on Create a new web application. Select Azure Factory.

Creating a new Azure Factory project.

Enter a name, select your preferred language, and press Create.

Entering a name and specifying a language for the project.

Press Next to navigate to the Database Connection page. Click on the “…” button.

Enter your server username and password. If you already have an SQL Azure database, then enter the name in the Database field. If you don’t have a database, you can quickly create one using the web application generator. The next few steps explain how to create a sample Northwind database, include ASP.NET Membership and Roles, and add Session State management.

In the Database textbox, enter “Northwind”. Press Create to create the database.

Creating the 'Northwind' database.

In the Sample Tables dropdown, select Northwind and press Install.

Installing the Northwind database.

Under Membership section, press Add button. ASP.NET Membership will be installed in the database.

Adding ASP.NET Membership and Roles provider into the database.

By default, Azure Factory applications are configured to use two extra-small server instances in the cloud. If you use multiple instances, then Session State management must be included in the application. Under Session State, press Add. Press OK to confirm the installation.

Adding Session State management into the database.

Press OK to save the connection string. Press Next twice to get to the Reporting page.

Enabling reporting in the web app.

Check the box to enable reporting, and keep pressing Next to reach the Theme page. Select “Azure” theme.

Selecting the 'Azure' theme.

Hold down Shift key, and press Next. This shortcut will take you to the Summary page. Press the Generate button.

Wait until the generator finishes, and your default browser will open with your new web application. While the application is running on your computer, the database is located in the cloud. You can log in and start using the app immediately.

Deploying the Web App

It’s time to deploy the app to Azure. Go back to the generator, and click on the project name. Press Publish.

Publishing the web app from Code On Time generator.

When the process is complete, the publish folder will be opened and will contain two files, CloudApp.cspkg and ServiceConfiguration.cscfg.

Navigate to the Azure Portal. In the bottom left corner, press New. Select Compute | Cloud Service | Custom Create.

Creating a new cloud service in the Azure portal.

Specify a URL, check the box next to “Deploy a cloud service package”, and click on the right arrow.

Specifying a URL for the new cloud service.

Next, specify a deployment name and select the two file locations. Mark the Environment as “Staging”. Click on the check icon to start deployment.

Specifying parameters for publishing the new cloud service.

Press OK, and Windows Azure will start the deployment process. This step may take up to 15 minutes. Once the status of the deployment changes to Ready, use the SITE URL link found under DASHBOARD tab to view the app running in the cloud.

If you look at the URL, you will notice that it uses the ID of the deployment, not the requested DNS Name. This is because the deployment is a staging deployment. You can go back to the management portal, and choose Swap to change it into a production deployment. Now you can use the DNS Name you specified during creation of the hosted service.

When you are ready to deploy a new project revision, create a new staging deployment. Test the new deployment in the cloud. If everything is working as expected, then swap the virtual IP address of the staging deployment with the production one. Click Swap button at the bottom of the screen to do so.

SWAP button at the bottom of the screen will swap the staging and production environments.

When VIP swapping has finished, the previous application revision will become a staging deployment. Shut it down if you don’t need it. Continue upgrading staging deployment with the new revisions of the application, and swapping them later with production.

Sunday, June 30, 2013PrintSubscribe
How to Configure DotNetNuke Factory Project with DNN7

You can integrate line-of-business web applications with the popular web content management system DotNetNuke, the leading web content system for ASP.NET by using Code On Time’s DotNetNuke Factory.

Why DotNetNuke?

If you have experience with creating database web applications, then you’ve probably considered using a dynamic portal to increase the flexibility of your web application.

One can easily picture a whole world built around a few business data enabled pages. Users register using a portal,  with the latest release notes and instructions posted for their convenience. Add a quick online survey and a few blog posts to your web application, without a fuss.

If you try building such a portal on your own, you will soon find that the task is not that simple.  While you may be the leading expert in web application design with a database to prove it, web content delivery is another topic altogether.

Content management systems such as DotNetNuke and Microsoft SharePoint are widely adopted by organizations and businesses of all sizes as repositories of knowledge and web assets.

DotNetNuke is a proven portal software built with ASP.NET, boasting countless installations and a large dedicated user base. The easily available Community Edition of this product makes it especially attractive for developers who need portal-style functionality in their application at a low cost.

Integrating DotNetNuke With Your Line-of-Business Application

DotNetNuke is exceptionally easy to install and maintain – done entirely in a web browser.

DotNetNuke has impressive extensibility. One popular method of extending DotNetNuke is module development. A “module” represents an area on a portal page that is rendered by a custom application. For example, a calendar of events or a survey can be implemented as a module and placed on any portal page.j

You can also create a database application with complex data management  features and have it incorporated in a DotNetNuke module.

The development process is somewhat complicated. Here is where Code On Time’s DotNetNuke Factory comes to the rescue. DotNetNuke Factory will aid you in building a dedicated application packaged as a DotNetNuke module. This module can be deployed to the portal in seconds.

WebMatrix and DotNetNuke

Many popular software titles, including DotNetNuke, were developed for Microsoft ASP.NET Web Platform. Microsoft has created WebMatrix, a vehicle to allow simple download and installation of many popular open source web applications. WebMatrix includes a lightweight version of Microsoft Internet Information Services called IIS Express. This web server makes it possible to run web applications on virtually any type of operating system from Microsoft.

You will have to download WebMatrix at http://webmatrix.com to proceed with this tutorial.

Configuring Database

Start SQL Server Management Studio. In the Solution Explorer, right-click on Databases node and press New Database.

Creating a new database.

Assign a name and press OK to save the database.

Configuring DotNetNuke Web Site

Start Microsoft WebMatrix. Select New | App Gallery.

Creating a new app from the App Gallery.

Select .DotNetNuke Community Edition, assign a name, and press Next.

Creating a new DotNetNuke web app.

Accept the EULA, and wait for the download to finish.

Installing DotNetNuke Community Edition.

Press OK, and the web site install wizard will launch in the default browser.

Assign a password to the host account. Under Database Information, select Custom. Enter the connection string properties for the previously created database. Make sure to specify an Object Qualifier of “DNN_”.

Specifying database information for the DotNetNuke instance.

When database installation is complete, press Visit Website to see the result in action.

Creating a DotNetNuke Factory Project

Start the web app generator, and click Create new web application. Select DotNetNuke Factory.

Creating a new DotNetNuke Factory project.

Enter a name for the project, select your preferred language, and press Create.

Specifying a name and language for the new web app.

On the next page, specify the path to the DotNetNuke installation folder, and press Next.

Specifying the DotNetNuke location.

Click on the “” button next to Connection String field. In the Sample Tables dropdown, select “Northwind” and press Install.

Installing Northwind sample database in the DotNetNuke database.

When complete, click OK. Press Next until you reach the Reporting page. Enable reporting by activating the checkbox.

Enabling reports in the web app.

Hold down Shift key, and press Next to skip to the Summary page. Press Generate, and wait for the web app to open in the test site.

Installing the Module in DNN7

Switch back to the app generator. Click on the project name, and press Publish. The generator will automatically copy files into the DNN instance specified when the project was created.

Switch back to the running DNN site. Mouse over the Host tab at the top of the page and click on Extensions.

Accessing Extensions page for DotNetNuke 7.

On the Extensions page, switch to Available Extensions tab. Scroll down to Modules section, and press Install next to the DotNetNuke Factory application module.

Installing the new DNN Factory module.

Press Next twice, accept the license, and press Next again to install the module.

Accepting the license for the module.

When installation is complete, press Return to reload the web app.

The module has been installed successfully.

Creating a Page and Adding the Module

At the top of the page, mouse over Pages and press Add New Page.

Adding a new page in DNN7.

Assign the following values:

Property Value
Page Name Customers
Page Title Customers
Insert Page After: Home

Switch to the Permissions tab, and check the box under View Page next to All Users. Press Add Page.

Allowing all users viewing rights to the page.

The browser will navigate to the new page. Mouse over Edit Page, and press Edit this Page.

Entering Edit Mode for the page.

Mouse over Modules, and press Add New Module. Drop the module named after your namespace into the contentPane area.

Dropping the module into the contentPane.

The module will be instantiated. Next, the logical application page must be selected. Mouse over the gear icon in the top right corner of the module and press Settings.

Accessing settings for the module.

Select Customers, and press Update.

Specifying a logical application page for the module.

Customers will now be displayed in the module on the page.

Northwind module is successfully displayed in DNN7.