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Wednesday, June 19, 2013Print Subscribe

ASP.NET 4.5, DotNetNuke 7, Upload on Insert, CKEditor, Dynamic Wait Indicators, Azure SDK 2.0, Native CSV Import, Container “page”

Code On Time release 7.0.9.0 includes major enhancements providing the foundation for the upcoming Mobile Client Library and 2nd generation datasheet view. Both will be included in the follow-up release in July of 2013.

ASP.NET 4.5 has been available for awhile. We now offer support for the newest .NET Framework in Web Site Factory, Web App Factory, and Azure Factory projects.

Starting with this release any new apps configured to use ASP.NET 4.5 (default option) will be created without dependency on Ajax Control Toolkit DLLs. We will be phasing out the toolkit by replacing any dependencies with jQuery equivalents. Existing projects that do use components of ACT will continue to be generated with the binary libraries.

Master page, theme, and script references where enhanced to further reduce application footprint and speed up page loading. Mobile client library requires this enhancement.

DotNetNuke 7 is now supported in DotNetNuke Factory. Create ASP.NET 4.0 line-of-business web apps as modules for the latest version of the populate open-source content management system. New theme Gravity is included to provide a matching look-and-feel for the apps packaged as DNN modules.

Upload on Insert is a frequently requested feature that was previously absent in the application framework. Binary content is uploaded independently from the data fields of a new record. This creates a unique challenge to delay uploading until a record has been successfully persisted. The new client library does just that. New projects will automatically include BLOB fields in createForm1 to allow upload on insert. Just make sure that the binary columns are not marked as required in the database. Drag binary fields to the createForm1 view to enable this capability in existing apps.

CKEditor is a popular web-based rich text editor embedded in many online products. We are offering a simple integration of this editor in any project created with the new release of the app generator. The built-in rich text editor is now implemented without server-side support and works entirely on the client, which makes it lightning-fast.

Dynamic Wait Indicators are now a permanent feature of the client library. If a server-side operation takes longer than 3/4 of a second to complete, then a thin marquee line will be displayed at the top of the data view. Modal views will display a wait indicator at the top of a page. This applies to data paging/sorting/search, action execution, reporting, import, upload, and download. Consistent integration of dynamic wait indicators improves usability by offering intelligent visual clues about long running requests. Navigate to our demo web site and try printing a list of customers to see the wait indicator in action.

Azure SDK 2.0 is now supported in Azure Factory projects.

Native CSV Import classes are implemented in web apps created with Premium or Unlimited edition. The new importer is built into the application framework, which eliminates the need for Microsoft Access Database Engine installation on the server. “Import” action is now also included under Actions menu of data views in Azure Factory web apps. Import dialog simplifies mapping of fields by hiding “mapped” fields from available mapping options.

Container “page” allows defining user controls that will be displayed in page header, title, sidebar, or footer.

The following enhancements, bug fixes, and features are included in this release:

ASP.NET 4.5 is now supported in Web App Factory, Web Site Factory, and Azure Factory projects.
Application Framework now includes a native CSV parser based on the work of Sébastien Lorion. Both SharePoint Factory and Azure Factory projects are now supporting the “Import” action with native CSV parsing.
Web Site Factory solution files are now located under [Documents]\Code OnTime\Solutions\Web Site Factory\PROJECT_NAME folder. The new solution file will be created if a website factory project is regenerated. If you are using a source control system then make sure to change the project bindings accordingly.
Theme file is referenced with the app generator version number in the page header.
Azure SDK 2.0 is now supported in Azure Factory.
Ajax Control Tookit 7.0429 is now integrated in the apps based on ASP.NET 3.5 and 4.0.
Upgrade instructions for ASP.NET 4.0 projects:
- Make sure to delete file ~/App_Code/Controls/RichEditor.* from the source code of your Web Site Factory project.
- Delete the files MyCompany\Controls\RichEdit.* from other project types where MyCompany must be replaced with the Namespace of your project.
- Select the project on the start page of the app generator and choose Refresh, do not select any controllers and click Refresh.
- Re-generate the app.
Custom *.rdlc reports are now published with Web Site Factory projects.
CKEditor is seamlessly integrated in web apps created with Code On Time.
Removed references to "stub" images from the master page.
Main master page is not using “cellpadding”, “cellspacing” and “valign” attributes. It relies on new CSS rules instead.
Built in Rich Text editor and CKEDITOR will take at least as much space as specified by the CSS class "dataview-rich-text". Define a custom CSS rule with “width” and “height” property to set up a non-standard size for rich text editors.
Application pages include “lang” and “xml:lang” attributes in “html” tag when loaded in a browser.
Application framework stylesheet Core.css incorporates the core styles from AjaxControlToolkit to handle calendar, tab container, color picker, and HTML editor to minimize the number of CSS links in application pages.
Thanks to Giampaolo Bulleri for contributing Italian localization.
Membership component of the client library explicitly sets up the path to Authentication_JSON_AppService.axd of a web app when initialized.
App generator will place controls with IDs 'header', 'title', 'sidebar', and 'footer' into appropriate regions of a page if the controls belong to a page container 'page'.
Enter NoSeeAlso class in "Custom Styles" property of a page to hide the corresponding area created automatically by the class library.
The "Reset" button on automatic search bar has been replaced with "Clear" button. The new button will simply remove all filters.
BLOB fields can now be added to the "createForm1" or any other view that offers Insert command. BLOB uploading is deferred until the primary key is returned after a successful insert operation.
New projects will automatically include BLOB fields in 'createForm1'. Developers can add BLOB fields to existing data controller views 'createForm1' manually.
CSS class "dataview-loading" is added to a data view container when a data view makes a first call to fetch data. Class "dataview-loaded" will replace "dataview-loading" after the first call has been completed.
Client library will open a new window when the original of a BLOB field is downloaded by user. The data view will display a marquee indicating the download progress. The new window is twice smaller than the main browser window.
Server-side business rules (Code and SQL) do not interfere with Blob Adpaters updating utility fields.
Data fields with text mode set to "Static" work correctly in grid view when inline editin of row values is performed by a user.
Application framework includes FileSystemBlobAdapterBase class to allow override of file system blob adapter property IsPublic.
"Soft" date filters created with SQL business rules will correctly filter the data.
Import automatically adjust the list of the available unmapped fields to ease selection of mappings.
Main and Help master pages are using a short form of DOCTYPE declaration.
Methods AccessKey, SecretAccessKey and property Bucket of S3BlobAdapter are now virtual

Labels: Application Builder, ASP.NET Code Generator, Azure, BLOB, Release Notes, Web Application Generator, Web Form Builder

Sunday, May 5, 2013Print Subscribe

Assigning Access Key With Code

Both Azure Storage and Amazon S3 require a couple of security parameters and repository name in order to upload or download a file. The data controller configurations of both adapters require explicit definition of these parameters.

Let’s consider the configuration of an Azure Blob Adapter.

Field: Picture
Storage-System: Azure
Account: northwindproductpictures
Container: pics
Key: e2Wl668b6fEGauS6cOTAHaj7Ut6QfwKdbGY4Vd8yngz40y2f54M5EfZtSNNHYoXW7i7+kZAfFJrg==
Path-Template: Products/{ProductID}-{PictureFileName}

The application framework allows providing default values for Account, Container, and Key.

Start the app generator. Select your project and click Develop. The project will be opened in Visual Studio. In the Solution Explorer, right-click on ~\App_Code\Data, and press Add | Add New Item…

Select Class from the list, specify a name, and press OK to add the new file.

Replace the code base with the following. Use your own key instead of the highlighted text.

C#:

using System;

namespace MyCompany.Data
{
    public partial class AzureBlobAdapter
    {
        public override string Key
        {
            get
            {
                return "ENTER KEY HERE";
            }
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic:

Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic

Namespace MyCompany.Data
    Partial Public Class AzureBlobAdapter
        Public Overrides Property Key As String
            Get
                Return "ENTER KEY HERE"
            End Get
            Set(value As String)
                MyBase.Key = value
            End Set
        End Property
    End Class
End Namespace

Save the file, and activate the Project Designer. In the Project Explorer, switch to the Controllers tab and double-click on Products. Change the Blob Adapter Configuration as shown below.

Field: Picture
Storage-System: Azure
Account: northwindproductpictures
Container: pics
Path-Template: Products/{ProductID}-{PictureFileName}

The application framework will now use the key explicitly returned by the AzureBlobAdapter.Key property.

The Account and Container properties may also be overridden in a similar fashion to further simplify the adapter configuration. Multiple virtual binary fields may share the same Account, Container, and Key. The implementation of the properties may optionally read values from the database depending on the user identity, role, or other conditions.

The Amazon S3 Adapter allows overriding properties AccessKeyID, SecretAccessKey, and Bucket.

Labels: Application Builder, BLOB, Web Application Generator

Thursday, May 2, 2013Print Subscribe

Code On Time Tools for Excel, Upload/Download Adapters

Code On Time release 7.0.8.0 introduces support for Tools for Excel. This new alternative development environment is an add-in for Microsoft Excel 2010 - 2013. It provides a bird-eye view of project configuration element properties with the ability to make rapid and massive changes. Download Tools for Excel at http://codeontime.com/releases/tools-for-excel and use them alongside the Project Designer built in the application generator.

Application framework in the core of web apps created with Code On Time now supports virtual binary fields that can be stored in the File System, Windows Azure Storage, or Amazon S3. Store your binary content in the external storage systems without writing a single line of code with the help of upload/download adapters. Adapters are implemented without dependencies on the external libraries. All communications with external storage systems are performed through the corresponding REST APIs.

The following features and enhancements were introduced in the new release:

Code On Time Tools for Excel
File Upload/Download Adapters
jQuery 1.9.1 and jQuery UI 1.10.2 are now integrated in the client library.
Metadata Builder has been enhanced to support cross-synonym references for Oracle databases.
Auto-refresh of data views will automatically sync a view to show the last selected data row. Auto-refresh will not be performed on form views.
Implementation of ActionResult.ShowModal will correctly display modal views of the current controller.

The next release with the new preview of the second generation data sheet view will go out soon. We expect to introduce Mobile Client Library and upload/download adapter for Google Drive in May of 2013.

Labels: Application Builder, BLOB, COT Tools for Excel, Designer, Release Notes, Web Application Generator