Delphi ASP.NET Portal Programming - Felix John COLIBRI.

• abstract : presentation, architecture and programming of the Delphi Asp Net Portal. This is a Delphi version of the Microsoft ASP.NET Starter Kit Web Portal showcase
  
• key words : ASP.NET - Web Portal - Starter Kit
  
• software used : Windows XP Personal, Cassini Web Server, Delphi 2006, Asp.Net v1.1.4322 or Asp.Net v2.0.50727, Interbase 6 or Interbase 7.5
  
• hardware used : Pentium 2.800Mhz, 512 M memory, 25 G hard disc
  
• scope : Windows developers - Delphi 8 to 2006, Turbo Delphi - Interbase 6 or 7.5, Asp.Net 1 or 2
  
• level : Web developer - Asp.Net developer
  
• plan :
  
  • The Delphi Asp.Net Web Portal
    
  • The Overall Web Portal Architecture
    
  • The Delphi Web Portal Database
    
  • The Delphi .Net Portal Configuration files
    
  • The User Files
    
  • The Administration Files
    
  • What is missing - Lessons learned
    
  • Download the Sources
    

1 - The Delphi Asp.Net Web Portal

1.1 - Purpose

We are going to present the Asp.Net Starter Kit portal, in a Delphi version.

Here is a snapshot of the basic Starter Kit page:

1.2 - The Asp.Net Starter Kit

This paper will explain how we handled the project.

1.3 - What was changed

• in C# language
  
• for ASP.Net version 1
  
• the database is Sql Server, with all SQL scripts included, and the binary file
  
• the web server is IIS (Internet Information Server)
  

• Delphi 8 or Delphi 2005
  
• either Firebird, or Sql Server. For Firebird, the FBK backup file is provided, for Sql Server the full Sql scripts are included
  
• the access components are the Firebird Data Provider, or the Sql Data Provider
  
• the web server is IIS or Cassini
  

• we are using Delphi 2006
  
• the Database is Interbase 6, or 7.5, with the SQL scripts as well as the binary file
  
• the access component set is the BDP (Borland Data Provider)
  
• the Web Server is CASSINI
  
• Asp.Net is version 1 or 2
  

1.4 - The strategy

• we renamed many of the files and identifiers
  
• we created some additional folders
  
• we removed the Mobile part
  
• we commented out the security and Asp.Net cache part
  

1.5 - The File Organization

And:

• _data: contains the Interbase database file, and the SQL scripts
  
• _exe: contains the intermediate compilation files (.DCUIL) and our logs (MUST be in the same folder as the .BDSPROJ)
  
• 1_helpers: the configuration units, the security handling, and some global helper units (litteral strings etc)
  
• 2_db_components: most of the units making a connection to the database (with the exception of U_C_CONFIGURATION)
  
• 3_elements: all components and pages other than the main a_asp_portal.ASPX
  
  • the common files: the portal banner, the Module title, the Module ancestor CLASS
    
  • 31_user_components:
    
    • all ASCX Module components
      
    • 311_edit_user: the ASPX Module edition pages
      
  • 32_admin_components
    
    • the ASCX Modules for administering the portal (changing the portal configuration)
      
    • 321_edit_admin the ASPX pages for portal administration
      
• bin: Asp.Net JIT compiled code. DO NOT change anything there
  
• Data: the files used by the "About the Portal" tab (presentation and tutorial about administering the portal)
  
• images: the .GIF used by the different .ASPX and .ASCX files
  
• portal_images: our own logo, placed in the banner
  

1.6 - The detail of the project

• the programming architecture
  
• the database
  
• the configuration files
  
• the pages used by the users
  
• the administration of the portal
  

2 - The Overall Web Portal Architecture

• a banner
  
• several tabs, like in a NoteBook, one of them being selected
  
• several modules
  

From a programming viewpoint, the views are assembled using the following elements:

• the main frame is the a_asp_portal.aspx template, with
  
  • an instance of the a_c_desktop_portal_banner.ascx Asp.Net component
    
  • an .HTML Table with three cells, called panes, where the modules will be stuffed
    
  Here is the organization:

• the a_c_desktop_portal_banner.ascx Asp.Net component contains
  
  • the site icon
    
  • the site title
    
  • links to the home page and the index
    
  • more important, a DataList which will be used for the tabs
    
  The banner looks like this:

• each Module is an .ASCX Asp.Net component which has
  
  • some kind of header. It can be a simple Label, but in most case it is an a_c_desktop_module_title.ascx Asp.Net component with a Label and an Hiperlink (for calling a Module edit page)
    
  • some content control (a DataGrid, a DataList, or some TextBoxes)
    
  Here is the a_c_quicklinks.ascx Module (no module title) and the a_c_html_module.ascx Module (with an a_c_desktop_module_title.ascx module title):

  Since all Modules must manage some identification parameters common to all Modules, an abstract c_portal_module_control ancestor class has been created with attributes for ModuleId, PortalConfiguration etc.
  So all Module CLASSes (like TWebUserControlContacts, for instance) descend from this common CLASS.

  The HyperLink control placed on the Module title is used do call an edit page associated with the module. For instance, clicking on the "Edit" hyperlink of an a_c_announcements.ascx will request and display the the a_edit_announcements.aspx page (which contains TextBoxes, Validators, Buttons etc). The Edit page still has a banner (to keep the same look), but without any tabs.

  This can be represented like this:

In addition to the usual Asp.Net code files (.PAS,.ASPX, .ASCX), the Portal also uses configuration and content data files:

• the structure files:
  
  • WEB.CONFIG
    
  • a ASPNETPORTAL.CSS Cascading Style Sheet for the font and graphic properties
    
  • all the images (the arrows, the Asp.Net Logo etc)
    
  • x_asp_portal.xml which contains the structure and properties of each view (basically what Module is contained in each view, and in which Pane it is displayed) and module definitions (the file name of each Module)
    
• the content files:
  
  • the Interbase database, whith the content of the Modules (the .HTML text of the a_c_html_module.ascx Module, the list of discussions from the a_c_discussion.ascx Module etc)
    
  • an .XML/XSD sample SALES.XML file to show how to include .XML in the a_c_xml.ascx Module
    
  • image (.GIF) wich are displayed in some Modules, mainly in the a_c_html_module.ascx .HTML content
    

We will now present in more detail

• the Interbase Database
  
• the configuration file
  
• the User pages
  
• the Administration pages
  

3 - The Delphi Web Portal Database

3.1 - The Database Schema

Note that

• only 9 of the 16 Modules have database content. For the other Modules
  
  • a_c_xml.ascx uses an .XML file
    
  • a_c_image.ascx uses .GIFs
    
  • the other modules manage in memory data
    
• the portal_useroles is an N-N link table
  

3.2 - Database Creation

3.3 - Ado.Net and the ConnectionString

Ado.Net requires a ConnectionString, which contains the detail of the driver, the .Net assembly, the file location etc.

This connection string is set in the Web.Config global file:

So fetching the connection string will be performed using:

3.4 - The data table access classes

3.5 - Access to the Database

In the basic product, nearly all requests use stored procedures. So our Interbase database contains those stored procedures.

Here is the Get_Events stored procedure:

Using the Sql Adapter components, this procedure could be called with:

With the BPD, it seems that we have to initialize ALL parameters (not only the INPUT parameters). Adding a parameters is performed with 3 lines (which certainly could be concatenated). In addition starting the request always uses the same calls. So we created the following helper functions:

• to start the connection:

  const k_connection_string= 'xxx...'; var g_open_bdp_connection_count: Integer= 0; procedure open_bdp_connection(p_c_bdp_connection: BdpConnection);   begin     p_c_bdp_connection.Open();     Inc(g_open_bdp_connection_count);   end; // open_bdp_connection procedure open_portal_bdp_connection(var pv_c_bdp_connection: BdpConnection);   begin     pv_c_bdp_connection:= BdpConnection.Create(k_connection_string);     open_bdp_connection(pv_c_bdp_connection);   end; // open_portal_bdp_connection procedure open_portal_bdp_connection_transaction(     var pv_c_bdp_connection: BdpConnection;     var pv_c_bdp_transaction: BdpTransaction);   begin     open_portal_bdp_connection(pv_c_bdp_connection);     if g_open_bdp_connection_count<= 0       then pv_c_bdp_transaction:= pv_c_bdp_connection.Begintransaction       else pv_c_bdp_transaction:= Nil;   end; // open_portal_bdp_connection_transaction

• to initialize the Stored Procedure parameters:

  function f_c_add_input_parameter(p_c_bdp_command: BdpCommand;     p_name: String; p_type, p_subtype: BdpType; p_size: Integer;     p_value: System.Object): BdpParameter;   begin     Result:= BdpParameter.Create(p_name, p_type, p_size);     Result.Direction:= ParameterDirection.Input;     Result.Value:= p_value;     p_c_bdp_command.Parameters.Add(Result);   end; // add_input_parameter function f_c_add_output_parameter(p_c_bdp_command: BdpCommand;   p_name: String; p_type, p_subtype: BdpType;   p_size, p_max_precision: Integer): BdpParameter; begin   Result:= BdpParameter.Create(p_name, p_type, p_size);   Result.MaxPrecision:= p_max_precision;   Result.Direction:= ParameterDirection.Output;   p_c_bdp_command.Parameters.Add(Result); end; // add_output_parameter

  
  

In fact the code in the .ZIP uses routines with optional loging functionalities (with journal inputs for database connection, connection count, results etc), which helped us debug the database access.

Using those debugging functions, we also found out that the BDP Stored Procedures did not work as expected. At least we could not make them run whenever the procedure returns a DataSet (deleting, adding, updating or retrieveing single lines worked, but FOR SELECT did not work). So for those cases, we replaced the stored procedure call with a simple SQL Request, which was used to fill the target DataSet. For instance:

4 - The Delphi .Net Portal Configuration files

4.1 - Web.Config

So the main information are

• the Interbase connection string
  
• the authentication mode (Forms or Windows)
  

4.2 - The Portal .XML Configuration File

4.2.1 - X_PORTAL_CONFIG.XML

Basically, this file tells us two things

• how Modules are incorporated in the Views
  
• the parameters of each Module
  

The basic structure of this .XML can be represented by this free style BNF-like definition:

where

• <GLOBAL > contains the main title and a global edition parameter
  
• <TAB > describes one view: it corresponds to one of the banner "tab" (like the tabs of a notebook), and when this tab is selected, the modules specified within the <TAB> tag will be displayed
  • <MODULE > describes each module of the view: which module, at which position etc
    • <SETTINGS > for some modules, there are additional parameters, which are presented in this tag
      
• <MODULEDEFINITION > describes each available modules (a module for discussions, one for links, one for .HTML text etc)
  

 
1  Home                      All Users;                1 
    1  QuickLinks                Admins; 8  LeftPane    0 1 false 
    2  Welcome to the Portal     Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 1 true 
    3  News and Features         Admins; 1  ContentPane 0 2 true 
    4  Upcoming Events           Admins; 4  ContentPane 0 3 true 
    5  This Weeks Special        Admins; 5  RightPane   0 1 false 
    6  Top Movers                Admins; 9  RightPane   0 2 false 
 
2  Employee Info             All Users;                3 
    7  Spy Diary                 Admins; 5  LeftPane    0 1 false 
    8  HR Benefits               Admins; 1  ContentPane 0 1 true 
    9  Employee Contact Inform. Admins; 2  ContentPane 0 2 true 
    10 New Employee Documentation Admins; 10 ContentPane 0 3 false 
 
3  Product Info              All Users;                5 
    11 Spy Diary                 Admins; 5  LeftPane    0 1 false 
    12 Competition: TradeCraft   Admins; 1  ContentPane 0 1 true 
    13 Competition: Surveillance Admins; 1  ContentPane 0 2 true 
    14 Competition: Protection   Admins; 1  ContentPane 0 3 true 
    15 Night Vision Goggles      Admins; 6  RightPane   0 1 false 
    16 Competitors to Watch      Admins; 8  RightPane   0 2 false 
 
4  Discussions               All Users;                7 
    17 Spy Diary                 Admins; 5  LeftPane    0 1 false 
    18 TradeCraft Techniques and Admins; 3  ContentPane 0 1 false 
    19 Recipes From the Field    Admins; 3  ContentPane 0 2 false 
    20 GoodReads                 Admins; 10 ContentPane 0 3 false 
 
5  About the Portal          All Users;                9 
    21 Quick Links               Admins; 8  LeftPane    0 1 false 
    22 About the Portal Starter  Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 1 true 
    23 Portal Tabs               Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 2 false 
    24 Portal Modules            Admins  5  ContentPane 0 3 false 
    25 Managing the Portal       Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 4 false 
    26 Managing Portal Layout    Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 5 false 
    27 Managing User Security    Admins; 5  ContentPane 0 6 false 
 
6  Admin                     Admins;     11 
    28 Module Definitions        Admins; 11 RightPane   0 1 false 
    29 Site Settings             Admins; 14 ContentPane 0 1 false 
    30 Tabs                      Admins; 13 ContentPane 0 2 false 
    31 Security Roles            Admins; 12 ContentPane 0 3 false 
    32 Manage Users              Admins; 15 ContentPane 0 4 false 
 
Announcements          5_module_components/a_c_announcements.ascx     1 
Contacts               5_module_components/a_c_contacts.ascx          2 
Discussion             5_module_components/a_c_discussion.ascx        3 
Events                 5_module_components/a_c_events.ascx            4 
Html Document          5_module_components/a_c_html_module.ascx       5 
Image                  5_module_components/a_c_image_module.ascx      6 
Links                  5_module_components/a_c_links.ascx             7 
QuickLinks             5_module_components/a_c_quick_links.ascx       8 
XML/XSL                5_module_components/a_c_xml_module.ascx        9 
Documents              5_module_components/a_c_document.ascx          10   
Module Types (Admin)   6_admin_components/a_c_module_definitions.ascx 11 
Roles (Admin)          6_admin_components/a_c_roles.ascx              12 
Tabs (Admin)           6_admin_components/a_c_tabs.ascx               13 
Site Settings (Admin)  6_admin_components/a_c_site_settings.ascx      14 
Manage Users (Admin)   6_admin_components/a_c_users.ascx              15 

4.2.2 - U_C_PORTAL_CONFIGURATION.PAS

This INTERFACE contains a main c_site_configuration CLASS modeling the whole .XML file, with many subclasses for each part of the .XML structure:

• GlobalRow for <Global PortalId="0" ...>
  
• TabRow for <Tab TabId="1" TabName="Home" ...>
  
• ModuleRow for <Module ModuleId="1" ModuleTitle="QuickLinks" ...>
  

The base c_site_configuration CLASS is essentially used by the U_C_CONFIGURATION's CLASSes (and also by U_C_SECURITY and U_MODULE_DEFINITIONS)

4.2.3 - U_C_CONFIGURATION.PAS

The CLASSes of this unit also manage the configuration of the portal, but are not so tightly coupled with the .XML file. The information is retrieve from the .XML using the c_site_configuration CLASS, but it is massaged in several ways which are more easy to use in the different parts of the code.

The CLASSes found in this unit are:

• c_module_info: allows to sort the Modules by ModuleOrder
  
• c_module_item: encapsulation of the Module attributes. Mainly used by the administration pages
  
• c_configuration: creates and modifies the basic c_site_configuration CLASS
  
• c_tab_info= class: represents the Tab array
  
• c_tab_strip_details: represent a single tab
  
• c_tab_item: the main tab properties
  
• c_portal_info: the main class used to get the configuration parameters
  

• we replaced the original "_setting" denomination with "_info", since <SETTINGS> is used in the .XML file to specify some MODULE sub part
  

4.2.4 - Loading and Using the Configuration

Here is the DataSet creation:

and:

• for the first request, there are no TabIndex, TabId parameters, so the default will be used (TabIndex=0, TabId=1, which is the main view)
  
• whenever the USER clicks on a Tab, the parameters of this tab will be appended to the request, and the relevant configuration will be retrieved
  

• the 'portal_info_key' will retrieve the c_portal_info CLASS
  
• the 'site_configuration_key' will retrieve the c_site_configuration CLASS (mainly in U_C_CONFIGURATION.PAS, and U_C_SECURITY.PAS)
  

5 - The User Files

• the Modules with their optional title
  
• the Module Edit pages
  
• the banner with the tabs
  

5.1 - The Modules

The module is made of a title and a content.

Here is the A_C_CONTACTS.ASCX in the Delphi IDE (the top third of the snapshot is the Delphi IDE part. Only the central white rectangle is the Module control):

and the same when loaded on the default page (the purple color comes from our CenterPane coloring):

In the present case, the module contains

• a title custom component, which is an instance of the TDesktopModuleTitle Asp.Net component
  
• the content of the Module (a DataGrid in this case)
  

5.1.1 - The Module component ancestor

5.1.2 - The Module Title

Here is a snapshot of this component displayed in the Delphi IDE:

This component contains

• the ModuleTitle Label
  
• the EditButton Hyperlink, which will be initialized to load the Module Edit .Aspx page
  

5.1.3 - Contacts.ascx

• before the selected part is the .ASPx header
  
• the selected part is the Module Title component (with its EditText title and EditUrl link for calling the Module edition a_edit_contacts.aspx page)
  
• after the selected part is the DataGrid
  

5.2 - The Portal Banner

and the corresponding .ASCX template is:

where

• at the start is the header
  
• then the .HTML Table for the logo, the home URL etc
  
• at the end the DataList for the Tab array
  

5.3 - The Main page

and the initialization of the Modules in the Panes takes place during the OnInit event (the loading from cache has been removed in our display):

5.4 - The Global.Pas File

5.5 - The basic cycle

5.5.1 - The User calls the first time

	the Web Server waits for incoming requests:
	the User calls the default a_asp_portal.aspx file using his Browser
	the Asp.Net Server gets the request and then calls the Globals.BeginRequest event to load the configuration and include it in the Http.Context the a_asp_portal.aspx.Page_Load event is called. Since there is no ModuleId parameter, the default value of 1, corresponding to the first tab is used. The configuration for this View is grabbed from the Context, which tells which Modules should be loaded each Module is built in turn, with its title and content filled The corresponding page is sent back the user

In an UML Sequence diagram, this would look like this:

Granted, this is not a bona-fide UML sequence diagram. Usually:

• they contain Objets at the top of the diagram (and not file names)
  
• Grady Booch included neither any object-container, like we used for modules, nor any multiplicity (modules again)
  
• when an .ASPX contains an Asp.Net custom control, there is no visible method call to instanciate the component class (at the developer level). This is performed inside Asp.Net
  
• and, or course, there are no fancy colors !
  

5.5.2 - The User selects another Tab

Selecting any Tab, this will trigger the "OnClick" event of this item. This handling is located in the a_c_desktop_portal_banner.ascx template. The text of the .ASCX has been presented above, but the real processing has been drowned in the formating flood. Here is a more focused version:

and:

• the selected tab title is drawn using:

• the non-selected tab titles are drawn using:

• these lines build the

      "p_delphi_asp_net_portal/a_aspx_portal.aspx?tabindex=123&tabid=456"

  request:

So when the User clicks on a tab, it is the hilighted link that is clicked, and this link contains exactly the .HTML request for the page with the View parameters.

The scenario looks like this

	the User clicks a Tab, which sends the request to the Server
	the Server builds the page and returns the .HTML to the User:

And here is what the user will see after clicking the "Product Info" tab:

6 - The Administration Files

We will not present those Modules in this paper

7 - What is missing - Lessons learned

7.1 - What is missing in this downloadable version

• all Mobile files were removed. We do not use a mobile so we could not test those parts. The mobile parameters are however still present in the configuration files and CLASSes
  
• we commented out the security part. When we started to use the Portal, we could not access to anything, and we had to use a Data Explorer to understand the password and registering system. In addition, having to fight with passwords during all trials tests was a pain in the neck. So we commented out the security checks
  
• we removed the security (logging, roles etc) and the Asp.Net caching
  

• we did not check the User editing
  
• we did not check the administration Modules
  

7.2 - The Renaming and Prefixing

Lets take an example: what is Text ? Text is:

• the name of a file Type (the ascii buffered FILE)
  
• the name of a tWinComponent PROPERTY (the Win32 WindowString equivalent), which becomes Caption or Text, and is available even in tForms, even if it is not surfaced in the Object Inspector
  

Our usual solution is to use a prefixing scheme, much similar to Charles SYMONY's Hungarian notation (a "T" prefix for types, a "wm_" prefix for Windows Messages etc), which is the Alsacian Notation, which prefixes types with T_, constants with K_, globals with G_, locals with L_, classes with C_ etc.

In this case:

• we renamed all files with the U_ (units) or A_ (ASPX or .ASCX) prefix. The ONLY files we could not change were GLOBALS and WEB.CONFIG, because this seems to be hard coded in the ASP.NET system.
  
• many (not all) of the CLASSes were renamed C_xxx, and many (not all) of the local variables were prefixed with L_xxx
  
• we renamed ALL litteral strings in the .ASPX and .ASCX files with the K_ prefix
  

7.3 - What was added

• we added file logging capabilities, in order to find bugs and trace the different steps of the execution.
  
• we added colors and separators to the main template, in order to better visualize the View contents of the pages
  

7.4 - Our biggest hurdles

• the switch from FireBird / Sql Server to Interbase. The whole scripts had to be recovered and adapted (they are in the .ZIPs)
  
• with the scripts, the loading of the .HTML blobs also caused some problems. We first forgot to remove the quotes. Then the reengineered versions had some .HTML encoding which had to be undone. And an obscure bug in our blob loader removed the first character of the blob, which turned out to be catastrophic when the first character is the "<" start of an .HMTL tag (when erroneous .HMTL text is injected in the page, the whole .HTML Table structure can be thrown off balance)
  
• the use of the BDP access layer. Some parts would not work (Stored Procedures with SELECT FOR constructs)
  
• the use of the Interbase Delphi version also limits the Portal navigation, since the user count can very quickly get beyond the 4 user limit. So there should be better check on closing the Database after retrieving the rows
  
• Cassini also had some synchronization errors: when the Delphi compilation is complex (many modifications), sometimes Cassini is launched after the Browser request. They are some advices on Tamaracka, but we did not implement them in this debug version. In addition, closing the .HTML and Cassini sometimes blocked the system. So we systematically display the Task Manager and place its icon in the task bar in order to close those files only when all Asp.Net threading activity has stopped.
  

7.5 - Basic advice

• use an Asp.Net logging mechanism. This really was the main debugging tool, which helped us to quickly locate all database problems.

  Here is the (partial) log of the building of the default view:

  06/01/2007 09:22 > Global.begin_request 06/01/2007 09:22 raw_url /p_delphi_asp_net_portal/a_asp_portal.aspx 06/01/2007 09:22 tab_ix 0 tab_id 1 06/01/2007 09:22 create_portal_settings 06/01/2007 09:22 > c_portal_info.Create. tabId=1 06/01/2007 09:22 < c_portal_info.Create 06/01/2007 09:22 add_to_HttpContext 06/01/2007 09:22 < Global.begin_request 06/01/2007 09:22 06/01/2007 09:22 > TGlobal.Application_AuthenticateRequest 06/01/2007 09:22 < TGlobal.Application_AuthenticateRequest 06/01/2007 09:22 06/01/2007 09:22 TGlobal.SessionStart 06/01/2007 09:22 06/01/2007 09:22 > t_asp_portal_form.OnInit 06/01/2007 09:22 FilePath /p_delphi_asp_net_portal/a_asp_portal.aspx 06/01/2007 09:22 ./3_elements\31_user_components\a_c_signin.ascx 06/01/2007 09:22 tab Home has 6 modules 06/01/2007 09:22 load_module_index 0 06/01/2007 09:22 This Weeks Special 3_elements/31_user_components/a_c_html_module.ascx 06/01/2007 09:22 panel=RightPane display_order 1 06/01/2007 09:22 load_module_index 1 06/01/2007 09:22 Welcome to the Portal Starter Kit 3_elements/31_user_components/a_c_html_module.ascx 06/01/2007 09:22 panel=ContentPane display_order 1 ... 06/01/2007 09:22 < t_asp_portal_form.OnInit 06/01/2007 09:22 06/01/2007 09:22 > TDesktopPortalBanner.Page_Load 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 0 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 1 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 2 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 3 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 4 06/01/2007 09:22 select_tab ? 5 06/01/2007 09:22 < TDesktopPortalBanner.Page_Load 06/01/2007 09:22 06/01/2007 09:22 > TWebUserControlQuickLinks.Page_Load 06/01/2007 09:22 c_portal_module_control.GetIsEditable 06/01/2007 09:22 c_portal_module_control.GetModuleId 1 06/01/2007 09:22 > LinkDB.GetLinks 1 06/01/2007 09:22 portal_open_bdp_con 0 LinkDB.GetLinks 06/01/2007 09:22 open_bdp_con 0 LinkDB.GetLinks 06/01/2007 09:22 < LinkDB.GetLinks 06/01/2007 09:22 c_portal_module_control.GetModuleId 1 06/01/2007 09:22 ?_allow_edit 06/01/2007 09:22 < TWebUserControlQuickLinks.Page_Load ...

• we also added coloring to the a_asp_portal.aspx page, and to the portal banner to better visualize the different parts
  
• finally, we had to use or build many Delphi tools, some of which will be described below.
  

7.6 - Asp.Net development Tools

• first, in order first to convert the Database to Interbase, we used many Database tools (script extractor, script executer, blob loader, UDF tester, SP tester)
  
• the Asp.Net logging unit was already mentioned
  
• ASCII "find in files" (searching in SEVERAL EXTENSION files at the same time), as well as filtering and replacement tools (listing all tag attributes, finding all litteral strings etc)
  
• different syntactic color viewers and pretty printers for the ASPX, ASCX, XML and CONFIG files
  

Many of our tools have been published with source (the log, the .HTML color display etc). Just look at the site map or use google to locate them

8 - Download the Sources

• delphi_asp_net_portal_sql_scripts_6.zip the Sql scripts for Interbase 6 (10 K)
  
• delphi_asp_net_portal_sql_scripts_7_5.zip: the Sql scripts for Interbase 7.5 (10 K)
  
• delphi_asp_net_portal_udf_code_and_dll.zip: the Interbase User Defined Functions source, and the .DLL (6 K)
  
• delphi_asp_net_portal_6_ibx.zip: the Interbase binary file (618 K)
  
• delphi_asp_net_portal_7_5_ibx.zip: the Interbase binary file (634 K)
  
• colibri_dot_net_helpers.zip: the helper units (loging, database helpers) (6 K).
  
• delphi_asp_net_portal_code.zip: the project code, with the images of the "About" tab (394 K)
  

• the main program (.BDSPROJ, .DPR, .RES, .CSS, .ASAX), the main form (.PAS, .ASPX), and any other auxiliary form and files (.XML)
  
• any .TXT for parameters, samples, test data
  
• all units (.PAS) for units and templates (.ASCX, .ASPX)
  
• the SQL scripts and binaries
  

• are self-contained: you will not need any other product
  
• will not modify your PC in any way (no registry changes, no hidden file, no .BAT etc).
  

• create C:\PROGRAMS\HELPERS\COLIBRI_DOT_NET_HELPERS\ folder and unzip the colibri_dot_net_helpers.zip file
  
• create the C:\PROGRAMS\US\WEB\ASP_NET\DELPHI_ASP_PORTAL\_DATA\ folder and unzip the delphi_asp_net_portal_6_ibx.zip
  
• unzip the delphi_asp_net_portal_udf.zip, and save the d_string_udf.dll in your Interbase UDF folder (in our case: C:\Program Files\Borland\InterBase\UDF\)

  If you decide to build the database yourself:

  • create the database
    
  • unzip the d_string_udf.dll
    
  • unzip the Sql scripts and generate the database
    
• create the C:\PROGRAMS\US\WEB\ASP_NET\DELPHI_ASP_PORTAL\PROG and unzip the delphi_asp_net_portal_code.zip
  
• using Delphi, compile and execute
  
• make sure CASSINI is ready, and specified as the Web Server (Delphi 2006, Options, Asp), or otherwise set up your favorite Asp.Net Web Server
  

To remove the .ZIP simply delete the folder.

As usual:

• please tell us at fcolibri@felix-colibri.com if you found some errors, mistakes, bugs, broken links or had some problem downloading the file. Resulting corrections will be helpful for other readers
  
• we welcome any comment, criticism, enhancement, other sources or reference suggestion. Just send an e-mail to fcolibri@felix-colibri.com.
  
• or more simply, enter your (anonymous or with your e-mail if you want an answer) comments below and clic the "send" button

  Name :
  E-mail :
  Comments * :

• and if you liked this article, talk about this site to your fellow developpers, add a link to your links page ou mention our articles in your blog or newsgroup posts when relevant. That's the way we operate: the more traffic and Google references we get, the more articles we will write.
  

9 - References

• The Asp.Net Starter Kit The Asp.Net Starter Kit : the starter kit in action

  In January 2007, this URL was no longer valid, and redirected the user to the Dot Net Nuke Site. However the http://www.asp.net/ URL still offers Asp.Net portals of many different makes and sorts.

  We recently found out that the Asp.Net version 1 can still be found in the Asp.Net 1.1 archive page, but this could change

• The Microsoft Dowload: the Microsoft "CSSDK" msdn entry contains the "ASP.NET Portal (CSSDK) Installer v1.0.msi" "Starter Kit" downloadable file (1.751 Meg)

  In January 2007, this URL also does not seem to be still valid, but googling around, you might still find the original Starter Kit

• Pascal Chapuis uploaded his Delphi CSSDK Delphi translation of the Starter Kit on Code Central. It can be freely downloaded from there. This excellent piece of code was the starting point of the Starter Kit version we presented here

• Hungarian Notation: the Hungarian Notation explained

• on the tool side:
  
  • BDP Ado Net Blobs which explains how to load blobs using Ado.Net
    
  • Turbo Delphi Interbase Tutorial : how to handle files in Windows Forms or Asp Net Forms. The full detail of the Data Providers, Data Adapters, DataSets etc
    
  • Sql to Html a small example of how to produce colored .HTML pages
    
    
• finally "a word from our sponsor": the Pascal Institute organises each month training courses about Delphi programming. Of concern to an Asp Portal developer:
  • Delphi 2006 for .NET course
    
  • Delphi ADO.NET course
    
  • Delphi ASP.NET course
    
  I am the only teacher, so, if you liked this presentation, you should love the courses

  In addition we offer support or full development in the area of Delphi, Database management or Web development

  To contact us, just send an e-mail to fcolibri@felix-colibri.com.
  

10 - The author