Web Client Software Factory

Page Flow Application Block Package and Sample Added to WCSFContrib

The Page Flow Application Block was removed from the Web Client Software Factory Feb 2008 release, but has made its way into the WCSFContrib Project.

WCSF Application Blocks for Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Downloads Available

Microsoft Patterns and Practices has released an updated set of downloads for the Web Client Software Factory Guidance Bundles and Application Blocks that support Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.5 Frameworks.

WCSF February 2008 Refresh Released to Work Side-By-Side with WCSF October 2007

Blaine Wastell mentions the release of a new WCSF February 2008 to work side-by-side with the October 2007 Web Client Software Factory Guidance Package. The new release only changes the WCSF MSI and not the source code. They are also close to finishing the new guidance bundles for both Visual Studio 2008 / .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2005 / .NET 2.0. Read more...

ObjectBuilder Build Plans - BuildPlanStrategy and DynamicMethodPlan for WCSF v2.0 and Unity

The Web Client Software Factory v2.0 Documentation mentions a new ObjectBuilder BuildPlanStrategy for object creation that replaces a number of other strategies that used reflection quite heavily: ConstructorReflectionStrategy, CreationStrategy, PropertyReflectionStrategy, and MethodReflectionStrategy. Unity will also be taking advantage of the DynamicMethodPlan Build Plan, which should provide a lot better performance for object creation in your applications.

Web Client Software Factory v2.0 for Visual Studio 2008 - February 2008 Release

The Web Client Software Factory v2.0 for Visual Studio 2008 has been released by Microsoft Patterns and Practices. This is the February 2008 Release that runs on Visual Studio 2008 and requires the new version of GAX / GAT that run on Visual Studio 2008. Available for download are the Web Client Software Factory, Web Client Software Factory Source Code, and the Web Client Software Factory Source Code for Application Blocks - February 2008. Read more...

Day Of Patterns & Practices Screencast - WCSF AJAX DynamicData ASP.NET MVC Framework

The Day of Patterns & Practices Event occurs 1 or 2 times a year in Tampa, Florida. The January 2008 Event provided presentations on the Web Client Software Factory, Web Service Software Factory Modeling Edition, Test-Driven Development ( TDD ) and Model-View Presenter ( MVP ), and the new ASP.NET MVC Framework. This screencast is a quick overview of David Hayden's presentation on the Web Client Software Factory AJAX Guidance Bundles and Composite Web Application Block and their use in ASP.NET Dynamic Data Websites and the ASP.NET MVC Framework.

ASP.NET MVC Framework and Composite Web Application Block ( CWAB )

The Composite Web Application Block ( CWAB ) in the Web Client Software Factory can be used in the ASP.NET MVC Framework for business module discovery and initialization as well as dependency injection of Controllers. In this quick tutorial I will show you code snippets for doing this from my presentation at the South Florida Code Camp. We will also use the StateValue<T> Class to abstract out the fact that we store our Shopping Cart for our green tea store in Session State. Evolution of the WCSF to use the Unity Dependency Injection Container in Enterprise Library 4.0 would be a natural progression when Enterprise Library 4.0 is released.

Modularity Bundle Screencast in WCSF - Create Modular ASP.NET Web Applications

The Modularity Bundle in the Web Client Software Factory ( WCSF ) v2.0 is a repackaging of previous guidance on how the Composite Web Application Block helps one build modular web client applications using the concepts of business modules and foundation modules. This screencast walks you through the Modularity Bundle Quickstart Tutorial and clearly explains the services and functionality provided by the Composite Web Application Block to provide modular ASP.NET web applications.

Modularity Guidance Bundle Released in Web Client Software Factory v2.0

The Web Client Software Factory Team has released a new Guidance Bundle, called the Modularity Guidance Bundle, that discusses the concepts and various design patterns to help you partition your web client application into modules to help separate its concerns as well as ease team development. The Modularity Bundle also shows how the Composite Web Application Block and Composite Web Client Automation Bundle can help one develop modular web client applications by offering core services such as service location, dependency injection, and inversion of control. Read more...

WCSF Security Screencast - ASP.NET 2.0 Website Security Features

The Composite Web Application Block in the Web Client Software Factory has an AuthorizationService, AuthorizationRulesService, WebClientAuthorizationModule, and SiteMapBuilderService that work together to provide URL-based security based on user permissions. This screencast walks you through the WCSF Reference Implementation to show off the ASP.NET security architecture and features as well as the custom membership and role providers provided in the sample. Although focused on the WCSF Reference Implementation, the ASP.NET Security Features shown can be added and applied to any website.

MVP Bundle Screencast - WCSF v2.0 Model View Presenter Design Pattern

The MVP Bundle in WCSF v2.0 provides guidance on the Model View Presenter Design Pattern used with and without the Web Client Software Factory. This MVP Bundle Screencast discusses the guidance bundle in-depth by discussing the pros and cons of both MVP quickstart examples, differences between Supervising Controller and Passive View, the advantages of using the guidance package for automation and built-in dependency injection services using ObjectBuilder, the ObjectContainerDataSource Control, new Page and UserControl Base Classes to hide dependency injection, and 3rd party Mock Frameworks and dependency injection tools to help with testing and dependency injection.

MVP Bundle Could Use Mock Framework and Service Locator Guidance

The MVP Bundle in the Web Client Software Factory v2.0 offers guidance on the Model-View-Presenter Pattern in your asp.net applications. It has a nice overview and comparison of Supervising Controller and Passive View MVP, View-Presenter Communications using delegation and event-based approaches, as well as using mocks for testing. Given this bundle is more focused on educating the customer on the MVP Pattern as opposed to WCSF implementations, I would love to see guidance on the use of Mock Frameworks as opposed to hand coded mocks. Here are some thoughts on the use of Rhino Mocks as well as a Service Locator using the quickstart example in the MVP Bundle.

MVP Bundle Released in WCSF v2.0

Microsoft Patterns and Practices released the MVP Bundle as part of the Web Client Software Factory ( WCSF ) v2.0. The MVP Bundle provides guidance on how to implement Model-View-Presenter in your applications, explains differences between Passive View and Supervising Controller, discusses the ObjectContainerDataSource Control for helping with Model-View-Presenter, and offers sample unit tests for testing the view. You can find automation for implementing MVP in you ASP.NET Applications in the Composite Web Client Automation Guidance Bundle.

ASP.NET MVC Framework Compared To Web Client Software Factory ( WCSF )

With the upcoming release of the Microsoft ASP.NET MVC Framework, one might wonder how it compares to the Web Client Software Factory ( WCSF ) and its use of Model-View-Presenter Pattern. Two big points in favor of the ASP.NET MVC Framework: Re-Use of Views and the Front-Controller as opposed to the Application Controller.

Using Rhino Mocks to Test the Model-View-Presenter Pattern in WCSF

When using the Model-View-Presenter Pattern in WCSF one can use a good mocking tool, like Rhino Mocks, to test the Presenter Class and its interaction with the View and Model by setting expectations via mocks and testing to see that those expectations are satisfied in your tests.

RealTimeSearchMonitor Control for Live GridView Filtering and Searching in ASP.NET

The RealTimeSearchMonitor Control in the WCSF v2.0 Search Bundle provides real-time filtering and searching for a GridView in ASP.NET. Here is an example used on PnPGuidance to filter posts using the Model-View-Presenter Pattern.

ObjectContainerDataSource Using GridView and ASP.NET MVP ( Model View Presenter )

When using ASP.NET Model View Presenter with a GridView Control the SqlDataSource and ObjectDataSource Controls will not work. Instead, you can use the ObjectContainerDataSource in the WCSF that is more ASP.NET MVP Friendly. Here is how it works on PnPGuidance.

Search Bundle Screencast - Web Client Software Factory v2.0

The Search Bundle Screencast demonstrates using the RealTimeSearchMonitor Control to provide real-time search functionality in your ASP.NET Web Applications using AJAX and Partial-Page Rendering via Asynchronous PostBacks. The Search Bundle is one of a number of guidance bundles in the Web Client Software Factory ( WCSF ) v2.0.

Search Bundle Tutorial - Real-Time ASP.NET AJAX Search Functionality

The Search Bundle as part of the Web Client Software Factory v2.0 includes a RealTimeSearchMonitor that helps provide real-time search functionality in your ASP.NET Applications using ASP.NET AJAX and partial-page updates. This tutorial shows you screenshots and code samples that will help you integrate the Search Bundle in your own applications.

Search Bundle Released in Web Client Software Factory v2.0

Searching is a common requirement in most Web applications. ASP.NET AJAX can improve the performance and user experience of the search. The Search Bundle also provides guidance on how to display a progress indicator for long running searches and how to page the results on the server.

WCSF and Castle ActiveRecord

The Composite Web Client Automation and Web Client Libary Guidance Bundles in the Web Client Software Factory v2.0 work well with Castle Project's ActiveRecord. You need to adjust where you initialize and register the ActiveRecord Configuration and Business Objects from the guidance provided in the Castle Project ActiveRecord Getting Started Documentation.

ServerSideValidationExtender - ASP.NET Server-Side Validation via AJAX Partial Page PostBack

The ServerSideValidationExtender in the Validation Guidance Bundle provides a richer user experience for the PropertyProxyValidator in the Validation Appplication Block by doing Server-Side Validation via AJAX using a Partial-Page Postback.

Composite Web Application Block Gets MasterPage, Page and UserControl Base Classes to Hide Dependency Injection

The Composite Web Application Block in the Composite Web Client Library Bundle gets new MasterPage, Page and UserControl Base Classes to help hide the dependency injection changes in the new version done via ObjectBuilder.

Composite Web Application Block Service Registration Through Configuration

The Composite Web Client Library Bundle has a nice feature where one can register module and global services via configuration. This is new in the Web Client Software Factory v2.0.

Responsive Composite Web Client Reference Implementation

The Responsive Composite Web Client Reference Implementation shows off a number of the guidance bundles shipped as part of the new Web Client Software Factory: Contextual Autocomplete Guidance Bundle, Validation Guidance Bundle, Composite Web Client Library Bundle, and Composite Web Client Automation Bundle.