Application Development Using C# And .net - 02 edition

Preface
Microsoft .NET is an advance in programming technology that greatly simplifies application development both for traditional, proprietary applications, and for the emerging paradigm of Web-based services. .NET is a complete restructuring of MicrosoftÕs whole system infrastructure and represents a major learning challenge for programmers developing applications on Microsoft platforms. The new platform includes a new programming language C# and a major class library, the .NET Framework.

This book covers important topics in the .NET Framework for experienced programmers. You do not need prior experience in C#, because there is a self-contained treatment, but you should have experience in some object-oriented language such as C++ or Java. The book could also be read by a seasoned Visual Basic programmer who has experience working with objects and components in VB.

If you already understand C#, you may safely skip or skim Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 5 contains important information about the interactions of C# and the .NET Framework. You may then proceed with a detailed study of the .NET Framework in Chapters 6 and beyond. For a thorough introduction to the C# language you may read the book Introduction to C# Using .NET.

The book is practical, with many examples and a major case study. The goal is to equip you to begin building significant applications using the .NET Framework. The book is part of The Integrated .NET Series from Object Innovations and Prentice Hall PTR.

Organization
The book is organized into five major parts, and is structured to make it easy for you to navigate to what you most need to know. The first part, consisting of Chapters 1 and 2, should be read by everyone. It answers the question "What is Microsoft .NET?" and outlines the programming model of the .NET Framework.

The second part, consisting of Chapters 3Ð5, covers the C# programming language. If you are already familiar with C# you can skim these chapters, paying the most attention to Chapter 5, which covers topics such as interfaces, delegates, and events. This chapter also describes important interactions between C# and the .NET Framework. The case study, which is elaborated throughout the entire book, is introduced in Chapter 4.

The third part, Chapters 6Ð9, covers important fundamental topics in the .NET Framework. Chapter 6 covers user interface programming using the Windows Forms classes. Chapter 7 discusses assemblies and deployment, which constitute a major advance in the simplicity and robustness of deploying Windows applications, ending the notorious "DLL hell." Chapter 8 delves into important .NET Framework classes, including the topics of metadata, serialization, threading, attributes, application domains, asynchronous programming, remoting, and memory management. Chapter 9 covers ADO.NET, which provides a consistent set of classes for accessing both relational and XML Data.

The fourth part of the book provides an in-depth introduction to Web programming using ASP.NET and SOAP. Chapter 10 introduces the fundamentals of ASP.NET, including the use of Web Forms, which greatly simplifies the development of sophisticated Web sites. Chapter 11 covers SOAP and Web Services, which provide an easy-to-use and robust mechanism for heterogeneous systems to interoperate.

The final part of the book covers additional important topics in the .NET Framework. Chapter 12 covers the topic of security in detail, including code access security, declarative security, and the securing of Web applications and services. Chapter 13 introduces the debug and trace classes provided by .NET. Chapter 14 covers interoperability of .NET with COM and with Win32 applications.

Sample Programs
The only way to really learn a major framework is to read and write many, many programs, including some of reasonable size. This book provides many small programs that illustrate pertinent features of .NET in isolation, which makes them easy to understand. The programs are clearly labeled in the text, and they can all be found in the software distribution that accompanies this book.

A major case study, the Acme Travel Agency, is progressively developed in Chapters 4 through 12. It illustrates many features of C# and .NET working in combination, as they would in a practical application.

The sample programs are provided in a self-extracting file on the bookÕs Web site. When expanded, a directory structure is created, whose default root is c:\OI\NetCs. The sample programs, which begin with the second chapter, are in directories Chap02, Chap03, and so on. All the samples for a given chapter are in individual folders within the chapter directories. The names of the folders are clearly identified in the text. Each chapter that contains a step of the case study has a folder called CaseStudy, containing that step. If necessary, there is a readme.txt file in each chapter directory to explain any instructions necessary for getting the examples to work.

This book is part of The Integrated .NET Series. The sample programs for other books in the series are located in their own directories underneath \OI, so all the .NET examples from all books in the series will be located in a common area as you install them.

These programs are furnished solely for instructional purposes and should not be embedded in any software product. The software (including instructions for use) is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

Caveat
The book and the associated code were developed with Beta 2 of the .NET Framework. Microsoft has indicated that this version of .NET is close to what will be the final version. Nonetheless, changes will be made before .NET is released. The code in the examples has been verified to work only with Windows 2000. Database code has been verified with SQL Server 2000. Several examples in the database and security chapters have machine names embedded in connection strings or role names. When trying to run these examples, you will have to replace those names with the appropriate name for your machine. To make installation easy, the database examples run with user name "sa" and without a password. Needless to say, in a real system you should NEVER have any login id without a password or have a database application use sa to log into a database.

Web Sites
The Web site for the book series is:

www.objectinnovations.com/dotnet.htm
A link is provided at that Web site for downloading the sample programs for this book.

Additional information about .NET technology is available at:

www.reliablesoftware.com
The book sample programs are available at this Web site as well.

The Web site for the book will also have a list of .NET learning resources that will be kept up to date.

Stiefel, Michael :

Michael Stiefel is a consultant who specializes in developing enterprise applications with Microsoft technology. His expertise covers all stages of design and implementation for multi-tier applications. He has worked for Microsoft and taught graduate-level software engineering at Northeastern University.

Oberg, Robert J. : Object Innovations

Dr. Robert J. Oberg is the founder and President of Object Innovations, a leading developer of integrated courseware on fundamental software technologies including Microsoft .NET, COM/DCOM/COM+, MFC, OLE, and Java. His books include Understanding and Programming COM+ and Introduction to C# Using .NET (Prentice Hall PTR).

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Summary)

Preface
Organization
Sample Programs
Caveat
Web Sites
Acknowledgments
About this Series

1. What is Microsoft .NET?

Microsoft and the Web
Windows on the Desktop
A New Programming Platform
The Role of XML

2. NET Fundamentals

Problems of Windows Development
Applications of the Future

3. C# Overview for Sophisticated Programmers

Hello World in C#
Performing Calculations in C#
Classes
C# Type System
Strings
Arrays and Indexers
More about Methods
Exceptions
Unsafe Code

4. Object-Oriented Programming in C#

Review of Object-Oriented Concepts
Acme Travel Agency Case Study: Design
Inheritance in C#
Access Control
Acme Travel Agency Case Study: Implementation
More about Inheritance

5. C# in the .NET Framework

System
Object
Collections
Interfaces
Acme Travel Agency Case Study: Step 2
Generic Interfaces in
NET
Delegates
Events
Attributes

6. User Interface Programming

Windows Forms Hierarchy
Simple Forms Using
NET SDK
Windows Forms Event Handling
Menus
Controls
Visual Studio
NET and Forms
Dialog Boxes
ListBox Control
Acme Travel Agency Case Study-Step 3

7. Assemblies and Deployment

Assemblies
Private Assembly Deployment
Shared Assembly Deployment
Assembly Configuration
Multimodule Assemblies
Setup and Deployment Projects

8. NET Framework Classes

Metadata and Reflection
Input and Output in .NET
Serialization .NET Application Model
Context
Application Isolation
Asynchronous Programming
Remoting
Custom Attributes
Garbage Collection and Finalization

9. Programming with ADO. NET

NET Data Providers
The Visual Studio
NET Server Explorer
Data Readers
Parameters Collection
SqlDataAdapter and the DataSet Class
DataSet Collections
DataSet Fundamentals
Database Transactions and Updates
Optimistic vs
Pessimistic Locking and the DataSet
Working with DataSets
Acme Travel Agency Case Study
XML Data Access
AirlineBrokers Database
Schema with Relationships
Typed DataSet

10. ASP .NET and Web Forms

What is ASP .NET? Web Forms Architecture
Request/Response Programming
Web Applications Using Visual Studio .NET
Acme Travel Agency Case Study
ASP .NET Applications
State in ASP .NET Applications
ASP .NET Configuration
Server Controls
Database Access in ASP .NET

11. Web Services

Protocols
Web Service Architecture
SOAP Differences
Web Service Class
Hotel Broker Web Service

12. Security

User-Based Security
Code Access Security
Internet Security
Role-Based Security in
NET
Forms-Based Authentication
Code Access Permissions
Code Identity
Security Policy

13. Tracing and Debugging in .NET

The TraceDemo Example
Enabling Debug and Trace Output
Using the Debug and Trace Classes
Using Switches to Enable Diagnostics
Enabling or Disabling Switches
TraceListener
Listeners Collection

14. Interoperability

Calling COM Components from Managed Code
Calling Managed Components from COM Client
Platform Invocation Services (PInvoke)

Appendix A Visual Studio .NET
Overview of Visual Studio .NET
Creating a Console Application
Project Configurations
Debugging
Index