Modifying an Existing Web Site to use ASP.NET

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Modifying an Existing Web Site to use ASP.NET

• David Klitzke
• August 13, 2003

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Overview

• The Application
• The Solutions
• Choosing a Web Authoring Tool
• Compatibility with existing HTML pages
• JavaScript to transition to ASP.NET
• Repeater Controls
• Microsoft Access
• Deploy with Visual Studio 2002

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The Application

• Already existing web site with rich content to
  advertise sailboats, power boats, and yachts
• Needed the capability for users to search a boat
  database and display matching boats
• The solution needed to be unobtrusive to existing
  Net Objects 7 web authoring tool, easy to
  maintain, and inexpensive

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The Solutions

• Choosing a Web Authoring Tool
• Compatibility with existing HTML pages
• JavaScript to transition to ASP.NET pages
• Repeater Controls
• Microsoft Access
• Deploy with Visual Studio 2002

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Choosing a Web Authoring Tool

• Initial solution used Net Objects 7, an easy to
  use tool that doesnt support ASP.NET
• Net Objects trashed all ASP.NET controls after
  they were added by Visual Studio .NET
• Visual Studio .NET is great for adding ASP.NET
  controls, but not the best Web Authoring Tool
• Recommend using Macromedia DreamWeaver to develop
  most Web content, then edit with Visual Studio
  .NET to finalize ASP.NET pages

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Compatibility with Existing HTML Pages

• Initial solution was written with ASP.NET pages
  and content from original HTML pages was copied
  into these pages
• This approach required extensive editing of the
  HTML code and often still didnt work
• Final solution left original HTML pages unchanged
  as much as possible

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JavaScript to Transition to ASP.NET Pages

• Initial solution converted search page written in
  HTML to an ASP.NET page to dynamically pass
  search parameters to the results page
• Noticeable slowdown in performance going to the
  ASP.NET search page
• Keeping with philosophy to minimize changes to
  HTML, JavaScript was used to pass parameters to
  the results page

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Repeater Controls

• Initial solution presented a Data Grid on the
  results page with the idea that user could click
  to see more detail
• Final solution used a Repeater to show rich
  detail on one long page without the need to click
  back and forth between summary and detail

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Microsoft Access

• Last change was to use Microsoft Access instead
  of SQL Server because
• Database instance name seemed to change on each
  computer for SQL Server and required changes to
  ASP.NET code
• Microsoft Access database can be stored with
  other web site files (not true for SQL Server)
• Microsoft Access was substantially cheaper for
  ISP of choice (SBC) while alternative solution
  (Voice Gateway) offered less technical support
  for less database savvy users

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Deploy with Visual Studio 2002

• Everett release of Visual Studio is superior to
  Visual Studio 2002 as it adds bug fixes and Web
  Services improvements
• Unfortunately, many ISPs (including SBC) will
  not deploy Windows Server 2003 for another year
• Recommend using Visual Studio 2002 if undecided
  on ISP and not a .NET expert if you have a
  cutting edge ISP, and are a .NET expert, choose
  Windows Server 2003