Named Pipes references not working with ASP.NET MVC 4 - asp.net

I'm working on a API and using ASP.NET Web API in order to expose it. I tried to add a service reference to a Named Piped service that is responsible for authentication and authorization, but I couldn't reference it on my code.
That Named Pipe service is working properly and is used on a wide variety of projects. That is the first time we try to use it with ASP.NET MVC 4. It's working very well on another project that uses ASP.NET MVC 3.
Like you could see on the following image, I'm able to add the service reference. But It didn't appear on Object Browser or auto-complete!
When I try to invoke that service, it just does not show up anywhere.
It appears to be a problem with ASP.NET MVC 4 projects and Named Pipes service references.
I really don't know if that is a well know / documented behavior, but I wasn't able to find anything useful related to that question on the internet.
I could add a reference to that service using Visual Studio 2012 on any kind of project, except ASP.NET MVC 4 ones. The problem is specifically related to ASP.NET MVC 4 projects.
I tried to add the reference using Visual Studio 2010 and I had the same problem: working pretty well with ASP.NET MVC 3 and any other kind of project. Again, the problem is specifically related to ASP.NET MVC 4 projects.
Is anyone having the same problem? How could I go through it?

Since it appears to be a Visual Studio / ASP.NET MVC bug I just found an workaround.
I just figure out that I could use svcutil command line tool in order to generate the code for service client and data structures. Here are the syntax for the command:
> svcutil net.pipe://my_sevice/mex /namespace:"*, MyNamespace"
It generated the following files:
SecurityService.cs
output.config
Then I just imported the generated SecurityService.cs file into my current project and did a merge of the binding configurations available on the generated output.config with my own web.config.

Related

Adding Web API to existing asp.net web forms Application

My team wants to upgrade from WCF to Web API. We have a working asp.net web form application, that we have imported to VS2012 from VS2010. So far so good.
But now as I try to make a separate Web API project, I see that there is no Web API template available. The closest thing that I can find is by creating an MVC 4 application and setting the Project Template as WebAPI. I followed this way and everything falls in perfectly. I have the working API with a sample controller that I can invoke by making calls from the browser.
The only downside to this is that, this particular method brings in its own baggage. The MVC 4 project I created has JQUERY and other libraries included, plus some other folders that I probably don't need. What I want is the Web API structure only - and not the extra baggage.
I tried finding a template using online search but the package I found does not work properly and as very poor rating.
I hope I have illustrated my problem properly. I am looking forward for some feedback now :) Thanks.
In Visual Studio 2013
Right-click on the ASP.NET Web Forms project.
Add -> Add Scaffolded Item... or New Scaffolded Item...
Under Installed/Common/MVC/Web API choose the scaffold type you wish
to use.
Follow the instructions for the scaffold template. For example, when you choose "Web API 2 Controller with read/write actions" or "Web API 2 Controller - Empty", you are prompted for a controller name
You will then need to move the recently created controller into the recently created Controllers folder.
Results
From what I can see, Visual Studio does the following:
"App_Start/WebApiConfig2.cs" is created.
Controllers folder is created.
Web.config is edited to add "handlers" element with content in "system.webServer".
The following references are added:
System.Net.Http
System.Net.Http.Formatting
System.Web.Extensions
System.Web.Http
System.Web.Http.WebHost
packages.config is updated to include:
"Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi"
"Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Client"
"Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Core"
"Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.WebHost"
Notes
Subsequently, I recommend following the same steps, starting with right-clicking on the Controllers folder instead of the project. This will put the new controller in the Controllers folder instead of at the root level.
Readme from Visual Studio after following the above steps:
Visual Studio has added the full set of dependencies for ASP.NET Web API 2 to project 'RowersCode.Web'.
The Global.asax.cs file in the project may require additional changes to enable ASP.NET Web API.
Add the following namespace references:
using System.Web.Http;
using System.Web.Routing;
If the code does not already define an Application_Start method, add the following method:
protected void Application_Start()
{
}
Add the following lines to the beginning of the Application_Start method:
GlobalConfiguration.Configure(WebApiConfig2.Register);
After much research I have been able to come up with a solution to this problem. Let me illustrate my solution with respect to the Visual Studio Version.
VS 2012
As I mentioned in the question, there is no definite way to create the Web API project in VS2012. You are gonna have to do it by creating an MVC 4 application and setting the Project Template as WebAPI. Then once you have done this and you have your Web API functional, you can safely delete the extra baggage like the Jquery libraries and other stuff, because these things are absolutely of no use here in your project.
VS 2013
In VS2013 there is however a better approach followed to add and manage the Web API projects. Currently I am using VS2013 for the Web API and all things have fallen into place just as I wanted. Kindly see this link and you will get a better idea
http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/getting-started-with-aspnet-web-api/tutorial-your-first-web-api
I hope this information will help all those new to Web API. Especially for those who want to upgrade to Web API or add Web API to existing projects.

Tool or Standard Procedure to add a different type of Visual Studio Project to an existing one?

I have an existing website coded in ASP.Net 4.0 Webforms, and would like to add an "ASP.Net Dynamic Data Entities Web Application" (project templates of VS2010 to my actual project):
So my question is, what are the steps to "merge" the 2 projects or integrate the "ASP.Net Dynamic Data Entities Web Application" to my actual webforms.
I think I must merge my Global.asax.cs files and web.config file + move rest of the files. Is that correct ?
I already read that post (that may be outdated?):
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/IntegratingASPNETMVC3IntoExistingUpgradedASPNET4WebFormsApplications.aspx
Thanks for your answers :)
(the original title of this post was: “ASP.Net Dynamic Data Entities Web Application” integration with an existing Webforms)
I've read Scott Hanselman's article which you've provided in your question and yes the same technique still applies today, here are a few steps/considerations which should help you along the way:
When you create the new ASP.NET Dynamic Data Entities Web Application make sure that it's the same .NET Framework version as your Web Forms project, to avoid version conflicts.
Remember to add a reference to all the required libraries that you've been using in the Web Forms project.
Now it's safe to copy all the necessary .aspx pages to the new site.
There is some automatically generated code inside the Global.asax of a Dynamic Data project which is used to configure ASP.NET routing, it may be useful later so instead of replacing it with your Global.asax use a tool like WinMerge to merge the two files.

Visual Studio 2010: convert website project to web application project?

I have an existing solution in VS2010. When I click the properties of my project I get the view as can be seen in image1.png:
When I create a new empty ASP.NET web application and click the properties of my project I get the view as can be seen in image2.png:
A huge difference.
Now I'm implementing this code here: http://wcf.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Getting%20started:%20Building%20a%20simple%20web%20api
And that tutorial assumes I get a view as I've shown you in image2.png
In image1 and image2 I've also marked the menu items: "Website" and "Project"
This makes me assume that I've created a website application whereas I need something different (I'm thinking a web application project).
Not sure what to do now, I need to convert my current application to another thing, but to which type and how to do it?
I also came accoss this post: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/webdevtools/archive/2009/10/29/converting-a-web-site-project-to-a-web-application-project.aspx
But before I start screwing up everything :P Is that what would solve my problem?
It should be possible to use either a web site or a web application project. In the example on the link you've posted, they use the predefined template for ASP.Net MVC Web Applications. This has several advantages - it sets up the structure and other resources for you - it's effectively a template.
For the purposes of the tutorial, why don't you just set up an application that way? If you've already written some code, you can just import it into the new application.
For future projects, you might want to consider which is best for your needs. Apart from structure, there are some other key differences between a web application and a web site project.
MSDN handily provides the differences here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd547590.aspx
If you find you want the features of the web application, then the link you've posted is fine. You'll need to do some re-organizing of your references and so on and so forth, but the process is fairly straightforward (but not painless).
A "web site" in visual studio is the old, .net 1 style of creating web sites. It basically dynamically compiles the code in a folder when it's hit for the first time. Later .NET introduced a "web application" model where the code is compiled into a DLL and no code files are deployed with the site. "Web sites" are pretty much depcrated and shouldn't be used for any new projects unless you're doing a quick demo site.
The codeplex project you referenced also depends on MVC 3 (which are web applications).
You are probably better off just restarting like the tutorial says - create a new MVC application like it shows in its first screenshot.
If you do not have that option, use Web Platform Installer to add MVC for you - http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx
Good luck!
I can't tell exactly what's going on from your screenshots, but if you have a web site that you need to convert to a web application project, you can find the directions here
Although the instructions are specific to VS2005, they are basically the same for 2010 as well.

How do I use my web reference in Visual Studio 2008

I've got a sample project that has several web services and uses them during run time. The application works as intended. The web references are can be see in the Solution Explorer under a folder called "Web References" with the list of web services as single files.
I'm trying to use these same Web Services in another solution but it's not working. I've added the Web Services to the solution and they have appeared under a folder called "Web_References". In addition, the list of web services under this appear with the extension .discomap and have 2 subfiles under them with the same name but with the extension .disco and .wsdl.
These are the only differences I can see. However, in the 2nd solution, Visual Studio cannot resolve the references to the classes from the web services (I'm using the same code as the first solution).
Does anyone know why the web references appear differently and why my 2nd solution is not allow me to use the web references that I've added?
TIA
Update: Following on from the comments, yes the 2nd one is a web site and the first appears to be a Windows Application using web services. Given it's a website, how do I use the web references?

ASP.net using iframes

I have been tasked with a project where I am to add a new application and have it within an older application (web applications). This is an internal application and management decided that they want it wrapped in this older app. The older application is a ASP.net web app using the 3.5 framework.
My original plan was to use jQuery and Web Services (using JSON and AJAX). My team-mate on the project really wants to use Entity Framework (4.0). As we may be sharing the same look and feel the data is a different database altogether.
After several attempts yesterday, we found some issues. We created a project inside the original solution that targets the 4.0 framework. I created a WebService on the project, but when I tried to call the webservice from the 3.5 project I didn't get an error but I didn't get the return string. I was watching on Firebug and did not see the GET call either.
My team-mate did a little more research and found out about the cross-domain issue and jQuery, so it seems that we are limited with the Entity Framework (3.5) and remaining on the .net Framework (3.5). We did try changing the dataType to jsonp but calling the WebService still didn't work.
However, I was wondering, really management wants the project wrapped inside this other project for consistency sake (navigation, design and so forth). Is there a way to have the 3.5 project display our code that is being generated from the 4.0 project (a totally different solution and probably a different server)? I'm thinking the way the iFrame used to work but I don't want to use an iFrame at all.
One way to solve this problem would be to stand up a WCF webservice to handle the database calls. You could develop your "data layer" with .NET 4 and EF4, then call that layer from your .NET 3.5 ASP.NET application. It's not the absolute cleanest solution, but it would allow you to get the benefits of the newer version of EF.

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