Compile aspx page "on the fly" - asp.net

I am trying to build an aspx page at runtime (by another aspx page which finally redirects to the new one). As far as I understand, aspx pages MUST be precompiled before a user can view them. In other words, the aspx page must be compiled to the DLL in the /bin folder.
Is there a away to tell IIS, or to order it by VB.NET code, to compile a page before I am redirecting my user to the page?
Any help would be greatly appriciated.

You can use the VirtualPathProvider class to load pages from a database.

Basicallly what you need is to render content of the page dynamically. You can create page content dynamically on server side by adding controls (HTML or Server Ones) to controls collection for example to place holder server element.
For example you can create page with the following markup:
<%# Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="TestPage.aspx.cs" Inherits="StackOverflowWebApp.TestPage" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server" EnablePartialRendering="true" />
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="ContentPlaceHolder"></asp:PlaceHolder>
</form>
</body>
</html>
And then in code behind class we can add controls to render which is necessary dynamically be reading information from database.
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
namespace StackOverflowWebApp
{
public partial class TestPage : Page
{
#region Methods
protected override void CreateChildControls()
{
base.CreateChildControls();
// HERE get configuration from database.
// HERE create content of the page dynamically.
// Add reference to css file.
HtmlLink link = new HtmlLink { Href = "~/Styles/styles.css" };
link.Attributes.Add("type", "text/css");
link.Attributes.Add("rel", "stylesheet");
this.Page.Header.Controls.Add(link);
// Add inline styles.
HtmlGenericControl inlineStyle = new HtmlGenericControl("style");
inlineStyle.InnerText = "hr {color:sienna;} p {margin-left:20px;}";
this.Page.Header.Controls.Add(inlineStyle);
// Add div with css class and styles.
HtmlGenericControl div = new HtmlGenericControl("div");
this.ContentPlaceHolder.Controls.Add(div);
div.Attributes.Add("class", "SomeCssClassName");
div.Attributes.CssStyle.Add(HtmlTextWriterStyle.ZIndex, "1000");
TextBox textBox = new TextBox { ID = "TestTextBox" };
div.Controls.Add(textBox);
// and etc
}
#endregion
}
}
Note: this example can be a start point to create dynamic pages which content depend on values specified in database or configuration.

Related

Generic Handler not getting called in asp.net

I am trying to display an image from my database. I have an generic handler to display the image. But my problem is that it doesn't get called. My code for calling the handler is
Image1.ImageUrl = "~/ShowImage.ashx?id=" + id;
where id is a number and ShowImage.ashx is the handler. The breakpoints in .ashx file doesn't get hit either. I am new to asp.net. So any help would be highly appreciated.
In this cases the steps that you need to follow is to see how the html is rendered.
So, right click on the html page, and "view page source".
There locate the point that the ShowImage.ashx is called, and see if the full rendered path is correct.
From there you simple correct the path.
Additional you can use the browser tools to see what browser looks for, and if he finds it or not. On google chrome for example you make right click, then inspect elements and then click on the network. There you can see with red, what files your page can not find, and you need to fix the path.
Check this sample Example code this might help you.
ASPX Code :
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<h1>
HTTP Handler class Impliment in Img tag
</h1>
<h1>Id : 1</h1>
<img src="ImageHandler.ashx?id=1" alt="Dynamic Image" />
<h1>Id : 2</h1>
<img src="ImageHandler.ashx?id=2" alt="Dynamic Image" />
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
C# Examples (ImageHandler.ashx File) :
<%# WebHandler Language="C#" Class="ImageHandler" %>
using System;
using System.Web;
public class ImageHandler : IHttpHandler {
public void ProcessRequest (HttpContext context) {
//context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
//context.Response.Write("Hello World");
context.Response.ContentType = "image/jpeg";
if (context.Request.QueryString["id"] == "1")
{
context.Response.WriteFile("bamboo.jpg");
}
else
{
context.Response.WriteFile("palmtree.jpg");
}
}
public bool IsReusable {
get {
return false;
}
}
}
Here is live downloadable C# Examples and VB.Net Examples of this. Click Here...

Creating website template which is independent from source code in asp.net webforms

Im working on an e-commerce platform which supports multiple stores on different domains. The backend is complete (for now) and I'm now starting the front-end part. Since the platform supports multiple stores I need some kind of templating system and I haven't quite figured out what's the best way to do this.
This are my requirements:
I don't want to rebuild my solution to add a new template
Templates are stored in /Templates/TemplateDirectoryName
I want to be able to use (predefined) usercontrols inside the templates.
I use URL routing and only have 1 Default.aspx page which controls which page template and additional code needs to be loaded.
This is what I came up with so far:
In my template directory i have templates created with master pages (A homepage master file, a default master file, and sub-master files referencing the default master file...for product detail, browse, search etc)
My Default.aspx page picks the right template based on routing values
While this way works I don't think it's very practical but the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that there are not so many other options to go around this. I think this is what I want to ask: Is there a way to use usercontrols in a template and have the template completely seperated from the application so users can create templates without having to worry about the site's namespace and structure?
Kind regards,
Mark
Since you are referencing a folder for templates, wouldn't it be possible to just change the .aspx files in the folder and asp.net shall pick up the template based on the url path that you've mentioned? I think that is possible in asp.net.
Also, Frameworks like DotNetNuke, Sharepoint, Joomla etc. have the similar concept. You can avail their features.
My proposed solution is below. It has a few constraints, like all master pages need to implement the same set of placeholder controls (not surprising). Take a look and let me know what you think.
I setup my folder structure like this:
Website -> Templates -> TemplateFolder (named same as the template)
Website -> Templates -> UserControls (User controls are stored in a non-template specific folder)
I defined a simple Template configuration class which we can store/save/load a basic template deffinition:
public class Template
{
public string TemplateName { get; set; }
public string UserControlName { get; set; }
public string MasterPageName { get; set; }
public string TemplateFolder
{
get
{
return GetTemplateFolder(TemplateName);
}
}
public string TemplateConfigFile { get { return GetTemplateConfigFile(TemplateName); } }
private static string GetTemplateFolder(string name)
{
return HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath("~/Templates/" + name + "/");
}
private static string GetTemplateConfigFile(string name)
{
return GetTemplateFolder(name) + "/" + name + ".config";
}
public Template()
{
}
public void Save()
{
XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Template));
if (!Directory.Exists(TemplateFolder)) Directory.CreateDirectory(TemplateFolder);
using (FileStream fs = File.OpenWrite(TemplateConfigFile))
{
xs.Serialize(fs, this);
}
}
public static Template Load(string name)
{
if(!File.Exists(GetTemplateConfigFile(name))) return null;
XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Template));
using (FileStream fs = File.OpenRead(GetTemplateConfigFile(name)))
{
Template t = (Template)xs.Deserialize(fs);
return t;
}
}
}
You can build some bare xml code to get started with by running the code below:
Template t1 = new Template() { TemplateName = "Template1", MasterPageName = "Child1.master", UserControlName = "uc1.ascx" };
Template t2 = new Template() { TemplateName = "Template2", MasterPageName = "Child2.master", UserControlName = "uc2.ascx" };
t1.Save();
t2.Save();
I created a basic master page. This page will probably never be used except to give your default page the basic placeholders. All of your master pages should have the same set of placeholders as your base one so that your pages can use them all interchangably. Notice I left a placeholder for our user control.
<%# Master Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="BaseMaster.master.cs" Inherits="Templates_Masters_BaseMaster" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder id="head" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder id="cphHeader" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder id="cpUserControl" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder id="cphFooter" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Now I create a basic aspx web page that uses the above master page.
<%# Page Title="" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Templates/Masters/BaseMaster.master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="DefaultTemplated.aspx.cs" Inherits="DefaultTemplated" %>
<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="head" Runat="Server">
</asp:Content>
<asp:Content ID="Content2" ContentPlaceHolderID="cphHeader" Runat="Server">
</asp:Content>
<asp:Content ID="Content3" ContentPlaceHolderID="cpUserControl" Runat="Server">
</asp:Content>
<asp:Content ID="Content4" ContentPlaceHolderID="cphFooter" Runat="Server">
</asp:Content>
In the codebehind we'll setup the basic templating. This sets the masterpage and adds a pre-defined user control to the content placeholder for user controls. If you wanted you could just make a panel or something and add it to that fixed control, but I thought you might appreciate seeing how to make it work with masterpages.
public partial class DefaultTemplated : System.Web.UI.Page
{
private Template PageTemplate
{
get
{
if (_tLoaded == null)
{
string template = Request.QueryString["template"];
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(template)) return null;
Template t = Template.Load(template);
_tLoaded = t;
}
return _tLoaded;
}
}
private Template _tLoaded = null;
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (PageTemplate != null)
{
//cpUserControl is the name of my usercontrol placeholder
((ContentPlaceHolder)Page.Form.FindControl("cpUserControl")).Controls.Add(
Page.LoadControl("~/Templates/UserControls/" + PageTemplate.UserControlName));
}
}
protected void Page_PreInit(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (PageTemplate == null) return;
this.MasterPageFile = "~/Templates/" + PageTemplate.TemplateName + "/" + PageTemplate.MasterPageName;
}
}
If you had a template named "Template1" you could use it by calling "Default.aspx?template=Template1". Since you are using URL rewriting you would use the rewriting to pass the template name as a parameter to the page.
Another option that could be combined with the above would be the use of Page.ParseControl. Using this you could store your raw asp.net designer code (designer only) in a database or raw text file. Then you could instantiate it load it like this:
//where pnl1 is a Panel on the page. Page.ParseControl just returns a control object, so use it anywhere.
pnl1.Controls.Add(Page.ParseControl("raw asp.net designer code here."));
One great thing about this is that nested controls work great too.
I don't know if I understand correctly:
If you don't want to rebuild, then I can tell a CMS concept is best suitable for you.
You can store your templates as an HTML in database and from DB you can fetch it back,
You can give an admin functionality with editor to edit your template online also.

add stuff to Master page's <html> tags from child page in asp.net?

I am trying to add xfbml code in one of my child page and i realize that i have to add this line:
xmlns:fb="http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml"
to HTML section of the page like this:
<html xmlns:fb="http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml">
But I dont want to add it to the master page because i am using like button on only ONE child page.. is there a way I can tell asp.net to add this line when that particular child page loads?
thanks.
Yes, just do the following:
First add a public property to your master page:
public partial class Master : System.Web.UI.MasterPage
{
public bool FacebookHtml;
Then put an inline check in your Master's aspx:
<html <%= FacebookHtml ? "http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml" : "xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'" %>>
Then in your content page just set it to true (remember to include the MasterType as well in your content page):
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Master.FacebookHtml = true;
}
On the front end, do something like this:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" <%= FBNamespace() %>>
In the backend on the masterpage, make a public property:
Private _fbNamespace As String = ""
Public Property FBNameSpace() As String
Get
Return _fbNamespace
End Get
Set(ByVal value As String)
_fbNamespace = value
End Set
End Property
And finally in the child page:
CType(Page.Master, MasterPage).FBNameSpace = "xmlns:fb=""http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml"""
One approach could be to make your HTML tag a server tag.
<head id="headtag" runat="server">
Your child page could then execute the code:
var headtag = Master.FindControl("headtag") as HtmlGenericControl;
headtag.Attributes["xmlns:fb"] = "http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml";
The only side effect I can see in the markup is that you wind up with the extra id attribute in the rendered HTML; however, I suspect that won't harm anybody.

Best Practices - set jQuery property from Code-Behind

I need to set a single property in a jQuery command using a value that is calculated in the code-behind. My initial thought was to just use <%= %> to access it like this:
.aspx
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
$('.sparklines').sparkline('html', {
fillColor: 'transparent',
normalRangeMin: '0',
normalRangeMax: <%= NormalRangeMax() %>
});
</script>
.aspx.cs
protected string NormalRangeMax() {
// Calculate the value.
}
It smells odd to have to call from the ASPX page to just get a single value though. Not to mention I have an entire method that does a small calculation just to populate a single property.
One alternative would be to create the entire <script> block in the code-behind using clientScriptManager.RegisterClientScriptBlock. But I really don't like putting entire chunks of JavaScript in the code-behind since its, well, JavaScript.
Maybe if I end up having many of these methods I can just put then in a partial class so at least they are physically separate from the rest of the code.
What method would you recommend as being easy to understand and easy to maintain?
The <% %> works fine. One thing that I do is set a value in a hidden field on the page (then writing the necessary javascript to extract that value), this is nice because I can change that hidden field via javascript and when/if the page posts back I can get that new value from code behind as well.
If you need to call the method on demand, you could do an jQuery AJAX call to a ASP.NET WebMethod to grab the data and re-populate the various options. You can find a good tutorial on how to do that here: http://encosia.com/2008/05/29/using-jquery-to-directly-call-aspnet-ajax-page-methods/
Below is some sample code using the hidden field method (using the datepicker control, but you'll get the idea):
<%# Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="WebApplication1._Default" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:TextBox ID="txtCalendar" runat="server" />
<asp:HiddenField ID="hfTest" runat="server" />
</div>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ui.jquery.com/latest/ui/ui.datepicker.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var dateMinimum = new Date($("#<%= hfTest.ClientID %>").val());
$(function() {
$("#<%= txtCalendar.ClientID %>")
.datepicker({
minDate: dateMinimum
});
});
</script>
</body>
And the code behind Page_Load method:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Set Value of Hidden Field to the first day of the current month.
this.hfTest.Value = new DateTime(DateTime.Today.Year, DateTime.Today.Month, 1).ToString("MM/dd/yyyy");
}
Personally, I would use the <% %> method. This is what the view is for. I don't like the RegisterClientScriptBlock at all. If you ever move to MVC you will get used to the <% %> ... :)
I ran into this problem a while back. I recommend <% %> for single variable stuff. I find the RegisterClientScriptBlock function useful only if I ever need the code-behind to determine which scripts to run.
Rick has a nice article about passing server vars to client script

How to get Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptInclude to include in the head?

The included script references, in particular jQuery, are being rendered after viewstate. Is there a way to get this in the < head>?
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptInclude("jQuery", "/scripts/jquery.js");
I am trying to register jquery.js in a user control's page load.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. If it can't be done (with ClientScript), anyone have an idea why they didn't build it in?
UPDATE
The main feature of the ClientScript manager I need is the ability to only include a script once. The control can appear many times on a page, but i only want one jQuery script include
to directly inlcude it in the HEAD:
HtmlGenericControl Include = new HtmlGenericControl("script");
Include.Attributes.Add("type", "text/javascript");
Include.Attributes.Add("src", sInclude);
this.Page.Header.Controls.Add(Include);
you would want to check to make sure its not there already before adding it.
I had this problem a while back, and I ended up not using RegisterClientScriptInclude.
I placed a placeholder in the header of the page, and added the script tag to the placeholder via a HtmlGenericControl.
I'll see if I can find my code and I'll edit my answer with it.
EDIT
I couldn't find my code, so I just re-created it:
<%# Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="WebApplication1._Default" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head runat="server">
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="HeadPlaceHolder"></asp:PlaceHolder>
</head>
<body>
...
</body>
</html>
And the Code Behind:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
HeadPlaceHolder.Controls.Add(/* Your control here */);
}
Hey, old question, but maybe this is still of interest for someone.
I am creating a own UserControl with .net 3.5sp1, ran into the same problems. Following solution works for me.
This code is from the UserControl class:
protected void Page_Init( object sender, EventArgs e )
{
const string scriptKey = "UserControlScript";
if( !Page.ClientScript.IsClientScriptIncludeRegistered( Page.GetType(), scriptKey ) )
{
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptInclude( Page.GetType(), scriptKey, ResolveClientUrl("~/js/UserControl.js" ) );
}
}
I used Page_Init because I need to do some more initialization that has to be done before Page_Load of the nesting page is called.
It appears its not possible to use Page.ClientScript to add scripts to the header of the page.

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