Curso MVC4

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Product Number: 20486B
Part Number : X18-52163
Released: 05/2013
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1
IDC, Value of Certification: Team Certification and Organizational Performance, November
2006
Acknowledgments
Microsoft Learning wants to acknowledge and thank the following for their contribution toward
developing this title. Their effort at various stages in the development has ensured that you have
a good classroom experience.
Lakshmi Kamal—Lead Content Developer

Lakshmi is a practice lead for learning design at Sify and has close to seven years of work
experience in instructional design and development for software-based and hardware–based
training. Under Lakshmi’s leadership from an instructional design perspective, the Sify learning
design team has been able to execute over 400 hours of instructor-led training and e-learning for
Microsoft Learning on their products and technologies such as Windows Server 2008,
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, SQL Server 2008, Office Communications Server
2007, Windows Vista, Visual Studio 2008, and Office Server servers. Lakshmi has also been
the Lead learning designer for projects for Dell, General Electric, Cisco, Oracle, Allianz, and
Standard Charted Bank.
Lakshmi is conversant with authoring and development tools such as MS Office, Adobe
Captivate, Snagit, and Articulate. She holds a Master of Philosophy degree and a Post
Graduation degree in English.
Uma—Content Developer
Uma is a Senior Instructional Designer at Sify Technologies Ltd. She has over six years of work
experience in instructional design and development. She has designed and developed several
information technology–based courses for Microsoft, Oracle, Standard Charted Bank, Cisco,
Dell, and Comcast.
Alistair Matthews—Subject Matter Expert

Alistair Mathews is a consultant with extensive and cutting-edge experience in Microsoft
technologies, Alistair has spent the last ten years developing with, consulting on, and
communicating about both Developer and IT Professional sides of SharePoint, Visual Studio,
Active Directory, Exchange and Windows. He architects and delivers custom SharePoint
solutions in knowledge management, enterprise and web content management. He now works
with customers throughout Microsoft to document products and develop learning materials of
all types.
Paul Litwin—Technical Reviewer

Paul Litwin is a developer who specializes in ASP.NET, C#, SQL Server, SQL Server
Reporting Services, and related technologies. Paul is a Programming Manager with Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. He is also the owner of Deep Training, a
developer-owned training company that specializes in .NET developer & SQL Server Reporting
Services training.
Paul is also an author of a number of books and training material. These training contents are
based on ASP.NET, SQL Server Reporting Services, and Micrsoft Access. Currently, Paul is
co-writing Agile ASP.NET Unleashed along with Stephen Walther and Ruth Wather. Paul is
the conference chair of Microsoft ASP.NET Connections, a Microsoft MVP, and a member of
the INETA Speakers Bureau. He is also a regular presenter at a number of conferences, user
groups, and code camps.
Contents
Title Copyright
Welcome!
Acknowledgments
About This
About This Course
Course
Course Materials
Virtual Machine Environment
Module 01: Exploring ASP.NET MVC 4
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Overview of Microsoft Web Technologies
Lesson 2: Overview of ASP.NET 4.5
Lesson 3: Introduction to ASP.NET MVC 4
Lab: Exploring ASP.NET MVC 4
Module Review and Takeaways
Module 02: Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Planning in the Project Design Phase
Lesson 2: Designing Models, Controllers, and Views
Lab: Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 03: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Models
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Creating MVC Models
Lesson 2: Working with Data
Lab: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Models
Module 04: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Controllers
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Writing Controllers and Actions
Lesson 2: Writing Action Filters
Lab: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Controllers
Module 05: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Views
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Creating Views with Razor Syntax
Lesson 2: Using HTML Helpers
Lesson 3: Re-using Code in Views
Lab: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Views
Module 06: Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Unit Testing MVC Components
Lesson 2: Implementing an Exception Handling Strategy
Lab: Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 07: Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Analyzing Information Architecture
Lesson 2: Configuring Routes
Lesson 3: Creating a Navigation Structure
Lab: Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 08: Applying Styles to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Using Layouts
Lesson 2: Applying CSS Styles to an MVC Application
Lesson 3: Creating an Adaptive User Interface
Lab: Applying Styles to MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 09: Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Using AJAX and Partial Page Updates
Lesson 2: Implementing a Caching Strategy
Lab: Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 10: Using JavaScript and jQuery for Responsive MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Rendering and Executing JavaScript Code
Lesson 2: Using jQuery and jQueryUI
Lab: Using JavaScript and jQuery for Responsive MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 11: Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Implementing Authentication and Authorization
Lesson 2: Assigning Roles and Membership
Lab: Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 12: Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Developing Secure Sites
Lesson 2: State Management
Lab: Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application
Module 13: Using Windows Azure Web Services in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Introducing Windows Azure
Lesson 2: Designing and Writing Windows Azure Services
Lesson 3: Consuming Windows Azure Services in a Web Application
Lab: Using Windows Azure Web Services in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 14: Implementing Web APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Developing a Web API
Lesson 2: Calling a Web API from Mobile and Web Applications
Lab: Implementing APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 15: Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Using HTTP Modules and HTTP Handlers
Lesson 2: Using Web Sockets
Lab: Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module 16: Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Module Overview
Lesson 1 : Deploying a Web Application
Lesson 2: Deploying an ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application
Lab: Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Course Evaluation
Lab Answer
Module 01: Exploring ASP.NET MVC 4
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 02: Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 03: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Models
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 04: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Controllers
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 05: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Views
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 06: Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 07: Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 08: Applying Styles to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer Module 09: Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Key: Applications
Lab Answer Module 10: Using JavaScript and jQuery for Responsive MVC 4 Web
Key: Applications
Lab Answer
Module 11: Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 12: Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application
Key:
Lab Answer Module 13: Using Windows Azure Web Services in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Key: Applications
Lab Answer
Module 14: Implementing Web APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 15: Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
Lab Answer
Module 16: Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Key:
About This Course

This section provides a brief description of the course, audience, suggested prerequisites, and
course objectives.
Course Description
This second release (‘B’) MOC version of course 20486B has been developed on RTM
software. Microsoft Learning has released the ‘B’ version with enhanced PowerPoint slides,
copy-edited content, and Course Companion content on Microsoft Learning site.
In this 5-day course, the professional web developers will learn to develop advanced ASP.NET
MVC application using .NET Framework 4.5 tools and technologies. The focus will be on
coding activities that enhance the performance and scalability of the Web site application. This
course will also prepare the student for exam 70-486.
Audience
This course is intended for professional web developers who use Microsoft Visual Studio in an
individual-based or team-based, small-sized to large development environment. Candidates for
this course are interested in developing advanced web applications and want to manage the
rendered HTML comprehensively. They want to create websites that separate the user interface,
data access, and application logic.
Student Prerequisites
This course requires that you meet the following prerequisites:
A minimum of two to three years of experience in developing web-based applications by
•
using Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft ASP.NET.
• Proficiency in using the .NET Framework and some familiarity with the C# language.
Students who attend this training can meet the prerequisites by attending the following courses
or by obtaining equivalent knowledge and skills:
• 20483A Programming in C#
• 10958A Programming Fundamentals of Web Applications
Course Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to:
Describe the Microsoft Web Technologies stack and select an appropriate technology to use
•
to develop any given application.
Design the architecture and implementation of a web application that will meet a set of
•
functional requirements, user interface requirements, and address business models.
Create MVC Models and write code that implements business logic within Model methods,
•
properties, and events.
Add Controllers to an MVC Application to manage user interaction, update models, and
•
select and return Views.
Create Views in an MVC application that display and edit data and interact with Models and
•
Controllers.
• Run unit tests and debugging tools against a web application in Visual Studio 2012.
Develop a web application that uses the ASP.NET routing engine to present friendly URLs
•
and a logical navigation hierarchy to users.
Implement a consistent look and feel, including corporate branding, across an entire MVC
•
web application.
Use partial page updates and caching to reduce the network bandwidth used by an application
•
and accelerate responses to user requests.
Write JavaScript code that runs on the client-side and utilizes the jQuery script library to
•
optimize the responsiveness of an MVC web application.
• Implement a complete membership system in an MVC 4 web application.
Build an MVC application that resists malicious attacks and persists information about users
•
and preferences.
• Describe how to write a Windows Azure web service and call it from and MVC application.
• Describe what a Web API is and why developers might add a Web API to an application.
• Modify the way browser requests are handled by an MVC application.
Describe how to package and deploy an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application from a
•
development computer to a web server for staging or production.
Course Outline
The course outline is as follows:
Module 1, “Exploring ASP.NET MVC 4", provides an overview of the Microsoft web
technologies stack. It also describes the three programming models available in ASP.NET 4.5
such as web pages, web forms, and MVC.
Module 2, “Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains the planning of the
overall architecture, controllers, views, and models of the MVC 4 web application.
Module 3, “Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Models", explains how to create Models in an MVC
4 web application. The module also describes how to implement a connection to a database
using the Entity Framework.
Module 4, “Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Controllers", explains how to create Controllers in

an MVC 4 web application. The module also describes how to write code in action filters that
executes before or after a controller action.
Module 5, “Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Views", explains how to create Views in an MVC 4
application that display and edit data and interact with Models and Controllers.
Module 6, “Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to unit
test the components of an MVC 4 application and to implement exception handling strategy for
the application.
Module 7, “Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to structure an

MVC 4 web application that uses routing engine and navigation controls.
Module 8, “Applying Styles to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to

implement a consistent look and feel to an MVC application by using a template view.
Module 9, “Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications" explains how
to use partial page updates and caching to build responsive pages in an MVC 4 web application.
Module 10, “Using JavaScript and jQuery for Responsive MVC 4 Web Applications", explains
how to increase the responsiveness of the MVC 4 web application by using JavaScript and
jQuery.
Module 11, “Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to
implement authentication and authorization for accessing the MVC 4 web application.
Module 12, “Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application", explains how to build
an MVC 4 web application that is stable, reliable, resists malicious attacks, and persists
information about users and preferences.
Module 13, “Using Windows Azure Web Services in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications",
provides an overview on Windows Azure and also explains how to design and write a Windows
Azure service.
Module 14, “Implementing Web APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications”, provides an
overview of Web API and explains how to develop a Web API and call it from other
applications.
Module 15, “Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", describes how to
create HTTP Modules and HTTP Handlers to handle requests in an MVC 4 web application.
The module also describes the use of Web Sockets in creating a live data feed in the MVC 4
web application.
Module 16, “Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to deploy a
completed MVC application to a web server or Windows Azure.
Course Materials
The following materials are included with your kit:
Course Handbook: a succinct classroom learning guide that provides the critical technical
information in a crisp, tightly-focused format, which is essential for an effective in-class
learning experience.
Lessons: guide you through the learning objectives and provide the key points that are critical
•
to the success of the in-class learning experience.
Labs: provide a real-world, hands-on platform for you to apply the knowledge and skills
•
learned in the module.
Module Reviews and Takeaways: provide on-the-job reference material to boost knowledge
•
and skills retention.
• Lab Answer Keys: provide step-by-step lab solution guidance.
Course Companion Content on the http://www.microsoft.com/learning/companionmoc

Site:
searchable, easy-to-browse digital content with integrated premium online resources that
supplement the Course Handbook.
Modules: include companion content, such as questions and answers, detailed demo steps
•
and additional reading links, for each lesson. Additionally, they include Lab Review
questions and answers and Module Reviews and Takeaways sections, which contain the
review questions and answers, best practices, common issues and troubleshooting tips with
answers, and real-world issues and scenarios with answers.
Resources: include well-categorized additional resources that give you immediate access to
•
the most current premium content on TechNet, MSDN®, or Microsoft® Press®.
Student Course files on the http://www.microsoft.com/learning/companionmoc Site:

includes the Allfiles.exe, a self-extracting executable file that contains all required files for the
labs and demonstrations.
Course evaluation: At the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to complete an
online evaluation to provide feedback on the course, training facility, and instructor.
•
To provide additional comments or feedback on the course, send an email to
• support@mscourseware.com. To inquire about the Microsoft Certification Program, send
an email to mcphelp@microsoft.com.
Virtual Machine Environment

This section provides the information for setting up the classroom environment to support the
business scenario of the course.
Virtual Machine Configuration

In this course, you will use Microsoft® Hyper-V™ to perform the labs.
Important: At the end of each lab, you must revert the virtual machines to a snapshot. You can
find the instructions for this procedure at the end of each lab.
The following table shows the role of each virtual machine that is used in this course:
Virtual machine Role

20486B-SEA-DEV11 Stand-alone machine
MSL-TMG1 Threat management gateway server
Software Configuration
The following software is installed on each virtual machine:
• Windows 8
• Visual Studio 2012 Ultimate
• Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus
• Microsoft Visio Premium 2010
Course Files
The files associated with the labs in this course are located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Learning\20486\Drives\20486B-SEA-DEV11 folder on the student computers.
Classroom Setup
Each classroom computer will have the same virtual machine configured in the same way.
Course Hardware Level

To ensure a satisfactory student experience, Microsoft Learning requires a minimum equipment
configuration for trainer and student computers in all Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning
Solutions (CPLS) classrooms in which Official Microsoft Learning Product courseware is
taught.
Hardware Level 7
64 bit Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) processor
•
(2.8 Ghz dual core or better recommended)
• Dual 500 GB hard disks 7200 RPM SATA or faster (striped)
• 16 GB RAM
• DVD (dual layer recommended)
• Network adapter with Internet connectivity
• Dual SVGA monitors 17” or larger supporting 1440X900 minimum resolution
• Video adapter that supports 1440 x 900 resolution
• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
• Sound card with amplified speakers
In addition, the instructor computer must be connected to a projection display device that
supports 1280X1024 pixels, 16 bit colors.
MODULE 01: EXPLORING ASP.NET MVC 4

Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Overview of Microsoft Web Technologies
Module Overview
Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4 and the other web technologies of the .NET Framework help you
create and host dynamic, powerful, and extensible web applications. ASP.NET MVC 4 supports
agile, test-driven development and the latest web standards such as HTML 5. To build robust
web applications, you need to be familiar with the technologies and products in the Microsoft
web stack. You also need to know how ASP.NET applications work with IIS, Visual Studio,
SQL Server, Windows Azure, and Windows Azure SQL Database to deliver engaging
webpages to site visitors. To choose a programming language that best suits a set of business
requirements, you need to know how Model-View-Controller (MVC) applications differ from
the other ASP.NET programming models: Web Pages and Web Forms.
The web application that you will design and develop in the labs throughout this course will
help you develop web applications that fulfill business needs.
Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
Describe the role of ASP.NET in the web technologies stack, and how to use ASP.NET to
o
build web applications.
Describe the three programming models available in ASP.NET: Web Pages, Web Forms, and
o
MVC—and select an appropriate model for a given project.
o Distinguish between an MVC Model, an MVC Controller, and an MVC View.
Lesson 1 : Overview of Microsoft Web

Technologies
Before you use ASP.NET MVC 4, you need to know where Microsoft ASP.NET 4.5 fits in the
context of the entire Microsoft web technologies stack. You should know how ASP.NET 4.5
websites are hosted in Internet Information Server 8 (IIS) and Windows Azure, and how they
run server-side code on web servers, and client-side code on web browsers, to help provide rich
and compelling content.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
o Provide an overview of Microsoft web technologies.

o Provide an overview of ASP.NET 4.5.
Provide an overview of client-side web technologies, including AJAX and JavaScript
o
libraries.
o Describe the role of IIS in the Microsoft web technologies stack.
o Describe the role of Windows Azure in the Microsoft web technologies stack.
Introduction to Microsoft Web Technologies
Microsoft provides a broad range of technologies that you can use to create rich web
applications and publish them on intranets and over the Internet. Besides publishing web
applications, you can use these technologies to develop and host websites, which run code both
on the web server and on the user’s web browser.
Developer Tools
You can create simple websites with text and images by using a text editor, such as Notepad.
However, most websites require complex actions

to be performed on the server-side, such as
database operations, email delivery, complex calculations, or graphics rendering. To create such
complex, highly functional, and engaging websites quickly and easily, Microsoft provides the
following tools:
WebMatrix 2. You can use WebMatrix 2 to create static HTML pages and dynamic pages
with ASP.NET, PHP, and Node.js. WebMatrix 2 is a free development tool that you can
install by downloading and using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer (Web PI) from the
o Microsoft website. WebMatrix 2 enables you to develop custom websites based on popular
web applications such as Orchard, Umbraco CMS, and WordPress. Using WebMatrix 2, you
can create ASP.NET Web Pages applications, but not ASP.NET Web Forms or MVC
applications.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. You can use Visual Studio 2012, an Integrated Development
Environment (IDE), to create custom applications based on Microsoft technologies,
o regardless of whether these applications run on the web, on desktops, on mobile devices, or
by using Microsoft cloud services. Visual Studio 2012 has rich facilities for designing,
coding, and debugging any ASP.NET web application, including MVC applications.
Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web. You can use Visual Studio Express 2012 for
Web to create Web Forms or MVC web applications. This is a free tool that does not include
o
all the features of Visual Studio 2012 editions. However, you can use it to create fully
functional MVC websites.
Hosting Technologies
Regardless of the tool you use to build a web application, you must use a web server to host the
web application. When users visit your site, the host server responds by rendering HTML and
returning it to the user’s browser for display. The host server may query a database before it
builds the HTML, and the host server may perform other actions such as sending emails or
saving uploaded files. You need to test the functionality of such user actions on a web server.
When you build a web application by using Visual Studio 2012, you can use Visual Studio
Development Server, the built-in web server to run the application. However, Visual Studio
Development Server cannot host deployed web applications. Therefore, when you finish
building the web application and make it ready for users to access on an intranet or over the
Internet, you must use a fully functional web server such as:
Microsoft Internet Information Server 8. IIS is an advanced website hosting technology. You
can install IIS servers on your local network or perimeter network, or employ IIS servers
o hosted by an Internet service provider (ISP). IIS can host any ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js
websites. You can scale up IIS to host large and busy websites by configuring server farms
that contain multiple IIS servers, all serving the same content.
Windows Azure. Windows Azure is a cloud platform that provides on-demand services to
o build, deploy, host, and manage web applications through Microsoft-managed data centers.
When you use Windows Azure services, you need to pay only for the data that your website
serves. Also, you need not worry about building a scalable infrastructure because Windows
Azure automatically adds resources as your website grows.
Note: There are many other non-Microsoft technologies that you can use to host websites.
The most popular, for example, is Apache. Apache is most frequently run on Linux servers
and it is often paired with MySQL to manage databases and PHP as a server-based web
framework. This configuration is often referred to as the Linux Apache MySQL PHP
(LAMP) web stack.
Note: Windows Azure and IIS can host websites written in ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js. Apache
web servers can be used to host a number of server-side web technologies, including PHP,
Node.js, and Python, but Apache web servers cannot be used to host ASP.NET websites.
Most websites require a database to manage data such as product details, user information, and
discussion topics. You can choose from the following Microsoft technologies to manage your
data:
Microsoft SQL Server 2012. SQL Server 2012 is a premium database server that you can use
to host any database from the simplest to the most complex. SQL Server can scale up to
o support very large databases and very large numbers of users. You can build large SQL
Server clusters to ensure the best availability and reliability. Many of the world’s largest
organizations rely on SQL Server to host data.
Windows Azure SQL Database. SQL Database is a cloud database platform and a part of
Windows Azure. Using SQL Database, you can deploy your database and pay only for the
o
data that you use. You need not worry about managing your database infrastructure because
your database scales up automatically as your website grows.
Microsoft provides a broad range of technologies that you can use to create rich web
applications and publish them on intranets and over the Internet. Besides publishing web
applications, you can use these technologies to develop and host websites, which run code both
on the web server and on the user’s web browser.
Developer Tools
You can create simple websites with text and images by using a text editor, such as Notepad.
However, most websites require complex actions to be performed on the server-side, such as
database operations, email delivery, complex calculations, or graphics rendering. To create such
complex, highly functional, and engaging websites quickly and easily, Microsoft provides the
following tools:
WebMatrix 2. You can use WebMatrix 2 to create static HTML pages and dynamic pages
with ASP.NET, PHP, and Node.js. WebMatrix 2 is a free development tool that you can
o
install by downloading and using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer (Web PI) from the
Microsoft website. WebMatrix 2 enables you to develop custom websites based on popular
web applications such as Orchard, Umbraco CMS, and WordPress. Using WebMatrix 2, you
can create ASP.NET Web Pages applications, but not ASP.NET Web Forms or MVC
applications.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. You can use Visual Studio 2012, an Integrated Development
Environment (IDE), to create custom applications based on Microsoft technologies,
o regardless of whether these applications run on the web, on desktops, on mobile devices, or
by using Microsoft cloud services. Visual Studio 2012 has rich facilities for designing,
coding, and debugging any ASP.NET web application, including MVC applications.
Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web. You can use Visual Studio Express 2012 for
Web to create Web Forms or MVC web applications. This is a free tool that does not include
o
all the features of Visual Studio 2012 editions. However, you can use it to create fully
functional MVC websites.
Hosting Technologies
Regardless of the tool you use to build a web application, you must use a web server to host the
web application. When users visit your site, the host server responds by rendering HTML and
returning it to the user’s browser for display. The host server may query a database before it
builds the HTML, and the host server may perform other actions such as sending emails or
saving uploaded files. You need to test the functionality of such user actions on a web server.
When you build a web application by using Visual Studio 2012, you can use Visual Studio
Development Server, the built-in web server to run the application. However, Visual Studio
Development Server cannot host deployed web applications. Therefore, when you finish
building the web application and make it ready for users to access on an intranet or over the
Internet, you must use a fully functional web server such as:
Microsoft Internet Information Server 8. IIS is an advanced website hosting technology. You
can install IIS servers on your local network or perimeter network, or employ IIS servers
o hosted by an Internet service provider (ISP). IIS can host any ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js
websites. You can scale up IIS to host large and busy websites by configuring server farms
that contain multiple IIS servers, all serving the same content.
Windows Azure. Windows Azure is a cloud platform that provides on-demand services to
build, deploy, host, and manage web applications through Microsoft-managed data centers.
When you use Windows Azure services, you need to pay only for the data that your website
serves. Also, you need not worry about building a scalable infrastructure because Windows
Azure automatically adds resources as your website grows.
o
Note: There are many other non-Microsoft technologies that you can use to host websites.
The most popular, for example, is Apache. Apache is most frequently run on Linux servers
and it is often paired with MySQL to manage databases and PHP as a server-based web
framework. This configuration is often referred to as the Linux Apache MySQL PHP
(LAMP) web stack.
Note: Windows Azure and IIS can host websites written in ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js. Apache
web servers can be used to host a number of server-side web technologies, including PHP,
Node.js, and Python, but Apache web servers cannot be used to host ASP.NET websites.
Most websites require a database to manage data such as product details, user information, and
discussion topics. You can choose from the following Microsoft technologies to manage your
data:
Microsoft SQL Server 2012. SQL Server 2012 is a premium database server that you can use
to host any database from the simplest to the most complex. SQL Server can scale up to
o support very large databases and very large numbers of users. You can build large SQL
Server clusters to ensure the best availability and reliability. Many of the world’s largest
organizations rely on SQL Server to host data.
Windows Azure SQL Database. SQL Database is a cloud database platform and a part of
Windows Azure. Using SQL Database, you can deploy your database and pay only for the
o
data that you use. You need not worry about managing your database infrastructure because
your database scales up automatically as your website grows.
Code Execution Technologies
The code that you write in a developer tool must run in one of two locations:
On the web server. This code has full access to the power of the web server and any
o databases attached to it. It can access the database quickly, send email messages, and render
webpages.
On the user’s web browser. This code responds quickly to user actions, such as mouse clicks,
o
but it is more limited in what it can accomplish without interacting with the web server.
You need to use different technologies to run server-side code and client-side code.
Server-Side Execution
Microsoft ASP.NET 4.5 is a server-side web environment that runs server-side .NET code that
you write in Visual Studio 2012 or WebMatrix 2. The code accesses the database, renders
HTML pages, and returns them to the web browser. The MVC programming model is a part of
ASP.NET 4.5. Other server-side technologies include PHP and Node.js.
Client-Side Execution
Most web browsers can run code written in the JavaScript language. This code is sent to the
browser as text within a rendered HTML page or in a separate .js file. Because JavaScript is
local to the browser, it can respond very quickly to user actions such as clicking, pointing, or
dragging.
Many JavaScript libraries are available to accelerate client code development. For example, the
popular jQuery library makes it simple to access page elements and manipulate them by
changing their style or content. When you use such libraries, you can write functions in a few
lines that would otherwise require hundreds of lines of your own JavaScript code.
ASP.NET applications can also use the Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) technology
on the client computer. You can use AJAX to update a small section of an HTML page, instead
of reloading the entire page from the server. Such partial page updates help make webpages
more responsive and engaging.
Question: If you want to animate a page element, for example, by fading it in, would you write
server-side or client-side code?
Overview of ASP.NET 4.5
You can use ASP.NET 4.5 to develop database-driven, highly-functional, and scalable dynamic
websites that use client-side and server-side code.
You can create many kinds of website with ASP.NET 4.5, for example, web portals, online
shopping sites, blogs, and wikis.
Programming Models
When you use ASP.NET 4.5 to build an application, you are not restricted to a single style of
programming; instead, you can choose from three different programming models. Each
programming model has a typical structure in the
development environment and stores code in different places in the web hierarchy:
Web Pages: When you build a site by using Web Pages, you can write code by using the C#
or Visual Basic programming language. If you write C# code, these pages have a .cshtml file
extension. If you write Visual Basic code, these pages have a .vbhtml file extension.
o ASP.NET runs the code in these pages on the server to render data from a database, respond
to a form post, or perform other actions. This programming model is simple and easy to
learn, and is suited for simple data-driven sites. ASP.NET 4.5 includes Web Pages version
2.0.
Web Forms: When you build a site by using Web Forms, you employ a programming model
with rich server-side controls and a page life cycle that is not unlike building desktop
applications. Built-in controls include buttons, text boxes, and grid views for displaying
o tabulated data. You can also add third-party controls or build custom controls. To respond to
user actions, you can attach event handlers containing code to the server-side controls. For
example, to respond to a click on a button called firstButton, you could write code in the
firstButton_Click() event handler.
MVC: When you build a site by using ASP.NET MVC, you separate server-side code into
three parts:
Model. An MVC model defines a set of classes that represent the object types that the web
application manages. For example, the model for an ecommerce site might include a
▪ Product model class that defines properties such as Description, Catalog Number, Price,
and others. Models often include data access logic that reads data from a database, and
writes data to that database.
o Controllers. An MVC controller is a class that handles user interaction, creates and
modifies model classes, and selects appropriate views. For example, when a user requests
▪
full details about a particular product, the controller creates a new instance of the Product
model class and passes it to the Details view, which displays it to the user.
Views. An MVC view is a component that builds the webpages that make up the web
application’s user interface. Controllers often pass an instance of a model class to a view.
▪
The view displays properties of the model class. For example, if the controller passes a
Product object, the view might display the name of the product, a picture, and the price.
This separation of model, view, and controller code ensures that MVC applications have a
logical structure, even for the most complex sites. It also improves the testability of the
application. Ultimately, ASP.NET MVC enables more control over the generated HTML than
either Web Pages or Web Forms.
Additional Reading: In Lesson 2, Understanding ASP.NET 4.5, you will see how to choose
the most appropriate programming model for a given website project.
The ASP.NET API
Whichever programming model you choose, you have access to classes from the ASP.NET
API. These classes are included in the .NET Framework in namespaces within the System.Web
namespace and can be used to rapidly implement common website functionalities such as:
Configuration. Using Web.config files, you can configure your web application, regardless of
the programming model. Web.config files are XML files with specific tags and attributes that
o the ASP.NET 4.5 runtime accepts. For example, you can configure database connections and
custom error pages in the Web.config file. In code, you can access the configuration through
the System.Web.Configuration namespace.
Authentication and Authorization. Many websites require users to log on by entering a user
name and password, or by providing extra information. You can use ASP.NET membership
providers to authenticate and authorize users, and restrict access to content. You can also
o
build pages that enable users to register a new account, reset a password, recover a lost
password, or perform other account management tasks. Membership providers belong to the
System.Web.Security namespace.
Caching. ASP.NET may take some time to render a complex webpage that may require
multiple database queries or calls to external web services. You can use caching to mitigate
this delay. ASP.NET caches a rendered page in memory, so that it can return the same page
o
to subsequent user requests without having to render it again from the start. In a similar
manner, .NET Framework objects can also be cached. You can access cached pages by using
the System.Runtime.Caching namespace and configure the caches in Web.config.
Compiling ASP.NET Code
Because ASP.NET server-side code uses the .NET Framework, you must write code in a .NET
managed programming language such as C# or Visual Basic. Before running the code, it must
be compiled into native code so that the server CPU can process it. This is a two-stage process:
Compilation to MSIL. When you build a website in Visual Studio, the ASP.NET compiler
creates .dll files with all the code compiled into Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL).
1.
This code is both independent of the language you used to write the application and the CPU
architecture of the server.
Compilation to native code. When a page is requested for the first time, the Common
2.
Language Runtime (CLR) compiles MSIL into native code for the server CPU.
This two-stage compilation process enables components written in different languages to work
together and enables many errors to be detected at build time. Note, however, that pages may
take extra time to render the first time they are requested after a server restart. To avoid this
delay, you can pre-compile the website.
When you use the default compilation model, delays can arise when the first user requests a
page. This is because ASP.NET must compile the page before serving it to the browser. To
avoid such delays and to protect source code, use pre-compilation. When you pre-compile a
site, all the ASP.NET files, including controllers, views, and models, are compiled into a single
.dll file.
Additional Reading: For more information about ASP.NET compilation, see:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=293680&clcid=0x409
Question: Which of the three programming models do you think provides the most control over
the HTML and JavaScript code that is sent to the browser?
Client-Side Web Technologies
Originally, in ASP.NET, and similar technologies like PHP, all the code ran on the web server.
This approach is often practical because the web server usually has immediate access to the
database and more processor power and memory than a typical client computer. However, in
such an approach, every user action requires a round trip between the client and the web server,
and most actions require a complete reload of the page. This can take significant time. To
respond quickly and provide better user experience, you can supplement server-side code with
client-side code
that runs in the web browser.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a simple scripting language that has syntax similar to C#, and it is supported by
most web browsers. A scripting language is not compiled. Instead, a script engine interprets the
code at run time so that the web browser can run the code.
Note: Besides JavaScript, Internet Explorer supports VBScript. There are other scripting
languages also, but JavaScript is supported by virtually every web browser. This is not true of
any other scripting language. Unless your target audience is very limited and you have control
over the browser used by your users, you should use JavaScript because of its almost universal
support.
You can include JavaScript code in your ASP.NET pages, irrespective of the programming
model you choose. JavaScript is a powerful language, but can require many lines of code to
achieve visual effects or call external services. Script libraries contain pre-built JavaScript
functions that help implement common actions that you might want to perform on client-side
code. You can use a script library, instead of building all your own JavaScript code from the
start; using a script library helps reduce development time and effort.
Different browsers interpret JavaScript differently. When you develop an Internet site, you do
not know what browsers site visitors use. Therefore, you must write JavaScript that works
around browser compatibility.
jQuery
jQuery is one of the most popular JavaScript libraries. It provides elegant functions for
interacting with the HTML elements on your page and with cascading style sheet (CSS) styles.
For example, you can locate all the <div> elements on a webpage and change their background
color by using a single line of code. To achieve the same result by using JavaScript only, you
need to write several lines of code and a programming loop. Furthermore, the code you write
may be different for different browsers. Using jQuery, it is easier to write code to respond to
user actions and to create simple animations. jQuery also handles browser differences. You can
use jQuery to call web services on remote computers and update the webpage with the results
returned.
The jQuery project also includes two other JavaScript libraries that extend the base jQuery
library:
jQuery UI. This library includes a set of widgets that you can use to help build a user
interface. There are date pickers, spinners, dialog boxes, autocomplete text boxes, and other
o
widgets. You can also apply themes to your jQuery UI widgets to integrate their colors and
styles with the website branding.
jQuery Mobile. This library makes it easy to provide a user interface for mobile devices such
o as phones and tablets. It renders HTML by using progressive enhancement. For example,
using jQuery Mobile, you can display rich, advanced controls on advanced mobile devices
such as smartphones with large screens, whereas you can display a simpler UI with the same
functionality for older mobile devices with smaller screens.
Note: There are many other JavaScript libraries such as Prototype, Enyo, Ext, and Dojo
Toolkit. If you find any of these better suited to a particular task, or if you have experience in
developing web applications by using them, you can include them in your ASP.NET pages,
instead of jQuery.
AJAX
AJAX is a technology that enables browsers to communicate with web servers asynchronously
by using the XmlHttpRequest object without completely refreshing the page. You can use
AJAX in a page to update a portion of the page with new data, without reloading the entire
page. For example, you can use AJAX to obtain the latest comments on a product, without
refreshing the entire product page.
AJAX is an abbreviation of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is implemented entirely

in JavaScript, and ASP.NET 4.5, by default, relies on the jQuery library to manage AJAX
requests and responses. The code is run asynchronously, which means that the web browser
does not freeze while it waits for an AJAX response from the server. Initially, developers used
XML to format the data returned from the server. More recently, however, developers use
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) as an alternative format to XML.
Question: Can you think of any problems that might arise if you include the jQuery library with
every page in your application?
Internet Information Server 8.0

Every website must be hosted by a web server. A web server receives requests for web content
from browsers, runs any server-side code, and returns webpages, images, and other content.
HTTP is used for communication between the web browser and the web server.
Internet Information Server 8.0 is a web server that can scale up from a small website running
on a single web server to a large website running on a multiple web server farms. Internet
Information Server 8.0 is available with Windows Server 2012.
Internet Information Server 8.0 Features
Internet Information Server 8.0 is tightly integrated with ASP.NET 4.5, Visual Studio 2012, and
Windows Server 2012. It includes the following features:
Deployment Protocols. The advanced Web Deploy protocol, which is built into Visual Studio
o 2012, automatically manages the deployment of a website with all its dependencies.
Alternatively, you can use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to deploy content.
Centralized Web Farm Management. When you run a large website, you can configure a
o load-balanced farm of many IIS servers to scale to large sizes. IIS management tools make it
easy to deploy sites to all servers in the farm and manage sites after deployment.
High Performance Caches. You can configure ASP.NET to make optimal use of the IIS
o caches to accelerate responses to user requests. When IIS serves a page or other content, it
can cache it in memory so that subsequent identical requests can be served faster.
Authentication and Security. IIS supports most common standards for authentication,
o
including Smart Card authentication and Integrated Windows authentication. You can also
use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt security-sensitive communications, such as logon
pages and pages containing credit card numbers.
o ASP.NET Support. IIS is the only web server that fully supports ASP.NET.
Other Server-Side Technologies. You can host websites developed in PHP and Node.js on
o
IIS.
Scaling Up IIS
A single web server has limited scalability because it is limited by its processor speed, memory,
disk speed, and other factors. Furthermore, single web servers are vulnerable to hardware
failures and outages. For example, when a single web server is offline, your website is
unavailable to users.
You can improve the scalability and resilience of your website by hosting it on a multiple server
farm. In such server farms, many servers share the same server name. Therefore, all servers can
respond to browser requests. A load balancing system such as Windows Network Load
Balancing or a hardware-based system such as Riverbed Cascade, distributes requests evenly
among the servers in the server farm. If a server fails, other servers are available to respond to
requests, and thereby, the website availability is not interrupted. IIS servers are designed to
work in such server farms and include advanced management tools for deploying sites and
managing member servers.
Perimeter Networks
Web servers, including IIS, are often located on a perimeter network. A perimeter network has a
network segment that is protected from the Internet through a firewall that validates and permits
incoming HTTP requests. A second firewall, which permits requests only from the web server,
separates the perimeter network from the internal organizational network. Supporting servers,
such as database servers, are usually located on the internal organizational network.
In this configuration, Internet users can reach the IIS server to request pages and the IIS server
can reach the database server to run queries. However, Internet users cannot access the database
server or any other internal computer directly. This prevents malicious users from running
attacks and ensures a high level of security.
IIS Express
Internet Information Server 8.0 Express does not provide all the features of Internet Information
Server 8.0 on Windows Server 2012. For example, you cannot create load-balanced server
farms by using Internet Information Server 8.0 Express. However, it has all the features
necessary to host rich ASP.NET 4.5 websites and other websites on a single server. Internet
Information Server 8.0 Express is included with Windows 8. You can also install it on
Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Vista SP1 and later
by downloading and using the Web Platform Installer (Web PI).
Other Web Servers
Apache is a popular non-Microsoft web server and there are other alternatives such as nginx.
Apache can be installed on Windows Server or Windows client computers to host websites
during development or for production deployments. However, Apache cannot host ASP.NET
websites.
Visual Studio Development Server
Visual Studio 2012 includes a built-in web server, Visual Studio Development Server. When
you open a website in debugging mode, Visual Studio Development Server starts and hosts
your site. If you close the browser or stop debugging, Visual Studio Development Server
automatically stops. Visual Studio Development Server cannot host sites for production and
does not provide all the functionality available in Internet Information Server 8.0 Express. For
example, you cannot configure SSL encryption in Visual Studio Development Server.
Question: If you wanted to host an ASP.NET site you had written for simple testing by a small
team of developers, which of the preceding web servers would you use as a host?
Windows Azure
Windows Azure is a part of Microsoft cloud services for hosting business-critical systems.
When you run code on Windows Azure, the code runs on servers at Microsoft-managed data
centers at locations around the globe. You have two main advantages when you use Windows
Azure to host and deploy your web application:
Flexible Scaling: As the needs of your web application and database grow, extra server
resources are automatically allocated. You do not need to plan for server farms or load
o balancing systems
because these are built into Windows Azure.

Flexible Pricing: With Windows Azure, you can choose a pay-as-you-go pricing model,
o which means that you only pay for the data that you use. This makes Windows Azure very
cost-efficient for small websites. It also makes costs predictable for large websites.
You can use Windows Azure to host the following:
Websites. You can host an entire website on Windows Azure. Windows Azure supports
o websites developed in ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js. You can also deploy websites to
Windows Azure directly from Visual Studio 2012 or WebMatrix 2.
Web services. A web service does not include a user interface like a website. Instead, it
consists of a set of methods that you can call, from other software. You can call web services
o
from mobile devices, desktop applications, and from website code running on the client-side
or the server-side.
Databases. When you use Internet Information Server 8.0 to host a website, you can use SQL
Server to store the website database. When you host a website in Windows Azure, you can
o
use SQL Database, which is a cloud-based database service based on SQL Server, to host
your database.
Virtual servers. You can provision entire virtual servers in Windows Azure to run business-
o critical back office software or use the virtual servers as test environments. Virtual servers in
Windows Azure can run Windows Server or Linux.
Mobile services. If you develop apps for mobile devices such as phones and tablets, you can
o use Windows Azure to host services that underpin them. Such services can provide user
preference storage, data storage and other functions.
Media services. When you use Windows Azure to host media such as audio and video, it is
o automatically available to many types of devices such as computers, mobile phones, and
tablets, and it is encoded in various formats, such as MP4 and Windows Media formats.
Question: How would site visitors know if your site is hosted in Windows Azure or IIS Server?

ASP.NET 4.5 helps you create dynamic websites that use client-side and server-side code. In
addition, with ASP.NET 4.5, you are not restricted to a single style of programming; instead,
you can choose from three different programming models: Web Pages, Web Forms, and MVC.
These programming models differ from each other, and they have their own advantages and
disadvantages in different scenarios. ASP.NET also provides many features that you can use,
regardless of the programming model you choose.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the Web Pages programming model.

o Describe the Web Forms programming model.
o Describe the MVC programming model.
Determine whether to build Web Pages, Web Forms, or MVC web applications, based on
o
customer needs.
Describe the features that can be used in all ASP.NET applications, regardless of the chosen
o
programming model.
Web Pages Applications
Web Pages is the simplest programming model you can choose to build a web application in
ASP.NET. You can use Web Pages to create a website quickly and with little technical
knowledge. There is a single file associated with each webpage that users can request. For each
page, you write HTML, client-side code, and server-side code in the same .cshtml file. The @
symbol is used to distinguish server-side code from HTML and JavaScript. When users request
the page, the ASP.NET runtime compiles and runs the server-side code to render HTML and
returns
that HTML to the web browser for display.
Note: If you want to write server-side code in Visual Basic, you use .vbhtml files, instead of
.cshtml files.
You can use either Visual Studio 2012 or WebMatrix 2 to create Web Pages applications.
ASP.NET 4.5 includes version 2.0 of Web Pages.
The following code example shows HTML and C# code in part of a Web Pages file. The code
displays data from the item object, which is an MVC model class.
A Web Pages Code Example

<h2>Special Offers</h2>
<p>Get the best possible value on Northwind specialty foods by taking advantage
of these
offers:</p>
@foreach (var item in offers) {

<div class="offer-card">
<div class="offer-picture">
@if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(item.PhotoUrl)){
<img src="@Href(item.PhotoUrl) alt="@item.Title"/>
}
</div>
</div>
}
The Web Pages programming model has the following advantages:
o It is simple to learn.
o It provides precise control over the rendered HTML.
o It can be written in WebMatrix 2 or Visual Studio 2012.
Using a Web Pages site has some disadvantages:
o It provides no control over URLs that appear in the Address bar.

o Large websites require a large numbers of pages, each of which must be coded individually.
o There is no separation of business logic, input logic, and the user interface.
Question: Why should web developers need to take control of the URLs that appear in the
Address bar when a visitor browses a Web Pages site?
Web Forms Applications
Web Forms is another programming model that you can choose in ASP.NET. WebMatrix 2
does not support Web Forms, so you must use Visual Studio 2012 to develop a Web Forms
application.
A Web Forms application is characterized by controls, which you can drag from the Visual
Studio toolbox onto each webpage. This method of creating a user interface resembles the
method used in desktop applications.
Web Forms Controls
ASP.NET provides a wide variety of highly-
functional controls that you assemble on Web
Forms. After you add a control to a page, you can write code to respond to user events. For
example, you can use code in a button click event to process a user’s input in a form. The
controls provided include:
o Input controls, such as text boxes, option buttons, and check boxes.
o Display controls, such as image boxes, image maps, and ad rotators.
o Data display controls, such as grid views, form views, and charts.
o Validation controls, which check data entered by the user.
o Navigation controls, such as menus and tree views.
You can also create your own custom controls to encapsulate custom functionality.
Web Forms Code Files
In a Web Forms application, HTML and control markup is stored in files with an .aspx
extension. Server-side C# code is usually written in an associated .cs file called a code-behind
file. For example, a page called Default.aspx usually has a code-behind file called
Default.aspx.cs.
Similarly, when you write custom controls, you store HTML and control markup in an .ascx
file. A control called CustomControl.ascx has a code-behind file called CustomControl.ascx.cs.
Web Forms applications can also contain class files that have the .cs extension.
Note: If you write server-side code in Visual Basic, code-behind files have a .vb extension,
instead of a .cs extension.
Binding Controls to Data
In Web Forms applications, you can easily display data by binding controls to data sources.
This technique removes the necessity to loop through data rows and build displays line-by-line.
For example, to bind a grid view control to a SQL Server database table, you drag a SQL data
source control onto the Web Form, and use a dialog to bind the grid view to the data source.
When the page is requested, ASP.NET runs the query on the data source and merges the
returned rows of data with the Web Forms page.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Web Forms
The Web Forms programming model has the following advantages:
o You can design your page visually by using server controls and Design View.
You can use a broad range of highly functional controls that encapsulate a lot of
o
functionality.
o You can display data without writing many lines of server-side code.
The user interface in the .aspx file is separated from input and business logic in the code-
o
behind files.
Using a Web Forms site has some disadvantages:
The ASP.NET Web Forms page life cycle is an abstraction layer over HTTP and can behave
o in unexpected ways. You must have a complete understanding of this life cycle, to write code
in the correct event handlers.
o You do not have precise control over markup generated by server-side controls.
Controls can add large amounts of markup and state information to the rendered HTML page.
o
This increases the time taken to load pages.
Question: Why should web developers be concerned about the markup and state information
that ASP.NET Web Forms controls add to a rendered HTML page?
MVC Applications
MVC is another programming model available in ASP.NET. MVC applications are

characterized by a strong separation of business logic, data access code, and the user interface
into Models, Controllers, and Views. ASP.NET 4.5 includes MVC version 4.0.
You cannot use WebMatrix to create MVC applications.
Models
Each website presents information about different kinds of objects to site visitors. For example,
a
publisher’s website may present information about books and authors. A book includes
properties such as the title, a summary, and the number of pages. An author may have
properties such as a first name, a last name, and a short biography. Each book is linked to one or
more authors.
When you write an MVC website for a publisher, you would create a model with a class for
books and a class for authors. These model classes would include the properties described and
may include methods such as “buy this book” or “contact this author”. If books and authors are
stored in a database, the model can include data access code that can read and change records.
Models are custom .NET classes and store code in .cs files.
Views
Each website must render HTML pages that a browser can display. This rendering is completed
by Views. For example, in the publishing site, a View may retrieve data from the Book Model
and render it on a webpage so that the user can see the full details. In MVC applications, Views
create the user interface.
Views are markup pages that store both HTML and C# code in .cshtml files. This means that
they are like Web Pages, but they include only user interface code. Other logic is separated into
Models and Controllers.
Controllers
Each website must interact with users when they click buttons and links. Controllers respond to
user actions, load data from a model, and pass it to a view, so that it will render a webpage. For
example, in the publishing site, when the user double-clicks a book, he or she expects to see full
details of that book. The Book Controller receives the user request, loads the book model with
the right book ID, and passes it to the Book Details View, which renders a webpage that
displays the book. Controllers implement input logic and tie Models to the right Views.
Controllers are .NET classes that inherit from the System.Web.Mvc.Controller class and store
code in .cs files.
Advantages and Disadvantages of MVC
The MVC programming model has the following advantages:
o Views enable the developer to take precise control of the HTML that is rendered.
o You can use the Routing Engine to take precise control of URLs.
Business logic, input logic, and user interface logic are separated into Models, Controllers,
o
and Views.
o Unit testing techniques and Test Driven Development (TDD) are possible.
Using an MVC site has some disadvantages:
o MVC is potentially more complex to understand than Web Pages or Web Forms.
MVC forces you to separate your concerns (models, views, and controllers). Some
o
programmers may find this challenging.
o You cannot visually create a user interface by dragging controls onto a page.
o You must have a full understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to develop Views.
Question: When a user makes a request for a particular product in your product catalog, which
component receives the request first: a model, a controller, or a view?
Discussion: ASP.NET Application Scenarios
The following scenarios describe some requirements for websites. In each case, discuss which
programming model you would choose to implement the required functionality.
Database Front-End
Your organization has its own customer relationship management system that stores data in a
SQL Server database. Your team of developers wrote the user interface in Visual Studio 2012
as a desktop application. The directors now require that all computers should be able to access
the
application even when the desktop client
application is not installed. Because all computers have a browser, you have decided to write a
web application in ASP.NET to enable this.
E-Commerce Site
You are a consultant for a large software organization. You have been asked to architect an e-
commerce website that will enable customers to browse the entire catalog of software packages,
download the packages, and purchase licenses. The company has a large team of developers
who are familiar with .NET object-oriented programming. The company policy is to use Test
Driven Development for all software.
Website for a Small Charitable Trust
Your friend works for a charitable organization and asks your advice about a website. Your
friend does not have any budget to engage a consultant, but has created websites by using
Microsoft FrontPage. Your friend wants to include a database of merchandise that site visitors
can browse and purchase.
Shared ASP.NET Features
ASP.NET also includes a range of features that are available regardless of the programming
model that you use. This means that if you are familiar with these features from working with
Web Pages or Web Forms, your knowledge can be used in MVC applications also.
Configuration
When you configure an ASP.NET site, you can control how errors are handled, how the site
connects to databases, how user input is validated, and many other settings. You can configure
ASP.NET sites by creating and editing Web.config
files. The Web.config file in the root folder of your site configures the entire site, but you can
override this configuration at lower levels by creating Web.config files in sub-folders.
Web.config files are XML files with a set of elements and attributes that the ASP.NET runtime
accepts.
An Example Web.config File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="aspnet:UseTaskFriendlySynchronizationContext" value="true" />
<add key="webpages:Version" value="2.0.0.0" />
<add key="webpages:Enabled" value="false" />
<add key="PreserveLoginUrl" value="true" />
<add key="ClientValidationEnabled" value="true" />
<add key="UnobtrusiveJavaScriptEnabled" value="true" />
</appSettings>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="ApplicationServices"
connectionString="Data Source=
.\SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=SSPI;
AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|aspnetdb.mdf;User Instance=true"
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>
</connectionStrings>
<system.web>
<customErrors mode="RemoteOnly" defaultRedirect="~/Error.html" />
<authentication mode="Forms">
<forms loginUrl="~/Account/Login" timeout="2880">
</forms>
</authentication>
<pages>
<namespaces>
<add namespace="System.Web.Helpers" />
<add namespace="System.Web.Mvc" />
<add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Ajax" />
<add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Html" />
<add namespace="System.Web.Routing" />
<add namespace="System.Web.WebPages" />
<add namespace="System.Web.Optimization"/>
</namespaces>
</pages>
</system.web>
</configuration>
If you need to access configuration values at runtime in your server-side .NET code, you can
use the System.Web.Configuration namespace.
Authentication
Many websites identify users through authentication. This is usually done by requesting and
checking credentials such as a user name and password, although authentication can be done by
using more sophisticated methods, such as using smart cards. Some sites require all users to
authenticate before they can access any page, but it is common to enable anonymous access to
some pages and require authentication only for sensitive or subscription content.
ASP.NET supports several mechanisms for authentication. For example, if you are using
Internet Explorer on a Windows computer, ASP.NET may be able to use Integrated Windows
authentication. In this mechanism, your Windows user account is used to identify you. When
you build Internet sites, you cannot be sure that users have Windows, a compatible browser, or
an accessible account, so Forms Authentication is often used. Forms Authentication is
supported by many browsers and it can be configured to check credentials against a database,
directory service, or other user account stores.
Membership and Roles
In many Internet sites, for example, Facebook and Twitter, users can create their own accounts
and set credentials. In this manner, your site can support a large number of members without
requiring a huge amount of administrative effort because administrators do not create accounts.
In ASP.NET, a membership provider is a component that implements user account management

features. Several membership providers are supported by ASP.NET, such as the SQL
Membership Provider, which uses a SQL database to store user accounts. You can also create a
custom membership provider, inheriting from one of the default providers, if you have unique
requirements.
When you have more than a few users, you may want to group them into roles with different
levels of access. For example, you might create a “Gold Members” role containing user
accounts with access to the best special offers. ASP.NET role providers enable you to create
and populate roles with the minimum of custom code.
You can enable access to pages on your website for individual user accounts or for all members
of a role. This process is known as authorization.
State Management
Web servers and web browsers communicate through HTTP. This is a stateless protocol in
which each request is separate from requests before and after it. Any values from previous
requests are not automatically remembered.
However, when you build a web application, you must frequently preserve values across
multiple page requests. For example, if a user places a product in a shopping cart, and then
clicks “Check Out”, this is a separate web request, but the server must preserve the contents of
that shopping cart; otherwise, the shopping cart will be emptied and the customer will buy
nothing. ASP.NET provides several locations where you can store such values or state
information across multiple requests.
Caching
An ASP.NET page is built dynamically by the ASP.NET runtime on the web server. For
example, in a Web Pages application, the runtime must execute the C# code in the page to
render HTML to return it to the browser. That C# code may perform complex and time-
consuming operations. It may run multiple queries against a database or call services on remote
servers. You can mitigate these time delays by using ASP.NET caches.
For example, you can use the ASP.NET page cache to store the rendered version of a
commonly requested page in the memory of the web server. The front page of your product
catalog may be requested hundreds or thousands of times a day by many users. If you cache the
page in memory the first time it is rendered, the web server can serve it to most users very
rapidly, without querying the database server and building the page from scratch.
Question: Can you think of other facilities that all ASP.NET applications might need,
regardless of the programming model they use?

You need to know how models, views, and controllers work together to render HTML, and how
the structure of MVC applications determines the display of information in a Visual Studio
2012 project. You can examine the new features of MVC 4, included in ASP.NET 4.5, to build
rich and engaging applications.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe models, views, and controllers.

o Explore the main features of an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application in Visual Studio.
o Describe the new features of ASP.NET MVC 4.
Models, Views, and Controllers

Models represent data and the accompanying business logic, controllers interact with user
requests and implement input logic, and views build the user interface. By examining how a
user request is processed by ASP.NET MVC 4, you can understand how the data flows through
models, views, and controllers before being sent back to the browser.
Models and Data
A model is a set of .NET class that represents objects handled by your website. For example,
the
model for an e-commerce application may
include a Product model class with properties such as Product ID, Part Number, Catalog
Number, Name, Description, and Price. Like any .NET class, model classes can include a
constructor, which is a procedure that runs when a new instance of that class is created. You can
also include other procedures, if necessary. These procedures encapsulate the business logic.
For example, you can write a Publish procedure that marks the Product as ready-to-sell.
Most websites store information in a database. In an MVC application, the model includes code
that reads and writes database records. ASP.NET MVC works with many different data access
frameworks. However, the most commonly used framework is the Entity Framework version
5.0.
Controllers and Actions
A controller is a .NET class that responds to web browser requests in an MVC application.
There is usually one controller class for each model class. Controllers include actions, which are
methods that run in response to a user request. For example, the Product Controller may
include a Purchase action that runs when the user clicks the Add To Cart button in your web
application.
Controllers inherit from the System.Web.Mvc.Controller base class. Actions usually return a
System.Web.Mvc.ActionResult object.
Views and Razor
A view is, by default, a .cshtml or .vbhtml file that includes both HTML markup and
programming code. A view engine interprets view files, runs the server-side code, and renders
HTML to the web browser. Razor is the default view engine in ASP.NET MVC 4, but
ASP.NET MVC 4 also supports the ASPX view engine. Additionally, you can install alternate
view engines such as Spark and NHaml. The Razor view engine identifies server-side code by
searching for the @ symbol, as the following code example demonstrates.
The following lines of code are part of an ASP.NET MVC 4 view and use the Razor syntax.
The @ symbol delimits server-side code.
Part of a Razor View

<h2>Details</h2>
<fieldset>
<legend>Comment</legend>
<div class="display-label">
@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Subject)
</div>
<div class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model => model.Subject)
</div>
<div class="display-label">
@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Body)
</div>
<div class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model => model.Body)
</div>
</fieldset>
Often, the view displays properties of a model class. In the preceding code example, the
Subject property and Body property are incorporated into the page.
Request Life Cycle
The Request life cycle comprises a series of events that happen when a web request is
processed. The following steps illustrate the process that MVC applications follow to respond to
a typical user request. The request is for the details of a product with the ID “1”:
1. The user requests the web address: http://www.adventureworks.com/product/display/1

The MVC routing engine examines the request and determines that it should forward the
2.
request to the Product Controller and the Display action.
The Display action in the Product Controller creates a new instance of the Product model
3.
class.
4. The Product model class queries the database for information about the product with ID “1”.
The Display action also creates a new instance of the Product Display View and passes the
5.
Product Model to it.
The Razor view engine runs the server-side code in the Product Display View to render
6. HTML. In this case, the server-side code inserts properties such as Title, Description,
Catalog Number, and Price into the HTML.
7. The completed HTML page is returned to the browser for display.
Question: If you wanted to write some code that renders data from your products catalog into
an HTML table, would you place that code in a model, a view, a controller, or a JavaScript
function?
Demonstration: How to Explore an MVC Application

In this demonstration, you will see how to use a sample photo sharing application to explore the
structure of an MVC website.
Demonstration Steps
In the Solution Explorer pane of the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio
window, expand PhotoSharingSample, and then note that the PhotoSharingSample
1.
application does not have the default.htm, the default.aspx, or the default.cshtml files to act
as a home page.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under PhotoSharingSample, expand Controllers, and then
2.
click HomeController.cs.
In the HomeController.cs code window, locate the following code.
Public ActionResult Index()
{
3. return View();
}
Note: This code block represents an action that will return a view called Index.
4. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, and then expand Photo.
5. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Photo, click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
<h2>@ViewBag.Title</h2>
<p>
6. @Html.ActionLink(“Create New”, “Create”)
</p>
Note: This code block represents the View that renders the home page.
On the toolbar of the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
7.
Internet Explorer.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, note that the default home page is
8.
displayed.
9. On the taskbar, click the Microsoft Visual Studio icon.
In the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio window, in the Solution Explorer
10.
pane, expand App_Start, and then click RouteConfig.cs.
In the RouteConfig.cs code window, locate the following code.
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
11. url: “{controller}/{action}/{id}",
)
Note: This code block represents the default route that forwards requests to the specified
controller.
12. On the taskbar, click the Internet Explorer icon.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, type the URL
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/home/index, and then click the Go to button.
13.
Note: The browser window displays the Home page of the
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/home/index web application.
In the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio window, in the Solution Explorer
15.
pane, expand Models, and then click Photo.cs.
In the Photo.cs code window, locate the following code.
[Required]
16. public string Title { get; set;}
Note: This code block represents the Title property for a photo stored in the application.
17. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click PhotoController.cs.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, locate the following code.
18.
public class PhotoController : Controller
Note: This code block represents that the PhotoController class inherits the
System.Web.MVC.Controller base class.
In thePhotoController.cs code window, locate the following code.
public ActionResult Details
(int id = 0)
{
Photo photo = db.Photos.Find(id);
if (photo == null)
19. {
return HttpNotFound();
}
return View("Details", photo);
}
Note: This code block represents the Details action of the Photo Controller.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, expand Photo, and then click
20.
Details.cshtml.
In the Details.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
<h2>"@Model.Title"</h2>
21.
Note: The Razor view engine runs this code and renders the Photo Title property that you
viewed in the model.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, type
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/photo/details/2, and then click the Go to button.
23.
Note: The photo with ID 2 is displayed in the browser window. Note that the title of the
photo is rendered at the top.
24. In the Windows Internet Explorer window, click the Close button.
In the PhotoSharingSample (Running) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the
25.
Close button.
New Features of ASP.NET MVC 4

ASP.NET MVC 4 includes several new features, such as the ASP.NET Web API, mobile
features, display modes, asynchronous controllers, OAuth and OpenID support, and bundling
and minification.
ASP.NET Web API. The ASP.NET Web API makes it easy to create a set of web services
that can respond to browser requests by using simple HTTP verbs such as GET, POST, and
DELETE. Using the Web API, you can build the back-end web services that a client-specific
o web
application can call. Building web applications by using client-specific HTML pages and the
Web API is an alternative to using ASP.NET MVC.
Mobile features. As smartphones and tablets become ubiquitous, you should ensure that your
website displays well on all screen sizes, resolutions, color depths, and so on. ASP.NET
MVC 4.0 includes several new features to make this easier. For example, the jQuery Mobile
o script library renders a rich user interface for smartphone browsers, but simpler controls for
older models of phones. You can use the new Mobile Project Template that uses jQuery
Mobile to create sites specifically for mobile devices. Alternatively, you can add mobile-
specific views to your MVC project.
Display modes. Display modes enable you to easily select a view based on the web browser
that made the request. Display modes help render HTML for mobile devices and they can be
o used to display content on unusual desktop browsers. When you add a display mode for a
particular browser, you override the views, template views, and partial views that are used to
render HTML.
Asynchronous controllers. Usually, a controller action renders synchronously. If the action
takes a long time to run, the user has to wait because the action uses a single thread. With
o asynchronous actions, you can call a long-running method on a separate thread and wait for
the results to be returned. This enables an action to complete and respond to the user before
the results are returned.
Support for OAuth and OpenID standards. Using the OAuth and OpenID standards to
identify users connected to the web application over the Internet, you can call the services of
a third-party site to check the credentials of a user. You can trust the identity verified by the
o
external site, and then use it to authorize access to internal resources. Using these
technologies, you can, for example, enable users to access internal resources by logging on
with their Windows Live account.
Bundling and minification. When a browser requests a webpage, the server often returns the
page with a cascading style sheet and one or more JavaScript files. ASP.NET MVC 4.0 can
bundle these separate files into a single file to increase the efficiency of the response. It can
o
also minify these files, by removing white space, shortening variable names, and performing
other actions that save space. This saves time on downloads and both server and client-side
resources, and makes your web application faster.
Question: You want to encourage developers to re-use data from your website in mashups with
Bing Maps. Which of the new features of MVC 4 would you use to make this possible?

Scenario
You are working as a junior developer at Adventure Works. You have been asked by a senior
developer to investigate the possibility of creating a web-based photo sharing application for
your organization’s customers, similar to one that the senior developer has seen on the Internet.
Such an application will promote a community of cyclists who use Adventure Works
equipment, and the community members will be able to share their experiences. This initiative
is intended to increase the popularity of Adventure Works Cycles, and thereby to increase sales.
You have been asked to begin the planning of the application by examining an existing photo
sharing application and evaluating its functionality. You have also been asked to examine
programming models available to ASP.NET developers. To do this, you need to create basic
web applications written with three different models: Web Pages, Web Forms, and MVC. Your
manager has asked you to report on the following specific questions for each programming
model:
o How does the developer set a connection string and data provider?
How does the developer impose a consistent layout, with Adventure Works branding and
o
menus, on all pages in the web application?
How does the developer set a cascading style sheet with a consistent set of color, fonts,
o
borders, and other styles?
How does the developer add a new page to the application and apply the layout and styles to
o
it?
Objectives
After completing this lab, you will be able to:
o Describe and compare the three programming models available in ASP.NET.

Describe the structure of each web application developed in the three programming models—
o
Web Pages, Web Forms, and MVC.
o Select an appropriate programming model for a given set of web application requirements.
Lab Setup
Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Virtual Machine: 20486B-SEA-DEV11
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Note: In Hyper-V Manager, start the MSL-TMG1 virtual machine if it is not already running.
Before starting the lab, you need to enable the Allow NuGet to download missing packages
during build option, by performing the following steps:
o On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
o In the navigation pane of the Options dialog box, click Package Manager.
Under the Package Restore section, select the Allow NuGet to download missing packages
o
during build checkbox, and then click OK.
Exercise 1: Exploring a Photo Sharing Application
Scenario
In this exercise, you will begin by examining the photo sharing application.
The main tasks for this exercise are as follows:
1. Register a user account.

2. Upload and explore photos.
3. Use slideshows.
4. Test the authorization.
Task 1: Register a user account.

Start the virtual machine and log on with the following credentials:
1. o Virtual machine: 20486B-SEA-DEV11

o User name: Admin
o Password: Pa$$w0rd
2. On the Windows 8 Start screen, open Visual Studio 2012, and pin it to the taskbar.
Navigate to the following location to open the PhotoSharingSample.sln file:
3.
o Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod01\PhotoSharingSample
4. Run the web application in non-debugging mode.
Create a new user account with the following credentials:
5. o User name: <A user name of your choice>
o Password: <A password of your choice>
Task 2: Upload and explore photos.
Add the following comment to the Orchard image:

1. o Subject: Just a Test Comment
o Comment: This is a Sample
Add a new photo to the application by using the following information:
2. o Title of the photo: Fall Fungi

o Navigation path to upload the photo: Allfiles (D):\ Labfiles\Mod01\Pictures\fungi.jpg
o Description: Sample Text
3. Verify the description details of the newly added photo.
Task 3: Use slideshows.
1. Use the Slideshow feature.

Add the following images to your list of favorite photos:
2. o Fall Fungi
o Orchard
o Flower
3. View the slideshow of the images selected as favorites.
Task 4: Test the authorization.

1. Log off from the application, and then attempt to add a comment for the Fall Fungi image.
2. Attempt to add a new photo to the Photo Index page.
3. Close the Internet Explorer window and the Visual Studio application.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to understand the functionality of a photo
sharing application, and implement the required application structure in the Adventure Works
photo sharing application.
Exercise 2: Exploring a Web Pages Application
Scenario
In this exercise, you will create a simple Web Pages application and explore its structure.
1. Create a Web Pages application.

2. Explore the application structure.
3. Add simple functionality.
4. Apply the site layout.
Task 1: Create a Web Pages application.
Start Visual Studio 2012 and create a new Web Pages project by using the ASP.NET Web
1.
Site (Razor v2) C# template.
2. Run the new Web Pages application in Internet Explorer and review the Contact page.
3. Stop debugging by closing Internet Explorer.
Task 2: Explore the application structure.
Open the Web.config file and verify that the database provider used by the application is
1.
.NET Framework Data Provider for Microsoft SQL Server Compact.
Verify that the Default.cshtml page and the Contact.cshtml page are linked to the same
2.
layout.
Verify that the Site.css file is used to apply styles to all pages on the site. Note that the
3.
_SiteLayout.cshtml page is linked to the style sheet.
Task 3: Add simple functionality.
Add a new Razor v2 webpage to the application at the root level by using the following
information:
1.
o Webpage name: TestPage.cshtml
Add an H1 element to the TestPage.cshtml page by using the following information:
2.
o Content: This is a Test Page
Add a link to the Default.cshtml page by using the following information:
o Start tag: <a>

3. o Attribute: href = “~/TestPage.cshtml”
o Content: Test Page
o End tag:</a>
4. Save all the changes.
5. Run the website, and view the page you added.
Task 4: Apply the site layout.
1. Add the Razor code block to the TestPage.cshtml file.

In the new code block, set the TestPage to use the following layout:
2.
o Layout: _SiteLayout.cshtml
4. Run the web application in debugging mode and browse to TestPage.chstml.
5. Close all open applications.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple Web Pages application in
Visual Studio.
Exercise 3: Exploring a Web Forms Application
Scenario
In this exercise, you will create a simple Web Forms application and explore its structure.
1. Create a Web Forms application.

4. Apply the master page.
Task 1: Create a Web Forms application.

Start Visual Studio 2012 and create a new Web Forms project, TestWebFormsApplication,
1.
by using the ASP.NET Web Forms Application template.
2. Run the new Web Forms application in Internet Explorer and examine the Contact page.
Open the Web.config file and verify that System.Data.SqlClient is the database provider
1.
that the application uses.
Verify that the ~/Site.Master file contains a common layout for all the pages on the site. Also
2.
verify that the Default.aspx and Contact.aspx pages are linked to the same layout.
Verify that the Site.css file is used to apply styles to all pages on the website. Note that the
3.
Site.Master file uses bundle reference to package the CSS files.
Add a new Web Forms page to the application at the route level by using the following
information:
1.
o Name of the Web Form: TestPage.aspx
Add an H1 element to the TestPage.aspx page by using the following information:
2.
Add a link to the Default.aspx page by using the following information:
o Start tag: <a>

3. o Attribute: href = “TestPage.aspx”
o End tag:</a>
4. Run the website in Internet Explorer and view the newly added Web Form page.
Task 4: Apply the master page.
Add a new attribute to the @ Page directive in the TestPage.aspx file by using the following
information:
1.
o Attribute name: MasterPageFile
o Attribute value: ~/Site.Master
Remove the static markup tags from TestPage.aspx and replace it with a Web Forms Content
2. control by using the following information:
o Start tag: <asp:Content>
o Runat attribute: server
o ID attribute: BodyContent
o ContentPlaceHolderID: MainContent
o Content: <h1>This is a Test Page</h1>
o End tag: </asp:Content>
4. Run the created website and verify the contents of the TestPage.aspx file.
5. Close all open applications.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple Web Forms application
in Visual Studio.
Exercise 4: Exploring an MVC Application
Scenario
In this exercise, you will create a simple MVC application and explore its structure.
1. Create an MVC 4 application.

4. Apply the site layout.
Task 1: Create an MVC 4 application.
Start Visual Studio 2012 and create a new MVC project by using the ASP.NET MVC 4
1.
Web Application template. Choose the Internet Application template.
2. Run the new MVC application in Internet Explorer, and explore the Contact page.
Open the Web.config file and verify whether the database provider is
1.
System.Data.SqlClient.
Verify that the ~/Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml file contains a common layout for all pages
2.
on the website, and how pages link to the layout.
Verify that the Site.css file is used to apply styles to all pages on the website, and note how
3.
the pages link to the style sheet.
Add a new view to the application by using the following information:
1. o Parent folder: /Views/Home

o Name of the view: TestPage.cshtml
o Clear the Use a layout or master page check box.
Add an H1 element to the TestPage.cshtml view by using the following information:
2.
Add an action to the HomeController.cs file by using the following information:
o Procedure name: TestPage

3. o Return type: ActionResult
o Procedure parameters: None
o Return the view "TestPage"
Add a link to the Index.cshtml page by using the following information:
o Start tag: <a>

4. o Attribute: href=” ~/Home/TestPage”
o End tag: </a>
6. Run the website and view the page you added.
1. Open the TestPage.cshtml file and remove the code that sets the Layout = null.
2. In the TestPage.cshtml file, remove all the tags except the <h1> tag and its contents.
4. Run the web application and browse to Test Page.
5. Close all the open applications.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple MVC application in
Visual Studio.
Question: Which of the three programming models has the simplest method of applying a
single layout across multiple pages?
Question: Which of the three programming models has the simplest method of building a user
interface?
Question: Which of the application programming models will you recommend for the photo
sharing application: Web Pages, Web Forms, or MVC?

In this module, you have seen the tools, technologies, and web servers that are available in the
Microsoft web stack, which you can use to build and host web applications for intranets and on
the Internet. You should also be able to distinguish applications written in the three ASP.NET
programming models: Web Pages, Web Forms, and MVC. You should be able to use MVC
applications to render webpages by using models, views, and controllers.
Best Practice: Use Web Pages when you have simple requirements or have developers with
little experience of ASP.NET.
Best Practice: Use Web Forms when you want to create a user interface by dragging controls
from a toolbox onto each webpage or when your developers have experience of Web Forms or
Windows Forms.
Best Practice: Use MVC when you want the most precise control over HTML and URLs, when
you want to cleanly separate business logic, user interface code, and input logic, or when you
want to perform Test Driven Development.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

Troubleshooting
Common Issue
Tip
You add a new view to an MVC application, but when you try to access
the page, you receive an HTTP 404 error.
Additional Reading: For more information about ASP.NET, including forums, blogs, and
third-party tools, visit the official ASP.NET site:
Review Question(s)
Question: Which of the shared features of ASP.NET can you use in Web Pages, Web Forms,
and MVC applications to increase the speed with which frequently-requested pages are returned
to the browser?
Question: You want to create a simple website that shares dates and venues for games for your
sports club members. The sports club has no budget to buy software. Which development
environment should you use to create the site?
Real-world Issues and Scenarios
You have written a web application for a client that sells hats. Visitors to the site will be able to
register, redeem offer vouchers, and purchase hats. You expect site traffic to be steady through
most of the year, but to peak just before Christmas. Should you recommend IIS or Windows
Azure for hosting the site?
MODULE 02: DESIGNING ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB

APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Planning in the Project Design Phase
Lesson 2: Designing Models, Controllers, and Views
Module Overview
Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4 is a programming model that you can use to create powerful and
complex web applications. However, all complex development projects, and large projects in
particular, can be challenging and intricate to fully understand. Without a complete
understanding of the purposes of a project, you cannot develop an effective solution to the
customer’s problem. You need to know how to identify a set of business needs and plan an
MVC web application to meet those needs. The project plan that you create assures stakeholders
that you understand their requirements and communicates the functionality of the web
application, its user interface, structure, and data storage to the developers who will create it. By
writing a detailed and accurate project plan, you can ensure that the powerful features of MVC
are used most effectively to solve a customer’s business problems.
Objectives

Plan the overall architecture of an MVC 4 web application and consider aspects such as state
o
management.
Plan the models, controllers, and views that are required to implement a given set of
o
functional requirements.
Lesson 1 : Planning in the Project Design Phase

Before you and your team of developers plan a Model-View-Controller (MVC) web application
or write any code, you must have a thorough understanding of two things: the business problem
you are trying to solve and the ASP.NET components that you can use to build a solution.
Before designing a web application architecture and its database, you should know how to
identify the requirements that potential users of a web application have.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the various project development models.

Describe how to gather information about project requirements when building MVC 4 web
o
applications.
Determine the functional requirements and business problems when building web
o
applications.
o Explain how to plan the database design when building a web application.
o Describe possible distributed application architectures.
o Describe the options for planning state management in a web application.
o Describe the options for planning globalization and localization of a web application.
o Determine the critical aspects of web application design.
Project Development Methodologies

Developing a web application or intranet application is often a complex process that involves
many developers in different teams performing various roles. To organize the development
process and ensure that everybody in a project works together, you can use a wide range of
development methodologies. These development methodologies describe the phases of the
development project, the roles people take, the deliverables that conclude each phase, and other
aspects of the project. You should choose a development methodology at an early stage in a
project. Many organizations have a standard methodology that they always use for project
development.
Some project development methodologies include the waterfall model, the iterative
development model, the prototyping model, the agile software development model, extreme
programming, and test-driven development.
Waterfall Model
The waterfall model is an early methodology that defines the following phases of a project:
Feasibility analysis. In this phase, planners and developers study and determine the
o
approaches and technologies that can be used to build the software application.
Requirement analysis. In this phase, planners and analysts interview the users, managers,
o
administrators, and other stakeholders of the software application to determine their needs.
Application design. In this phase, planners, analysts, and developers record a proposed
o
solution.
Coding and unit testing. In this phase, developers create the code and test the components
o
that make up the system individually.
Integration and system testing. In this phase, developers integrate the components that they
o
have built and test the system as a whole.
Deployment and maintenance. In this phase, developers and administrators deploy the
o
solution so that users can start using the software application.
The waterfall model classifies the development project into distinct phases with a clear
definition of deliverables for each phase. The model also emphasizes the importance of testing.
However, the customer does not receive any functional software for review until late in the
project. This makes it difficult to deal with changes to the design in response to beta feedback
or manage altered circumstances.
Iterative Development Model
When you use an iterative development model, you break the project into small parts. For each
part, you perform the activities related to all the stages of the waterfall model. The project is
built up stage by stage, with thorough testing at each stage to ensure quality.
In an iterative project, you can perform corrective action at the end of each iteration. These
corrections might reflect a better understanding of the business problems, insightful user
feedback, or a better understanding of the technologies that you used to build the solution.
Because requirements are added at the end of each iteration, iterative projects require a great
deal of project management effort and frequently feature an overrun of planned efforts and
schedule.
Prototyping Model
The prototyping model is suitable for a project where you begin with a few or meagerly defined
business requirements. This situation occurs when the customers or stakeholders have only a
vague understanding of their needs and how to solve them. In this approach, developers create a
simplified version of the software application, and then seek feedback from stakeholders. This
feedback on the prototype is used to define the detailed requirements, which developers use in
the next iteration to build a solution that matches the needs of stakeholders to better help them
perform their jobs.
After two or more iterations, when both stakeholders and developers reach a consensus on the
requirements, a complete solution is built and tested. The prototyping model, however, can lead
to a poorly-designed application because at no stage in the project is there a clear focus on the
overall architecture.
Agile Software Development Model
The waterfall model, iterative development model, and prototyping model are based on the
premise that business requirements and other factors do not change from the beginning to the
end of the project. In reality, this assumption is often invalid. Agile software development is a
methodology designed to integrate changing circumstances and requirements throughout the
development process. Agile projects are characterized by:
Incremental development. Software is developed in rapid cycles that build on earlier cycles.
o
Each iteration is thoroughly tested.
Emphasis on people and interactions. Developers write code based on what people do in
o
their role, rather than what the development tools are good at.
Emphasis on working software. Instead of writing detailed design documents for
o stakeholders, developers write solutions that stakeholders can evaluate at each iteration to
validate if it solves a requirement.
Close collaboration with customers. Developers discuss with customers and stakeholders on
o
a day-to-day basis to check requirements.
Extreme Programming
Extreme programming evolved from agile software development. In extreme programming, the
preliminary design phase is reduced to a minimum and developers focus on solving a few
critical tasks. As soon as these critical tasks are finalized, developers test the simplified solution
and obtain feedback from stakeholders. This feedback helps developers identify the detailed
requirements, which evolve over the project life cycle.
Extreme programming defines a user story for every user role. A user story describes all the
interactions that a user with a specific role might perform with the completed application. The
collection of all the user stories for all user roles describes the entire application.
In extreme programming, developers often work in pairs. One developer writes the code and the
other developer reviews the code to ensure that it uses simple solutions and adheres to best
practices. Test-driven development is a core practice in extreme programming.
Additional Reading: For more information about the extreme programming model, go to
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288945&clcid=0x409.
Test Driven Development
In test-driven development (TDD), developers write test code as their first task in a given
iteration. For example, if you want to write a component that stores credit card details, you
begin by writing tests that such a component would pass. These may be whether it checks the
number formats correctly, whether it writes strings to a database table correctly, or whether it
calls banking services correctly. After you define the tests, you write the component to pass
those tests.
In subsequent iterations, the credit card tests remain in place. This ensures that if you break the
credit card functionality, perhaps by refactoring code or by adding a new constructor, you find
this out quickly because the tests fail.
In Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, you can define a test project, within the same solution as the
main project, to store and run unit tests. After you write the tests, you can run them singly or in
groups after every code change. Because MVC projects have the model, view, and controller
code in separate files, it is easy to create unit tests for all aspects of application behavior. This is
a major advantage of MVC over Web Pages and Web Forms.
Unified Modeling Language
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is an industry standard notation to record the design of
any application that uses object-oriented technology. UML is not a development model. Rather,
UML diagrams are often used for planning and documenting application architecture and
components, across all project development methodologies. When you use UML to design and
record an application, you create a range of diagrams with standard shapes and connectors.
These diagrams can be divided into three classes:
Behavior diagrams. These diagrams depict the behavior of users, applications, and
o
application components.
Interaction diagrams. These diagrams are a subset of behavior diagrams that focus on the
o
interactions between objects.
Structure diagrams. These diagrams depict the elements of an application that are
o
independent of time. This means they do not change through the lifetime of the application.
Question: What aspects of agile software development and extreme programming might be of
concern to customers? What aspects might reassure them?
Gathering Requirements
When a project is commissioned, you need a vision of the solution. The vision can often be
vague and require in-depth investigation before you can add details and ensure that all
stakeholders’ requirements are covered by the web application that you build. These
requirements can be of two types:
Functional requirements. These requirements describe how the application behaves and
responds to users. Functional requirements are often called behavioral requirements. They
include:
o User interface requirements. These requirements describe how the user interacts with an
▪
application.
▪ Usage requirements. These requirements describe what a user can do with the application.
Business requirements. These requirements describe how the application will fulfill
▪
business functions.
Technical requirements. These requirements describe technical features of the application
o and relate to availability, security, or performance. These requirements are sometimes called
non-functional or non-behavioral requirements.
You usually gather requirements by interviewing stakeholders such as users, administrators,

other developers, board members, budget holders, and team managers. Each of these groups
will have a different set of priorities that the application needs to fulfill.
Usage Scenarios and Use Cases
A common method by which you can build a set of user interface requirements, business
requirements, and usage requirements is to ask users what they will do with the web application
that you build. You can record these actions as usage scenarios and use cases.
A usage scenario is a specific real-world example, with names and suggested input values, of an
interaction between the application and a user. The following is a simple example:
1. Roger Lengel clicks the Add Photo link on the main site menu.
Roger provides the input, RogerL, in the User name box and the password in the Password
2.
box to authenticate on the site.
3. Roger types the title, Sunset, for the photo.
4. Roger browses to the JPEG file for his new photo.
5. Roger clicks the Upload button.
6. The web application stores the new photo and displays the photo gallery to Roger.
A use case is similar to a usage scenario, but is more generalized. Use cases do not include user
names or input values. They describe multiple paths of an interaction, which depends on what
the user provides as input or other values. The following is a simple example:
1. The user clicks the Add Photo link on the main site menu.
2. If the user is anonymous, the logon page is shown and the user provides credentials.
3. If the credentials are correct, the CreatePhoto view is displayed.
4. The user types a title.
5. The user specifies the photo file to upload.
6. The user optionally types a description for the photo.
7. The user clicks the Upload button.
The web application stores the new photo and displays the photo gallery to the user.
8.
Note: Similar to verbal descriptions, you can use UML Use Case diagrams to record the use
cases for your web application.
By analyzing usage scenarios and use cases, you can identify functional requirements of all
types. For example, from the preceding use case, you can identify the following user interface
requirement: The webpage that enables users to create a new photo must include Title and
Description text boxes, a file input control for the photo file, and an Upload button to save the
photo.
Agile Requirements Modeling
In a traditional waterfall model or iterative development model, developers and analysts

investigate and record the precise and detailed functional and technical requirements at an early
stage of the project, which do not change later. By contrast, in an agile development model-
based project, developers recognize that requirements can change at any time during
development. Requirements analysis is therefore characterized as follows:
Initial requirement modeling. In the initial design phase, developers identify and record a few
o
broad use cases in an informal manner without full details.
Just-in-time modeling. Before writing code that implements a use case, a developer discusses
it with the relevant users. At this point, the developer adds full details to the use case. In an
o
agile development project, developers talk to users and other stakeholders at all times, and
not just at the beginning and end of the project.
Acceptance testing. An acceptance test is a test that the application must pass for all
stakeholders to accept and sign off the application. When you identify a functional
o
requirement, you can also specify a corresponding acceptance test that must be run to ensure
that the requirements are met.
User Stories in Extreme Programming
In extreme programming projects, developers perform even less functional requirement analysis
at the beginning of the project, compared with other development models. They create user
stories, instead of use cases or user scenarios. A user story is a very broad example of an
interaction between the application and a user, and it is often stated in a single sentence as the
following example illustrates:
o Users can upload photos and give new photos a title and a description.
User stories contain just the minimal details to enable developers to estimate the effort involved
in developing it. Extreme programmers discuss each user story with stakeholders just before
they write code to implement each user story.
Question: If a customer asks you to ensure 95% availability, is this a functional requirement or
a technical requirement?
Planning the Database Design

When you have a good understanding of the functional requirements and technical requirements
of the proposed web application, you can start designing the physical implementation of the
application. One of the most important physical objects to plan for is one or more databases.
Although not all web applications use databases for information storage, they are an underlying
object for a majority of sites and you will use them in most of your projects.
Logical Modeling
You can begin your data design at a high level by creating UML Domain Model diagrams and
Logical Data Model (LDM) diagrams.
A domain model diagram, also known as a conceptual data model, shows the high-level
conceptual objects that your web application manages. For example, in an e-commerce web
application, the domain model includes the concepts of customers, shopping carts, and products.
The domain model does not include details of the properties each concept has, but shows the
relationships between concepts. Use the domain model to record your initial conversations with
stakeholders.
In essence, an LDM is a domain model diagram with extra details added. You can use LDM
diagrams to fill in more details, such as properties and data types, for the concepts that you
defined in the domain model. Note that the objects in the LDM do not correspond to tables in
the database. For example, the shopping cart object may display data from both the customer
database and product database tables.
Physical Database Structure
You should consider the following database objects in your project plan:
Tables. These are the fundamental storage objects in a database. When you define a table,
you need to specify the columns that each table has. For each column, you must define a data
type such as integer, string, usually the nvarchar type in SQL Server, or date and time.
o
You should also define the primary key for the table—the value of this column uniquely
identifies each record and is essential for defining the relationships with records in other
tables.
Views. These are common presentations of data in tables and are based on queries. For
o
example, a view can join two tables, such as a products table and a stock levels table.
Stored procedures. These are common sequences of database operations that you define in
o the database. Some operations are complex and might involve a complex transformation of
the data. You can define a stored procedure to implement such a complex routine.
Security. You need to consider how the web application will authenticate with the database
o
server and how you will authorize access to each database table.
In UML, a physical data model is a diagram that depicts tables, columns, data types and
relationships between tables.
Working with Database Administrators
Sometimes, the developer team has full control over the database that underlies the web
application. This happens, for example, when the organization is small or when the web
application has a separate database server with no business-critical data. However, in larger
organizations or in projects where the database stores critical business information, there may
be a dedicated team of database administrators (DBAs). These DBAs are usually highly skilled
in database design and administration, and their job is to ensure data integrity based on the
organization’s data storage policy.
If your project database is administered by the DBA team, it is essential to communicate well
with them. You need to consult with DBAs for their requirements. They frequently impose a list
of technical requirements that other stakeholders may not understand. As you build and deploy
the web application, DBAs are responsible for creating databases on the right servers or clusters
and assigning permissions. DBAs are critical contributors in delivering the web application.
Database Design in Agile Development and Extreme Programming
Agile development and extreme programming are characterized by a relatively small amount of
initial planning and documentation, and acknowledge that requirements are likely to change
throughout the development project. If you are working by using these development
methodologies, you will only create domain models during the initial planning phase of your
project. You do not develop LDMs or physical data models until you write code that
implements the functional requirements. During the development phase, you will discuss
requirements with users and DBAs and create LDMs and physical data models just before you
write the code.
In agile development and extreme programming, the database design changes throughout the
project until deployment. Therefore, developers should be able to alter the database whenever
necessary without consulting DBAs or complying with complex data policies. For this reason,
you should use a separate database hosted on a dedicated development server.
In some cases, the development project works with a database that already exists. For example,
you may be developing a web application that presents and edits information from the company
employee database on the intranet. In such cases, the database does not change as the code is
developed, but functional and technical requirements may still change. You should copy the
database to an isolated development database server to ensure that your developing code does
not erroneously modify business-critical data.
Question: You want to implement a shopping cart in your web application. How many logical
data models are required? How many database tables are required?
Planning for Distributed Applications
For small web application with less user traffic levels, you can choose to host all the
components of your web application on a single server.
However, as your web application grows, a distributed deployment, in which different servers
host separate components of the application, is often used. Distributed web applications often
use a layered architecture:
Presentation layer. Components in this layer implement the user interface and presentation
logic. If you are building an MVC web application, views and
o
controllers make up your presentation layer.
Business logic layer. Components in this layer implement high-level business objects such as
o products, or customers. If you are building an MVC web application, models make up your
business logic layer.
Data access layer. Components in this layer implement database access operations and
abstract database objects, such as tables, from business objects. For example, a product
business object may include data from both the Products and StockLevels database tables. If
o
you are building an MVC web application, models often make up both business logic and
data access layers. However, with careful design and coding practices, it is possible to
refactor code to separate these layers.
o Database layer. This layer has the database itself.
If you implement such a layered architecture in your web application, you can host each layer
on separate servers. Often, for example, the presentation layer is hosted on one or more IIS
servers, the business logic and data access layers are hosted on dedicated middle-tier servers,
and the database is hosted on a dedicated SQL Server. This approach has the following
advantages:
You can specify server hardware that closely matches each role. For example, a server that
o
hosts business logic components requires good memory and processing resources.
You can dedicate multiple servers to each role to ensure that a single server failure does not
o
cause an interruption in service.
Only the web servers must be on the perimeter network. Both middle-tier servers and
o
database servers can be protected by two firewalls without direct access from the Internet.
Alternatively, you can host middle-tier layers and databases on a cloud service, such as
o
Windows Azure.
Communication Between Layers
When a single server hosts all the components of a web application, the presentation, business
logic, and data access components run in a single process in the web server memory.
Communication between components is not an issue. However, when you run different layers
on different servers, you must consider two factors:
o How does each layer exchange information and messages?

o How does each server authenticate and secure communications with other servers?
The communication of information and security is performed in different ways between the
various layers:
Between the browser and presentation layer web server. In any web application, the web
browser, where the presentation layer runs, communicates with the web server by using
o HTTP. If authentication is required, it is often performed by exchanging plain text
credentials. You can also use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt this sensitive
communication.
Between the web server and the middle-tier server. The communication and security
mechanisms used for communication between the web server and the middle-tier server
depends on the technology that you use to build the business logic components:
Web services: If you implement business objects and data access classes as web services,
the presentation layer components communicate with the web services by using HTTP.
▪
You can perform authentication by using the Kerberos protocol that is a part of Windows
o Integrated Authentication or by using plain text encrypted with SSL.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services: If you implement business objects
and data access classes as WCF services, you can choose between two hosting
mechanisms. You can host the WCF services within IIS, in which case, HTTP is the
▪
transport mechanism and SSL is the security mechanism. You can also host the WCF
services within a Windows Process Activation Service (WAS), in which case, you can use
TCP, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), or named pipes as the transport mechanism.
Between middle-tier server and database. The middle-tier server sends T-SQL queries to the
database server, which authenticates against the database by using the required credentials
that are often included in the connection string.
o
Note: Web services and WCF services are covered in detail in Course 20487A: Developing
Windows Azure and Web Services.
Question: What are the advantages of writing middle-tier components as WCF services and not
web services?
Planning State Management

In application development, the application state refers to the values and information that are
maintained across multiple operations. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is fundamentally a
stateless protocol, which indicates that it has no mechanism to retain state information across
multiple page requests. However, there are many scenarios, such as the following, which
require state to be preserved:
User preferences. Some websites enable users to specify preferences. For example, a photo
sharing web application might
o
enable users to choose a preferred size for photos. If this preference information is lost
between page requests, users have to continually reapply the preference.
User identity. Some sites authenticate users to provide access to members-only content. If the
o user identity is lost between page requests, the user must re-enter the credentials for every
page.
Shopping carts. If the content of a shopping cart is lost between page requests, the customer
o
cannot buy anything from your web application.
In almost all web applications, state storage is a fundamental requirement. ASP.NET provides
several locations where you can store state information, and simple ways to access the state
information. However, you must plan the use of these mechanisms carefully. If you use the
wrong location, you may not be able to retrieve a value when you expect to. Furthermore, poor
planning of state management frequently results in poor performance.
In general, you should be careful about maintaining large quantities of state data because it
either consumes server memory, if it is stored on the server, or slows down the transfer of the
webpage to the browser, if it is included in a webpage. If you need to store state values, you can
choose between client-side state storage or server-side state storage.
Client-Side State Storage
When you store state information on the client, you ensure that server resources are not used.
However, you should consider that all client-side state information must be sent between the
web server and the web browser, and this process can slow down page load time. Use client-
side state storage only for small amounts of data:
Cookies. Cookies are small text files that you can pass to the browser to store information. A
cookie can be stored:
o ▪ In the client computer memory, in which case, it preserves information only for a single
user session.
On the client computer hard disk drive, in which case, it preserves information across
▪
multiple sessions.
Most browsers can store cookies only up to 4,096 bytes and permit only 20 cookies per website.
Therefore, cookies can be used only for small quantities of data. Also, some users may disable
cookies for privacy purposes, so you should not rely on cookies for critical functions.
Query strings. A query string is the part of the URL after the question mark and is often used
to communicate form values and other data to the server. You can use the query string to
preserve a small amount of data from one page request to another. All browsers support
query strings, but some impose a limit of 2,083 characters on the URL length. You should
not place any sensitive information in query strings because it is visible to the user, anyone
o observing the session, or anyone monitoring web traffic.
Note: In ASP.NET Web Forms applications, View State, Control State, and Hidden Fields
can be used to store state information in the rendered HTML that the server sends to the
client. These mechanisms are not available in MVC web applications because they do not use
Web Forms controls.
Server-Side State Storage
State information that is stored on the server consumes server resources, so you must be careful
not to overuse server-side state storage or risk poor performance.
The following locations store state information in server memory:
TempData. This is a state storage location that you can use in MVC applications to store
o
values between one request and another. You can store values by adding them to the
TempData collection. This information is preserved for a single request only and is designed
to help maintain data across a webpage redirect. For example, you can use it to pass an error
message to an error page.
Application State. This is a state storage location that you can use to store vales for the
lifetime of the application. The values stored in application state are shared among all users.
You can store values by adding them to the Application collection. If the web server or the
web application is restarted, the values are destroyed. The Application_Start() procedure in
o
the Global.asax file is an appropriate place to initialize application state values. Application
state is not an appropriate place to store user-specific values, such as preferences, because if
you store a preference in application state, all users share the same preference, instead of
having their own unique value.
Session state. The Session collection stores information for the lifetime of a single browser
session and values stored here are specific to a single user session; they cannot be accessed
by other users. By default, if the web server or the web application is restarted, the values are
o destroyed. However, you can configure ASP.NET to store session state in a database or state
server. If you do this, session state can be preserved across restarts. Session state is available
for both authenticated users and anonymous users. By default, session state uses cookies to
identify users, but you can configure ASP.NET to store session state without using cookies.
If you choose to use these server memory locations, ensure that you estimate the total volume of
state data that may be required for all the concurrent users that you expect to manage.
Application state values are stored only once, but session state values are stored once for each
concurrent user. Specify server hardware that can easily manage this load, or move state data
into the following server hard disk drive-based locations.
Profile properties. If your site uses an ASP.NET profile provider, you can store user
o preferences in profiles. Profile properties are persisted to the membership database, so they
will be kept even if the web application or web server restarts.
Database tables. If your site uses an underlying database, like most sites do, you can store
state information in its tables. This is a good place to store large volumes of state data that
o cannot be placed in server memory or on the client computer. For example, if you want to
store a large volume of session-specific state information, you can store a simple ID value in
the Session collection and use it to query and update a record in the database.
Remember that state data is only one form of information that an ASP.NET application places
in server memory. For example, caches must share memory with state data.
Question: You show the visitors of your website a choice of countries. When they pick a state,
you want to redirect them to a page that shows a map of that state. You will not use the name of
the chosen country that the user selected after this. Which location should you use to store the
name of the chosen country?
Planning Globalization and Localization

The Internet is an international network, and unless you are sure that the audience of your web
application speaks a single language, you must ensure that everyone can read your content. You
limit the site’s potential audience if you render pages only in English. The process by which
you make a web application available in multiple languages is called globalization or
internationalization. The process by which you make a web application available in a specific
language and culture is called localization.
Managing Browsers for Languages and Regions
There is an internationally-recognized set of language codes that specify a culture on the

Internet. These codes are in two parts:
1. The language. For example, English is “en”, and Russian is “ru”.

The region. This specifies regional variations within a language and affects spellings and
formats. For example, in United States English, “Globalize” is correct and dates are written
2.
in mm/dd/yy format, whereas in British English, “Globalise” is correct and dates are written
in dd/mm/yy format.
The full language and region code for United States English is “en-US” and the full language
and region code for British English is “en-UK”.
The preferred language that users choose is available as the language code in the HTTP Header
of the user’s browser. This is the value that you respond to, so as to globalize your site.
Alternatively, you can provide a control, such as a drop-down list, in which users can choose
their preferred language. This is a good example of a user-preference that you can store in the
session state.
Using Resource Files
When the user specifies a preferred language and region, you must respond by rendering pages
for that culture. One method to provide a localized response is to use resource files to insert text
in the appropriate language into the page at run time. A resource file is a simple dictionary of
terms in a given language. For each term in the file, you need to specify a name, a value, and
optionally, a comment. The file has an .resx extension. The file name also includes the language
code that the resources apply to. For example, if you create a resource file for a view called,
Index, which stored values in Chilean Spanish, you would name the file, Index.es-CL.resx.
Resource files can also have a neutral culture. This means that the file applies to any region in a
given language. For example the Index.es.resx file applies Spanish terms, regardless of the
regional code that has been chosen.
You should also create corresponding default resource files, without any language code in the
file name, such as Index.resx. These files are used when a preferred language is not specified.
When you use resource files to localize a site, each view applies, regardless of the preferred
language. You must insert extra Razor code in the view to take text values from a resource file.
This can reduce the readability of view files because all the rendered text comes from resource
files. However, supporting new languages is easier, because you only need to add a new
resource file for each language that can be created by a professional translator.
Using Separate Views
Some developers prefer to use separate, parallel sets of views for each supported language code.
If you use this approach, you must insert code into the controllers to detect the preferred
language that the user has specified. Then, you can use this value to render the correct view.
When you use separate views to globalize and localize a site, views are more readable, because
most of the text and labels remain in the view file. However, you must create view files, which
requires you or your team members to be proficient in the target language.
Question: Which language do you consider would be appropriate to specify in the default
resource file?
Lesson 2: Designing Models, Controllers, and

Views
Models, controllers, and views are the fundamental building blocks of an MVC 4 web
application. In a complex site, there may be hundreds of models, views, and controllers. You
need to manage these objects and plan your application well, so that it is easy to manage the
organization and internal structure during development. A thorough plan ensures that you detect
any incorrect code and debug problems rapidly.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how to design models.

o Describe how to design controllers.
o Describe how to design views.
Designing Models
A fundamental activity in the MVC design process is designing a model. Each model class
within the model represents a kind of object that your application manages. You cannot plan for
controllers and views until you understand the structure and design of the model.
Identifying Model Classes and Properties
The use cases, usage scenarios, or user stories that you gathered during the analysis phase of the
project should enable you to determine the model
classes that you need to create. Each model class

has a range of properties. For example, consider the following use case example shared earlier.
8. The web application stores the new photo and displays the photo gallery to the user.
This example includes the following objects, each of which requires a model class:
User. The User model class must include properties to store credentials, such as the user
o
name and the password.
o Photo. The Photo model class must include the Title and Description properties.
Other use cases similarly help you add new model classes or new properties to the User and
Photo model classes.
Domain Model and Logical Data Model Diagrams
You can use Domain Model diagrams and Logical Data Model (LDM) diagrams to analyze the
information your website manages and suggest a physical data model or database design. You
can return to these diagrams to plan model classes. Each object in your Domain Model or LDM
diagram should be implemented as an MVC model class. The Domain Model diagram includes
not only the names of those classes, but also the LDM diagram, if you have created one, with
property names and data types.
Relationships and Aggregates
When you identify the model classes that you will implement in your website, you must also
consider the relationships between them. For example, in the use case of the sample Photo
Sharing application, each photo is associated with one, and only one, user. This is known as a
one-to-one relationship. Each user, however, can create multiple photos. This is known as a
one-to-many relationship.
Domain Model diagrams and LDM diagrams include such relationships as links between
objects. Numbers at the ends of each link show whether the relationship is one-to-one, one-to-
many, or many-to-many.
Aggregates place further limits on the behavior of model classes and clarify relationships. For
example, in a photo sharing application, a photo is created by a single user. Other users can
make multiple comments on each photo. If a user deletes a photo, all the comments on that
photo should also be deleted from the database. However, the user who created the photo
should not be deleted with the photo because he or she may add other photos or comments on
the site. In this case, comments and photos should be placed in an aggregate, but users should
be outside the aggregates. The photo is the “root entity” of the aggregate—this means that
deleting a photo deletes all the associated comments, but deleting a comment does not delete the
associated photo.
Entity Framework
Entity Framework is an Object Relational Mapping (ORM) framework for .NET Framework-
based applications. An ORM framework links database tables and views to classes that a
developer can program against, by creating instances or calling methods. Entity Framework has
been a part of ADO.NET since .NET Framework 3.5.
When you use Entity Framework in your MVC web application, it links tables and views to the
model classes that you have planned. You do not need to write SQL code to query or update
database tables because Entity Framework does this for you. Entity Framework is well
integrated with the Language Integrated Query (LINQ) language.
If you plan to use Entity Framework for data access, you should decide on how the database
will be created during the planning phase:
Database-First. Use the Entity Framework in the database-first mode when you have a pre-
existing database to work with. This may happen because you already have data from an
earlier system or because a DBA has designed the database for you. You can also choose this
o mode if you are familiar with creating databases in a database administration tool, such as
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. When you use this mode, you have to specify the
database connection string. Entity Framework connects to the database and examines the
database schema. It creates a set of classes for you to use for data access.
Model-First. Use Entity Framework in the model-first mode when you do not have a pre-
existing database and prefer to design your model in Visual Studio. You can use the Entity
o Designer tool to name, configure, and link your model classes. This creates XML files that
Entity Framework uses both to create model classes and to create the database with its tables
and relationships.
Code-First. Use Entity Framework in the code-first mode when you have no pre-existing
database and prefer to design your models entirely in C# code. Your code must include
o
DBContext and DBSet objects—these correspond to the database and its tables. When you
run the application for the first time, Entity Framework creates the database for you.
Design in Agile and Extreme Programming
Agile and Extreme Programming projects are characterized by short design phases in which
data models are not completed. Instead, a simple design, with little detail, is created and
developers fill in details as they build code by continuously discussing requirements with users
and other stakeholders.
In an MVC project, this means that you identity the model names and relationships during the
design phase. You can record these on a Domain Model UML diagram. However, you can leave
details such as property names and data types to be finalized in the development phase, along
with the complete LDM diagrams.
Entity Framework lets you work in the Agile or Extreme Programming styles. For example, the
framework can update the database when the model changes. Alternatively, the framework can
update the model when the database changes. Entity Framework can perform these updates in
any Entity Framework mode.
Designing Controllers
In an ASP.NET MVC web application, controllers are .NET Framework-based classes that
inherit from the System.Web.Mvc.Controller base class.
They implement input logic—this means that they receive input from the user in the form of
HTTP requests and select both the correct model and view to use, to formulate a response.
Identify Controllers and Actions
In an ASP.NET MVC web application, there is usually one controller for each model class.
Conventionally, if the model class is called
“Photo”, the controller is called “PhotoController”.
If you follow this convention in your design, you can use the MVC default routing behavior to
select the right controller for a request.
However, for each controller there can be many actions—each action is implemented as a
method in the controller and usually returns a view. You often require separate actions for GET
and POST HTTP request verbs. Similar to designing a model, you can identify the actions to
write in each controller by examining the use cases you gathered during analysis. For example,
consider the following use case shared earlier.
8. The web application stores the new photo and displays the photo gallery to the user.
You have already identified Photo and User model classes from this use case. Adhering to the
MVC convention, you should create a PhotoController and a UserController. The use case
shows that the following actions are needed for each controller.
Controller Action Description

The AddPhoto action for GET requests creates a new instance
AddPhoto
of the Photo model class, sets default values such as the created
(GET)
date, and passes it to the correct view.
The AddPhoto action for POST requests calls the Photo model
Photo AddPhoto
class methods to save the photo values to the database and
(POST)
redirects the browser to the DisplayGallery action.
DisplayGallery The DisplayGallery action for GET requests displays all the
(GET) photos stored in the database.
The Logon action for GET requests displays a view that an
Logon (GET)
anonymous user can enter credentials into.
User The Logon action for POST requests checks user credentials
against the membership database. If the credentials are correct,
Logon (POST)
the Logon action authenticates and redirects the user to the
originally requested page.
Similar to the design of models, you will only make generalized plans for controllers during the
design phase of an Agile Development or Extreme Programming project. Because you have
identified the model classes necessary, you can plan the required controllers. However, you
should specify only a few actions at this stage.
Designing Views
The user interface is a vital component of any system because it is the part that the users, budget
holders, and other stakeholders see and interact with. Users are most interested in getting this
part of the application right and frequently have the most to say about its design. As a
developer, you have a chance to impress your users by designing and implementing a
sophisticated user interface, which may result in more business.
In an ASP.NET MVC web application, the user interface is created by building views.
Views, Template Views, and Partial Views
There is a many-to-one relationship between MVC controllers and views. For example, a
controller may use one view to display a single photo, another view to display several photos,
and a third view to enable users to upload new photos. Each view corresponds to a webpage that
the application can display to the user, although it can display different data. For example, the
PhotoDetails view can display different photos, depending on the ID parameter that is passed to
it.
As you plan views, you should also consider parts of the user interface that appear on all pages.
For example, the company logo, main site menu, links to legal information, and logon controls
may need to appear on every page. You can place these user interface components in a template
view to create a consistent look and feel across pages.
Note: Template views in ASP.NET MVC web applications perform the same role as master
pages in ASP.NET Web Forms applications.
Some user interface components do not appear on all pages, but are re-used on several pages.
For example, comments may be displayed in a single photo display, on the gallery, or on other
pages. By creating a partial view, you can create a re-usable user interface element that can
appear in many locations in this manner, without duplicating code.
Creating Wireframes
A common technique to discuss and plan the user interface for your application is to create
wireframe diagrams. These are simplified layouts that show where the elements will appear on
the final webpages. They are intended to communicate to users the essential functional parts of
the user interface, but do not include graphics, logos, or colors. It is not necessary to create a
wireframe model for every view in your application, but for only the most important ones.
You can begin a wireframe diagram by sketching it on a whiteboard, in conversation with a

user. Many tools are available to create more formal versions—for example, Microsoft Visio
has excellent wireframe drawing capabilities.
You do not design many parts of the user interface during the initial phases of Agile
Development or Extreme Programming projects. Instead, you design views and partial views in
close consultation with users during the development phase. This applies even to the template
view that displays common components of your user interface, although it is likely that the
template view is one of the first user interface components that is designed and created. You
will create the template view during the early iterations of the development phase of the project.
Lab: Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web

Applications
Scenario
Your team has chosen ASP.NET MVC 4 as the most appropriate ASP.NET programming
model to create the photo sharing application for the Adventure Works web application. You
need to create a detailed project design for the application, and have been given a set of
functional and technical requirements with other information. You have to plan:
o An MVC model that you can use to implement the desired functionality.
o One or more controllers and controller actions that respond to users actions.
o A set of views to implement the user interface.
o The locations for hosting and data storage.
Objectives
o Design an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application that meets a set of functional requirements.
o Record the design in an accurate, precise, and informative manner.
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Exercise 1: Planning Model Classes
Scenario
You need to recommend an MVC model that is required to implement a photo sharing
application. You will propose model classes based on the results of an initial investigation into
the requirements.
1. Examine the initial investigation.

2. Plan the photo model class.
3. Plan the comment model class.
Task 1: Examine the initial investigation.
Start the virtual machine, and log on with the following credentials:
1.
o Virtual machine: 20486B-SEA-DEV11
o User name: Admin
Open the InitialInvestigation document by using the following information:
2.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02
3. Enable the Navigation Pane feature.
4. Read the contents of the Introduction section.
5. Read the contents of the General Description section.
6. Read the Use Cases section and then examine the Use Case Summary diagram.
7. Close the InitialInvestigation document.
Task 2: Plan the photo model class.
1. Open the DetailedPlanningDocument document and locate the MVC Model section.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add and describe a model class
2.
for photos in Table 1: MVC Model.
Add properties to the model class you created in Table 1: MVC Model. The model class
3.
will have many properties
4. Add data types to the photo properties. Each property will have one and only one data type.
5. Merge the rows in the Model Class and Description columns and save the document.
6. Create a new UML Logical Data Model diagram in Visio 2010.
7. Add a new Class shape to model photos in the UML diagram.
8. Add attributes to the new Class shape for each of the properties you planned for the photos.
Save the created diagram by using the following information:
9. o Folder path: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02
o File name: PhotoSharingLDM
Task 3: Plan the comment model class.
1. Open the DetailedPlanningDocument document and locate the MVC Model section.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add and describe a model
2.
class for photos in Table 1: MVC Model.
3. Add properties to the model class you created in Table 1: MVC Model.
4. Add data types to the comment properties.
Merge the rows in the Model Class and the Description columns, and then save the
5.
document.
6. Add a new Class shape to model comments in the UML diagram.
7. Add attributes to the new Class shape for each of the properties you planned for comments.
8. In the UML diagram, connect the two class shapes.
9. Hide the end names for the connector.
10. Set multiplicity for the ends of the connector, and save the diagram.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for a model, and
configure the properties and data types of the model classes.
Exercise 2: Planning Controllers
Scenario
You need to recommend a set of MVC controllers that are required to implement a photo
sharing application. You will propose controllers based on the results of an initial investigation
into the requirements.
1. Plan the photo controller.

2. Plan the comment controller.
Task 1: Plan the photo controller.
1. Open the DetailedPlanningDocument document and locate the MVC Controllers section.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add a controller for photos in
2.
Table 2: MVC Controllers.
3. Add actions to the controller for photos in Table 2: MVC Controllers.
4. Add descriptions for each of the actions you have planned.
5. Merge rows in the Controller column and save the document.
Task 2: Plan the comment controller.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add a controller for photos in
1.
Table 2: MVC Controllers.
2. Add actions to the controller for comments in Table 2: MVC Controllers.
3. Add descriptions for each of the actions you have planned.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for controllers and
configure their properties and data types.
Exercise 3: Planning Views
Scenario
You need to recommend a set of MVC views that are required to implement a photo sharing
application. You will propose views based on the results of an initial investigation into the
requirement.
1. Plan the single photo view.

2. Plan the gallery view.
Task 1: Plan the single photo view.
1. Add a controller to the Table 3: MVC Views table.

2. Add the required views to the Controllers.
3. Add a description to the views.
5. Create a new wireframe diagram in Visio 2010.
6. Add a new Application Form shape to the wireframe diagram.
7. Add a menu to the wireframe diagram.
8. Add a panel for the photo to the wireframe diagram.
Save the diagram by using the following information:
9. o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02
o File name: SinglePhotoWireframe
Task 2: Plan the gallery view.
1. Create a new wireframe diagram in Visio 2010.

2. Add a new Application Form shape to the wireframe diagram.
3. Add a menu to the wireframe diagram.
4. Add multiple panels to the photo to the wireframe diagram.
Save the diagram by using the following information:
5. o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02
o File name: PhotoGalleryWireframe
Results: After completing this exercise, you will create proposals for views and their layouts.
Exercise 4: Architecting an MVC Web Application
Scenario
You need to recommend a web server and database server configuration that is required to
implement a photo sharing application. You will propose details based on the results of an
initial investigation into the requirements.
1. Hosting options.
2. Choose a data store.
Task 1: Hosting options.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add a description of the web
1.
server arrangements that are suited to host the photo sharing application.
Task 2: Choose a data store.
Based on your reading of the InitialInvestigation document, add a description of the

1.
database server arrangements that are suited to host the photo sharing application.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for hosting
arrangements.
Question: What model classes should be created for the photo sharing application based on the
initial investigation?
Question: What controllers should be created for the photo sharing application based on the
initial investigation?
Question: What views should be created for the photo sharing application?

In this module, you have seen how teams of developers, software architects, and business
analysts collaborate to design an MVC web application that meets the needs of users. You can
gather functional and technical requirements by talking to stakeholders and creating use cases,
usage scenarios, and user stories. The model, view, controller, and other aspects of the design
depend on these requirements. You have also seen how these design activities are completed in
projects that use the agile methodology or extreme programming.
Best Practice: In Agile Development and Extreme Programming projects, developers discuss
with users and stakeholders throughout development to ensure that their code will meet
changing requirements. Even if you are not formally using these methodologies, it is good
practice to regularly communicate with users.
Best Practice: When you design an ASP.NET MVC web application, start with the model, and
then plan controllers, actions, and views. The controllers, actions, and views that you create
each depend on the model.

Troubleshooting
Common Issue
Tip
When you create a very detailed project plan, much of your work is
wasted when requirements change late in the project.
Review Question(s)
Question: You want to support both English and Spanish in your web application. You have
both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking developers and want to ensure that views remain
readable as easily as possible. Should you use multiple view files or multiple resource files to
globalize your site?
You should bear in mind that when you select a project methodology, few projects follow a neat
plan in real situations. Of the methodologies described in this module, agile development and
extreme programming are the most flexible and respond when plans change in the middle of
development. However, even with these methodologies, changing circumstances result in
wasted development time and your project budget should include a contingency to cope with
such changes.
Furthermore, when working with agile development and extreme programming projects, project
managers must take care to avoid project creep or scope-creep. This occurs when people add
new requirements when development takes place. Project creep results in projects that are over-
budget and late.
Tools
Microsoft Office Visio: You can use Visio to create all types of UML software design
diagrams, including Domain Model diagrams and LDMs. You can also use it to create
wireframes.
Visual Studio 2012: You can create class diagrams such as LDMs in Visual Studio 2012.
MODULE 03: DEVELOPING ASP.NET MVC 4

MODELS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Creating MVC Models
Module Overview
Most web applications need to interact with various types of data or objects. An e-commerce
application, for example, helps manage products, shopping carts, customers, and orders. A
social networking application might help manage users, status updates, comments, photos, and
videos. A blog is used to manage blog entries, comments, categories, and tags. When you write
an MVC web application, you create an MVC model to model the data for your web
application. Within this model, you create a model class for each type of object. The model
class describes the properties of each type of object and can include business logic that matches
business processes. Therefore, the model is a fundamental building-block in an MVC
application and a good place to start when you write code. Models interact with the information
store that underlies your site, which is usually a database. Therefore, you need to understand
data access techniques and technologies to write models. In this module, you will see how to
create the code for models and access data by using Entity Framework and LINQ.
Objectives
o Add a model to an MVC application and write code in it to implement the business logic.
o Create a new SQL Azure database to store data for the web application.
Lesson 1 : Creating MVC Models

An MVC model is a collection of .NET Framework classes. When you create a model class,
you define the properties and methods that suit the kind of object the model class describes.
You can describe these properties in code so that MVC can determine how to render them in a
webpage and how to validate user input. You need to know how to create and describe models,
and how to modify the manner in which MVC creates model class instances when it runs your
web application.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how to create MVC models and develop business logic.

o Use the display and edit data annotations to assign attributes to views and controllers.
o Validate user input with data annotations.
o Describe model binders.
o Describe model extensibility.
o Add a model to an MVC 4 web application.
Developing Models
Every website presents information about various types of objects. In your web application, you
need to define model classes for these objects.
When you implement a functional requirement in your web application, you usually start by
creating a model class. The model class will probably be revised when you create the controller
and views for the model, and then later during the iterations that happen during the project. If
you follow the Agile Development model or Extreme Programming, you begin with a simple
understanding of the class—perhaps its name and
a few properties. Then, you discuss with users and add details to the planned model class with
the complete set of properties and its relationships to other classes. When developing the model,
you can refer to use cases or user stories to ensure that these model details are correct.
When you feel that you fully understand the requirements for a model, you can write model
classes to implement the requirements. The following lines of code illustrate how to create an
example model class named Photo.
Example Model Class

public class Photo
{
public int PhotoID { get; set; }
public string Title { get; set; }
public byte[] PhotoFile { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
public DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
public string Owner { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<Comment> Comments { get; set; }

}
Notice that the model class does not inherit from any other class. Also, notice that you have
created public properties for each property in the model and included the data type, such as
integer or string in the declaration. You can create read-only properties by omitting the set;
keyword.
The Photo class includes a property called Comments. This is declared as a collection of
Comment objects and implements one side of the relationship between photos and comments.
The following lines of code illustrate how you can implement the Comment model class.
Comment Model Class

public class Comment
{
public int CommentID { get; set; }
public string UserName { get; set; }
public string Subject { get; set; }
public string Body { get; set; }
public virtual Photo Photo { get; set; }
}
Notice that the Comment class includes a PhotoID property. This property stores the ID of the
Photo that the user commented on, and it ties the comment to a single photo. Also, notice that
the Comment class includes a Photo property, which returns the Photo object that the comment
relates to. These properties implement the other side of the relationship between photos and
comments. The instances of model classes are usually created in a controller action and passed
to a view to display.
The following code example shows how a controller action can create a new photo object from
the photo model class and pass it to the Display view.
Instantiating a Photo in a Controller Action

Photo newPhoto = new Photo();
newPhoto.Title = "This is an Example Photo";
newPhoto.Owner = User.Identity.Name;
newPhoto.CreatedDate = DateTime.Today;
return View("DisplayView", newPhoto);
In the Display view, you can render the Title property of a photo by using the Model object in
the Razor code that you write, as the following code shows.
Rendering a Property from a Model Class

<div id="photo-title">
@Model.Title
</div>
Using Display and Edit Data Annotations on Properties
The model classes usually specify three attributes for each property:
o The name of the property, for example, Title

o The data type of the property, for example, String
The access levels of the property, for example, the get and set keywords to indicate read and
o
write access
Additionally by using attributes, you can supply
additional metadata to describe properties to
ASP.NET MVC. The MVC runtime uses this metadata to determine how to render each
property in views for displaying and editing. These attributes are called display and edit
annotations.
For example, property names in C# cannot contain spaces. On a rendered webpage, you may
often want to include spaces in a property label. For example, you might want to render a
property called CreatedDate with the label Created Date. To provide MVC with this
information, you can use the DisplayName annotation.
When you use MVC, you can indicate how you want a property to be named on a view by using
the DisplayName annotation, as the following lines of code illustrate.
Setting the DisplayName Annotation

[DisplayName("Created Date")]
public CreatedDate { get; set; }
If you have a DateTime property, you can use display and edit data annotations to inform MVC
what format you want the property displayed in.
In the following lines of code, the CreatedDate property is a DateTime and the
DisplayFormat data annotation is used to indicate to MVC that only the day, month, and year
values should be displayed.
Setting the DataType and DisplayFormat

[DataType(DataType.DateTime)]
[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString = "{0:MM/dd/yy}", ApplyFormatInEditMode = true)]
public DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
All the data annotations that are provided with ASP.NET MVC 4 are included in the
System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations namespace.
Additional Reading: To read more about all the data annotations provided with MVC 4, see
Question: In the code on the slide, how can you recognize the display and edit annotations and
distinguish them from other code?
Validating User Input with Data Annotations
You can use data annotations in MVC models to set validation criteria for user input. Input
validation is the process by which MVC checks data provided by a user or a web request to
ensure that it is in the right format. The following example shows a webpage form that collects
some information from the user:
o Name. This is required input. The user must enter some data in this field.
o Height. This must be an integer between 0 and 400.
o Email Address. This is required input. The value entered must be a valid email address.
In the following example, when the user submits the form, you want MVC to create a new
instance of the Person model and use it to store the data in the database. However, you want to
ensure that the data is valid before it is stored.
To ensure that the data is valid, you can define the Person model class by using the following
lines of code.
Using Validation Data Annotations

public class Person
{
public int PersonID { get; set; }
[Required]
public string Name { get; set; }
[Range(0, 400)]
public int Height { get; set; }
[Required]
[RegularExpression(".+\\@.+\\..+")]
public string EmailAddress { get; set; }
}
The Required, Range, StringLength, and RegularExpression annotations implement input

validation in MVC. If users do not enter data that satisfies the criteria specified for each
property, the view displays a standard error message that prompts the user to enter the correct
data. In the earlier example, you can see that the user must enter a Name and a Height between
0 and 400. For the EmailAddress property, the user must enter a value that matches the regular
expression. The regular expression in the example is a simple expression that requires an @
symbol and a dot.
To specify the error message that the user sees when data is not valid, you can use the
ErrorMessage property on the validation data annotations, as the following code illustrates.
Setting a Validation Error Message

[Required(ErrorMessage="Please enter a name.")]
public string Name { get; set; }
Note: You will see how to ensure that the validation error message is displayed in a view.
Additional Reading: For more examples of validation data annotations see

Additional Reading: For more information about the regular expressions that you can use to
check user input, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288951&clcid=0x409
Question: You want to ensure that users enter a password that is longer than six characters.
How should you do this by using a validation data annotation?
What Are Model Binders?

A model binder is a component of an ASP.NET MVC application that creates an instance of a
model class, based on the data sent in the request from the web browser. ASP.NET MVC
includes a default model binder that meets the needs of most web applications. However, you
must know how the default model binder works with other components to use it properly. In
addition, you may choose to create a custom model binder for advanced situations.
What Does a Model Binder Do?
A model binder ensures that the right data is sent
to the parameters in a controller action method. This enables MVC to create instances of model
classes that satisfy the user’s request. The default model binder, for example, examines both the
definition of the controller action parameters and the request parameters to determine which
request values to pass to which action parameter.
This model binding process can save developers a lot of time and avoid many unexpected run-
time errors that arise from incorrect parameters. MVC includes a default model binder with
sophisticated logic that passes parameters correctly in almost all cases without complex custom
code.
The Controller Action Invoker and the Default Model Binder
To understand the default model binding process, consider the following request from a web
browser:
http://www.adventureworks.com/product/display/45
This request identifies three aspects:
o The model class that interests the user. The user has requested a product.
The operation to perform on the model class. The user has requested that the product be
o
displayed.
The specific instance of the model class. The user has requested that the product with ID 45
o
be displayed.
The request is received by an object called the controller action invoker. The controller action
invoker of the MVC runtime calls a controller action and passes the correct parameters to it. In
the example, the action invoker calls the Display action in the Product controller and passes
the ID “45” as a parameter to the action, so that the right product can be displayed.
The ControllerActionInvoker class is the default action invoker. This action invoker uses
model binders to determine how parameters are passed to actions.
How the Default Model Binder Passes Parameters
In a default MVC application, there is only one model binder for the ControllerActionInvoker
to use. This binder is an instance of the DefaultModelBinder class. The default model binder
passes parameters by using the following logic:
The binder examines the definition of the action that it must pass parameters to. In the
1.
example, the binder determines that the action requires an integer parameter called PhotoID.
The binder searches for values in the request that can be passed as parameters. In the
example, the binder searches for integers because the action requires an integer. The binder
searches for values in the following locations, in order:
Form Values. If the user fills out a form and clicks a submit button, you can find
a.
parameters in the Request.Form collection.
2. Route Values. Depending on the routes that you have defined in your web application, the
b. model binder may be able to identify parameters in the URL. In the example URL, “45”
is identified as a parameter by the default MVC route.
Query Strings. If the user request includes named parameters after a question mark, you
c.
can find these parameters in the Request.QueryString collection.
d. Files. If the user request includes uploaded files, these can be used as parameters.
Notice that if there are form values and route values in the request, form values take
precedence. Query string values are only used if there are no form values and no route values
available as parameters.
Model Extensibility
The MVC architecture has been designed to provide extensibility so that developers can adapt
the architecture to unusual or unique requirements. For example, the default action invoker,
ControllerActionInvoker, can be replaced by your own action invoker if you want to
implement your own invoking logic.
Two ways in which you can extend the MVC handling of MVC models are to create custom
data annotations and custom model binders.
Custom Validation Data Annotations
You can use data annotations to indicate to MVC how to validate the data that a user enters in a
form or passes in query strings. The four built-in validation attributes in MVC 4, Required,
Range, StringLength, and RegularExpression, are very flexible. However, in some situations,
such as the following examples, you may want to run some custom validation code:
Running a Data Store Check. You want to check the data entered against data that has
o
already been stored in the database or in another database store.
o Comparing Values. You want to compare two entered values with each other.
Mathematical Checks. You want to calculate a value from the entered data and check that
o
value is valid.
In such situations you can create a custom validation data annotation. To do this, you create a
class that inherits from the System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.ValidationAttribute
class.
The following lines of code illustrate how to create a custom validation data annotation.
Creating Custom Validation Data Annotation

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Field)]
public class LargerThanValidationAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
public int MinimumValue { get; set; }
//Constructor
public LargerThanValidationAttribute (int minimum)
{
MinimumValue = minimum;
}
//You must override the IsValid method to run your test
public override Boolean IsValid (Object value)
{
var valueToCompare = (int)value;
if (valueToCompare > MinimumValue)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
}
After you have created a custom validation data attribute, you can use it to annotate a property
in your model, as the following lines of code illustrate.
Using a Custom Validation Data Annotation

[LargerThanValidationAttribute(18)]
public VoterAge { get; set; }
Custom Model Binders
The default controller action invoker receives requests and calls the right action on the right
controller to fulfill the request. The default action invoker uses model binders to identify
parameters in the request and pass all of them to the right parameters in the action. This
mechanism ensures that query strings, route values, form values, and uploaded files are
available for the action to work with.
The default model binder is sophisticated and flexible, but sometimes, you may want to
customize its behavior to pass parameters in an unusual way. You can do this by creating a
custom model binder and registering it with the MVC runtime.
The following lines of code show how to create a simple custom model binder to pass
parameters from the form collection by implementing the IModelBinder interface.
A Simple Custom Model Binder

public class CarModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
public object BindModel (ControllerContext controllerContext,
ModelBindingContext
bindingContext)
{
//Get the color for the car from the request form
string color = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.Form["color"];
//Get the brand for the car from the request form
string brand= controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.Form["brand"];
//Create a new instance of the car model
Car newCar = new Car();
newCar.color = color;
newCar.brand = brand;
//return the car

return newCar;
}
}
The code example assumes that you have a model class in your MVC application called, Car. It
also assumes that any request for a Car object includes values for color and brand in the form
collection. This situation can easily be handled by the default model binder. However, this
example demonstrates how model binders can locate values from the context of the request and
pass those values to the right properties in the model. You can add custom code to implement
extra functionality.
Additional Reading: You can see more examples of custom model binders at the following
locations:
o http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288952&clcid=0x409
o http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288953&clcid=0x409
Question: You want to ensure that when a user types a value into the Car Model Number box
when adding a new car to the website, the text entered is not already used by another car in the
database. Would you use a custom validation data annotation or a custom model binder for this?
Demonstration: How to Add a Model

In this demonstration, you will see how to create a model in an ASP.NET MVC 4 web
application and add model classes to the web application. You will also see how to add data
annotations and create a custom validation data annotation.
Demonstration Steps
On the File menu of the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to New, and
1.
then click Project.
In the navigation pane of the New Project dialog box, expand Installed, expand
2.
Templates, and then expand Visual C#.
Under Visual C#, click Web, and then, in the result pane, click ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
3.
Application.
4. In the Name box of the New Project dialog box, type OperasWebSites.
5. In the New Project dialog box, click Browse.
In the Location text box, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Democode\Mod03, and then click
6.
Select Folder.
7. In the New Project dialog box, click OK.
In the Select a Template list of the New ASP.NET MVC 4 Project dialog box, click
8.
Empty, and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
9.
right-click Models, point to Add, and then click Class.
In the Name box of the Add New Item - OperasWebSites dialog box, type Opera.cs, and
10.
then click Add.
In the Opera class of the Opera.cs code window, type the following code.
public int OperaID { get; set; }
11.
public int Year { get; set; }

public string Composer { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the OperaID property code, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
12.
[Required]
[StringLength(200)]
In the Required data annotation, right-click Required, point to Resolve, and then click
13.
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Year property, press Enter, and then type the
14. following code.
[Required]
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Opera class, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
15.
public class CheckValidYear : ValidationAttribute
{
}
In the CheckValidYear class, type the following code.
public override bool IsValid(object value)
{
int year = (int)value;
if (year < 1598)
16. {
return false;
}
else
{
return true;
}
}
In the CheckValidYear class, type the following code.
public CheckValidYear()
17. {
ErrorMessage = "The earliest opera is Daphne, 1598, by Corsi, Peri, and
Rinuccini";
}
In the Opera class, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Title property code, press
18. Enter, and then type the following code.
[CheckValidYear]
On the Build menu of the OperasWebSites - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
19.
Build Solution, and then note that the application is being built.
20. In the OperasWebSites - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.

All web applications present information and almost all web applications require a data store for
that information. By rendering webpages by using data from a data store, you can create a web
application that changes continually in response to user input, administrative actions, and
publishing events. The data store is usually a database, but other data stores are occasionally
used. In MVC applications, you can create a model that implements data access logic and
business logic. Alternatively, you can separate business logic, in model classes, from data
access logic, in a repository. A repository is a class that a controller can call to read and write
data from and to a data store. The .NET Framework includes the Entity Framework and LINQ
technologies, which make data access code very quick to write and simple to understand. In
addition, you will see how to build a database-driven website in MVC.
Lesson Objectives
o Connect an application to a database to access and store data.

o Describe the features of the Entity Framework.
o Use LINQ to write queries for selecting, filtering, and grouping data.
Create separate model classes and corresponding repository classes by using Entity
o
Framework code.
o Explain how to access data in models and repositories.
Connecting to a Database
Most websites use a database to store dynamic data. By including this data in rendered HTML
pages, you can create a dynamic web application with content that changes frequently. For
example, you can provide administrative webpages that enable company employees to update
the product catalog and publish news items. Products and items are stored in the database. As
soon as they are stored, users can view and read them. The employees do not need to edit
HTML or republish the website to make their changes visible.
Some websites may store data in other locations, such as a directory service, but databases are
the most widely used data store.
ADO.NET and Databases
When you create .NET Framework applications, including MVC web applications, you can use
the ADO.NET technology to access databases. ADO.NET classes are contained in the
System.Data namespace. ADO.NET supports a wide range of databases by using different data
providers. For example:
Microsoft SQL Server. This is an industry-leading database server from Microsoft.

o
ADO.NET includes the SqlClient provider for all SQL Server databases.
Microsoft SQL Server Express. This is a free version of SQL Server that includes a wide
range of database functionality and is very flexible. Some advanced capabilities, such as
o
database clustering, are not possible with SQL Express. The SqlClient provider is used for
SQL Express.
Microsoft SQL Server Compact. This version of SQL is also free and uses .sdf files to store
o data on the hard disk. ADO.NET includes the SqlServerCe provider for SQL Compact
databases.
Oracle Databases. This is a widely-used database server. ADO.NET includes the
o
OracleClient provider for all Oracle databases.
OLE DB. This is a standard that many different databases adhere to. ADO.NET includes the
o
OleDb provider for all OLE DB databases.
ODBC. This is another older standard that many different databases adhere to. ADO.NET
o includes the Odbc provider for all ODBC databases. In general, you should use an OLE DB
provider, if it is available, instead of an ODBC provider.
You can also use third-party ADO.NET providers to access other databases.
Cloud Databases
The database of a web application is usually located on the same server as the web application
itself or on a dedicated database server at the same physical site. However, if you have a fast,
reliable Internet connection, you can consider using a cloud database. Furthermore, if you have
chosen to host a web application in the cloud, a cloud database is a logical storage solution. The
Microsoft cloud database service is called SQL Database and is a part of Windows Azure.
Windows Azure SQL Database has the following advantages:
o Databases run in Microsoft data centers with the best connectivity and reliability.
o Microsoft guarantees up to 99% uptime.
You do not need to build and maintain your own database servers or employ database
o
administrators.
o You can scale up the databases very easily.
o You pay only for the data that you use and distribute.
You can use Windows Azure SQL Database with ADO.NET by using the SqlClient provider.
Connecting an MVC Web Application to a Database
To use ADO.NET and connect to a database, you need to add two items to your application:
o Add a reference to the System.Data namespace.

Add a connection string to the Web.config file. This string specifies the provider, the
o location of the database, the security properties, and other properties depending on the
provider.
The following markup shows how to add a connection string to Web.config to connect to a
SQL Express database called, PhotoSharingDB, by using the credentials that the web
application runs under.
Connecting to SQL Express

<connectionStrings>
<add name="PhotoSharingDB"
connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=PhotoSharingDB;"
+
"Integrated Security=SSPI"
The following connection string connects to a Windows Azure SQL database.
Connecting to Windows Azure SQL Database

<connectionStrings>
connectionString="Server=tcp:example.database.windows.net,1433;Database=PhotoShar
ingDB;"
+
"User ID=Admin@example;Password=Pa$$w0rd;Trusted_Connection=False;" +
"Encrypt=True;Connection Timeout=30;PersistSecurityInfo=true"
The <connectionStrings> tag must appear within the <configuration> tag, after the
<configSections> tag.
Additional Reading: The MVC web application templates in Microsoft Visual Studio 2012
include ADO.NET references so you need not add them. However, you must add connection
strings. Some of the templates, such as the Internet site template, include SQL Server Express
membership databases with connection strings.
The Entity Framework

Developers write code that works with classes and objects. By contrast, databases store data in
tables with columns and rows. Database administrators create and analyze databases by running
Transact-SQL queries. You can choose to build and run Transact-SQL queries in your
ADO.NET code. However, ADO.NET includes the Entity Framework—this technology enables
you to read and write data to and from a database by using classes and objects.
Entity Framework is an Object Relational Mapping (ORM) framework. An ORM framework

maps the
tables and columns found in a database to objects and their properties that you can call from
.NET code.
Entity Framework Workflows
The way you use Entity Framework in your application depends on the manner in which you
want to build your database. The three Entity Framework workflows available are database-
first, model-first, and code-first:
Database First. You can use the database-first workflow when you have a pre-existing
database or if you prefer to create a new database by defining table, columns, views, and
o other database schema objects. In this workflow, Entity Framework examines the database
and creates an XML file with an .edmx extension called the model file. The model file
describes classes that you will be able to work with, in code. You can adjust the model by
using a designer in Visual Studio and then writing code against the Entity Framework
classes.
Model First. You can use the model-first workflow when you do not yet have a database and
you prefer to design your model by using an ORM modeling tool. In this workflow, you
create the .edmx file in the Visual Studio designer and then write code against the model
o classes generated by the designer. When you run the application, Entity Framework creates
the database tables and columns to support the model. In this workflow, Visual Studio can
also create a connection string for you and insert it into Web.config, based on the database
that you specify.
Code First. You can use the code-first workflow if you prefer to create a model by writing
.NET Framework classes. In this workflow, there is no model file. Instead, you create model
o
classes in C# or Visual Basic. When you run the application, Entity Framework creates the
database.
Adding an Entity Framework Context
When you use Entity Framework in the code-first workflow, you must ensure that the
framework creates the right database and tables to store your model classes. To do this, create a
class that inherits the Entity Framework DbContext class. You will use this class in controllers
when you want to manipulate data in the database. Within this class, add a DbSet<> property
for each database table you want Entity Framework to create in the new database.
The following code shows how to add an Entity Framework context to your model.
An Entity Framework Context Class

public class PhotoSharingDB : DbContext
{
public DbSet<Photo> Photos { get; set; }
public DbSet<Comment> Comments { get; set; }
}
In the earlier example, Entity Framework looks for a connection string with the name,
PhotoSharingDB, to match the name of the DbContext class. Entity Framework creates the
database at the location that the connection string provides, and creates two tables in the new
database:
o Photos: This table will have columns that match the properties of the Photo model class.
Comments: This table will have columns that match the properties of the Comment model
o
class.
Question: You have a Microsoft Visio diagram, which a business analyst created that shows all
the model classes for your web application and their relationships. You want to re-create this
diagram in Visual Studio. Which Entity Framework workflow should you use?
Using an Entity Framework Context

Now that you have defined the Entity Framework context and model classes, you can use them
in MVC controllers to pass data to views for display.
The following code shows how to use the Entity Framework context in a controller to pass a
single photo, or a collection of photos, to views.
Using an Entity Framework Context in a Controller

{
//Creating a reference to the Entity
Framework context class
private PhotoSharingDB db = new PhotoSharingDB();
//This action gets all the photos in the database and passes them to the Index
view
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View("Index", db.Photos.ToList());
}
//This action gets a photo with a particular ID and passes it to the Details
view
public ActionResult Details(int id = 0)
{
Photo photo = db.Photos.Find(id);
if (photo == null)
{
}
return View("Details", photo);
}
}
}
Using Initializers to Populate Databases
If you are using the code-first or model-first workflow, Entity Framework creates the database
the first time you run the application and access data. The database remains empty if you have
created the database schema but not populated it with data rows.
You can use an initializer class to populate the database with sample data. This technique
ensures that there is sample data to work with, during development.
The following lines of code show how to create an initializer class that adds two Photo objects
to the Photos table in the database.
An Example Entity Framework Initializer

public class PhotoSharingInitializer : DropCreateDatabaseAlways <PhotoSharingDB>
{
//Override the Seed method to populate the database
protected override void Seed(PhotoSharingDB context)
{
//Create a list of Photo objects
var photos = new List<Photo>
{
new Photo {
Title = "My First Photo",
Description = "This is part of the sample data",
UserName = "Fred"
},
new Photo {
Title = "My Second Photo",
Description = "This is part of the sample data",
UserName = "Sue"
}
};
//Add the list of photos to the database and save changes
photos.ForEach(s => context.Photos.Add(s));
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
After you have created an initializer, you need to ensure that it runs by adding a line of code to
the Global.asax file in the Application_Start method, as the following example illustrates.
Running the Initializer in Global.asax

protected void Application_Start()
{
//Seed the database with sample data for development. This code should be
removed for
production.
Database.SetInitializer<PhotoSharingDB>(new PhotoSharingInitializer());
}
Question: You have created an Entity Framework context class in your model, added an
initialize, and called Database.SetInitializer() from Global.asax. When you run the
application, no database is created and no model objects displayed on the webpages. What have
you forgotten to do?
Using LINQ to Entities
Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is a set of extensions to Visual C# and Visual Basic that
enable you to write complex query expressions.
You can use these expressions to extract data from databases, enumerable objects, XML
documents, and other data sources. The expressions are similar to Transact-SQL queries, but
use C# or VB keywords so that you may get IntelliSense support and error checking in Visual
Studio.
What Is LINQ to Entities?
LINQ to Entities is the version of LINQ that works

with Entity Framework. LINQ to Entities enables you to write complex and sophisticated
queries to locate specific data, join data from multiple objects, update data, and take other
actions on objects from an Entity Framework context. If you are using Entity Framework, you
can write LINQ queries wherever you require a specific instance of a model class, a set of
objects, or for more complex application needs. You can write LINQ queries in query syntax,
which resembles SQL syntax, or method syntax, in which operations such as “select” are called
as methods on objects.
Example LINQ Queries
In the following lines of code, you can see how to obtain a list of the most recent photos in the
database. Both query syntax and method syntax examples are included.
Using LINQ to Get Recent Photos

//This list will store the photos that are returned
List<Photo> photos;
//This is the Entity Framework context
PhotoSharingDB context = new PhotoSharingDB();
if (number == 0)
{
//If a number of photos is not specified, we’ll get all the photos in the
database
//This example is in method syntax.
photos = context.Photos.ToList();
}
else
{
//The number specifies how many of the most recent photos the user requests
//Use a LINQ query with both query and method syntax to get these from the
database
photos = (from p in context.Photos
orderby p.CreatedDate descending
select p).Take(number).ToList();
}
Additional Reading: To read many more example LINQ queries, see

Demonstration: How to Use Entity Framework Code

In this demonstration, you will see how to add a connection string, an Entity Framework
context, and an initializer to the web application.
Demonstration Steps
1.
click web.config.
In the web.config code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the </appsettings>
tag, press Enter, and then type the following code.
<connectionStrings>
<add name="OperasDB"
connectionString=
2. "Data Source=(LocalDB)\v11.0;" +
"AttachDbFilename=" +
"|DataDirectory|\Operas.mdf;" +
"Integrated Security=True"
providerName=
"System.Data.SqlClient" />
3.
right-click References, and then click Manage NuGet Packages.
In the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages window, click Online, click
4.
EntityFramework, and then click Install.
5. On the License Acceptance page, click I Accept.
6. In the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages window, click Close.
7. In the Microsoft Visual Studio dialog box, click Yes to All.
8. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Models, point to Add, and then click Class.
In the Name box of the Add New Item - OperasWebSite dialog box, type OperasDB,
9.
and then click Add.
In the OperasDB.cs code window, locate the following code.
10.
using System.Web;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the located code, press Enter, and then type the
11. following code.
using System.Data.Entity;
In the OperasDB.cs code window, locate the following code.
12.
public class OperaDB
Append the following code to the existing line of code.
13.
: DbContext
In the OperaDB class, type the following code.
14.
public DbSet<Opera> Operas
{ get; set; }
In the Name box of the Add New Item - OperasWebSite dialog box, type
16.
OperasInitializer, and then click Add.
In the OperasInitializer.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
17. System.web namespace code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
In the OperasInitializer.cs code window, locate the following code.
18.
public class OperasInitializer
19.
: DropCreateDatabaseAlways
<OperasDB>
In the OperasInitializer class code block, type the following code, press Spacebar, and
20. then click, Seed(OperasDB context).
override
In the Seed method, place the mouse cursor after the call to base.Seed, press Enter, and
then type the following code.
var operas = new List<Opera>
{
new Opera {
21. Title = "Cosi Fan Tutte",
Year = 1790,
Composer = "Mozart"
}
};
operas.ForEach(s =>
context.Operas.Add(s));
On the Build menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Build
22.
Solution, and then note that the application is built successfully.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Controllers, click Add, and then click
23.
Controller.
24. In the Controller Name box, type OperaController.
In the Template box, click MVC controller with read/write actions and views, using
25.
Entity Framework.
26. In the Model Class box, click Opera (OperasWebSite.Models).
In the Data context class box, click OpersDB (OperasWebSite.Models), and then click
27.
Add.
28. In the Solution Explorer pane, in the Views/Operas folder, double-click Create.cshtml.
In the Create.cshtml code window, locate and delete the following code.
29. @section Scripts {
@Script.Render("~/bundles/jqueryval")
}
On the DEBUG menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
Start Debugging
30.
Note: The Internet Explorer window is displayed with an error message. The error message
is expected because the home page view has not been added
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, append the existing URL with
31.
opera/index and then click the Go to button.
32. On the Index page, click Create New.
33. In the Title box of the result page, type Carmen, and then, in the Year box, type 1475.
In the Composer box, type Bizet, and then click Create.
34.
Note: An error message is displayed by the custom validator.
35. In the Year box, type 1875, and then click Create.
36. In the Internet Explorer window, click the Close button.
37. In the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Data Access in Models and Repositories
In MVC applications, you can place the data access code in the model, along with the business
logic. However, many software architects prefer to separate these two types of code because
they serve different purposes:
Business Logic. This code defines the objects that the web application manages, their
o
properties, and their relationships with each other.
Data Access Logic. This code defines the operations necessary to persist data to a
o
database. This includes operations to
create new records, read records, update records, and delete records in database tables. A
single object in the business logic layer may take data from multiple database tables. This
abstraction is handled by the data access logic.
MVC does not require you to separate business and data access logic, and you can create MVC
model classes that implement both layers. This is often done in small or simple web
applications with small development teams. In these scenarios, Entity Framework classes are
used directly in the model classes.
In more complex situations, you need to place the business logic in MVC model classes and
place the data access logic in dedicated classes called repositories. When you take this
approach, model classes are independent of the database structure and do not include code that
depends on database table names, column names, or view names. This approach makes it easier
to redesign the database or move to a different data store or data access technology, without the
need to re-code your entire application. Using this approach, you employ the Entity Framework
in your repository classes, but not in your model classes.
How to Separate Model Classes and Repositories
If you do choose to separate business logic and data access logic, you must take the following
steps for each model class:
Define an interface for the repository class. This interface declares the methods that the
1.
repository class uses to read and write data from and to the database.
Create and write code for the repository class. This class must implement all the data access
2.
methods declared in the interface.
3. Remove all data access code from the model class.
Modify the controller class to use the repository class. Instead, create an instance of the
4.
repository class and call its methods to create the model.
A Simple Example Model Class and Repository Class
To illustrate how to separate model classes and repository classes, the following examples
implement a comment on a photo.
The Comment model class helps users to comment on a photo, as the following lines of code
illustrate.
The Comment Model Class

public class Comment
{
public string CommentText { get; set; }
public virtual Photo Photo { get; set; }
}
This interface for a comment repository class defines just one method to get the comments for a
given photo, as the following lines of code illustrate.
The ICommentRepository Interface

public interface ICommentRepository {
ICollection<Comment> GetComments (int PhotoID);
}
The CommentRepository class implements the GetComments method as the following lines of
code illustrate.
The CommentRepository Class

public class CommentRepository : ICommentRepository
{
public ICollection<Comment> GetComments(int PhotoID)
{
//Implement entity framework calls here.
}
}
The CommentsController class uses the repository class, instead of calling Entity Framework
methods, as the following lines of code illustrate.
The CommentsController Class

public class CommentsController : Controller
{
ICommentRepository commentRepository = new CommentRepository;
public ActionResult DisplayCommentsForPhoto (int PhotoID)
{
//Use the repository to get the comments
ICollection<Comments> comments = commentRepository.GetComments(PhotoID);
return View("DisplayComments", comments);
}
Note: By using the ICommentRepository interface, the code makes it easy to replace
CommentRespository with another implementation if you need to. However, the
CommentController code still creates a CommentRespository object. You have to modify the
object to make the replacement.
In an even better architecture, you can replace CommentRepository with a different

implementation of ICommentRepository without any changes to the CommentController
class. This is an extremely flexible and adaptable approach and is called a loosely coupled
architecture.
Loosely coupled architectures are also essential for unit testing.

Scenario
You are planning to create and code an MVC model that implements your plan for photos and
comments in the Adventure Works photo sharing application. The model must store data in a
Windows Azure SQL database and include properties that describe photos, comments, and their
content. The model must enable the application to store uploaded photos, edit their properties,
and delete them in response to user requests.
Objectives
o Create a new ASP.NET MVC 4 project in Visual Studio 2012.

o Add a new model to the ASP.NET MVC 4 web application and add properties to the model.
Use display and edit data annotations in the MVC model to assign property attributes to
o
views and controllers.
Use Visual Studio to create a new Windows Azure SQL database and connect to the
o
database.
o Add Entity Framework code to the model classes in the MVC model.
Use display and edit data annotations in the MVC model to assign property attributes to
o
views and controllers.
Username: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Exercise 1: Creating an MVC Project and Adding a Model
Scenario
In this exercise, you will:

o Create a new MVC 4 web application in Visual Studio 2012.
o Add model classes to the web application.
1. Create a new MVC project.

2. Add a new MVC model.
Task 1: Create a new MVC project.
1. o Virtual Machine: 20486B-SEA-DEV11

o User name: Admin
Start Visual Studio 2012 and create a new ASP.NET MVC 4 web application by using the
following information:
o Name: PhotoSharingApplication
2. o Location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03
o Solution name: PhotoSharingApplication
o Create directory for solution: True
o Project template: Empty
Task 2: Add a new MVC model.
Add a new model class to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
1.
o Class name: Photo
Add another model class to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
2.
o Class name: Comment
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC 4 web application
and add model classes to the web application.
Exercise 2: Adding Properties to MVC Models
Scenario
o Add properties to the Photo and the Comment model classes.

o Implement a relationship between model classes.
1. Add properties to the Photo model class.

2. Add properties to the Comment model class.
3. Implement a relationship between model classes.
Task 1: Add properties to the Photo model class.
Add a primary key property to the Photo model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Property name: PhotoID
o Data type: integer
o Access: Read and write
Add a title property to the Photo model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
2. o Property name: Title
o Data type: string
Add an image property to the Photo model class and store the MIME type of image by using
the following information:
o Scope: public
3. o Property names: PhotoFile, ImageMimeType
o Data type for the image: byte []
o Data type for MIME type: string
Add a description property to the Photo model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
4. o Property name: Description
o Data type: String
Add a date property to the Photo model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
5. o Property name: CreatedDate
o Data type: DateTime
Add a user name property to the Photo model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
6. o Property name: UserName
o Data type: string
Task 2: Add properties to the Comment model class.
Add a primary key to the Comment model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Property name: CommentID
Add a PhotoID property to the Comment model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
2. o Property name: PhotoID
Add a user name property to the Comment model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
3. o Property name: UserName
o Data type: string
Add a subject property to the Comment model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
4. o Property name: Subject
o Data type: string
Add a body text property to the Comment model class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
5. o Property name: Body
o Data type: string
Task 3: Implement a relationship between model classes.
Add a new property to the Photo model class to retrieve comments for a given photo by
using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Property name: Comments
o Data type: a collection of Comments
o Include the virtual keyword
Add a new property to the Comment model class to retrieve the photo for a given comment
by using the following information:
o Scope: public
2. o Property name: Photo
o Property type: Photo
o Include the virtual keyword
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add properties to classes to describe
them to the MVC runtime. You will also implement a one-to-many relationship between
classes.
Exercise 3: Using Data Annotations in MVC Models
Scenario
Add data annotations to the properties to help MVC web application render them in views
o
and validate user input.
1. Add display and edit data annotations to the model.

2. Add validation data annotations to the model.
Task 1: Add display and edit data annotations to the model.
Add a display data annotation to the Photo model class to ensure that the PhotoFile property
1.
is displayed with the name, Picture.
Add an edit data annotation to the Photo model class that ensures the Description property
2.
editor is a multiline text box.
Add the following data annotations to the Photo model class to describe the CreatedDate
property:
3. o Data type: DateTime

o Display name: Created Date
o Display format: {0:MM/dd/yy}
Add an edit data annotation to the Comment model class that ensures that the Body property
4.
editor is a multiline text box.
Task 2: Add validation data annotations to the model.
Add a validation data annotation to the Photo model class to ensure that the users complete
1.
the Title field.
Add validation data annotations to the Comment model class to ensure that the users
2.
complete the Subject field and enter a string with a length shorter than 250 characters.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add property descriptions and data
annotations to the two model classes in the MVC web application.
Exercise 4: Creating a New Windows Azure SQL Database
Scenario
o Add Entity Framework code to the Photo Sharing application in code-first mode.
o Create a new SQL database in Windows Azure.
o Use the SQL database to create a connection string in the application.
1. Add an Entity Framework Context to the model.

2. Add an Entity Framework Initializer.
3. Create a Windows Azure SQL database and obtain a connection string.
Task 1: Add an Entity Framework Context to the model.
1. Use the NuGet Package Manager to add Entity Framework 5.0 to the application.
Add a new class called PhotoSharingContext to the Models folder and ensure that the new
2.
class inherits the System.Data.Entity.DbContext class.
Add public DbSet properties to Photos and Comments to enable Entity Framework to create
3.
database tables called Photos and Comments.
Task 2: Add an Entity Framework Initializer.
Add a new class called PhotoSharingInitializer to the Models folder and ensure that the new
class inherits the DropCreateDatabaseAlways
1.
<PhotoSharingContext> class.
Open the getFileBytes.txt file from the following location and add all the text of the file as a
new method to the PhotoSharingInitializer class:
2.
o File path: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03\CodeSnippets
3. Override the Seed method in the PhotoSharingInitializer class.
Create a new list of Photo objects in the Seed method. The list should contain one photo
object with the following properties:
o Title: Test Photo

4. o Description: <A description of your choice>
o UserName: NaokiSato
o PhotoFile: getFileBytes("\\Images\\flower.jpg")
o ImageMimeType: image/jpeg
o CreatedDate: <Today’s date>
Add each photo object in the photos list to the Entity Framework context and then save the
5.
changes to the context.
Create a new list of Comment objects in the Seed method. The list should contain one
Comment object with the following properties:
6. o PhotoID: 1
o UserName: NaokiSato
o Subject: Test Comment
o Body: This comment should appear in photo 1
Add the comment list to the Entity Framework context and save the comment to the
7.
database.
Open Global.asax and add a line of code to the Application_Start method that calls
Database.SetInitializer, passing a new PhotoSharingInitializer object. Also add the
following namespaces:
8.
o using System.Data.Entity;
o using PhotoSharingApplication.Models;
Task 3: Create a Windows Azure SQL database and obtain a connection string.
Log on to the Windows Azure portal by using the following information:
1. o Portal address: http://www.windowsazure.com/

o User name: <your Windows Live user name>
o Password: <your Windows Live password>
Create a new database server and a new database by using the following information:
o Database name: PhotoSharingDB

o Database server: New SQL Database Server
2. o Login name: <your first name>
o Login password: Pa$$w0rd
o Login password confirmation: Pa$$w0rd
o Region: <a region close to you>
In the list of allowed IP addresses for the PhotoSharingDB database, add the following IP
address ranges:
3. o Rule name: First Address Range

o Start IP Address: <first address in range>
o End IP Address: <last address in range>
Obtain the connection string for the PhotoSharingDB database and add it to the Web.config
4.
file.
5. Build the Photo Sharing application.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC application that uses
Windows Azure SQL Database as its data store.
Exercise 5: Testing the Model and Database
Scenario

o Add a controller and views to the MVC web application.
o Run the web application.
1. Add a controller and views.

2. Add an image and run the application.
Task 1: Add a controller and views.
Add a new controller to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following

information:
o Name: PhotoController
1. o Template: MVC Controller with read/write actions and views, using Entity
Framework
o Model class: Photo
o Data context class: PhotoSharingContext
o Views: Razor(CSHTML)
Task 2: Add an image and run the application.
Create a new top-level folder, and copy an image to the new folder by using the following
information:
1. o New folder name: Images

o Image to be copied: flower.JPG
o Location of the image: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03\Images
Run the application by debugging, and access the following relative path:
2.
o /photo/index
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add controllers, views, and images
to an MVC web application and test the application by displaying data from a Windows Azure
SQL database.
Question: You are building a site that collects information from customers for their accounts.
You want to ensure that customers enter a valid email address in the Email property. How
would you do this?
Question: You have been asked to create an intranet site that publishes a customer database,
created by the sales department, to all employees within your company. How would you create
the model with Entity Framework?

The heart of an MVC web application is the model. This is because the model classes describe
the information and objects that your web application manages. In this module, you have seen
how to create your model, define relationships between the model classes, describe how to
display, edit, and validate properties, and how to extend MVC model handling capabilities. You
have also seen how to bind model classes to database tables by using Entity Framework and
how to query object in the model by writing LINQ code.
Best Practice: If you have a pre-existing database for a web application, use Entity Framework
in the database-first workflow to import and create your model and its classes.
Best Practice: If you want to create a new database for a web application and prefer to draw
your model in a Visual Studio designer, use Entity Framework in the model-first workflow to
create your model and its classes.
Best Practice: If you want to create a new database for a web application and prefer to write
code that describes your model, use Entity Framework in the code-first workflow to create your
model and its classes.
Best Practice: If you want to separate business logic from data access logic, create separate
model classes and repository classes.

Common Issue Troubleshooting Tip
The website cannot connect to or create a database.
Review Question(s)
Question: At the end of the first iteration of your project, you have a website that displays
photos that users upload. However, during development, the database is empty and users must
upload several photos to the site so they can test the functionality. Your manager wants you find
some way to populate the database whenever it is deployed to the test server. How can you do
this?
MODULE 04: DEVELOPING ASP.NET MVC 4

CONTROLLERS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Writing Controllers and Actions
Module Overview
MVC controllers respond to browser requests, create model objects, and pass them to views for
rendering and displaying in the web browser. If required, controllers can also perform other
actions, such as saving model class changes to the database. Controllers are central to MVC
applications. You need to understand the functioning of controllers to be able to create the right
model objects, manipulate them, and pass them to the right views.
To maximize the re-use of code in controllers, you must know how to program action filters.
You can use action filters to run code before or after every action in your web application, on
every action in a controller, or on other combinations of controller actions.
Objectives
Add a controller to a web application that responds to user actions specified in the project
o
design.
o Write code in action filters that runs before or after a controller action.
Lesson 1 : Writing Controllers and Actions

A controller is a .NET Framework class that inherits from the System.Web.Mvc.Controller
base class. Controllers respond to user requests. Within a controller class, you create actions to
respond to user requests. Actions are methods within a controller that return an ActionResult
object. The ActionResult object is often a view that displays a response to the user request;
however, it can also yield other types of results. To process incoming user requests, manage
user input and interactions, and implement relevant application logic, you need to know how to
create controllers and actions. You must also know how to create parameters in action code
blocks and pass objects to actions.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how a controller responds to user actions in an MVC 4 web application.

Write controller actions to respond to web browser requests, create model classes, and call
o
views.
Explain how to use parameters passed in a browser request to a controller action and use
o
them to change the action result.
o Explain how to pass information to views that have model classes.
o Create a controller and actions.
o Describe controller factories.
Responding to User Requests
When an MVC web application receives a request from a web browser, the following events
happen in sequence:
An MvcHandler object creates a controller factory. The controller factory is the object that
1. instantiates a controller to respond to the request. Usually, this factory is a
DefaultControllerFactory object, but you can create a custom controller factory, if
necessary. The MvcHandler object chooses the controller factory based on the
RequestContext object, which has
information about the request that the user made.

The controller factory creates a Controller object, and the MvcHandler calls the Execute
2.
method in that controller.
The ControllerActionInvoker examines the RequestContext object and determines the
3.
action to call in the Controller object.
The ControllerActionInvoker uses a model binder to determine the values to be passed to
4.
the action as parameters.
The ControllerActionInvoker runs the action. Often, the action creates a new instance of a
model class, perhaps by querying the database with the parameters that the invoker passed to
it. This model object is passed to a view, to display results to the user. Action methods can
do many other things such as rendering views and partial views, redirecting to other
5.
websites, displaying snippets of content, or displaying other files.
Note: The routing engine determines which controller and action receives a request. Routing
is not covered in this section.
The User Request
Users of web browsers make requests either by typing a URL into the Address bar of the
browser, or by clicking a link to some address within your website. Such links can either be
within your website, in which case you can control how they are rendered, or from an external
website. Whether the request originates from within the website or from an external website, it
can include information that controller actions can use as parameters. Consider the following
examples:
http://www.adventureworks.com/: This URL is the home page of the website and specifies
o
no further information.
http://www.adventureworks.com/photo: This URL specifies an extra value, photo. By
o
default, the MvcHandler interprets this as the name of a controller.
http://www.adventureworks.com/photo/index: This URL specifies a second value, index. By
o
default, the MvcHandler interprets this as the name of an action within the controller.
http://www.adventureworks.com/photo/display/1: This URL specifies a third value, 1. By
o default, the ControllerActionInvoker interprets this as a parameter to pass to the action
method.
http://www.adventureworks.com/photo/display?id=1: This URL includes a query string,
id=1. The model binder examines the Display actions in the Photo controller. If it finds an
action with a parameter called id, it calls that action and passes 1 as a parameter.
o
Note: You can modify the preceding logic in several ways. For example, you can create
routes that interpret the preceding URLs differently. The examples are true when only the
default route exists.
Let us consider that a user requests a controller called photo, by typing the URL in the Address
bar of a web browser. By default, the MVC DefaultControllerFactory, names this controller
class as PhotoController. You should keep to this convention when you create and name
controllers. Otherwise, you will receive unexpected 404 errors and controllers will not work as
intended. If you create a custom controller factory, you can define your own naming convention
for controller classes.
The Microsoft Visual Studio project templates include a folder named Controllers. This is a
good location to create your controllers. Microsoft Visual Studio places controllers in the
projectname.Controllers namespace, by default.
The following example shows the code in an MVC controller class called, PhotoController.
The controller has a single action called Index, which returns a list of Photo items from the
Entity Framework context.
A Simple Controller Class

{
private ContextDB context = new ContextDB();
public ActionResult Index ()
{
return View("Index", context.Photos.ToList());
}
}
Question: What is the convention that you should follow while creating controllers?
Writing Controller Actions

Controllers encapsulate user interaction logic for an MVC web application. You specify this
logic by writing actions. An action is a method within the controller class. The code you write
within an action method determines how the controller responds to the request, and the model
class and view that MVC uses to display a webpage in the browser.
Note: When you add a new controller to an MVC application, Visual Studio presents
scaffolding options to help you create action
methods and associated views. For example, if you specify a model class and Entity Framework
context class, Visual Studio can create scaffold index and details, and create, edit, and delete
action methods in your new controller. You can use these as a starting point for your code. As
you become more experienced with action methods, you may prefer to select the Empty MVC
Controller template and write your own methods without scaffold code.
Controller actions are public methods that return an ActionResult object. Alternatively, actions
can return objects of many other classes that derive from the ActionResult class. For example,
you can write code for a controller with an Index action to obtain all Photo objects and pass
them to the Index view.
When you want to display a specific model object, you must obtain the correct instance from
the database. The following code shows how to display the first Photo object.
A Details Action
public ActionResult First ()
{
Photo firstPhoto = context.Photos.ToList()[0];
if (firstPhoto != null)
{
return View("Details", firstPhoto);
}
else
{
}
}
Some user actions are in two parts. For example, to create a new Photo, a user can make an
HTTP GET request to the following URL: http://www.adventureworks.com/photo/create.
The following code shows an action that responds to a GET request, to display a new photo
form.
A Create Action for the GET Request

public ActionResult Create ()
{
Photo newPhoto = new Photo();
return View("Create", newPhoto)
}
The Create view displays a form where users can fill photo details, such as the title,
description, and so on. When a user clicks the Submit button, the web browser makes an HTTP
POST request.
The following action method responds to a POST request. Note that the method name is the
same, but the [HttpPost] annotation is used to specify that this action responds to the HTTP
POST verb.
A Create Action for the POST Request

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create (Photo photo)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
context.Photos.Add(photo);
return RedirectToAction("Index");
}
else
{
return View("Create", photo);
}
}
Note that the ModelState.IsValid property is used to check whether the user has submitted
valid data. You can specify data validation by using validation data annotations in the model
class. If the data is valid, the model object is added and saved. Otherwise, the application
displays the Create view again, so that the user can correct the invalid data.
Note: For the preceding code to work, the Create view must contain a form that uses the POST
method.
Possible Return Classes
Action methods are usually defined with the ActionResult class as the return type.
ActionResult is a base class, and you can use a range of derived classes to return different
responses to the web browser.
Controller actions usually return a view and pass a model class to it, for display. You can create
an action that calls the View() helper, and creates and returns a ViewResult object. The View()
helper is available when you derive from the base Controller class.
Alternatively, you can return an HTTP error. For example, you can create an action such that if
a Photo object is not found, the code creates a 404 not found error by using the
HttpNotFound() helper.
Sometimes, you may want to return a file from an action method. For example, let us consider
that in a Photo model, the image file is stored as a byte array in the database. To display this
byte array as an image on a webpage, the action must return it as a .jpeg file, which can be used
for the src attribute of an <img> HTML tag. To return files, you can use the File() helper to
return a FileContentResult object. You can use this technique in the GetImage action.
Other possible action results include:
PartialViewResult. You can use this action to generate a section of an HTML page, but not a
o complete HTML page. Partial views can be re-used in many views throughout a web
application.
RedirectToRouteResult. You can use this action result to redirect the web browser to another
o
action method or another route.
RedirectResult. You can use this action result to redirect to a specific URL, either inside your
o
web application or to an external location.
ContentResult. You can use this action result to return text to the web browser. You can
o return plain text, XML, a comma-separated table, or other text formats. This text can be
rendered in the web browser or parsed with client-side code.
Child Actions
When an action returns a complete view, MVC sends a new complete webpage to the web
browser for display. Sometimes, you may want to call an action from within a view, to return a
piece of content for display within a webpage. A child action is an action method that can return
a small piece of content in this manner. The FileContentResult is often a good example of a
child action, because the image returned usually forms part of a webpage. Partial views also
support child actions.
To declare an action method as a child action, you can use the [ChildActionOnly] annotation.
This annotation ensures that the action method can be called only from within a view by using
the Html.Action() helper. Using this method, you can prevent a user from calling the child
action directly by typing the correct URL into the Address bar.
Question: What are the various ActionResult return types that you can write as code while
creating a controller?
Using Parameters
When users request webpages, they often specify information other than the name of the
webpage itself. For example, when they request a product details page, they may specify the
name or catalog number of the product to display. Such extra information is referred to as
parameters. You must understand how to determine in code what parameters the user sent in
their request.
The ControllerActionInvoker and the DefaultModelBinder classes obtain parameters from a

user request and pass them to action methods. The DefaultModelBinder can locate
parameters in a posted form, the routing values, the query string, or in the posted files. If the
model binder finds a parameter in the action method that matches the name and type of a
parameter from the request, the action method is called and the parameter is passed from the
request. This arrangement enables you to obtain and use parameters in your actions. For
example, if a user requests the URL
http://www.adventureworks.com/photo/getphotobytitle/?title=myfirstphoto, you can easily
obtain title values in your action method.
The following example code shows how to determine the value of the title parameter in a
controller action.
Using a Query String Parameter

public ActionResult GetPhotoByTitle (string title)
{
var query = from p in context.Photos
where p.Title == title
select p;
Photo requestedPhoto = (Photo)query.FirstOrDefault();
if (requestedPhoto != null)
{
return View("Details", requestedPhoto);
}
else
{
}
}
Note that the action method code uses the parameter title to formulate a LINQ to Entities query.
In this case, the query searches for a Photo with the specified Title. Parameters in action
methods are frequently used in this manner.
Note: The example works if the DefaultModelBinder passes parameters. If you create a
custom model binder in your application, you must ensure that it passes parameters in the
correct manner. Otherwise, the action method cannot access the parameters that the user
specified in the request.
Question: How does DefaultModelBinder pass parameters?
Passing Information to Views

You can pass a model object, such as a Photo, from the action method to the view by using the
View() helper method. This is a frequently-used method to pass information from a controller
action to a view. This is because this method adheres closely to the Model-View-Controller
pattern, in which each view renders the properties found in the model class, which the view
receives from the controller. You should use this approach wherever possible.
However, in some cases, you may want to augment the information in the model class with
some extra values. For example, you may want to send a title, which needs to be inserted in the
page header, to the view. Furthermore, some views do not use model classes. The home page of
a website, for example, often does not have a specific model class. To help in these situations,
you can use two other methods to provide extra data: ViewBag and ViewData.
Using The ViewBag
The ViewBag is a dynamic object that is part of the base controller class. Because it is a
dynamic object, you can add properties that are of any type to it, in the action method. In the
view, you can use the ViewBag object to obtain the values added in the action.
You can add properties to the ViewBag object in the action method as illustrated in the
following lines of code.
Adding Properties to the ViewBag Object

ViewBag.Message = "This text is not in the model object";
ViewBag.ServerTime = DateTime.Now;
To obtain and use the same properties in a view, you can use the following Razor code.
Using ViewBag Properties

<p>
The message of the day is: @ViewBag.Message
</p>
<p>
The time on the server is: @ViewBag.ServerTime.ToString()
</p>
Using The ViewData Dictionary
The ViewBag object was added to MVC in version 3. In the earlier versions, you could pass
extra data to views by using the ViewData dictionary. This feature is still available in MVC 4
for backward compatibility and for developers who prefer to use dictionary objects. In fact,
ViewBag is a dynamic wrapper above the ViewData dictionary. This means that you could
save a value in a controller action by using ViewBag and read the same value back out by using
ViewData.
In action methods, you can add data to the ViewData dictionary by using key/value pairs as the
following lines of code illustrate.
Adding Data to the ViewData

ViewData["Message"] = " This text is not in the model object"
ViewData["ServerTime"] = DateTime.Now;
To obtain and use the same values in a view, you can use the following Razor code.
Using ViewData Values

<p>
The message of the day is: @ViewData["Message"]
</p>
<p>
The time on the server is: @((DateTime)ViewData["ServerTime"])
</p>
In the examples, note that you can cast any ViewData values other than strings.
Question: Do ViewBag and ViewData serve different purposes?
Demonstration: How to Create a Controller

In this demonstration, you will see how to create a controller and write common actions in the
controller.
Note: At the end of this demonstration, the application will not include views. Therefore, the
application cannot display webpages.
Demonstration Steps
1.
right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click Controller.
2. In the Controller Name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type OperaController.
3. In the Template box, click Empty MVC controller, and then click Add.
In the OperaController.cs code window, locate the following code.
4.
using System.Web.MVC;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the System.Web.MVC namespace, press Enter, and
5.
using OperasWebSite.Models;
In the OperaController class code block, press Enter, type the following code, and then
press Enter.
6.
private OperasDB contextDB =
new OperasDB();
In the Index action code block, select the following code.
7.
return View();
Replace the selected code with the following code.
8.
return View("Index",
contextDB.Operas.ToList());
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Index action code block, press Enter, and then
type the following code.
9.
public ActionResult Details (int id)
{
}
In the Details action code block, type the following code.
Opera opera =
contextDB.Operas.Find(id);
if (opera != null)
10. {
return View("Details", opera);
}
else
{
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Details action code block, press Enter twice, and
11.
{
}
In the Create action code block, type the following code.
12.
Opera newOpera = new Opera();
return View("Create", newOpera);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Create action code block, press Enter twice, and
13. [HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create
(Opera newOpera)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the Create action code block with the HTTP verb POST, and
{
contextDB.Operas.Add(newOpera);
14. contextDB.SaveChanges();
return
RedirectToAction("Index");
}
else
{
return View("Create", newOpera);
}
On the FILE menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Save
15.
Controllers\OperaControllers.cs.
In the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
16.
Note: The message, “Save changes to the following items?” is displayed.
In the Microsoft Visual Studio dialog box, note that the message, “Save changes to the
17.
following items?” is displayed, and then click Yes.
What Are Controller Factories?

A controller factory is an MVC component that instantiates the controller classes that you
create.
For example, when a user requests a list of Photo model objects, a controller factory should
create an instance of the PhotoController class. An action invoker then calls one of the action
methods in that class, and a model binder passes parameters to it.
The MVC framework includes a built-in DefaultControllerFactory class that is suitable for
most web applications. However, you must understand how DefaultControllerFactory
determines the controller class that it needs to create. Occasionally, you may need to create a
custom controller factory to implement your own controller creation logic.
How the DefaultControllerFactory Class Locates a Controller Class
The DefaultControllerFactory class identifies controller classes by using the following

criteria:
o The class scope must be public.

o The class must not be marked as abstract.
o The class must not take generic parameters.
o The class must have a name that ends with Controller.
o The class must implement the IController interface.
When the MVC web application starts, DefaultControllerFactory creates a list of all the
classes in the application that satisfy these criteria. This list helps to create the correct controller
rapidly. To write a controller, you must ensure that all the above mentioned criteria are
implemented. Usually, you meet the IController interface criterion by inheriting from the base
Controller class.
By default, the DefaultControllerFactory mandates all controller classes to end with the word
Controller. For example, following this convention, for the Photo model class, you would
create a controller called PhotoController.
Creating a Custom Controller Factory
Occasionally, you might want to implement a custom controller factory. There are two common
reasons for doing this:
To modify the criteria for selecting controllers. The criteria described earlier are suitable for
most web applications, but sometimes, you may want to change them. For example, you may
o
not want to name controllers with Controller at the end, or you may want to add extra
criteria of your own.
To support direct injection for testing. Direct injection is a programming technique that lets
you specify classes at run time, instead of specifying classes when writing code. This is
o
helpful for unit testing because you can inject a test class with mock data, instead of real data.
The DefaultControllerFactory class does not support direct injection.
The following code shows how to create a custom controller factory by implementing the
IControllerFactory interface.
A Custom Controller Factory

public class AdWorksControllerFactory : IControllerFactory
{
public IController CreateController (RequestContext requestContext, string
ControllerName)
{
Type targetType = null;
if (ControllerName == "Photo")
{
targetType = typeof(PhotoController);
}
else
{
targetType = typeof(GeneralPurposeController);
}
return targetType == null ? null :
(IController)Activator.CreateInstance(targetType);
}
public SessionStateBehavior GetControllerSessionBehavior(RequestContext
requestContext,
string controllerName)
{
return SessionStateBehavior.Default;
}
public void ReleaseController(IController controller)
{
IDisposable disposable = controller as IDisposable;
if (disposable != null)
{
disposable.Dispose();
}
}
}
You must implement the CreateController, GetControllerSessionBehavior, and

ReleaseController methods for any custom controller factory you create.
For example, if the controller name passed to a controller factory is “Photo”, then the
PhotoController is used. Otherwise, the GeneralPurposeController is used. The logic in a
real custom controller should be more sophisticated than in this example. However the example
illustrates the minimal required code to create a custom controller factory.
Registering a Custom Controller Factory
Even if you create a custom controller factory in your application, MVC will still use the
DefaultControllerFactory class, unless you register your custom factory.
You register a custom controller factory by using the ControllerBuilder class in the
Global.asax file, as the following lines of code show.
Registering a Custom Controller Factory

protected void Application_Start()
{
ControllerBuilder.Current.SetControllerFactory(new
AdWorksControllerFactory());
}
Question: Can you create a controller that does not end with “Controller”?

In some situations, you may need to run code before or after controller actions run. Before a
user runs any action that modifies data, you might want to run the code that checks the details
of the user account. If you add such code to the actions themselves, you will have to duplicate
the code in all the actions where you want the code to run. Action filters provide a convenient
way to avoid code duplication. You need to know how to create and use action filters in your
web application, and when to use them.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe action filters.

o Create action filters.
o Determine when to use action filters.
What Are Filters?
The MVC programming model enforces the separation of concerns. For example, the business
logic in model classes is separate from the input logic in controllers and the user interface logic
in views. Each model class is also clearly distinct from other model classes. However, there are
scenarios where requirements may be relevant to many parts of your application and cut across
logical boundaries. For example, authorization must be done for many sensitive actions and
controllers, regardless of the model and views that they return. These types of requirements are
known as
cross-cutting concerns. Some common examples of cross-cutting concerns include

authorization, logging, and caching.
Filters
Filters are MVC classes that you can use to manage cross-cutting concerns in your web
application. You can apply a filter to a controller action by annotating the action method with
the appropriate attribute. For example, an action annotated with the [Authorize] attribute, can
be run only by authenticated users. You can also apply a filter to every action in a controller by
annotating the controller class with the attribute.
Filter Types
There are four types of filters that you can use in MVC. These filters run at slightly different
stages in the request process.
Filter Type Interface Default Class Description

Runs before any other filter and
before the code in the action method.
Authorization IAuthorizationFilter AuthorizeAttribute
Used to check a user’s access rights
for the action.
Runs before and after the code in the
Action IActionFilter ActionFilterAttribute
action method.
Runs before and after a result is
Result IResultFilter ActionFilterAttribute
returned from an action method.
Runs only if the action method or
Exception IExceptionFilter HandleErrorAttribute another filter throws an exception.
Used to handle errors.
Question: Which filter type will you use for the following actions?
1. Intercepting an error
2. Modifying a result
3. Authorizing users
4. Inspecting a returned value
Creating and Using Action Filters

If you have a cross-cutting concern in your web application, you can implement it by creating a
custom action filter or a custom result filter. You can create custom filters by implementing the
IActionFilter interface or the IResultFilter interface. However, the ActionFilterAttribute
base class implements both the IActionFilter and IResultFilter interfaces for you. By deriving
your filter from the ActionFilterAttribute class, you can create a single filter that can run code
both before and after the action runs, and both before and after the result is returned.
The following code shows how an action filter is used to write text to the Visual Studio Output
window in the order in which the IActionFilter and IResultFilter events run. Place this code in a
class file within your web application.
A Simple Custom Action Filter

public class SimpleActionFilter : ActionFilterAttribute
{
public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
{
Debug.WriteLine("This Event Fired: OnActionExecuting");
}
public override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext filterContext)
{
Debug.WriteLine("This Event Fired: OnActionExecuted");
}
public override void OnResultExecuting(ResultExecutingContext filterContext)
{
Debug.WriteLine("This Event Fired: OnResultExecuting");
}
public override void OnResultExecuted(ResultExecutedContext filterContext)
{
Debug.WriteLine("This Event Fired: OnResultExecuted");
}
}
Note: You can also create a custom authorization filter by implementing the
IAuthorizationFilter interface. However, the default AuthorizeAttribute implementation is
highly useful and satisfies almost all authentication requirements. You should be careful when
overriding the default security code in MVC or any other programming model. If you do so
without a full understanding of the implications, you can introduce security vulnerabilities that a
malicious user can exploit.
Using a Custom Action Filter
After you have created a custom action filter, you can apply it to any action method or class in
your web application by annotating the method or class with the action filter name.
In the following lines of code, the SimpleActionFilter is applied to the Index action of the
Photo controller.
Using A Custom Action Filter

{
ContextDB contextDB = new ContextDB();
[SimpleActionFilter]
{
return View("Index", contextDB.Photos.ToList());
}
}
Question: What are the advantages of custom action filters?
Discussion: Action Filter Scenarios

Consider the following scenarios. In each case, discuss with the rest of the class whether the
scenario requires a custom filter, or can be solved with a built-in filter type, or cannot be solved
with filters.
You are writing a photo sharing application and you want to enable each user to discuss
photos, cameras, lenses, and other photography equipment with other users whom they have
1. marked as their friends.
Other users should be prevented from seeing these discussions.

You want to ensure that when MVC calls the GetImage action method, the ID in the query
2.
string is passed as a parameter.
You are writing a photo sharing application and you want to prevent unauthenticated users
3.
from adding comments to a photo.
You want to prevent malicious users from intercepting the credentials entered by users in the
4.
logon form for your web application. You want to ensure that the credentials are encrypted.

Scenario
You have been asked to add a controller to the photo sharing application that corresponds to the
Photo model class that you have created in an earlier module. The controller should include
actions that respond when users upload photos, list all photos, display a single photo, and delete
photos from the application. You should also add an action that returns the photo as a .jpg file to
show on a webpage.
The members of your development team are new to ASP.NET MVC and they find the use of
controller actions confusing. Therefore, you need to help them by adding a component that
displays action parameters in the Visual Studio Output window whenever an action runs. You
will add an action filter to achieve this.
Note: The controllers and views that you have added in Lab 2 were to test your new model
classes. They have been removed from the project to create the actual controllers. You will
create temporary views to test these controllers at the end of this lab.
Objectives
o Add an MVC controller to a web application.

Write actions in an MVC controller that respond to user operations such as create, index,
o
display, and delete.
o Write action filters that run code for multiple actions.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
o
Exercise 1: Adding an MVC Controller and Writing the Actions
Scenario
In this exercise, you will create the MVC controller that handles photo operations. You will also
add the following actions:
Index. This action gets a list of all the Photo objects and passes the list to the Index view for
o
display.
Display. This action takes an ID to find a single Photo object. It passes the Photo to the
o
Display view for display.
Create (GET). This action creates a new Photo object and passes it to the Create view, which
o
displays a form that the visitor can use to upload a photo and describe it.
Create (POST). This action receives a Photo object from the Create view and saves the
o
details to the database.
Delete (GET). This action displays a Photo object and requests confirmation from the user to
o
delete the Photo object.
o DeleteConfirmed (POST). This action deletes a Photo object after confirmation.
GetImage: This action returns the photo image from the database as a JPEG file. This method
o
is called by multiple views to display the image.
1. Create a photo controller.

2. Create the Index action.
3. Create the Display action.
4. Write the Create actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
5. Create the Delete actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
6. Create the GetImage action.
Task 1: Create a photo controller.

o User name: Admin
2. Open the PhotoSharingApplication.sln file from the following location:
3. File path: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod04\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication
Create a new controller for handling photo objects by using the following information:
4. o Controller name: PhotoController
o Template: Empty MVC controller
Add using statements to the controller for the following namespaces:
5.
o System.Collections.Generic
o System.Globalization
o PhotoSharingApplication.Models
In the PhotoController class, create a new private object by using the following information:
o Scope: private
6. o Class: PhotoSharingContext
o Name: context
Instantiate the new object by calling the PhotoSharingContext constructor.
Task 2: Create the Index action.
Edit the code in the Index action by using the following information:
1. o Return class: View

o View name: Index
o Model: context.Photos.ToList()
Task 3: Create the Display action.
Add a method for the Display action by using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Return Type: ActionResult
o Name: Display
o Parameters: One integer called id
2. Within the Display action code block, add code to find a single photo object from its ID.
3. If no photo with the right ID is found, return the HttpNotFound value.
4. If a photo with the right ID is found, pass it to a view called Display.
Task 4: Write the Create actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
Add a method for the Create action by using the following information:
1. o Scope: public
o Return type: ActionResult
o Name: Create
Add code to the Create action that creates a new Photo and sets its CreatedDate property to
2.
today’s date.
3. Pass the new Photo to a view called Create.
Add another method for the Create action by using the following information:
o HTTP verb: HTTP Post

o Scope: public
o Name: Create
o First parameter: a Photo object called photo.
o Second parameter: an HttpPostedFileBase object called image.
5. Add code to the Create action that sets the photo.CreatedDate property to today’s date.
If the ModelState is not valid, pass the photo object to the Create view. Else, if the image
parameter is not null, set the photo.ImageMimeType property to the value of
6. image.ContentType, set the photo.PhotoFile property to be a new byte array of length,
image.ContextLength, and then save the file that the user posted to the photo.PhotoFile
property by using the image.InputStream.Read() method.
7. Add the photo object to the context, save the changes, and then redirect to the Index action.
Task 5: Create the Delete actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
Add a method for the Delete action by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Name: Delete
o Parameter: an integer called id
2. In the Delete action, add code to find a single photo object from its id.
3. If no Photo with the right id is found, return the HttpNotFound value
4. If a Photo with the right id is found, pass it to a view called Delete.
Add a method called DeleteConfirmed by using the following information:
o HTTP verb: HTTP Post

o ActionName: Delete
5. o Scope: public
o Name: DeleteConfirmed
6. Find the correct photo object from the context by using the id parameter.
Remove the photo object from the context, save your changes and redirect to the Index
7.
action.
Task 6: Create the GetImage action.
Add a method for the GetImage action by using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Return type: FileContentResult
o Name: GetImage
2. Find the correct photo object from the context by using the id parameter.
If the photo object is not null, return a File result constructed from the photo.PhotoFile and
3.
photo.ImageMimeType properties, else return the null value.
4. Save the file.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC controller that
implements common actions for the Photo model class in the Photo Sharing application.
Exercise 2: Optional—Writing the Action Filters in a Controller
Scenario
Your development team is new to MVC and is having difficulty in passing the right parameters
to controllers and actions. You need to implement a component that displays the controller
names, action names, parameter names, and values in the Visual Studio Output window to help
with this problem. In this exercise, you will create an action filter for this purpose.
Complete this exercise if time permits.
1. Add an action filter class.

2. Add a logValues method to the action filter class.
3. Add a handler for the OnActionExecuting event.
4. Register the Action Filter with the Photo Controller.
Task 1: Add an action filter class.
Create a new class for the action filter by using the following information:
1. o Name: ValueReporter
o Folder: Controllers
Add using statements to the controller for the following namespaces:
2.
o System.Diagnostics
o System.Web.Mvc
o System.Web.Routing
3. Ensure that the ValueReporter class inherits from the ActionFilterAttribute class.
Task 2: Add a logValues method to the action filter class.
Add a method to the ValueReporter class by using the following information:
o Scope: private
1. o Return type: void
o Name: logValues
o Parameter: a RouteData object called routeData.
Within the logValues method, call the Debug.WriteLine method to send the name of the
2. controller and action to the Visual Studio Output window. For the category, use the string,
“Action Values”.
Within the logValues method, create a foreach loop that loops through the var items in
3.
routeData.Values.
In the foreach loop, call the Debug.WriteLine method to send the key name and value to
4.
Visual Studio Output window.
Task 3: Add a handler for the OnActionExecuting event.
1. In the ValueReporter action filter, override the OnActionExecuting event handler.

In the OnActionExecuting event handler, call the logValues method, and pass the
2.
filterContext.RouteData object.
3. Save the file.
Task 4: Register the Action Filter with the Photo Controller.
Open the PhotoController class and add the ValueReporter action filter to the
1.
PhotoController class.
2. Save the file.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an action filter class that logs
the details of actions, controllers, and parameters to the Visual Studio Output window,
whenever an action is called.
Exercise 3: Using the Photo Controller
Scenario
Create a temporary index and display views by using the scaffold code that is built into the
o
Visual Studio MVC application template.
Use the views to test controllers, actions, and action filters, and run the Photo Sharing
o
application.
1. Create the Index and Display views.

2. Use the GetImage action in the Display view.
3. Run the application and display a photo.
Task 1: Create the Index and Display views.
1. Compile the PhotoSharingApplication project to build the solution.

Add a new view to the Index action method of the PhotoController class by using the
o Folder: Views/Photo
2. o Name: Index
o View type: Strong
o Scaffold template: List
Add a new view to the Display action method of the PhotoController class by using the
o Folder: Views/Photo
3. o Name: Display
o View type: Strong
o Scaffold template: Details
Task 2: Use the GetImage action in the Display view.
In the Display.cshtml code window, after the code that displays the model.Title property,
1.
add a code that runs if the Model.PhotoFile property is not null.
Within the if code block, render an <img> tag. Use the following information:
2. o Tag: <img>
o Width: 800px
o Source: Blank
In the src attribute of the <img> tag, add a call to the Url.Action helper by using the
3. o Controller: Photo
o Action: GetImage
o Parameters: Model.PhotoID
4. Save the file.
5. Build the solution.
Task 3: Run the application and display a photo.
Start debugging the application and access the following relative path:
1.
o Path: /photo/index
If you completed Exercise 2, in the Output pane of the PhotoSharingApplication -
2. Microsoft Visual Studio window, locate the last entry in the Action Values category to
verify whether there are any calls to the Display and the GetImage actions.
3. Display an image.
If you completed Exercise 2, in the Output pane of the PhotoSharingApplication -
4. Microsoft Visual Studio window, locate the last entry in the Action Values category to
verify whether there are any calls to the Display and the GetImage actions.
5. Stop debugging and close Microsoft Visual Studio.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC application with
views that you can use to test controllers, actions, and action filters.
Question: What will happen if you click the Edit or Delete links in the Index view in the Lab?
Question: Why did you use the ActionName annotation for the DeleteConfirmed action in the
PhotoController class?
Question: In the lab, you added two actions with the name, Create. Why is it possible to add
these actions without using the ActionName annotation?

In this module, you have seen the pivotal role that controllers and actions take in the
construction of an MVC web application. Controllers and actions ensure that the application
responds correctly to each user request, create instances of model classes, and pass the model
class to a view for display. In the next module, you will see how to create and code views to
implement the user interface for your application.
Best Practice: Unless you have a good reason not to, keep to the convention that each
controller should be named to match the corresponding model class, with “Controller”
appended. For example, for the Photo model class, the controller should be called
PhotoController. By maintaining this convention, you create a logically named set of model and
controller classes, and can use the default controller factory.
Best Practice: Take great care if you choose to override the built-in AuthorizeAttribute filter
because it implements permissions and security for the web application. If you carelessly
modify the security infrastructure of the MVC framework, you may introduce vulnerabilities in
your application. Instead, use the built-in filter wherever possible.
Review Question(s)
Question: You want to ensure that the CreatedDate property of a new Photo object is set to
today’s date when the object is created. Should this value be set in the Photo model class
constructor method or in the PhotoController Create action method?
MODULE 05: DEVELOPING ASP.NET MVC 4 VIEWS

Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Creating Views with Razor Syntax
Module Overview
Views are one of the three major components of the MVC programming model. You can
construct the user interface for your web application by writing views. A view is a mixture of
HTML markup and code that runs on the web server. You need to know how to write the
HTML and code found in a view and use the various helper classes built into MVC. You also
need to know how to write partial views, which render sections of HTML that can be re-used in
many places in your web application. The knowledge of creating views will help you develop
webpages that present dynamic content.
Objectives
o Create an MVC view and add Razor markup to it to display data to users.
o Use HTML helpers in a view to render controls, links, and other HTML elements.
o Re-use Razor markup in multiple locations throughout an application.
Lesson 1 : Creating Views with Razor Syntax

When a user makes a request to an MVC web application, a controller responds. Often, the
controller action instantiates a model object, for example, a Product. The controller might get
the Product by querying the database, by creating a new Product, or by performing some other
step. To display the Product, the controller creates a view and passes the Product to it. The
view builds a webpage by inserting properties from the Product, and sometimes, from other
sources, into HTML markup. MVC sends the completed webpage to the browser. To create
views, you must understand how MVC interprets the code you place in views and how a
completed HTML page is built. By default, the Razor view engine performs this interpretation,
but you can also use other view engines. If you take time to understand Razor, you will find it
to be an excellent and versatile view engine that gives a great degree of control over the
rendered HTML. Other view engines have very different syntaxes, which you may prefer if you
have worked with earlier versions of ASP.NET or other server-side web technologies, such as
Ruby on Rails.
Lesson Objectives
o Add views to an MVC 4 web application.

o Use the @ symbol in a Razor view to treat code as content.
o Describe the features of Razor syntax.
o Bind views to model classes to display data.
o Explain how to render HTML that is accessible to visitors with low vision.
o List a few alternative view engines to the Razor view engine.
Adding Views
In an MVC application, there is usually one controller for every model class. For example, a
model class named Product usually has a controller called ProductController that contains all
the actions relevant to products. There may be some controllers that do not correspond to any
model classes, such as the HomeController.
However, each controller can have multiple views.
For example, you may want to create the following views for Product objects:
Details. The details view can display a Product, its price, catalog number, and
o
other details.
o Create. The create view can enable users to add a new Product in the catalog.
o Edit. The edit view can enable users to modify the properties of an existing Product.
o Delete. The delete view can enable users to remove a Product from the catalog.
o Index. The index view can display all the Product objects in the catalog.
By convention, an MVC web application creates all views within the top-level Views folder.
Within this folder, there is a folder for each controller in the application. In the preceding
example, the Views folder would contain a Product folder. This folder would contain the
Details, Create, Edit, Delete, and Index views.
If you use the Razor view engine and the C# language, views are files with a .cshtml extension.
If you use the Razor view engine and the Visual Basic language, views are files with a .vbhtml
extension. Other view engines use different extensions.
How to Create a View File
You can add a view file in Visual Studio by performing the following steps:
In the Solution Explorer pane, select the folder where you want to create the view. For
1. example, for a controller named ProductController, MVC expects view files to be located
in the Views/Product folder.
2. Right-click the selected folder, point to Add, and then select View.
Alternatively, you can create a view file for a particular controller action by opening the
controller code file, right-clicking the action, and then clicking Add View. If you create a view
by using the controller code file, some properties in the Add View dialog box are filled in by
default.
The following table describes the properties that you must complete in the Add View dialog
box.
Property Description
This is the name of the view. The view file name is this name with the
View name appropriate extension added. The name you choose should match the name
returned by the corresponding controller action. If the action controller does
not specify the name of the view to use, MVC assumes the name of the view
matches the name of the controller action.
By default, you can select the Razor or ASPX view engines in this list. Other
View engine
engines may be available if you have installed them.
When you select this check box, you bind the view to a specific model class,
Create a
such as a Product class. When you use strongly-typed views, you get
strongly-typed
additional IntelliSense and error checking help in Visual Studio as you write
view
code in the view.
If you create a strongly-typed view, you need to specify the model class to bind
Model class to the view. Visual Studio will use this class when it formulates IntelliSense
prompts and checks for compile-time errors.
A scaffold template is a basic view that Visual Studio can use to create the
view. If you specify a model class for the view, Visual Studio can create
Scaffold
simple templates for Create, Edit, Details, Delete, and List views. When you
template
become more experienced in using views, you may prefer to build a view from
the empty scaffold template, rather than use populated scaffold templates.
Reference When you select this check box, links to common client-side script files are
script libraries included in the view. These links include the jQuery JavaScript library.
Create as a A partial view is a section of Razor code that you can re-use in multiple views
partial view in your application.
Use a layout A layout or master page can be used to impose a standard layout and branding
or master page on many pages within the web application.
Note: You will see other view engines later in this module.
Question: You are using the Razor view engine and Visual Basic to create views. You right-
click the Delete action in the CustomerController.vb file. What is the name of the view file
that Visual Studio will create by default?
Differentiating Server Side Code from HTML
The Razor view engine interprets view files and runs any server-side code contained in the view
files. To do this, Razor must distinguish server-side code from HTML content that should be
sent to the browser unchanged.
The Razor view engine looks for the @ symbol to identify server-side code.
In the following code example, Razor runs the line with the @ symbol as C# code on the web
server.
This code example displays the value of the Title property of the model class.
Using @ to Declare Server-Side Code

<p>Razor will not interpret any character in this line as code, because there is
no “at”
symbol</p>
<p>
The photo title is:
@Model.Title
</p>
A section of code marked with the @ symbol is referred to as a Razor code expression. In Razor
syntax, you mark the start of a Razor code expression with the @ symbol, but unlike the ASPX
view engine, Razor lacks an expression ending symbol. Instead, Razor infers the end of a code
expression by using a fairly sophisticated parsing engine.
Modifying the Interpretation of Code and Content
Sometimes, you may need to modify the logic that Razor uses to interpret code expressions. For
example, if you want to display an @ symbol in the browser, you use @@. Razor interprets this
as an escape sequence and renders a single @ symbol. This technique is useful for rendering
email addresses.
Razor has sophisticated logic to distinguish code from content and often the @ symbol is all
that is required. However, occasionally, you may find that an error occurs because Razor
misinterprets content as code. To fix such errors, you can use the @: delimiter, which explicitly
declares a line as content and not code.
If you want to declare several lines as content, use the <text> tag instead of the @: delimiter.
Razor removes the <text> and </text> tags before returning the content to the browser.
In the following code example, Razor interprets the @: delimiter to display plain text.
Using the @: Delimiter

@(
@: This text is in a code block but the delimiter declares it as content.
)
HTML Encoding
For security reasons, when Razor runs any server-side code that returns a string, it encodes the
string as HTML before rendering it to the browser. For example, you may have a Comment
model class with the following properties:
Subject. This property contains a subject for the comment as a simple string with no
o
formatting information.
HtmlComment. This property contains the comment text itself. More important, it includes
o the formatting information as HTML tags. For example, it might include <i> tags to italicize
a word.
If you have used the normal @Model.HtmlComment syntax to return the formatted comment
text, Razor encodes “<” as “&lt” and “>” as “&gt” in the HTML source. This results in the user
seeing “<i>” on the webpage. This is not the behavior you intend because you want the users to
see italicized text.
To render text without HTML encoding, use the Html.Raw() helper. For example, use
@Html.Raw(Model.HtmlComment).
Note: Razor encodes text as HTML for a specific security reason—to stop malicious users from
injecting malicious code into your web application. If such attacks are successful, injected code
may circumvent security restrictions in your web application and deny service to users, or it
may access sensitive information. Therefore, you should only use the Html.Raw() helper when
it is absolutely necessary. Also, if you must use the Html.Raw() helper, you must ensure that it
does not operate on unchecked strings entered by users.
Features of Razor Syntax

Razor includes many useful features that you can use to control the manner in which ASP.NET
MVC renders your view as HTML. These features include the following:
Razor Comments
You may want to include comments in your Razor code to describe it to other developers in
your team. This is an important technique that improves developer productivity by making it
easier to understand code.
You can declare a Razor comment by using the
@* delimiter, as shown in the following code example.
A Razor Comment
@* This text will not be rendered by the Razor view engine, because this is a
comment. *@
Implicit Code Expressions and Parentheses
Razor uses implicit code expressions to determine parts of a line that are server-side code.
Usually, implicit code expressions render the HTML you want, but occasionally, you might find
that Razor interprets an expression as HTML when it should be run as server-side code.
For example, if the Product.Price property contains the value 2.00, the following code renders
“Price Including Sales Tax: 2.00 * 1.2”.
An Implicit Code Expression

<span>Price Including Sales Tax: @Model.Price * 1.2</span>
You can control and alter this behavior by using parentheses to enclose the expression for Razor
to evaluate.
For example, if the Product.Price property contains the value 2.00, the following code renders
“Price Including Sales Tax: 2.40”.
Using Parentheses to Explicitly Delimit Expressions

<span>Price Including Sales Tax: @(Model.Price * 1.2)</span>
Razor Code Blocks, Loops, and Conditions
If you want to write multiple lines of server-side code, you can do it without prefacing every
line with the @ symbol by using a Razor code block.
A Razor Code Block

@ {
//Razor interprets all text within these curly braces as server-side code.
}
Razor also includes code blocks that run conditional statements or loop through collections.
For example, Razor runs the following code only if the Product.InStock Boolean property
returns true.
A Razor If Code Block

@if (Model.InStock)
{
Html.ActionLink("Buy This Product", "AddToCart")
}
Razor loops are useful for creating index views, which display many objects of a particular
model class. A product catalog page, which displays many products from the database, is a
good example of an index view. To implement an index view, a controller action passes an
enumerable collection of objects to the view.
You can loop through all the objects in an enumerable collection by using the foreach code
block:
A Razor Foreach Code Block

@foreach (var item in Model)
{
<div>@item.ProductName</div>
}
Question: You want to describe a code block to developers in your view file. You do not want
your description to be passed to the browser. What syntax should you use?
Binding Views to Model Classes and Displaying Properties

Many Razor views are designed to display properties from a specific model class. If you bind
such views to the class they display, you get extra help such as IntelliSense feedback as you
write the Razor code. Other views may display properties from different model classes in
different cases, or may not use a model class at all. These views cannot be bound to a model
class and are called dynamic views. You must understand how to write Razor code for both
these situations.
Strongly-Typed Views
In many cases, when you create a view, you know that the controller action will always pass an
object of a specific model class. For example, if you are writing the Display view for the
Display action in the Product controller, you know from the action code that the action will
always pass a Product object to the view.
In such cases, you can create a strongly-typed view. A strongly-typed view is a view that
includes a declaration of the model class. When you declare the model class in the view, Visual
Studio helps you with additional IntelliSense feedback and error-checking as you write the
code. This is possible because Visual Studio can check the properties that the model class
includes. Troubleshooting run-time errors is also easy. You should create strongly-typed views
whenever you can so that you benefit from this extra IntelliSense and error-checking. If you
follow this as a best practice, you will make fewer coding errors. A strongly-typed view only
works with an object of the model class in the declaration.
To create a strongly-typed view in Visual Studio, select Create a strongly typed view in the
Add View dialog box, and then choose the model class to bind to the view.
You can choose the Product model class so that Visual Studio can bind the view to the class
you specify, by adding the following line of code at the top of the view file.
The Model Declaration

@model MyWebSite.Models.Product
Later in the view file, you can access properties of the model object by using the Model helper.
For example, you might access a product catalog number in this manner:
@Model.CatalogNumber.
Binding to an Enumerable List
Some views display many instances of a model class. For example, a product catalog page
displays many instances of the Product model class. In such cases, the controller action passes
a list of model objects to the view, instead of a single model object. You can still create a
strongly-typed view in this situation, but you must use a different model declaration. You
usually loop through the items in the list by using a Razor foreach loop.
The following code example shows a multiple-item view with the model declaration and the
loop that enumerates all the Product objects passed by the action.
A View of a List of Objects

@model IEnumerable<MyWebSite.Models.Product>
<h1>Product Catalog</h1>
@foreach (var Product in Model)
{
<div>Name: @Product.Name</div>
}
Using Dynamic Views
Sometimes, you might want to create a view that can display more than one model class. For
example, you might want to create a view that can display your own products and products
from a different supplier, together. These model classes might be named Product and
ThirdPartyProduct. Some properties can be similar while others differ. For example, both
Product and ThirdPartyProduct might include the Price property while only the
ThirdPartyProduct model class includes the Supplier property.
Furthermore, sometimes, the controller action does not pass any model class to the view. The
most common example of such a classless view is the site home page.
In such cases, you can create a dynamic view. A dynamic view does not include the @model
declaration at the top of the page. You can choose to add the @model declaration to change the
view into a strongly-typed view, later.
When you create dynamic views, you receive less helpful IntelliSense feedback and error
checking because Visual Studio cannot check the model class properties to verify the code. In
such scenarios, you have to ensure that you access only the properties that exist. To access a
property that may or may not exist, such as the ThirdPartyProduct.Supplier property in the
preceding example, check the property for null before you use it.
Question: You want to write a view that displays ten objects of the Photo model class. What
model declaration should you use?
Rendering Accessible HTML
The Internet is for everyone, regardless of any disabilities an individual user may have.
Furthermore, if users with disabilities cannot easily browse your website, they may visit your
competitors’ websites and your company may lose business. You should therefore ensure that
people with disabilities—such as those who have low vision or are hard-of-hearing—can use
your web application, and that their web browsers can parse the HTML content that your site
presents. Because MVC views are responsible for rendering HTML in an MVC web
application, you render accessible
HTML by writing views that follow accessibility guidelines. When you write views, keep the
following challenges and best practices in mind.
Users have different requirements depending on their abilities and disabilities. For example,
consider the following factors:
Users with low vision may use a standard browser, but they may increase text size with a
o
screen magnifier so that they can read the content.
Profoundly blind users may use a browser with text-to-speech software or text-to-Braille
o
hardware.
o Color-blind users may have difficulty if a color difference is used to highlight text.
o Deaf users may not be able to access audio content.
o Users with limited dexterity may find it difficult to click small targets.
o User with epilepsy may have seizures if presented with flashing content.
You can ensure that your content is accessible to the broadest range of users by adhering to the
following guidelines:
Do not rely on color differences to highlight text or other content. For example, links should
o
be underlined or formatted in bold font to emphasize them to color-blind users.
Always provide equivalent alternative content for visual and auditory content. For example,
o always complete the alt attribute for images. Use this attribute to describe the image so that
text-to-speech software or text-to-Braille hardware can render meaningful words to the user.
Use markup and style sheets to separate content from structure and presentation code. This
helps text interpretation software to render content to users without being confused by
structural and presentation code. For example, you should apply the following best practices
to display content on your webpage:
Avoid using tables to display the content. You should use tables only to present tabulated
content. Tables can be used to render graphics and branding on a webpage, but in an
▪
accessible site, use positional style sheets to display content. Text readers do not read style
sheets.
Avoid using nested tables. In a nested table, a table cell contains another table. These are
o particularly confusing to text readers because they read each table cell in a sequential
▪
order. The user is likely to become disoriented and unable to determine which cell is being
read and what it means.
Avoid using images that include important text. Text readers cannot render text from
▪
within an image file. Instead, use markup to render this text.
Additional Reading: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a project called the Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI) that promotes accessible web content. This project has
published the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines are accepted
by the web publishing industry as definitive. To read the full guidelines, go to:
Note: In ASP.NET MVC, the developer has complete control over the HTML that the web
server sends to the web browser. However, you must understand accessibility principles to write
accessible MVC views. Ensure that your entire development team is familiar with the
requirements of accessibility and the related best practices.
Question: You want to present your company logo at the uppermost part of the page. The logo
is a .gif file that includes the name of the company in an unusual font. How can you ensure that
the logo is accessible?
Alternative View Engines
A view engine is a component of the MVC framework that is responsible for locating view
files, running the server-side code they contain, and rendering HTML that the browser can
display to the user. Many views work with the Razor view engine. Razor is the default view
engine in MVC 4 and is a highly flexible and efficient view engine.
However, some developers may prefer to use a different view engine for the following reasons:
View Location Logic. Razor assumes that all views are located in the Views top-
level folder. Within this, Razor assumes

o that each controller has a separate folder. For example, views for the ProductController are
located in the Product folder within Views. Razor also looks for some views in the Shared
subfolder. These views can be used by more than one controller. If you do not like this view
location logic, you can use an alternate view engine, or create a custom view engine.
View Syntax. Each view engine uses a different syntax in view files. For example, in Razor,
the @ symbol delimits server-side code. By contrast, in the ASPX view engine, <% %>
delimiters are used. This is familiar to developers who have worked with Web Forms. You
may prefer one syntax over another for the following reasons:
Experience. The technologies that you or your team have previously worked with may
o ▪ make it easier for you to learn the syntax of a specific view engine.
Readability. Some view engines work with view files that are easily readable for anyone
▪ who knows HTML. Web designers, who do not know C# or other programming languages,
may be able to learn readable syntaxes.
Succinctness. Some view engines work with view files that are terse and generate HTML
▪
with relatively small amounts of code.
Common View Engines
The following table describes and compares four popular view engines.
View
Description Code Example
Engine
This is the default view
engine for MVC 4. It is easy
@model IEnumerable<MyWebSite.Models.Product>
to learn for anyone who has
experience in HTML and C# <ul>
Razor or Visual Basic. Visual @foreach (var p in Model)
Studio provides good {
<li>Name: @p.Name</li>
IntelliSense feedback for }
Razor code and it is
compatible with unit testing.
This was the default view
engine for MVC 1 and 2. It is <%@ Control Inherits=
easy to learn for developers "System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<IEnumerable<Product>>"
%>
with experience in ASP.NET <ul>
ASPX
Web Forms and it is also <% foreach(var p in model){%>
known as the Web Forms <li><%=p.Name%></li>
View Engine. It includes <%}%>
good IntelliSense feedback.
</ul>
NHaml is a .NET Framework

version of the Haml view @type=IEnumerable<Product>
%ul
NHaml engine used with Ruby on - foreach (var p in model)
Rails, a competitor to %li= p.Name
ASP.NET MVC. Developers
View
Description Code Example
Engine
who have developed websites
with Ruby on Rails may
prefer this view engine.
Visual Studio does not
provide IntelliSense feedback
for this view engine. NHaml
syntax is terse and efficient,
but often less intelligible to
inexperienced developers.
This view engine uses view
files that are easily readable
and similar to static HTML
files. This design results in <viewdata products="IEnumerable[[Product]]"/>
<ul if="products.Any()">
Spark view files that are readable <li each="var p in products">${p.Name}</li>
for anyone who knows </ul>
HTML. You can obtain
IntelliSense support for Spark
in Visual Studio.
Additional Reading: For more information about alternative view engines, go to:
Creating Custom View Engines
You can also create your own view engine to implement custom logic for locating views or to
implement custom syntax for view files. Custom view engines are rarely created because the
existing view engines are powerful, flexible, and easy to learn. The default logic for finding
view files is also simple and rarely needs modification. To create a custom view engine, you
must take the following steps:
Create a View Class. This class must implement the IView interface and have a Render()
method. You need to write the custom logic in the Render() method for interpreting custom
o
syntax. This code is likely to include regular expressions and other sophisticated string-
parsing code.
Create a View Engine. This class should inherit the VirtualPathProviderViewEngine class
and include the CreateView() and CreatePartialView() methods. By inheriting from the
o
ViewPathProviderViewEngine class, you can modify the ViewLocationFormat property
to implement custom logic for locating views.
Register the Custom View Engine. To register your custom view engine with MVC, call
ViewEngines.Engines.Add() in the Global.asax file.
o
Additional Reading: For more information about creating custom view engines in ASP.NET
MVC page, see: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288958&clcid=0x409
Question: Is there any HTML markup that the Razor view engine cannot render?

The ASP.NET MVC 4 Framework includes many HTML helper functions that you can use in
views. HTML helpers are C# methods that you can call to render values, labels, and input
controls such as text boxes. Helpers include common logic that makes it easier for you to render
HTML for MVC model class properties and other tasks. Some HTML helpers examine the
definition of a property in a model class and then render appropriate HTML. Some HTML
helpers call controller actions and others validate user input data. You can also create custom
HTML helpers. You need to know the appropriate HTML helper to use in any scenario and how
to pass the correct parameters to relevant HTML helpers.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to :
o Use the Html.ActionLink and Url.Action helpers to call a controller action.

Use the Html.DisplayNameFor and HtmlDisplayFor helpers to display the value of a
o
model class property.
Use the Html.LabelFor and HTML.EditorFor helpers to render an editor control for a
o
model class property.
o Use the Html.BeginForm helper to render a form for a controller action.
o Use HTML helpers to validate data typed by users.
o Use various HTML helpers to build a user interface for a web application.
Using Action Helpers

HTML helpers are simple methods that in most cases return a string. This string is a small
section of HTML that the view engine can insert into the view file to generate the completed
webpage. You can write views that render any type of HTML content without using a single
helper if you prefer not to use HTML helpers. However, HTML helpers make the task of
managing HTML content easier by rendering common HTML strings for often-used scenarios.
The Html.ActionLink() and Url.Action() helpers enable you to render HTML that calls
controller
actions.
The Html.ActionLink() Helper
When the user makes a request to an MVC web application, the ASP.NET MVC 4 framework
forwards the request to the correct controller and action, thereby passing the correct parameters.
It is possible for users to make such requests by typing a URL into the Address bar of a web
browser, but they rarely know the name of the controller, action, or parameters. Instead, they
usually click a link. The Html.ActionLink() helper can be used to render links to actions for
you. The helper returns an <a> element with the correct href parameter value when users click
a link in a webpage.
In the following code example, the Html.Actionlink() helper renders an <a> element that calls
the Display action in the Photo controller, and passes an integer for the photo ID.
Using the Html.ActionLink() Helper

@Html.ActionLink("Click here to view photo 1", "Display", new { id = 1 })
By default, the example renders the following HTML:

<a href="/photo/display/1">Click here to view photo 1</a>
Notice that you pass parameters to the helper by using an anonymous object. In this manner,
you can pass multiple parameters.
Note: The Html.ActionLink() helper works with the routing engine to formulate the correct
URL for the link. The helper will render the href value above, assuming it is called from a
PhotoController view. There are several overloads of the ActionLink helper, however, if you
wish to use it to call actions in other controllers.
The Url.Action Helper
The Url.Action() helper renders a URL by using the routing engine without rendering the
enclosing <a> element.
You can use the Url.Action() helper to populate the src attribute of an <img> element or
<script> element. This helper is useful whenever you want to formulate a URL to a controller
action without rendering a hyperlink.
The following code example shows how to render an image by calling the Url.Action helper
within the src attribute of an img element:
Rendering an Image from an Action
<img alt="This image came from an action" src="@Url.Action("GetImage", new { id =
1 })"
/>
Additional Reading: For more information about the Html.ActionLink() and Url.Action()
helpers, see:
Question: You want to render an HTML5 <audio> tag to play a sound file from an action.
Would you use the Html.ActionLink() helper or the Url.Action() helper?
Using Display Helpers

MVC includes several helpers that display properties from model classes. You can use these
helpers to build views that display product details, comment details, user details, and so on.
Html.DisplayNameFor() renders the name of a model class property. Html.DisplayFor()

renders the value of a model class property. Both these helpers examine the definition of the
property in the model class, including the data display annotations, to ensure that they render
the most appropriate HTML.
The Html.DisplayNameFor() Helper
You use the Html.DisplayNameFor() helper to render the display name for a property from the
model class. If your view is strongly-typed, Visual Studio checks whether the model class
contains a property with the right name as you type the code. Otherwise, you must ensure that
you use a property that exists or verify that it is not null before you use it. You specify the
property of the model class to the Html.DisplayNameFor() HTML helper by using a lambda
expression.
The following code example renders the display name of the CreatedDate property by using
the Html.DisplayNameFor() HTML helper .
Using the Html.DisplayNameFor() Helper

@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.CreatedDate)
The text rendered by the Html.DisplayNameFor() helper depends on the model class. If you
used a DisplayName annotation to give a more descriptive name to a property, then
Html.DisplayNameFor() will use that DisplayName annotation value; otherwise, it will render
the name of the property.
The Html.DisplayFor() Helper
The Html.DisplayFor() helper considers any display annotations that you specify in the model
class, and then renders the value of the property.
In the following code example, the Html.DisplayFor() helper is used to render a date string.
Using the Html.DisplayFor() Helper

This was created on: @Html.DisplayFor(model => model.CreatedDate)
If you used the DisplayFormat annotation in the model class with DataFormatString set to
“{0:dd/MM/yy}”, then the Html.DisplayFor() helper ensures that the date is displayed in short
date format.
Question: You want to ensure that a view displays “This product was last changed on” before
the ModifiedDate property. This text is declared in the class with the DisplayName annotation.
What code would you write in the view?
The Begin Form Helper

To accept user input, you must provide a form on your webpage. A typical form consists of a
set of labels and input controls. The labels indicate to the user the property for which they must
provide a value. The input controls enable the user to enter a value. Input controls can be text
boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, file selectors, drop-down lists, or other types of control.
There is usually a submit button and cancel button on forms.
Rendering HTML Forms
To build a form in HTML, you must start with a
<form> element in the HTML webpage. All labels and input controls must be within the
<form> element. In an MVC view, you can use the Html.BeginForm() helper to render this
element and set the controller action to which the form sends data.
You can also specify the HTTP method that the form uses to submit data. If the form uses the
POST method, which is the default, the browser sends form values to the web server in the
body of the form. If the form uses the GET method, the browser sends form values to the web
server in the query string in the URL.
In the rendered HTML, the <form> element must be closed with a </form> tag. In Razor
views, you can ensure that the form element is closed with an @using code block. Razor
renders the </form> tag at the closing bracket of the code block.
The following code example shows how to render a form that sends data to the Register action
in the CustomerController. The form uses the POST HTTP verb.
Using the Html.BeginForm() Helper

@using (Html.BeginForm("Register", "Customer", FormMethod.Post))
{
@* Place input controls here *@
}
Using Forms to Post Files
In HTML, if you want to enable website users to upload files, you should use an HTML form
with special properties. Specifically, the <form> element should include the enctype attribute
set to the value multipart/form-data and the form must use the POST HTTP verb.
You can specify additional attributes for the <form> element by passing them in an
htmlAttributes parameter as new objects. This is a good method to use to add the enctype
attribute. If the form includes any uploaded files, you must set the enctype attribute to
multipart/form-data.
The following code example shows how to render a file upload form that sends data to the
Create action in the ProductController. The form uses the POST verb and sets the enctype
attribute.
Using the Html.BeginForm() Helper
@using (Html.BeginForm("Create", "Photo", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype =
"multipart/form-data" }))
{
@* Place input controls here *@
}
Question: You have created a form with a file selector control that uses the GET method. You
have set the enctype attribute to multipart/form-data, but when you try to access the file in the
action method, an exception is thrown. What have you possibly done incorrectly?
Using Editor Helpers
Within HTML forms, there are many HTML input controls that you can use to gather data from
users. In Razor views, the Html.LabelFor() and Html.EditorFor() helpers make it easy to
render the most appropriate input controls for the properties of a model class. To understand
how these helpers render HTML, you must first understand the HTML input controls. Some
common HTML controls are described in the following table.
Contro
Example Descriptio n
l
<input A single- line text box in which the user can enter a string. The
Text box type="text" name attribute is used to identify the entered value in the
name="Title"> query string or to send form data by using the POST method.
<textarea
name="Description
Multi- "
rows="20" A multiline text box in which the user can enter longer
line text cols="80"> strings.
box
<input
type="checkbox"
Check name="ContactMe"> A check box submits a Boolean value.
box Please send me
new offer
details
Additional Reading: For more information about all HTML form elements, go to:
The Html.LabelFor() Helper
The Html.LabelFor() helper is similar to the Html.DisplayNameFor() helper because it

renders the name of the property that you specify, taking into account the DisplayName
annotation if it is specified in the model class. However, unlike the Html.DisplayNameFor()
helper, the Html.LabelFor() helper renders a <label> element.
The following code example renders a label for the CreatedDate property.
Using the Html.LabelFor() Helper

@Html.LabelFor(model => model.CreatedDate)
The Html.EditorFor() Helper
The Html.EditorFor() helper renders HTML <input> elements and other form controls for
properties from an model class. This helper renders the most appropriate element for each
property data type. For example, the Html.EditorFor() helper renders <input type="text">
for a string property. If the string property is annotated with
[DataType(DataType.MultilineText)], the Html.EditorFor() helper renders a <textarea>
element instead. The following table describes the HTML that Html.EditorFor() renders for
different model classes.
Control Model Class Property HTML Rendered by EditorFor()
<input type="text"
Text box public string Title { get; set; }
name="Title">
[DataType(DataType.MultilineText)]
Multi-line text public string Description { get;
<textarea name="Description"
box rows="20" cols="80">
set;}
[Display(Name = "Please send me <input type="checkbox"
new offer details")] name="ContactMe">
Check box public bool ContactMe { get; set; Please send me new offer
} details.
If the action passes an existing model object to the view, the Html.EditorFor() helper also
populates each control with the current values of each property.
The following code example renders a check box for the ContactMe property.
Using the Html.EditorFor() Helper

@Html.EditorFor(model => model.ContactMe)
Question: You have a property in the Product model class named ProductID. You want to
include this in the HTML page so that client-side script can use the ProductID value. However,
you do not want the value to be displayed to users. In the model class, you have annotated the
ProductID property with the [HiddenInput(DisplayValue=false)] attribute. How will the
Html.EditorFor() helper render this property?
Using Validation Helpers

When you request information from users, you often want the data they enter in a certain format
for further use in the web application. For example, you might want to ensure that users enter a
value for the LastName property. You might also want to ensure that users enter a valid email
address for the EmailAddress property. You can set these requirements by using validation
data annotations in the model class. In controller actions, you can check the
ModelState.IsValid property to verify if a user has entered valid data.
When users submit a form, if they have entered
invalid data, most websites display validation messages. These messages are often highlighted
in red, but other colors or formats can be used. Often, there is a validation summary at the top of
the page such as “Please enter valid information for the following fields: Last Name, Email
Address”. The form may display detailed validation messages next to each control in which the
user entered invalid data, or highlight the problems in user supplied data with an asterisk.
When your MVC view displays a form, you can easily show validation messages by using the
validation helpers. Validation helpers render HTML only when users have entered invalid data.
The Html.ValidationSummary() Helper
Use the Html.ValidationSummary() helper to render a summary of all the invalid data in the
form. This helper is usually called at the top of the form. When the user submits invalid data,
the validation messages are displayed for each invalid field in a bulleted list. You can control
the validation messages in the model class by using this syntax in the annotation:
[Required(ErrorMessage="Please enter your last name")]
The following code example renders a summary of validation messages.
Using the Html.ValidationSummary() Helper

@Html. ValidationSummary()
The Html.ValidationMessageFor() Helper
Use the Html.ValidationMessageFor() helper to render validation messages next to each input
in the form.
The following code example renders a validation message for the LastName property of the
model class.
Using the Html.ValidationMessageFor() Helper

@Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.LastName)
Demonstration: How to Use HTML Helpers

In this demonstration, you will see how to create a view and use HTML helpers to render
controls in it. You will also see how validation requirements, which were set with data
annotations in the model class, take effect in a view.
Demonstration Steps
1.
expand Controllers, and then click OperaController.cs.
On the BUILD menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
2.
Build Solution.
In the OperaController.cs code window, locate the following code, right-click the code,
3. and then click Add View.
In the View Name box of the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name displayed is
4.
Create.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view check box is
5.
selected.
In the Model class box, ensure that the value is Opera (OperasWebSite.Models). If not,
6.
in the Model class box, click Opera (OperasWebSite.Models).
7. In the Scaffold template box, ensure that the value is Empty.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is not
8.
selected, and then click Add.
In the DIV element of the Create.cshtml code window, type the following code.
9.
<h2>Add an Opera</h2>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </h2> tag, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
10. @using (Html.BeginForm(

"Create", "Opera",
FormMethod.Post))
{
}
In the using code block, type the following code.
<p>
@Html.LabelFor(model =>
11. model.Title):
@Html.EditorFor(model =>
model.Title)
@Html.ValidationMessageFor(
model => model.Title)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the model.Title
property, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
<p>
12. model.Year):
model.Year)
model => model.Year)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the model.Year
<p>
13. model.Composer):
model.Composer)
model => model.Composer)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the model.Composer
14.
<input type="submit"
value="Create" />
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the <input> tag, press Enter, and then type the
15. following code.
@Html.ActionLink("Back to List", "Index")
Start Debugging.
16.
Note: The Operas I Have Seen page is displayed.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click operas I’ve seen.
17.
Note: On the Index page, the list of Operas is displayed.
On the Index page, click Create New.
18.
Note: The Add an Opera page is displayed.
In the Year box of the Add an Opera page, type 1597, and then click Create.
19. Note: Messages corresponding to the Title, Year, and Composer boxes are displayed. The
web application mandates you to enter values in all the boxes. Alerts are also displayed for
any inappropriate entries, with relevant messages.
20. In the Title box of the Add an Opera page, type Rigoletto.
21. In the Year box of the Add an Opera page, type 1851.
In the Composer box of the Add an Opera page, type Verdi, and then click Create.
22.
Note: The Opera is created with the mentioned values.

In a web application, you frequently render similar blocks of HTML content in different
webpages. For example, in an e-commerce web application, you might want to display the most
popular products on the home page, on the front page of the product catalog, at the top of the
product search page, and perhaps in other locations. To render such HTML content in an MVC
application, you may copy and paste code from one Razor view into others. However, to change
the display of top products later in the project, you would then have to make identical changes
in many locations. A better practice is to use a partial view. A partial view renders a section of
HTML content that can be inserted into several other views at run time. Because the partial
view is a single file that is re-used in several locations, when you implement a change in a
single location, the changes are updated in other locations in the web application. Partial views
increase the manageability of MVC web applications and facilitate a consistent presentation of
content throughout a web application.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how partial views enable you to re-use Razor code.
o Create partial views in an MVC 4 web application.
o Use partial views in an MVC 4 web application.
o Determine when to use partial views.
Creating Partial Views
You can use partial views to render identical HTML or similar HTML in different locations in
your web application. Consider a web application in which users can comment on articles. In
the article view, you want to display the comments for that specific article at the end of the
page. You want a similar display on the home page, but you want to display the most popular
comments on any article. You can build a single comments partial view for this scenario as
follows:
First, create a partial view that displays a collection of comments in the required
o
format.
Next, create a controller action that retrieves the most popular comments, and then passes
o
them to the partial view.
Then, create another controller action that uses the article ID to find comments specific to
o
that article. The controller action then passes this collection of comments to the partial view.
o Finally, call the appropriate actions from the home page and the article view.
Because the partial view renders a collection of comments, you can re-use it for various
situations by passing different collections to it from controller actions.
Creating and Naming Partial Views
In Visual Studio, you can create a partial view by using the Add View dialog, in the same
manner as creating any other view. Ensure that you select the Create as a Partial View check
box. Because partial views render a small section of HTML rather than a complete webpage,
Visual Studio does not add <head>, <body>, and other tags to the partial view. By convention,
partial views are named prefixed with an underscore character, for example,
_CommentsList.cshtml. This convention is optional but is often helpful to distinguish partial
views in Solution Explorer.
Partial views are often created inside the /Views/Shared folder in your site. Views in the
Shared folder are accessible to many controllers, whereas views in the /Views/Comment
folder are accessible only from the CommentController.
Strongly-typed and dynamic partial views
Similar to other views, you can create strongly-typed partial views if you are certain that the
partial view will always display the same model class. Visual Studio can provide the most
informative IntelliSense feedback and error-checking for strongly-typed partial views, when
compared with other types of views. A strongly-typed view has the declaration of the @model
directive at the top of the file. Alternatively, you can create a dynamic partial view if you are
not certain that the partial view will always display the same model class. You can create
dynamic partial views by omitting the @model directive declaration.
In the following example of a partial view, you can see the @model declaration that makes the
partial view strongly-typed. You can also see that the partial view renders only an unordered list
and not a complete HTML webpage as the following lines of code indicate.
A Strongly-Typed Partial View

@model IEnumerable<Adworks.Models.Comment>
<ul>
@foreach (var item in Model) {
<li>
Subject: @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Subject)
</li>
}
</ul>
Question: You want to create a partial view that displays a list of comments. The comments
partial view will be called by actions in the PhotoController and the HomeController. In
which folder should you create the partial view file?
Using Partial Views

Besides knowing how to create partial views, you need to know how to use them within
multiple other views in your site. You can re-use partial views by using the Html.Partial() and
Html.Action() HTML helpers.
The Html.Partial() Helper
You can use the Html.Partial() helper to render a partial view within another view file. MVC
inserts the HTML that the partial view renders into the parent view and returns the complete
webpage to the browser. The first parameter is the name of
the partial view file without its file extension. The
second optional parameter is a model object for the partial view to render. This is the same
model object that the parent view uses because other model objects are not available in this
context.
The following lines of code call the _Comments.cshtml partial view without passing a model
object.
Using the Html.Partial() Helper

@Html.Partial("_Comments")
Remember that you can use the ViewBag and ViewData collections to pass data between the
action method and the view. A parent view will share the same ViewBag or ViewData objects
with the partial view. This is a good way to share data between the controller action, view, and
partial view.
The Html.Action() Helper
You can pass a model object from the parent view to a partial view when you use
Html.Partial(). However, the parent view can only pass the same model object available in the
parent view. Sometimes, you may want to use a model object different from the parent view,
often of a different model class, with the partial view. In such cases, you can use the
Html.Action() helper. This calls an action method that returns the correct partial view. The
action method can create an instance of any model class.
Consider an Article view that displays the text and title of an Article object. You want to
display comments at the end of this view in a partial view. You can use the Html.Action()
helper to call an action in the Comments controller that returns such a partial view. The partial
view can work with a collection of Comment objects.
In the following example, the Html.Action() helper calls an action in the CommentController
controller and passes the ID of the current article model object.
Using the Html.Action() Helper

@Html.Action("_CommentsForArticle", "Comment", new { ArticleID = Model.ID })
Question: You want to display user reviews of a product to each product page. You have
created a _ReviewsForProduct partial view. Would you use Html.Partial() or Html.Action()
to render this view?
Discussion: Partial View Scenarios

Consider the following scenarios when creating a web application:
You want to display the ten latest comments in the web application. When users click the
o Latest Comments link on the home page, they will see a new webpage with the comments
displayed.
You want to display the comments for an article on the Article view. You also want to
display the comments for a product on the Product view. There are separate
o
ArticleComment and ProductComment
classes in your model, but they have similar properties.

You have a photo sharing web application and you want to display a gallery of thumbnail
images on both the AllPhotos view and the home page Index view. The AllPhotos view
o
should show every Photo object, but the home page Index view should display only the three
most recent photos uploaded.
For each scenario, discuss with the class:
o Whether you need to create a view or a partial view.

o Whether you need to create a strongly-typed view or a dynamic view.
If you decide to create a partial view, whether you need to use the Html.Partial() or the
o
Html.Action() HTML helper in the parent view.
Scenario
You have been asked to add the following views to the photo sharing application:
A Display view for the Photo model objects. This view will display a single photo in a large
o
size, with the title, description, owner, and created date properties.
A Create view for the Photo model objects. This view will enable users to upload a new
o
photo to the gallery and set the title and description properties.
A Photo Gallery partial view. This view will display many photos in thumbnail sizes, with
the title, owner, and created date properties. This view will be used on the All Photos
o
webpage to display all the photos in the application. In addition, this view will also be used
on the home page to display the three most recent photos.
After adding these three views to the photo sharing application, you will also test the working
of the web application.
Objectives
Add Razor views to an MVC application and set properties such as scaffold and model
o
binding.
o Write both HTML markup and C# code in a view by using Razor syntax.
o Create a partial view and use it to display re-usable markup.
Lab Setup
User Name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
o
Exercise 1: Adding a View for Photo Display
Scenario
o Create a new view in the Photo Sharing web application to display single photos in large size.
o Display the properties of a photo such as title, description, and created date.
1. Add a new display view.

2. Complete the photo display view.
Task 1: Add a new display view.

o User name: Admin
Open the Photo Sharing Application solution from the following location:
2.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod05\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication
3. Open the PhotoController.cs code window.
4. Build the solution
Add a new view to the Display action in the PhotoController by using the following
information:
o Name: Display
5. o View engine: Razor (CSHTML)
o View type: Strongly typed
o Scaffold template: Empty
o Layout or master page: None
Task 2: Complete the photo display view.
1. Add a title to the display view by using the Title property of the Model object.
Add an H2 element to the body page to display the photo title on the page by using the Title
2.
property of the Model object.
Add an <img> tag to display the photo on the page by using the following information:
3. o Width: 800
o src: Empty
Add the URL.Action helper to the src attribute of the <img> tag by using the following
information:
4. o Method: Url.Action()
o Action name: GetImage
o Controller name: Photo
o Route values: new { id=Model.PhotoID }
Add a P element to display the Description property from the model by using the following
information:
5. o Helper: Html.DisplayFor
Lamda expression: model =>
o
model.Description
Add a P element to display the UserName property from the model by using the following
information:
Helpers:
6.
o ▪ Html.DisplayNameFor
▪ HtmlDisplayFor
o Lamda expression: model => model.UserName
Add a P element to display the CreatedDate property from the model by using the
Helpers:
7.
o ▪ Html.DisplayNameFor
▪ Html.DisplayFor
o Lamda expression: model => model.CreatedDate
Add a P element to display a link to the Index controller action by using the following
information:
8.
o Helper: HTML.ActionLink
Content: Back to List
o
Note: You will create the Index action and view for the PhotoController later in this lab.
9. Save the Display.cshtml file.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a single display view to the
Photo Sharing web application and display the properties of a photo.
Exercise 2: Adding a View for New Photos
Scenario
In this exercise, you will
o Create a view to upload new photos for display in the Photo Sharing application.
o Display the properties of a photo, such as title, description, and created date.
1. Add a new create view.

2. Complete the photo create view.
Task 1: Add a new create view.
Create a new view for the Create action of the PhotoController class by using the
o Name: Create
o View: Razor (CSHTML)
1. o View type: Strongly Typed
o Partial view: None
Task 2: Complete the photo create view.
Add the following title to the Create view:

1.
o Title: Create New Photo
2. Add an H2 element to the body page to display the heading as Create New Photo.
Create a form on the page by using the following information within an @using statement:
o Helper: Html.BeginForm
3. o Action: Create
o Form method: FormMethod.Post
o Parameter: Pass the HTML attribute enctype = "multipart/form-data"
4. In the form, use the Html.ValidationSummary helper to render validation messages.
After the ValidationSummary, add a P element to display controls for the Title property
of the model by using the following information:
Helpers:
5.
o ▪ LabelFor
▪ EditorFor
▪ ValidationMessageFor
After the controls for the Title property, add a P element to display a label for the
PhotoFile property, and an <input> tag by using the following information:
6. o Helper: LabelFor
o Input type: file
o Name: Image
After the PhotoFile controls, add a P element to display controls for the Description
property of the model by using the following information:
Helpers:
7.
o ▪ LabelFor
▪ EditorFor
▪ ValidationMessageFor
After the Description controls, add a P element to display read-only controls for the
UserName property of the model by using the following information:
8. Helpers:
o ▪ LabelFor
▪ DisplayFor
After the UserName controls, add a P element to display read-only controls for the
9. CreatedDate property of the model by using the following information:
Helpers:
o ▪ LabelFor
▪ DisplayFor
After the CreatedDate controls, add a P element that contains an <input> tag by using the
10. o Input type: submit

o Value: Create
o Add an action link to the Index action with the text Back to List.
11. Save the Create.cshtml file.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a web application with a
Razor view to display new photos.
Exercise 3: Creating and Using a Partial View
Scenario
o Add a gallery action to the Photo Controller.

o Add a photo gallery partial view.
o Complete the photo gallery partial view.
o Use the photo gallery partial view.
1. Add a gallery action to the Photo Controller.

2. Add a photo gallery partial view.
3. Complete the photo gallery partial view.
4. Use the photo gallery partial view.
Task 1: Add a gallery action to the Photo Controller.
Add a new action to the PhotoController.cs file by using the following information:
o Annotation: ChildActionOnly
1. o Scope: public
o Return Type: ActionResult
o Name: _PhotoGallery
o Parameter: an Integer called number with a default value of 0
Create a new List of Photo objects named photos. Add an if statement, to set photos to
2.
include all the Photos in the context object, if the number parameter is zero.
If the number parameter is not zero, set photos to list the most recent Photo objects. The
3.
number of Photo objects in the list should be the number attribute.
4. Pass the photos object to the partial view _PhotoGallery and return the view.
5. Save the PhotoController.cs file.
Task 2: Add a photo gallery partial view.
Create a new partial view for the _PhotoGallery action in the PhotoController.cs file by
o Name: _PhotoGallery
1. o View type: Strongly Typed
Create a new folder in the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
2.
o Parent folder: Views
o Folder name: Shared
3. Move the _PhotoGallery.cshtml view file from the Photo folder to the Shared folder.
Task 3: Complete the photo gallery partial view.
In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml partial view file, bind the view to an enumerable list of Photo
1.
model objects.
In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml partial view file, add a For Each statement that loops through
2.
all the items in the Model.
3. In the For Each statement, add an H3 element that renders the item.Title property.
After the H3 element, add an if statement that checks that the item.PhotoFile value is not
4.
null.
If the item.PhotoFile value is not null, render an <img> tag with width 200. Call the
UrlAction helper to set the src attribute by using the following information:
5. o Action: GetImage
o Controller: Photo
o Parameters: for the id parameter, pass item.PhotoID
After the if statement, add a P element, and call the @Html.DisplayFor helper to render the
6.
words Created By: followed by the value of the item.UserName property.
After the UserName display controls, add a P element, and call the @Html.DisplayFor
7. helper to render the words Created On: followed by the value of the item.CreatedDate
property.
After the CreatedDate display controls, call the Html.ActionLink helper to render a link by
8. o Link text: Display

o View name: Display
o Parameters: pass the item.PhotoID value as the id parameter
9. Save the _PhotoGallery.cshtml file.
Task 4: Use the photo gallery partial view.
Modify the Index action in the PhotoController.cs so that no model class is passed to the
1.
Index view.
Create a view for the Index action in the PhotoController.cs file by using the following
information:
2. o Name: Index
o View type: Not strongly typed
3. In the Index.cshtml file, change the title to All Photos.
4. Add an H2 element to the page body to display the heading as All Photos
Add a P element to add a link to the Create action in the Photo controller by using the
5. o Helper: Html.ActionLink
o Link text: Add a Photo
o Action name: Create
Insert the _PhotoGallery partial view by using the following information:
6. o Helper: Html.Action
o Action name: _PhotoGallery
7. Save the Index.cshtml file.
partial view to display multiple photos.
Exercise 4: Adding a Home View and Testing the Views
Scenario
In this exercise, you will create a home page that re-uses the photo gallery object, but displays
only the three most recent photos.
1. Add a Controller and View for the home page.

2. Use the web application.
Task 1: Add a Controller and View for the home page.
Add a new Controller to the home page by using the following information:
1. o Controller name: HomeController
o Template: Empty MVC Controller
Add a new view to the Index action in HomeController by using the following information:
2. o View name: Index

3. Change the title of the page to Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing.
Add the following text to the home page:
4.
o Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing! Use this site to share your adventures.
5. Add an H2 element to display the heading as Latest Photos.
Insert the _PhotoGallery partial view by using the following information:
o Helper: Html.Action
6. o Action name: _PhotoGallery
o Parameters: for the number parameter, pass the value 3
7. Save the Index.cshtml file.
Task 2: Use the web application.
1. Start the Photo Sharing web application with debugging.

2. Verify the number of photos displayed on the home page.
3. Display a photo of your choice to verify whether the display shows the required information.
4. Verify the number of photos displayed on the All Photos page.
Add a new photo of your choice to the application by using the following information:
5. o Title: My First Photo

o Description: This is the first test of the Create photo view.
o File path: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod05\SamplePhotos
6. Close Internet Explorer and Microsoft Visual Studio.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a web application in which
users can upload and view the photos.
Question: How can you improve the accessibility of the HTML that your photo views render?
Question: In the lab, how did you ensure that the Create view for Photo model objects could
upload photo files when the user clicked the Create button?

In this module, you saw how to build the user interface for your web application by creating
views with the Razor view engine. Views can display properties from a model class and enable
users to create, read, update, and delete objects of that model class. Some views display many
objects by looping through a collection of model objects. The HTML Helper methods that are
built into ASP.NET MVC 4 facilitate the rendering of displays, controls, and forms, and return
validation messages to users. Partial views can be re-used several times in your web application
to render similar sections of HTML on multiple pages.
Best Practice: Use Razor comments, declared with the @**@ delimiters, throughout your
Razor views to help explain the view code to other developers in your team.
Best Practice: Only use @: and <text> tags when Razor misinterprets content as code. Razor
has sophisticated logic for distinguishing content from code, so this is rarely necessary.
Best Practice: Use strongly-typed views wherever possible because Visual Studio helps you to
write correct code by displaying IntelliSense feedback.

When a controller tries to access a partial view, an exception is thrown.
Review Question(s)
Question: You want to display the name of the Comment.Subject property in an MVC view
that renders an Edit form for comments. You want the label Edit Subject to appear to the left of
a text box so that a user can edit the Subject value. Which HTML helper should you use to
render the field name?
Verify the correctness of the statement by placing a mark in the column to the right.
Statement Answer
If your Razor generates errors by wrongly interpreting content as server-side code,
this indicates that you have explicitly declared the content by using the @**@
delimiters.
MODULE 06: TESTING AND DEBUGGING ASP.NET

MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Unit Testing MVC Components
Lesson 2: Implementing an Exception Handling Strategy
Module Overview
Software systems such as web applications are complex and require multiple components, often
written by different developers, to work together. Incorrect assumptions, inaccurate
understanding, coding errors, and many other sources can create bugs that result in exceptions
or unexpected behavior. To improve the quality of your web application and create a satisfying
user experience, you must identify bugs from any source and eliminate them. Traditionally,
most testing has been performed at the end of a development project. However, it has recently
become widely accepted that testing throughout the project life cycle improves quality and
ensures that there are no bugs in production software. You need to understand how to run tests
on small components of your web application to ensure that they function as expected before
you assemble them into a complete web application. You also need to know how to use the
tools available in Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 to debug and trace exceptions when they arise.
Objectives
Run unit tests against the Model–View–Controller (MVC) components, such as model
o
classes, and locate potential bugs.
o Build an MVC application that handles exceptions smoothly and robustly.
Lesson 1 : Unit Testing MVC Components

A unit test is a procedure that instantiates a component that you have written, calls one aspect of
the functionalities of the component, and checks that the component responds correctly
according to the design. In object-oriented programming, unit tests usually instantiate a class
and call one of its methods. In an MVC web application, unit tests can instantiate model classes
or controllers and call their methods and actions. As a web developer, you need to know how to
create a testing project and add tests to the testing project. The tests check individual aspects of
your code without relying on database servers, network connections, and other infrastructure.
This is because unit tests focus on the code you write.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the use of unit tests to improve the quality of code you write.
o List the principles of Test Driven Development (TDD).
Describe how loosely-coupled components increase the testability and maintainability of
o
your application.
o Write unit tests against model classes, controllers, and views in an MVC web application.
Describe how Inversion of Control (IoC) containers can instantiate controllers and model
o
classes.
o Run unit tests in Visual Studio 2012.
o Use a mocking tool to automate mock creation in unit tests.
Why Perform Unit Tests?

There are three types of tests you can use to identify bugs in your application:
Unit Tests: Unit tests check small aspects of functionality. For example, a unit test may
o verify the return type of a single method. By defining many unit tests for your project, you
can ensure they cover all functional aspects of your web application.
Integration Tests: Integration tests check how two or more components work
together. They can be used to check how

o
two or more classes interact with each other. Integration tests can also be used to check how
the entire web application, including the database and external web services, works to deliver
content.
Acceptance Tests: Acceptance tests focus on a functional or technical requirement that must
work for the stakeholders to accept the application. Similar to integration tests, acceptance
tests usually test multiple components working together.
o
Note: Unit tests are important because they can be defined early in development. Integration
and acceptance tests are usually run later, when several components are approaching
completion.
What Is a Unit Test?
A unit test is a procedure that verifies a specific aspect of functionality. Multiple unit tests can
be performed for a single class and even for a single method in a class. For example, you can
write a test that checks that the Validate method always returns a Boolean value. You might
write a second test that checks that when you send a string to the Validate method, the method
returns a true value. You can assemble many unit tests into a single class called a test fixture.
Often, a test fixture contains all the tests for a specific class. For example,
ProductTestsFixture may include all tests that check methods in the Product class.
A single unit test usually consists of code that runs in three phases:
Arrange. In this phase, the test creates an instance of the class that it will test. It also assigns
1. any required properties and creates any required objects to complete the test. Only properties
and objects that are essential to the test are created.
Act. In this phase, the test runs the functionality that it must check. Usually, in the Act phase,
2.
the test calls a single procedure and stores the result in a variable.
Assert. In this phase, the test checks the result against the expected result. If the result
3.
matches what was expected, the test passes. Otherwise, the test fails.
How Do Unit Test Help Diagnose Bugs?
Because unit tests check a small and specific aspect of code, it is easy to diagnose the problem
when the tests fail. Unit tests usually work with a single class and isolate the class from other
classes wherever possible. If other classes are essential, the smallest number of classes are
created in the Arrange phase. This approach enables you to fix issues rapidly because the
number of potential sources of a bug is small.
Unit tests should check the code that you write and not any infrastructure that the production
system will rely on. For example, unit tests should run without connecting to a real database or
web service because network problems or service outages may cause a failure. Using this
approach, you can distinguish bugs that arise from code, which must be fixed by altering code,
from the bugs that arise from infrastructure failures, which must be fixed by changing hardware,
reconfiguring web servers, reconfiguring connection strings, or making other configuration
changes.
Automated Unit Testing
It is important to understand that unit tests, after they are defined, can be rerun quickly and
easily throughout the rest of the project life cycle. In fact, Microsoft Visual Studio reruns tests
automatically whenever you run a project with debugging. You can also manually initiate tests
any time.
This is important because new code can cause bugs at any stage of the development process. As
an example, consider a project that proceeds through three phases. A unit test defined for phase
1 helps highlight problems in phases 2 and 3 that might otherwise go unnoticed:
Phase 1. The ProductController class is defined and the Test_Index_Action unit test is
1.
written. The test checks that the Index action works with an integer parameter. When you
call the Index action with an integer, the action returns a collection that includes the same
number of Product objects. The test passes.
Phase 2. A developer modifies the Index action so that it returns a partial view. The
developer renames the action _Index to conform to the team’s partial view naming
2.
convention. The test fails because the name has changed. The developer modifies the test so
that it calls the renamed action and the test passes.
Phase 3. A developer modifies the Index action by writing a different Language Integrated
Query (LINQ) to implement a new functional requirement. However, the developer makes a
3.
mistake in the LINQ syntax. The Index action now returns zero products regardless of the
integer that is passed as a parameter. The test fails.
In Phase 2, the test failure arose because the action name had changed, not because of a mistake
in the action code. The solution was to change the name of the action called in the test method,
but this can remind developers to alter calls to renamed actions throughout the solution.
In Phase 3, the test failure arose because the developer misunderstood LINQ or made a typing
error in the LINQ syntax. The unit test highlighted the error as soon as it arose. This helps the
developer focus on a solution to resolve the test failure and ensure that new functionality does
not cause failures in code written earlier in the project.
Question: Board members want you to ensure that your web application correctly calculates
sales tax on every product in the catalog. Is this an example of a unit test, an integration test, or
an acceptance test?
Principles of Test Driven Development

You can use unit tests in any development methodology, including waterfall projects, iterative
projects, and Agile projects to spot potential bugs and improve the quality of the final
application. Any project can benefit from unit testing, regardless of the development
methodology used in the project. However, a specific development methodology, called Test
Driven Development (TDD), places unit testing at the center of working practices. TDD is often
described as a separate development methodology. Some authors consider it to be a
core principle of the Extreme Programming methodology.
Write the Test, Pass the Test, Refactor
In TDD, developers repeat the following short cycle to implement a functional requirement:
Write the Test. The developer starts by creating and coding the unit test. This step requires a
1. full understanding of the functional requirement, which can be obtained from use cases or
user stories. Because the developer has not written any code in the application, the test fails.
Pass the Test. The developer writes some quick and simple code in the application so that it
2. passes the test. During the first iteration, this code is frequently inelegant and may include
false assumptions such as hardcoded values.
Refactor. The developer cleans up the application code, removes duplicate code, removes
3. hardcoded values, improves readability, and makes other technical improvements. The
developer reruns the test to ensure that refactoring has not caused a failure.
The cycle is then repeated. In each iteration, the developer adds a small new element of the final
functionality with a corresponding test.
It is important that the code in your tests is treated as production code. It should be well thought
out and easy to read so that other developers can understand the test and quickly diagnose any
test failures.
Test Driven Development Principles
TDD is different from traditional approaches to application development. To use TDD

effectively, you must understand its fundamental principles:
Write tests before code. In the TDD development cycle, the test is created in step one before
any code in the application. This means the test must fail the first time it is run. You can
o understand the test as a specification for the functionality you are building. By writing the
test first, you ensure that you begin with a thorough understanding of the problem you are
trying to solve.
Move in small steps. By breaking a large application down into small elements of
functionality, you can improve developer productivity. You can do this by giving a developer
o
a small problem to solve in each iteration. The developer can solve the simple problem
quickly and understand all the possible circumstances in which their code runs.
Only write enough code to pass the test. In each iteration, do not be tempted to add extra
code that is not related to the test. For example, if you know that users will call an action with
o other parameters than the ones in the test, do not write code to handle these parameters.
Instead, during the next iteration, write a second test for those parameters. Then write and
refactor that code.
Developers can refer to tests as examples of how to use a class or method. This can increase
developer productivity because developers can view the code that demonstrates the method or
class.
Note: In the lab, you will use some TDD principals as you develop the solution. However, the
lab does not conform to a strict reading of the TDD methods.
Question: You have written a controller for the Comment model class. You write a unit test
that checks that the Index action returns a collection of Comment objects. Have you
conformed to TDD principles?
Writing Loosely Coupled MVC Components

A loosely coupled application is one in which each component requires few or no details of the
other components of the system. In object-oriented programming, for example, two classes can
be described as loosely-coupled if one class can call methods on the other class without any
code that is specific to the other class. When system components are loosely-coupled in this
manner, it is easy to replace a class with another implementation of the same functionality.
Loosely coupled components are essential for thorough unit testing because classes that deal
with real
data, such as data from a database, can be easily be replaced with classes that deal with test
data.
Using Loose Coupling in Tests
A loosely-coupled application is easy to test because you can make tests simpler by replacing a
fully functional instance of a class with a simplified instance that is specifically designed for the
test. Replacing classes in tests in this manner can only be done when components are loosely
coupled. Replacement instances used for unit tests are known as test doubles or fakes. A test
double or fake includes just enough code and properties to pass the relevant test and prove the
functionality.
Other Benefits of Loose Coupling
Loose coupling has other benefits besides testing. Loose coupling makes it easier to replace
simple components with more sophisticated ones—for example, in version one of an
application you might write a class that calculates a simple arithmetical mean. In version two,
you might replace this class with a new class that calculates a weighted mean based on a more
complex algorithm. If the components are loosely coupled, you can perform this replacement
without modifying any code outside of the averaging classes.
Using Interfaces for Loose Coupling
In object-oriented programming, an interface defines a set of properties and methods. Any class
that implements that interface must implement all the properties and methods it defines as a
minimum. This creates loose coupling because you need not specify a class in code. Instead,
you can specify any implementation of a particular interface.
Loose Coupling in an MVC Web Application
To show how loose coupling can be used in an MVC web application, consider the following
scenario:
You are writing an MVC web application that displays a product catalog and enables users to
click a product to view the full details. On the product details page, users can view and add
reviews of that product. You want to ensure during testing that the Product.Reviews property,
which is a collection of Review objects, only includes reviews with the right ProductID value.
Recall that unit tests should not rely on infrastructure such as network connections or database
servers, but only on test code. By contrast, in production, the application will obtain all product
reviews from a database. To satisfy the needs of testing and production, you can build the
following components:
An IProduct interface. This includes a definition of the Reviews property, together with
o
other properties and methods. This interface is known as a repository.
A Product class. This is the implementation of the IProduct repository that the application
o uses in production. When the user calls the Reviews property, all the reviews for the current
product are obtained from the database.
A TestProduct class. This is the test double or fake implementation of the IProduct
repository that the test uses. The test sets up a TestProduct object and fake reviews with
o
different ProductID values. The test calls the TestProduct.Reviews property and checks
that only the right reviews are returned.
Notice that, in the test, the TestProduct double uses in-memory data set up during the Arrange
phase. It does not query the database. Therefore, you can test your code without relying on the
network connection to the database or the database server itself. This approach also ensures that
the test runs quickly, which is important because slow tests discourage developers from running
tests regularly.
Question: In a test, you create a fake collection of BlogEntry objects. Is this an example of an
interface or a test double?
Writing Unit Tests for MVC Components
The Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4 programming model is easy to integrate with the principles of
unit testing and TDD because of its separation of concerns into model, controllers, and views.
Models are simple to test because they are independent classes that you can instantiate and
configure during the Arrange phase of a test.
Controllers are simple classes that you can test, but it is complex to test controllers with in-
memory data, rather than using a database. To test controllers with in-memory data, you create
a test double class, also known as a fake repository.
Objects of this class can be populated with test data in memory without querying a database.
You need to understand how to write test doubles and how to write a typical test for MVC
classes.
Add and Configure a Test Project
In Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, you can test an MVC web application project by adding a new
project to the solution, based on the Unit Test Project template. You must add references to the
test project so that test code can access classes in the MVC web application project. You will
also need a reference to System.Web.Mvc and other namespaces from the Microsoft .NET
Framework.
In a Visual Studio test project, test fixtures are classes marked with the [TestClass] annotation.
Unit tests are methods marked with the [TestMethod] annotation. Unit tests usually return void
but call a method of the Assert class, such as Assert.AreEqual() to check results in the test
Assert phase.
Note: There are many other test frameworks available for MVC web applications and you can
choose the one you prefer. Many of these frameworks can be added by using the NuGet
package manager available in Visual Studio. If you use Visual Studio Express, you cannot use
the Visual Studio Unit Test Project template, but you can add other testing frameworks by
using NuGet.
Test Model Classes and Business Logic
In MVC, model classes do not depend on other components or infrastructure. You can easily
instantiate them in-memory, arrange their property values, act on them by calling a method, and
assert that the result was as expected. Sometimes, you create business logic in the model
classes, in which case the Act phase involves calling a method on the model class itself. If, by
contrast, you have created a separate business logic layer, code in the Act phase must call a
method on the business object class and pass a model class.
The code in this test creates an instance of the Product model class and sets its Type property.
The test checks that in these circumstances, the GetAccessories() method returns a collection of
BikeAccessory objects.
Testing a Model Class

[TestMethod]
public void Test_Product_Reviews()
{
//Arrange phase
Product testProduct = new Product();
testProduct.Type = "CompleteBike";
//Act phase
var result = testProduct.GetAccessories();
//Assert phase
Assert.AreEqual(typeof(IEnumerable(BikeAccessory)), result.GetType());
}
Create Repository Interfaces
A repository is an interface that defines properties and methods that MVC can use to store data
in a web application. It is common to create a single repository interface for your entire web
application.
In the following code example, the IWebStoreContext interface is a repository that defines
methods such as Add() and Delete(), and properties such as Products.
A Repository Interface
public interface IWebStoreContext
{
IQueryable<Product> Products { get; }
T Add<T>(T entity) where T : class;
Product FindProductById(int ID);
T Delete<T>(T entity) where T : class;
}
Implement and Use a Repository in the Application
The repository interface defines methods for interacting with data but does not fix how that data
will be set and stored. You must provide two implementations of the repository:
An implementation of the repository for use in production and development. This

o
implementation will use data from the database or some other storage mechanism.
An implementation of the repository for use in tests. This implementation will use data from
o
the memory set during the Arrange phase of each test.
The following code example shows how to implement the repository interface in your MVC
project for use in production and development.
Implementing a Repository in the MVC Project

public class WebStoreContext : DbContext, IWebStoreContext
{
public DbSet<Product> Products { get; set; }
IQueryable<Product> IWebStoreContext.Products { get { return Photos; } }
T IWebStoreContext.Add<T>(T entity)
{
return Set<T>().Add(entity);
}
Product IWebStoreContext.FindProductById(int ID)
{
return Set<Product>().Find(ID);
}
T IWebStoreContext.Delete<T>(T entity)
{
return Set<T>().Remove(entity);
}
}
Note that the WebStoreContext class still inherits from the Entity Framework DbContext
class but also implements the IWebStoreContext interface that you just created. In fact, the
interface methods such as Add(), Delete(), and FindProductById() just wrap methods from the
DbContext class such as Remove().
Implement a Repository Test Double
The second implementation of the repository interface is the implementation that you will use in
unit tests. This implementation uses in-memory data and a keyed collection of objects to
function just like an Entity Framework context, but avoids working with a database.
The following code example shows how to implement a repository class for tests.
Implementing a Fake Repository

class FakeWebStoreContext : IWebStoreContext
{
//This object is a keyed collection we use to mock an
//entity framework context in memory
SetMap _map = new SetMap();
public IQueryable<Product> Products
{
get { return _map.Get<Product>().AsQueryable(); }
set { _map.Use<Product>(value); }
}
public T Add<T>(T entity) where T : class
{
_map.Get<T>().Add(entity);
return entity;
}
public Product FindProductById(int ID)
{
Product item = (from p in this.Products
where p.ProductID == ID
select p).First();
return item;
}
public T Delete<T>(T entity) where T : class
{
_map.Get<T>().Remove(entity);
return entity;
}
class SetMap : KeyedCollection<Type, object>
{
public HashSet<T> Use<T>(IEnumerable<T> sourceData)
{
var set = new HashSet<T>(sourceData);
if (Contains(typeof(T)))
{
Remove(typeof(T));
}
Add(set);
return set;
}
public HashSet<T> Get<T>() { return (HashSet<T>) this[typeof(T)]; }
protected override Type GetKeyForItem(object item)
{
return item.GetType().GetGenericArguments().Single();
}
}
}
Using the Test Double to Test a Controller
After you have implemented a test double class for the repository, you can use it to test a
controller in a unit test. In the Arrange phase of the test, create a new object from the test double
class and pass it to the controller constructor. The controller uses this object for its Entity
Framework context during the test Act phase. This enables you to check results.
The following code example shows how to test a controller action by using a test double for the
Entity Framework context.
Using a Test Double to Test a Controller

[TestMethod]
public void Test_Index_Model_Type()
{
var context = new FakeWebStoreContext();
context.Products = new[] {
new Product(),
new Product (),
new Product ()
}.AsQueryable();
var controller = new ProductController(context);
var result = controller.Index() as ViewResult;
Assert.AreEqual(typeof(List<Product>), result.Model.GetType());
}
Note that the test creates a new instance of the FakeWebStoreContext class and adds three
Product objects to it. In this case, you can run the test without setting any properties on the
Product objects. This context is passed to the ProductController constructor and the test
proceeds to the Act and Assert phases.
Question: For what purpose would you use a fake repository when you write unit tests against
an MVC controller?
Specifying the Correct Context

When you use test doubles for unit testing MVC controllers, you must ensure that the controller
uses the correct context in two different scenarios: unit tests, and at all other times. If you use
the test double production code, for example, no data will be stored in the database. If you use
the actual Entity Framework context for unit testing, all the tests will fail. The following table
gives further details.
Scenario Context
In a unit test, you should test code without relying on underlying infrastructure
In unit such as databases. You can use a test double class that behaves like an Entity
Framework context, but uses in-memory data.
tests
When you are not unit testing the code, you use an actual Entity Framework
At other context in your controller code, which interacts with a database.
times
Using Constructors to Specify a Repository
You can specify the correct repository to use in a test by using controller constructors. During a
unit test, call a controller constructor that takes an instance of the repository interface as a
parameter. At other times, the MVC controller factory will call the controller constructor
without any parameters.
The following code example shows the constructors in an MVC controller that you can use for
production and unit testing.
Using Constructors to Specify Repositories

public class ProductController : Controller
{
private IWebStoreContext context;
//The parameterless version of the constructor is used by the MVC controller
factory
public ProductController()
{
//Instantiate an actual Entity Framework context
context = new WebStoreContext();
}
//This constructor is used by unit tests. They pass a test double context
public ProductController(IWebStoreContext Context)
{
//Use the context passed to the constructor
context = Context;
}
//Add action methods here
}
Using Inversion of Control Containers
You can also ensure that the correct repository class is used in each context by using an
Inversion of Control (IoC) container. An IoC container is a framework that you can add to your
application that instantiates classes. You must configure the IoC container so that it can identify
the kind of object to create when the application expects a specific interface. For example, when
code is used to create a new instance of the IWebStoreContext interface, the IoC container
checks its configuration and finds that it should instantiate the WebStoreContext class, which
is an Entity Framework context that implements the IWebStoreContext interface.
Note: IoC frameworks are also known as Dependency Injection (DI) frameworks because they
inject classes that implement the correct interfaces into class constructors.
By using an IoC container, you avoid the need to create two constructors for controller classes.
During tests, you can instantiate the test double and pass it to the controller constructor. At
other times, the IoC container instantiates the actual Entity Framework context and passes it to
the controller constructor.
Note: There are many IoC containers designed for use with ASP.NET MVC web applications.
These replace certain components of the MVC framework to support IoC. For example, they
replace the default controller factory with a factory that instantiates controllers with the right
context class. Many IoC containers are available in the NuGet package library, such as NinJect
and StructureMap.
Question: Which approach is more loosely-coupled: using constructors to specify the context,
or using IoC containers to specify the context?
Demonstration: How to Run Unit Tests
In this demonstration, you will see how to add a new test project to your ASP.NET MVC 4
solution, and how to create and run a simple unit test against the home page controller.
Demonstration Steps
1. right-click Solution ‘OperasWebSite’ (1 project), point to Add, and then click New
Project.
In the navigation pane of the Add New Project dialog box, under Installed, expand Visual
2.
C#, and then click Test.
In the result pane of the Add New Project dialog box, click Unit Test Project, in the
3.
Name box, type OperasWebSiteTests, and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSiteTests, right-click References, and then
4.
click Add Reference.
In the navigation pane of the Reference Manager - OperasWebSiteTests dialog box,
5.
click Solution.
In the Name column of the result pane, click OperasWebSite, select the check box
6.
corresponding to OperasWebSite, and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSiteTests, right-click References, and then
7.
In the navigation pane of the Reference Manager - OperasWebSiteTests dialog box,
8.
click Assemblies, and then click Extensions.
In the Name column of the result pane, click System.Web.Mvc with version number
9.
4.0.0.0, select the corresponding check box, and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSiteTests, right-click UnitTest1.cs, and
10.
then click Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, replace UnitTest1 with HomeControllerTests.cs, and then
11.
press Enter.
12. In the Microsoft Visual Studio dialog box, click Yes.
In the HomeControllerTests.cs code window, locate the following code.
13.
public void TestMethod1()
Replace the code with the following code.
14.
public void Test_Index_Return_View()
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
namespace, press Enter, and then type the following code.
15.
using System.Web.Mvc;
using OperasWebSite.Controllers;
In the Test_Index_Return_View code block, press Enter, and then type the following
16.
code.
HomeController controller =
new HomeController();
var result = controller.Index()
as ViewResult;
Assert.AreEqual("WrongName",
result.ViewName);
Note: This test is created to show the students a failing test.
On the TEST menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to
17.
Run, and then click All Tests.
In the Failed Tests (1) section of the Test Explorer pane, note that
18.
Test_Index_Return_View is listed.
19. In the Test Explorer pane, click Test_Index_Return_View.
At the lower part of the Test Explorer pane, drag the separator upward, and then view the
20.
test results.
21. In the Test Explorer pane, click the Close button.
22. In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSiteTests, click HomeControllerTests.cs.
In the HomeControllerTests.cs code window, locate the following code.
23.
Assert.AreEqual("WrongName",
result.ViewName);
24.
Assert.AreEqual("Index",
result.ViewName);.
On the TEST menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to
25.
In the Passed Tests (1) section of the Test Explorer pane, note that
26.
Test_Index_Return_View is listed.
In the Test Explorer pane, click Test_Index_Return_View, and then, in the lower part of
27.
the Test Explorer pane, view the test results.
Using Mocking Frameworks

When you write a unit test, you must, during the Arrange phase, create test data on which the
test will run. By using a test double or mock object to supply test data, you can test your code in
isolation from other classes and from the infrastructure elements such as databases and network
connections on which the application will rely. You can create test doubles by manually coding
their instantiation, setting their properties, and populating collections. Such test doubles are
known as manual mock objects.
Alternatively, instead of creating mock objects
manually with your own code, you can use a mocking framework to automate this work. A
mocking framework automatically creates mock object by using the interfaces that you specify.
In the case of IoC containers, there are many mocking frameworks that can be used in testing
MVC web applications. You can find many mocking frameworks by using the NuGet package
manager.
Note: Mocking frameworks for ASP.NET MVC 4 include Moq, RhinoMocks, and NSubstitute.
All these frameworks are available in NuGet and there are alternatives. Choose the framework
that best suits your testing needs.
Why Use a Mocking Framework?
There are many situations in which mocking frameworks can significantly ease unit testing.
Even for simple tests, mocking frameworks reduce the amount of setup code that you have to
develop. After you become familiar with the mocking framework that you choose, and have
learned how to write arrangement code for it, you will begin to save time. In more complex
situations, such as the following, mocking frameworks have great advantages:
Creating multiple mock objects of a single type. You should try to keep each unit test as
simple as possible, but inevitably, some tests require many mock objects to work with. For
o example, if you are testing a method that underlies paging functionality in your web
application, you must create enough mock objects to populate multiple pages. Mocking
frameworks can automate the creation of multiple mock objects of the same type.
Mocking objects with multiple interfaces. In some tests, where there are several dependencies
between classes of different types, you must create many mock objects of different classes. In
o
such situations, it is tedious to manually code many mock objects. Mocking frameworks can
help by automatically generating the objects from the interfaces that you specify.
In each unit test, you are interested in a small and specific area of functionality. Some properties
and methods of an interface will be crucial to your test, while others will be irrelevant. A
mocking framework enables you to specify irrelevant properties and methods in a given test.
When the framework creates a mock object for your test, it creates stubs for the irrelevant
properties and methods. A stub is a simple implementation with little code. In this way, the
mocking framework frees you from having to implement all the requirements of the interface
laboriously.
Question: What is the difference between an IoC container and a mocking framework?
Lesson 2: Implementing an Exception Handling

Strategy
Unexpected events are likely to occur from time to time in any complex system, including
MVC web applications. Occasionally, such unexpected run-time events cause an error. When
this happens, ASP.NET or the .NET Framework generates an exception, which is an object that
you can use to diagnose and resolve the error. The exception contains information that you can
use to diagnose the problem. Exceptions that are not handled in your code will cause the web
application to halt and an error message to be displayed to the user. As a web developer, you
need to know how to detect, handle, and raise exceptions, and identify the cause of the problem.
Visual Studio provides a broad range of tools for debugging exceptions and improving the
robustness of your code. You can also log exceptions to databases and other stores, and use the
.NET Framework code contracts to reduce the frequency of exceptions.
Lesson Objectives
o Explain how to raise and catch exceptions.

o Explain how to configure exception handling by using Web.config.
o Explain how to trace exceptions by using the IntelliTrace tool.
o Describe how to log exceptions.
o Describe the health monitoring options for an MVC 4 web application.
Raising and Catching Exceptions
An error is an unexpected run-time event that prevents an application from completing an

operation. When a line of code causes an error, ASP.NET or the common language runtime
creates an exception. This exception is an object of a class that inherits from the
System.Exception base class. There are many exception classes.
Often the object class identifies what went wrong.
For example, if there is an
ArgumentNullException, it indicates that a null value was sent to a method that does not
accept a null value as an argument.
Unhandled Exceptions
When an exception is not explicitly handled by an application, the application stops and the user
sees an error message. In ASP.NET MVC applications, this error message is in the form of a
webpage. You can override ASP.NET default error pages to display your own error information
to users.
If an unhandled exception arises while you are debugging the application in Visual Studio,
execution breaks on the line that generated the exception. You can use the Visual Studio
debugging tools to investigate what went wrong, isolate the problem, and debug your code.
Sometimes, you may also want to raise your own exceptions as a form of communication
between parts of your application. For example, consider an application that displays products
on a website. In the repository, you implement a FindProduct method that returns the product
with a name that matches the search string that is passed as an attribute. If the FindProduct
method does not locate a product with the specified name, you may wish to raise an exception.
This approach enables code in the controller, which calls the FindProduct method, to handle
the event that no products are found. You can use the throw keyword to raise errors in C# code.
Catching Errors with Try/Catch Blocks
The most familiar way to catch an exception, which works in any .NET Framework code, is to
use the try/catch block. Code in the try block is run. If any of that code generates an exception,
the type of exception is checked against the type declared in the catch block. If the type
matches, or is of a type derived from the type declared in the catch block, the code in the catch
block runs. You can use the code in the catch block to obtain information about what went
wrong and resolve the error condition.
The following code example catches any ArgumentNullException objects.
A Simple Try/Catch Block

try
{
Product product = FindProductFromComment(comment);
}
catch (ArgumentNullException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("The comment object was null. Error message: " +
ex.Message);
}
In MVC controllers, there are two methods to catch exceptions—the OnException method and
the [HandleError] annotation.
Catching Controller Exceptions in OnException
The OnException method is defined on the base Controller class, so you can override it in any
MVC controller. When you override the OnException method in a custom controller, MVC
runs the method whenever an exception arises and is not handled in a try/catch block. Using
this approach, you can handle errors anywhere in your controller without adding many
try/catch blocks throughout the code.
In the OnException method, you can catch specific types of exceptions by checking the
ExceptionContext.Exception property. Your code must set the context.Result property to
display a view to the user. If you do not set this property, the browser displays a blank webpage
to the user.
In the following code example, the OnException method is used to catch

InvalidOperationException objects.
Using OnException to Catch Controller Errors

protected override void OnException(ExceptionContext context)
{
// Catch invalid operation exception
if (filterContext.Exception is InvalidOperationException)
{
var model = new HandleErrorInfo(context.Exception, controllerName,
actionName);
var result = new ViewResult
{
ViewName = "Error",
ViewData = new ViewDataDictionary<HandleErrorInfo>(model),
//Save pass the current Temp Data to the Error view, because it often
contains
//diagnostic information
TempData = context.Controller.TempData
};
context.Result = result;
}
}
Catching Controller Exceptions with HandleError
Using the [HandleError] annotation, you can use an attribute on individual action methods or
on the controller class itself, in which case, the [HandleError] annotation catches errors in any
action. When you use the [HandleError] annotation without properties, all exceptions are
caught and sent to an MVC view called Error.cshtml. This default error view should be created
in the /View/Shared folder.
You can use two properties to control the behavior of [HandleError]:
ExceptionType. By default, the [HandleError] annotation catches all exceptions. If you set a
o more specific type with the ExceptionType property, only exceptions of that specific type
will be caught.
View. By default, the [HandleError] annotation forwards users to the Error.cshtml view.
You can specify another view file by using the View property. By setting both the
o
ExceptionType and View properties, you can divert exceptions of specific types to views
designed specifically to display them.
In the code example, the first [HandleError] annotation forwards NotImplementedException
errors to the NotImplemented view. All other errors are forwarded to the default error view.
Using the HandleError Annotation

[HandleError(ExceptionType=typeof(NotImplementedException),
View="NotImplemented")]
[HandleError]
{
//Place action code here
}
Question: You are using the [HandleError] annotation to catch exceptions in your web
application. However, you realize that [HandleError] catches all exceptions, making it difficult
for you to isolate a specific issue. What can you do to narrow down the exceptions that the
[HandleError] annotation is catching?
Configuring Exception Handling
ASP.NET applications display a default error page to users when an unhandled exception
occurs in your MVC web application. There are two reasons why you may want to change the
default error page:
You want to display a branded and styled error page that has the same layout as other pages
o
in the application and includes the company logo.
You want to avoid drawing attention to the technology that powers the site. By
letting malicious users know that your

o
site runs ASP.NET MVC, you may encourage them to attack it by using methods that have
worked in the past.
To configure a custom error page for your application, use the top-level Web.config file. The
custom error page will be displayed when an exception in not handled by any try/catch block
or [HandleError] attribute.
Custom Error Modes
To configure custom errors, add the <customErrors> element to the Web.config file. This
element must be a child of the <system.web> element. Use the following attributes:
mode: The mode attribute can be set to one of three values:
▪ Off: Unhandled errors are displayed on the default ASP.NET error page.
On: Unhandled errors are displayed in the page you specify in the defaultRedirect
▪
attribute.
o RemoteOnly: In this mode, unhandled errors are displayed differently for browsers on
remote computers and browsers on the web server. In a production site, all browsers are
remote and errors are displayed on the page that you specify in the defaultRedirect
▪ attribute. In development situations, the developer often browses to the site on the local
computer. When an error occurs, the developer is directed to the default ASP.NET error
page, which includes debugging information such as the stack trace. Use the RemoteOnly
mode on development computers.
defaultRedirect: This attribute sets the name of the view that will be used to display
o
unhandled exceptions. When you create this view, place it in the Views/Shared folder.
The code in the following example enables custom errors and specifies that unhandled
exceptions are forwarded to the customError view.
Configuring Custom Errors

<system.web>
<customErrors mode="On" defaultRedirect="CustomError" />
</system.web>
HTTP error pages
Some Hypertext Transfer Protocol-level (HTTP) errors cannot be caught by custom MVC error
views as specified in Web.config or the [HandleError] annotation. For such errors, you can
use the <error> element in Web.config, as a child element of the <customErrors> element.
In the following example, the <error> element is used for specific HTML files to respond to
HTTP 500 errors.
Catching HTTP Error Codes

<customErrors mode="On" defaultRedirect="CustomError" >
<error statusCode="500" redirect="~/Error/Error500.html" />
</customErrors>
Question: You have switched off custom errors in the Web.config file. When you run your
application without debugging, an exception is thrown in a try/catch block. What page displays
the exception to the user?
Using Visual Studio IntelliTrace in MVC
When something goes wrong in your web application, whether it happens during development
or in production, you need information about the state of the application, to diagnose the
problem. Sometimes, a small amount of information is sufficient. For example, you may be able
to see from the URL query string that a link was formulated wrongly. Often, however, problems
arise in more obscure places and you need as much information as possible to perform a
diagnosis. IntelliTrace is a feature of Visual Studio that assists debugging by presenting
as much information as possible. IntelliTrace was introduced with Microsoft Visual Studio
2010 Ultimate.
The Traditional Debugging Workflow
When developers debug malfunctioning code, they run the application in Visual Studio
debugging mode. If an unhandled exception occurs, Visual Studio breaks execution and
displays details such as the exception class and the exception message. You can use the Locals,
Call Stack, and Error List windows to determine the values of variables and properties that may
have caused the exception. All these pieces of information are presented as they were when the
error occurred.
If a problem originated before the error occurred, you must halt debugging, set a break point,
and then restart debugging. Again, Visual Studio halts execution, but this time, it is at the break
point. You can use the same windows to gain information and step through code, line by line, to
see how values change, and diagnose the error.
Two problems can occur in this workflow:
If you set the break point too late, you will miss the origin of the error. You must set another
o
break point and restart debugging.
If you are stepping through many lines of code, you can miss the error by selecting
o Debug|StepInto or pressing the F11 shortcut too many times. This is easy to do when there
are hundreds of lines of code to step through.
Debugging With IntelliTrace
IntelliTrace improves this workflow and addresses the two problems that arise during the
traditional debugging workflow by recording a timeline of code execution. When you run an
application in the debug mode, IntelliTrace records all the events that occur in the background.
This can include exceptions, debugging events such as break points, and other events that you
can configure.
As before, when the debugger encounters an unhandled exception or a break point, Visual
Studio halts execution and displays the details of any exception. However, the developer can
now see all the recorded events in the IntelliTrace pane. The current event appears at the end of
the list and is named Live Event. You can see all the previous events in the list and can click
them for more details. In this way, you can investigate what happened before the exception or
the break point.
When you click an earlier event in the IntelliTrace pane, the Locals, Call Stack, and Error List
windows display the state of the application at the moment of the earlier event. The line of code
that corresponds to the selected event is highlighted in orange color. Because of this
highlighting, two problems that arise during the traditional debugging workflow are eased,
namely, missing the origin of error and stepping too far through the code. Because the relevant
code is highlighted, if you miss the origin of the error or step too far through the code, you can
get back to earlier events and investigate values.
To help you locate the correct event in the IntelliTrace window, you can filter by event category
or execution thread, or use the search option.
IntelliTrace Configuration Options
To configure IntelliTrace, click DEBUG, click IntelliTrace, and then click Open IntelliTrace
Settings. You can enable or disable IntelliTrace event recording and specify a location and
maximum size for the IntelliTrace files.
Most of the configuration options concern the amount of data to record in IntelliTrace files. The
default settings have a mimimal affect on performance, but if those are insufficient to diagnose
a problem, you can choose to log more information to target the problem. This may
compromise performance, but remember that IntelliTrace information is only recorded during
debugging. Your settings will not degrade performance after the application is deployed to a
web server. Under General, you can set IntelliTrace to record IntelliTrace events only, or both
IntelliTrace events and call information, which includes all calls to methods and classes. You
can configure what is included in IntelliTrace events by using the IntelliTrace Events list. For
example, by default, ASP.NET events such as error pages, page post backs, and redirects are
included for MVC applications.
Saving and Opening IntelliTrace Files
IntelliTrace automatically saves events in an IntelliTrace file when you enter debug mode. The
file is automatically deleted when you close Visual Studio, to ensure that IntelliTrace files do
not over-use disk space. Note that this means that the IntelliTrace pane includes events from the
current debugging session and any previous debugging sessions run since you started Visual
Studio. However, these files are temporary.
You can avoid losing an IntelliTrace file when you close Visual Studio by saving it for later
analysis. To do this, click DEBUG, click IntelliTrace, and then click Save IntelliTrace
Session. The file is saved with an .iTrace extension. If you double-click an .iTrace file, Visual
Studio displays the threads, exceptions, modules, and other information that the file contains.
Additional Reading: For more information about IntelliTrace and how to use it, see
Question: You are looking at IntelliTrace events and suspect that the error originated in a class
written by a colleague who works in another country. How can you help the colleague to see the
events that you can see in IntelliTrace after you close Visual Studio?
Logging Exceptions
Exceptions that you face during development can be investigated and debugged by using the
Visual Studio debugging tools, including IntelliTrace. In an ideal situation, no exceptions would
arise when your web application is complete and deployed for users over the Internet. However,
in the real world, unforeseen circumstances arise resulting in exceptions. For example, database
failures, network issues, and configuration errors in any part of the system can cause exceptions.
You have already seen how to present a branded and informative custom error page to users
when
exceptions occur. It is also appropriate to log the exceptions in a production web application, so
the administrators and developers can assess the extent of the problem, remove the cause, and
improve the robustness of the code.
Writing Error Logging Code
Before you write code to log exceptions in your web application, consider where exceptions
should be recorded. Generally, web applications log exceptions to an Extensible Markup
Language (XML) file. This approach can be efficient, especially if the text file is kept on a
separate drive from the database of the web application and other critical, commonly accessed
files. However, the file size of the XML files can grow large, making them difficult to analyze.
A common approach is to log errors to tables in a database. These tables can be a part of a
single web application database, or you can place them in a dedicated database away from
product catalogs, user profiles, and other information. By logging exceptions to a database, you
create a list of exceptions that can be easily searched and analyzed. You can also build a
webpage to present these logged exceptions to administrators so that they can access the details
from a browser.
You should also consider sending email messages or other types of messages to administrators
and developers when exceptions occur. This approach ensures that administrators and
developers hear of an error very quickly. It does not require them to review the exceptions
logged in the database. Frequently, error handling code in live applications both logs to a
database and send email messages to administrators and developers.
Where to Write Error Logging Code
When you decide where to write code that logs errors, you should consider that errors might
arise in almost any part of your application. You should choose an approach that enables you to
write error logging code once that will run for any exception anywhere in your application.
For example, it is not appropriate to write error logging code in individual try/catch blocks. If
you do this, you will have to create a try/catch block for every procedure in your application,
and write duplicate logging code in the catch block.
A more effective approach is as follows:
Create a custom base controller class for your web application. This class inherits from the
o
System.Web.Mvc.Controller base class.
In your custom base controller class, override the OnException() method. Place you error
o
logging code in this method.
When you create controllers, inherit from your custom base controller class, instead of
o
System.Web.Mvc.Controller.
In this way, you can write error logging code only once in the overridden OnExcpetion()
method. This catches exceptions from any of the inheriting controllers.
Using Third-Party Logging Tools
Because exception logging is a very common functional requirement for web applications, there
are many third-party solutions that you can choose if you do not want to write your own logging
code. Many of these are available within Visual Studio from the NuGet package manager.
Perhaps, the most commonly used and widely supported error logging package is Error Logging
Modules and Handlers (ELMAH). ELMAH can be used with any ASP.NET web application
and can log exceptions to XML files or a wide variety of databases, including Microsoft SQL
Server, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server Compact, MySQL, and others. In addition, ELMAH
includes webpages that you can use to remotely view exception lists and details, and ELMAH
can send alert email messages to the address that you configure.
Question: You want to ensure that developers can review exception details that arise during
debugging. How should you approach error logging code?
Health Monitoring
Since ASP.NET version 2.0, you can use health monitoring to record what happens in a web
application. Health monitoring can record exceptions through error logging techniques.
However, health monitoring can also record a wide range of other events such as application
starts and stops, failed logon attempts, membership events, and user input validation errors.
Some pieces of these information are difficult to access from any other source.
Health Monitoring Features
You can customize the category of events that
health monitoring records. Each event is within one of the five following categories.
Event Category Description

Application
Application lifetime events include application starts and stops.
Lifetime Events
Audit Events Audit events include logons, logoffs, and logon failures.
Event Category Description
Error events incude .NET Framework exceptions and HTTP errors such
Error Events
as 404 errors.
Request Processing Request processing events include events that occur as ASP.NET
Events controllers, models, and views receive and respond to webpage requests.
Heartbeats are periodic events that health monitoring can raise and record
Heartbeats
to confirm that the application is running.
You can also customize the location where health monitoring stores event details by
configuring health monitoring providers. You can choose from the following providers.
Health Monitoring Provider Description

EventLogWebEventProvider sends events to the Windows
EventLogWebEventProvider
Event Log. These events appear in the Windows log.
SqlWebEventProvider sends events to a SQL Server
SqlWebEventProvider
database.
WmiWebEventProvider sends events to Windows
WmiWebEventProvider
Management Infrastructure client.
SimpleMailWebEventProvider sends events in an email
SimpleMailWebEventProvider
message sent to an address you specify.
TemplatedMailWebEventProvider also sends events in an
TemplatedMailWebEventProvider email message, but you can use a template email to format
the information.
TraceWebEventProvider sends events to the ASP.NET
tracing system.
TraceWebEventProvider
Configuring Health Monitoring
You configure health monitoring by using the <healthMonitoring> element within the
<system.web> element in Web.config. You can use elements within <healthMonitoring> to
add and configure providers and define rules that govern how events of different types are
recorded.
The following code example shows how to configure health monitoring to record application
life cycle events to a SQL Server database.
Configuring Health Monitoring

<system.web>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="HealthDB" connectionString="your connection string here" />
<healthMonitoring enabled="true">
<providers>
<add name="sqlProvider"
type="System.Web.Management.SqlWebEventProvider"
connectionStringName="HealthDB"
buffer="false"
bufferMode="Notification" />
</providers>
<rules>
<add name="LifeCycle"
provider="sqlProvider"
eventName="Application Lifetime Events" />
</rules>
</healthMonitoring>
<system.web>
Additional Reading:
For full details of all the options that you can configure in Web.config for health monitoring,
see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=293685&clcid=0x409
If you configure health monitoring to use the SqlWebEventProvider, ASP.NET will, by

default, create a database file called, ASPNETDB.MDF, in the App_Data folder of the web
application. You can alter this location by using the connection string in Web.config. However,
health monitoring will only work if certain data tables are present in the database that you
connect to. You can prepare the database with the correct tables by using the aspnet_regsql.exe
tool. This tool is found in the %WINDOWS%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\version directory.
The following command prepares a SQL Server database for health monitoring, authenticating
as the current user.
aspnet_regsql.exe –E –S HealthDatabaseServer –d HealthDatabase –A w
Question: After using your recently-developed web application, several users are facing failed
logon attempts. As a result, to track these exceptions, you have decided to set up a monitoring
system that will send an email message to a specified email address. Which health monitoring
provider will you use to fix this?
Lab: Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4

Web Applications
Scenario
The Photo Sharing application is in the early stages of development. However, frequent errors
are hindering the productivity of the development team. The senior developer advises that you
intercept exceptions and other flaws as early as possible. You have been asked to perform unit
tests of the PhotoController to ensure that all scenarios work as expected and to avoid problems
later in the web application development life cycle. You have also been asked to ensure that
when critical errors occur, developers can obtain helpful technical information.
Objectives
o Perform unit tests of the components of an MVC web application.

o Configure an exception handling strategy for an MVC web application.
o Use Visual Studio debugging tools against a web application.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
o
Exercise 1: Performing Unit Tests
Scenario
Create a test project and write the following tests.
Test_Index_Return_View: This test checks that the Index action returns a view named
o ▪ Index.
Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type: This test checks that the _PhotoGallery action passes
▪
an enumerable list of Photo objects to the _PhotoGallery partial view.
Test_GetImage_Return_Type: This test checks that the GetImage action returns a file
▪
and not a view.
Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter: This test checks that when you call the
▪ _PhotoGallery action without any parameters, the action passes all the photos in the
context to the _PhotoGallery partial view.
Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter: This test checks that when you call the
▪ _PhotoGallery action with an integer parameter, the action passes the corresponding
number of photos to the _PhotoGallery action.
o Implement a repository.
o Refactor the PhotoController to use a repository.
Refactor tests to use a mock repository.
Note: The tests you add to the solution in this exercise will improve the quality of code and
o
prevent bugs as development proceeds. However, this exercise does not conform to the
principles of TDD because the PhotoController class already exists. In TDD, you would
create these and other tests first, and then create a PhotoController class that passes the tests.
1. Create a test project.

2. Write the tests.
3. Implement a repository.
4. Refactor the photo controller to use the repository.
5. Refactor the tests to use a mock repository.
6. Add further tests.
Task 1: Create a test project.

o User name: Admin
Open the PhotoSharingApplication solution from the following location:
2.
Add a new project to the solution for unit tests by using the following information:
3. o Template: Unit Test Project
o Name: PhotoSharingTests
4. Add a reference to the PhotoSharingApplication project in the PhotoSharingTests project.
Add a reference to the System.Web.Mvc assembly in the PhotoSharingTests project by
5.
o MVC version: 4.0.0.0
Task 2: Write the tests.
1. Rename the UnitTest1 class as PhotoControllerTests.

2. Rename the TestMethod1 method as Test_Index_Return_View.
Add using statements for the following namespaces:
o System.Collections.Generic
3. o System.Web.Mvc
o PhotoSharingApplication.Controllers
In the Test_Index_Return_View test, create a new PhotoController, call the Index action,
4.
and assert that the name of the result view is Index.
Add a new test method by using the following information:
o Annotation: [TestMethod]
5. o Scope: public
o Return type: void
o Name: Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type
o Parameters: None
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test, create a new PhotoController, call the
6.
_PhotoGallery action, and assert that the type of the result model is List<Photo>.
Add a new test method by using the following information:
7. o Scope: public
o Return type: void
o Name: Test_GetImage_Return_Type
o Parameters: None
In the Test_GetImage_Return_Type test, create a new PhotoController, call the
8.
GetImage action, and assert that the result type is FileContentResult.
9. Run all the tests in the PhotoSharingTests project and examine the results.
Task 3: Implement a repository.

Add a new interface called IPhotoSharingContext to the Models folder in the
1.
PhotoSharingApplication project.
2. Set public scope to the new interface.
Add the Photos property to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the following
information:
3. o Type: IQueryable<Photo>
o Name: Photos
o Access: Read only
Add the Comments property to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the
4. o Type: IQueryable<Comment>
o Name: Comments
o Access: Read only
Add the SaveChanges method to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the
5.
o Return type: Integer
o Name: SaveChanges
Add the Add method to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the following
information:
6.
o Return type: T, where T is any class
o Parameter: an instance of T named entity
Add the FindPhotoById method to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the
7.
o Return type: Photo.
o Parameter: an integer named ID
Add the FindCommentById method to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the
8.
o Return type: Comment
o Parameter: an integer named ID
Add the Delete method to the IPhotoSharingContext interface by using the following
information:
9.
o Return type: T, where T is any class.
o Parameter: An instance of T named entity.
Ensure that the PhotoSharingContext class implements the IPhotoSharingContent
10.
interface.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the Photos property from the
11.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return the Photos collection for the get method.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the Comments property from the
12.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return the Comments collection for the get method.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the SaveChanges method from the
13.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return the results of the SaveChanges method.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the Add method from the
14.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return a Set<T> collection with entity added.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the FindPhotoById method from the
15.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return the Photo object with requested ID.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the FindCommentById method from the
16.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return the Comment object with requested ID.
In the PhotoSharingContext class, implement the Delete method from the
17.
IPhotoSharingContext interface and return a Set<T> collection with entity removed.
18. Save all the changes and build the project.
Task 4: Refactor the photo controller to use the repository.
In the PhotoController class, change the declaration of the context object so it is an

1.
instance of the IPhotoSharingContext. Do not instantiate the context object.
Add a new constructor to the PhotoController class. In the controller, instantiate context
2.
to be a new PhotoSharingContext object.
Add a second constructor to the PhotoController class that accepts an
3. IPhotoSharingContext implementation named Context as a parameter. In the constructor,
instantiate context to be the Context object.
In the PhotoController Display action, replace the call to context.Photos.Find() with a
4.
similar call to context.FindPhotoById().
In the PhotoController Create action for the POST verb, replace the call to
5.
context.Photos.Add() with a similar call to context.Add<Photo>.
In the PhotoController Delete action, replace the call to context.Photos.Find() with a
6.
similar call to context.FindPhotoById().
In the PhotoController DeleteConfirmed action, replace the call to
7.
context.Photos.Find() with a similar call to context.FindPhotoById().
In the PhotoController DeleteConfirmed action, replace the call to
8.
context.Photos.Remove() with a similar call to context.Delete<Photo>.
In the PhotoController GetImage action, replace the call to context.Photos.Find() with a
9.
similar call to context.FindPhotoById()
10. Run the application with debugging to ensure that the changes are consistent.
Task 5: Refactor the tests to use a mock repository.
1. Add a new folder called Doubles to the PhotoSharingTests project.

Add the FakePhotoSharingContext.cs existing file to the Doubles folder from the following
location:
2.
Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod06\Fake Repository\ FakePhotoSharingContext.cs
o
Note: This class will be used as a test double for the Entity Framework context.
In the PhotoControllerTests.cs file, add using statements for the following namespaces:
3. o System.Linq
o PhotoSharingTests.Doubles
In the Test_Index_Return_View method, create a new instance of the
4.
FakePhotoSharingContext class and pass it to the PhotoController constructor.
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type method, create a new instance of the
5. FakePhotoSharingContext class, add four new Photo objects to the class, and then pass
them to the PhotoController constructor.
In the Test_GetImage_Return_Type method, create a new instance of the
6.
FakePhotoSharingContext class.
Add four new Photo objects to the context.Photos collection. Use the following information
to add each new Photo object:
7. o PhotoID: a unique integer value

o PhotoFile: a new byte array of length 1
o ImageMimeType: image/jpeg
Ensure that the new FakePhotoSharingContext object is passed to the PhotoController
8.
constructor.
9. Run all the tests in the PhotoSharingTests project and verify the status of all the tests.
Task 6: Add further tests.
In PhotoControllerTests.cs, add a new test method by using the following information:
1. o Scope: public
o Return type: void
o Name: Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter
o Parameters: None
In the Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter method, create a new instance of the
2. FakePhotoSharingContext class, add four new Photo objects to the class, and then pass
them to the PhotoController constructor.
3. Call the _PhotoGallery action and store the PartialViewResult in a variable named result.
Cast the result.Model property as an IEnumerable<Photo> collection and then check that
4. the number of Photos in the collection is 4, which is the same as the number of photos you
added to the fake context.
In the PhotoControllerTests.cs code window, copy and paste the entire
5. Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter method. Rename the pasted test method as
Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter.
In the Test_Photo_Gallery_Int_Parameter method, ensure that the call to the
6.
_PhotoGallery action passes the integer 3.
Assert that the number of Photo objects in the modelPhotos collection is 3, which is the
7.
integer you passed to the _PhotoGallery action.
8. Run all the tests in this PhotoSharingTests project and verify the status of all tests.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a set of PhotoController tests
defined in the PhotoSharingTests project of the Photo Sharing application.
Exercise 2: Optional—Configuring Exception Handling
Scenario
Now that you have developed unit tests for the Photo Sharing application, you need to configure
an exception handling strategy for the MVC web application. This would ensure that when
exceptions occur in the development phase of the PhotoSharingApplication project, the
controller, action, and exception messages are displayed in a custom MVC error view. You also
need to implement a placeholder action for the SlideShow action in the PhotoController view.
This action will be completed during a later iteration of the project.
1. Edit Web.config for exception handling.

2. Create a custom error view.
3. Configure errors in the PhotoController class.
4. Raise errors.
Task 1: Edit Web.config for exception handling.
1. Open the Web.config file in the root level folder of the PhotoSharingApplication project.
Add the <customErrors> element to the <system.web> element by using the following
information:
2. o Parent element: <system.web>

o Element: <customErrors>
o Mode: On
o defaultRedirect: ErrorPage
Add the <error> element to the <customErrors> element by using the following
information:
3. o Parent element: <customErrors>

o Element: <error>
o statusCode: 500
o redirect: Error.html
Add a new HTML page to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
4.
o Template: HTML Page
o Name: Error.html
5. In the Error.html file, set the contents of the TITLE element to Error.
6. Add content to the Error.html file to explain the error to users.
Task 2: Create a custom error view.
Add a new view to the Shared folder by using the following information:
1. o Name of the view: Error

2. In the Error.cshtml file, set the content of the TITLE element to Custom Error.
3. Set the @model for the Error.cshtml to System.Web.Mvc.HandleErrorInfo.
4. In the DIV element, render an H1 element by using the following information:
5. Content: MVC Error
6. In the DIV element, render the ControllerName property of the Model object.
7. In the DIV element, render the ActionName property of the Model object.
8. In the DIV element, render the Exception.Message property of the Model object.
9. Save all the changes made to the Error.cshtml file.
Task 3: Configure errors in the PhotoController class.

Modify the PhotoController class to send errors to the Error.cshtml view by using the
1. o Class: PhotoController
o Annotation: HandleError
o View: Error
Add a new action to the PhotoController class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Name: SlideShow
o Parameters: None
In the new action, throw an exception by using the following information:
3. o Type: NotImplmentedException
o Message: The SlideShow action is not yet ready
Task 4: Raise errors.
4. Start debugging and display Sample Photo 5.

In the Internet Explorer window, request the relative URL and view the error details.
1.
o URL: /Photo/Display/malformedID
In the Internet Explorer window, request the relative URL.
2.
o URL: /Photo/SlideShow
3. Use the IntelliTrace pane to investigate the exception.
4. Stop debugging and close Visual Studio.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to:
Configure a custom error handling strategy for an MVC application.
Question: When you ran the tests for the first time in Exercise 1, why did
Test_Index_Return_View pass, while Test_GetImage_Return_Type and
Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type failed?
Question: In Exercise 1, why did all the tests pass during the second run?

In this module, you became familiar with various techniques that you can use to eliminate bugs
from your ASP.NET MVC 4 web application. This begins early in the development phase of
the project, when you define unit tests that ensure that each method and class in your
application behaves precisely as designed. Unit tests are automatically rerun as you build the
application so you can be sure that methods and classes that did work are not broken by later
coding errors. Exceptions arise in even the most well-tested applications because of unforeseen
circumstances. You also saw how to ensure that exceptions are handled smoothly, and how
error logs are optionally stored for later analysis.
Best Practice: If you are using TDD or Extreme Programming, define each test before you
write the code that implements a requirement. Use the test as a full specification that your code
must satisfy. This requires a full understanding of the design.
Best Practice: Investigate and choose a mocking framework to help you create test double
objects for use in unit tests. Though it may take time to select the best framework and to learn
how to code mock objects, your time investment will be worth it over the life of the project.
Best Practice: Do not be tempted to skip unit tests when under time pressure. Doing so can
introduce bugs and errors into your system and result in more time being spent debugging.

No information appears in the IntelliTrace window.
Review Question(s)
Question: You want to ensure that the PhotoController object passes a single Photo object to
the Display view, when a user calls the Search action for an existing photo title. What unit tests
should you create to check this functionality?
Tools
NinJect, StructureMap. These are Inversion of Control (IoC) containers, also known as
Dependency Injection (DI) frameworks. They create non-test implementations of interfaces in
your web application.
Moq, RhinoMocks, NSubstitute. These are mocking frameworks. They automate the creation of
test doubles for unit tests.
IntelliTrace. This is a part of Visual Studio that displays application state at the point of an
exception or break, and at earlier times.
Health Monitoring. This part of ASP.NET can store health events in a database, log, or other
locations for later analysis.
ELMAH. This exception logging tool can store exceptions in database tables, XML files, and
elsewhere, and enable administrators to view exception details on a webpage.
MODULE 07: STRUCTURING ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB

APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Analyzing Information Architecture
Module Overview
An MVC web application can grow large and complex and the application can contain many
types of information that relate to each other in complicated ways. A key challenge for such
web applications is to ensure that users can easily locate the information that interests them.
Although a search tool is helpful, you should design your web application in such a way that
users can navigate to the page they need through a short sequence of links. At each level, users
must know what link to click next. The URLs that users see in the Address bar must be readable
and understandable. You need to understand how to present the model classes you have
designed in a way that is logical to the user. You also need to ensure that Internet search engines
can crawl and analyze your web application structure, so that your application content appears
close to the top of the search engine results. You can achieve these goals by learning about
ASP.NET routing and navigation.
Objectives
o Plan suitable information architecture for a given set of functional requirements.

Add routes to the ASP.NET routing engine and ensure that URLs are user-friendly
o
throughout an MVC web application.
o Add navigation controls to an application to enable users to locate data rapidly.
Lesson 1 : Analyzing Information Architecture

When you analyze use cases and user stories to plan a model for your web application, you
must determine the kinds of objects that your web application will manage. For example, if
your web application provides technical documentation for a product, you can plan model
classes such as installation guides, user guides, frequently asked questions (FAQs), FAQ
answers, categories, comments, and other model classes. The model imposes a logical structure
of objects on the web application. However, you must also consider how users expect
information to be structured. Users may expect a hierarchical structure, in which FAQs, FAQ
answers, and comments are presented under the product they relate to. When you create a
complex MVC web application, you need to know how to present model classes in a logical
manner, so that your web application is user-friendly.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe information architecture.

o Describe search engine optimization and its importance for web developers.
What Is Information Architecture?

When the information your web application manages is complex and multi-faceted, it is easy to
present objects in a confusing way. Unless you think carefully about the way users expect
information to be structured and how they expect to navigate to useful content, you may
unintentionally create an unusable web application. During development, when you work with a
limited amount of data, this confusion may not become apparent. Then, when real-world data is
added to your database at production deployment time, it becomes clear that the web
application is confusing. You can avoid this eventuality by planning the information
architecture.
Information architecture is a logical structure for the objects your web application manages.
You should design such architecture in a way that users can find content quickly without
understanding any technical aspects of your web application. For example, users should be able
to locate a technical answer about their product without understanding the database structure or
the classes that constitute the model.
Example Scenario: A Technical Documentation Website
To understand the need for information architecture, consider a web application that presents
technical information about a company’s products for customers and engineers. In this example,
the company manufactures domestic heating furnaces, which are installed in homes by qualified
heating engineers. The web application is intended to enable customers to locate instructions,
hints, and tips. This web application is also intended to enable engineers to obtain the technical
documentation on installing and servicing furnaces.
The development team has identified the following simple user stories:
Customers have a certain problem with their boilers. They want to find a specific FAQ
answer that solves the problem. They know the boiler product name and the fuel, but not the
o
product number. They visit the web application and navigate to the boiler name. They click
the FAQ for their boiler name and locate the answer that they need.
Engineers need the latest installation manual for a boiler. They know the boiler product
o number, product name, and fuel type. They visit the site and navigate to the boiler name.
They click the Manuals link and locate the installation manual.
Engineers have web applications, which they want to link to a specific boiler name. You
o
want to ensure that the URL is simple and readable for customers and engineers.
You have already planned the following model classes:
o Furnace. Each furnace object is a product manufactured and sold by the company.
Category. Categories organize the furnaces by type. For example, you can have categories
o
such as oil-fired, gas-fired, and solid fuel.
FAQ. Each FAQ relates to a single furnace. Each furnace can have many questions. The class
o
includes both Question and Answer properties.
Installation Manual. Each furnace has a single installation manual in the form of a PDF
o
document.
o User Manual. Each furnace has a single user manual in the form of a PDF document.
Planning a Logical Hierarchy
You can see from the user stories that FAQ and manuals are both accessed by navigating to the
relevant product first. You can also see that the company has different products, and both
customers and engineers know the fuel type for a particular furnace. Therefore, you can
organize furnaces in categories by fuel type. The following list shows a logical hierarchy of
objects, which helps both the customers and engineers find the information they need by
clicking through each level:
Category
▪ Furnace
o ▪ FAQ
▪ User Manual
▪ Installation Manual
Presenting a Hierarchy in Navigation Controls
The information architecture you design should be presented on webpages in the form of
navigation controls. Common approaches to such controls include:
Site Menus. Most websites have a main menu that presents the main areas of content. For
o simple web applications, the main menu may include a small number of static links. For
larger web applications, when users click a site menu link, a submenu appears.
Tree Views. A tree view is a menu that shows several levels of information hierarchy.
o Usually, users can expand or collapse objects at each level, to locate the content they require.
Tree views are useful for presenting complex hierarchies in navigable structures.
Breadcrumb Trails. A breadcrumb trail is a navigation control that shows the user where they
are in the web application. Usually a breadcrumb trail shows the current pages and all the
o parent pages in the hierarchy, with the home page as the top level. Breadcrumb trails enable
you to understand how a page fits in with the information architecture shown in menus and
tree views.
The types of navigation controls you build in your web application depend on how you expect
users to find information.
Presenting a Hierarchy in URLs
You can increase the usability of your web application by reflecting the information architecture
in the URLs, which the users see in the Address bar of the web browser. In many web
applications, URLs often include long and inscrutable information such as Globally Unique
Identifiers (GUIDs) and long query strings with many parameters. Such URLs prevent users
from manually formulating the address to an item, and these URLs are difficult to link to a page
on your web application. Instead, URLs can be plain and comprehensible, to help users browse
through your content.
In MVC web applications, the default configuration is simple, but it is based on controllers,
actions, and parameters. The following are some example URLs that follow this default pattern:
http://site/Furnace/Details/23: This URL links to the Furnace controller and the Details
o
action, and it displays the furnace with the ID 23.
http://site/FAQQuestion/Details/234: This URL links to the FAQQuestion controller and the
o
Details action, and it displays the FAQ with the ID 234.
http://site/InstallationManual/Details/3654: This URL links to the InstallationManual
o
controller and the Details action, and it displays the manual with the ID 3654.
As you can see, the web application user is required to understand how controllers, actions, and
action parameters work, to formulate URLs themselves. Instead, users can use URLs that are
easier to understand, such as the following, because they reflect the information hierarchy:
http://site/OilFired/HotBurner2000: This URL links to a Furnace by specifying the fuel

o
category and the product name. Customers and engineers can understand these values.
http://site/OilFired/HotBurner2000/HowToRestartMyFurnace: This URL links to an FAQ by
o
specifying the furnace name the question relates to.
http://site/OilFired/HotBurner2000/: This URL links to the Installation Manual by specifying
o
the furnace name the manual relates to.
As you can see, these URLs are easy for customers and engineers to understand, because the
URLs are based on a logical hierarchy and the information that the users already have. You can
control the URLs that your ASP.NET web application uses, by configuring the ASP.NET
routing engine.
Question: Why may it be difficult for users to understand URLs based on controllers, actions,
and parameters?
What Is Search Engine Optimization?
Most users find web applications by using search engines. Users tend to visit the links that
appear at the top of search engine results more frequently than those lower down and those on
the second page of results. For this reason, website administrators and developers try to ensure
their web application appears high in search engine results, by using a process known as Search
Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO ensures that more people visit your web application.
Search engines examine the content of your web application, by crawling it with a program
called a
web bot. If you understand the priorities that web bots and search engine indexes use to order
search results, you can create a web application that conforms to those priorities and thereby
appears high in search engine results.
SEO Best Practices
Various search engines have different web bots with different algorithms to prioritize results.
The complete details of these algorithms are not usually published. However, if you adopt the
following best practices, your site has a good chance of appearing high in search results:
Ensure that each webpage in your web application has a meaningful <title> element in the
o
<head> section of the HTML.
Ensure that you include a <meta name="keywords"> tag in the <head> element of each page.
o The content attribute of this element should include keywords that describe the content of the
page accurately.
Ensure that you include a <meta name="description"> tag in the <head> element of each
o page. The content attribute of this element should include a sentence that describes the
content of the page accurately.
Ensure that the <title> element and the <meta> elements are different for each page in your
o
web application.
o Choose a domain name that includes one or more of your most important keywords.
o Ensure that keywords appear in the <h1>, <h2>, or <h3> elements of your webpage.
Ensure that navigation controls enable web bots to crawl your entire web application. For
example, you may have content in your site that users can only find with the search tool, not
o
by clicking through links. As web bots cannot use search tools, this content will not be
indexed.
o Ensure that URLs do not include GUIDs or long query text.
SEO and Web Application Structure
Information architecture is a subject that is closely related to SEO. This is because both
information architecture and SEO are relevant to the structure, hierarchy, and accessibility of
the objects in your web application. Users click links on menus to navigate to the pages that
interest them. Web bots use the same links to navigate the web application and crawl its
content. Users prefer URLs without GUIDs and long query text because they are meaningful.
Web bots often ignore links with GUIDs and long query text in them. In addition, when
keywords appear in URLs, web bots prioritize a webpage in search results.
As an ASP.NET MVC developer, you must understand SEO principles and use them whenever
you write code, to ensure that you do not damage the search engine positioning of your web
application. Views are critical to SEO because they render <meta> tags, and <title> elements.
Routes and the configuration of the routing engine are also critical, because, by using routes,
you can control the URLs that your web application generates.
Question: A developer creates a partial view that contains <meta> tags and <title> tags. The
developer uses this partial view on every page in the web application. Do these actions conform
to SEO best practices?

ASP.NET enables developers to control the URLs that a web application uses, to link the URLs
and the content by configuring routes. A route is an object that parses a requested URL, and it
determines the controller and action to which the request must be forwarded. Such routes are
called incoming routes. HTML helpers also use routes when they formulate links to controllers
and actions. Such routes are called outgoing routes. You need to know how to write code that
adds a new route to your application. You also need to know how the routing engine interprets a
route so that requests go to the appropriate controllers, and users see meaningful URLs.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the features of the ASP.NET routing engine.

o Describe the benefits of adding routes to an ASP.NET MVC web application.
o Explain how to add and configure routes.
o Explain how to use routes to pass parameters.
o Add routes to manage URL formulation.
The ASP.NET Routing Engine

Routing governs the way URLs are formulated and how they correspond to controllers and
actions.
Routing does not operate on the protocol, server, domain, or port number of a URL, but only on
the directories and file name in the relative URL. For example, in the URL,
http://www.advworks.com/photo/display/1, routing operates on the relative path
/photo/display/1.
In ASP.NET, routes are used for two purposes:
To parse the URLs requested by browsers.
o This analysis ensures that requests are
forwarded to the right controllers and actions. These are called incoming URLs.
To formulate URLs in webpage links and other elements. When you use helpers such as
o Html.ActionLink() and Url.Action() in MVC views, the helpers construct URLs according
to the routes in the routing table. These are called outgoing URLs.
When you create an MVC web application in Visual Studio by using a project template, the
application has a default route. You must understand this default route before you consider
adding extra routes to manipulate URLs in the application.
Note: You can use routes and the routing engine to govern relative URLs in any ASP.NET 4.5
application and not just in those that use the MVC programming model.
The Default Route
The default route is simple but logical and works well in many web applications. The default
route examines the first three segments of the URL. Each segment is delimited by a forward
slash:
The first segment is interpreted as the name of the controller. The routing engine forwards
o the request to this controller. If a first segment is not specified, the default route forwards the
request to a controller called Home.
The second segment is interpreted as the name of the action. The routing engine forwards the
o request to this action. If a second segment is not specified, the default route forwards the
request to a controller called Index.
The third segment is interpreted as an ID value, which is passed to the action as a parameter.
o The parameter is optional, so if a third segment is not specified, no default value is passed to
the action.
You can see that when the user requests the URL, http://www.advworks.com/photo/display/1,
the default route passes the ID parameter 1 to the Display action of the Photo controller.
The following code shows how the default route is implemented in new ASP.NET MVC 4
applications.
The Default Route

routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new {
controller = "Home",
action = "Index",
id = UrlParameter.Optional
}
);
Custom Routes
Developers add their own custom routes to a web application for two main reasons:
To make URLs easier for site visitors to understand. A URL such as

http://www.advworks.com/photo/display/1 is logical to the visitor, but it requires some
knowledge to formulate such URLs. In this case, to type the right URL in the Address bar of
the web browser, the user must know some information. This information includes the
o controller name, Photo, the action name, Display, and the ID of the photo of interest. If you
use Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) in the database, the ID segment of the URL can be
long and difficult to remember. Ideally, you should consider what users know and create
routes that accept that information. In this example, users may know the title of a photo that
they had seen earlier in your application. You should create a route that can interpret a URL
such as http://www.advworks.com/photo/title/My%20Photo%20Title, and forward the URL
to an appropriate action to display the right photo. Although users usually click links to make
requests, friendly URLs like these make a site easier to use and link to from other sites.
To improve search engine rankings. Search engines do not prioritize webpages that have
GUIDs or long query text in the URL. Some web bots do not even crawl such links. In
o
addition, some search engines boost a page’s ranking when one or more of its keywords
appear in the URL. User-friendly URLs are therefore a critical tool in SEO.
Controller Factories and Routes
MVC uses controller factories that help create an instance of a controller class to handle a
request. MVC uses action invokers to call the right action and pass parameters to that action
method. Both controller factories and action invokers refer to the routing table to complete their
tasks. The following are steps that MVC conducts when a request is received from a web
browser:
An MvcHandler object creates a controller factory. The controller factory is the object that
1.
instantiates a controller to respond to the request.
The controller factory consults the routing table to determine the right Controller class to
2.
use.
The controller factory creates a Controller object, and the MvcHandler calls the Execute
3.
method in that controller.
The ControllerActionInvoker examines the request URL and consults the routing table to
4.
determine the action in the Controller object to call.
The ControllerActionInvoker uses a model binder to determine the values that should be
passed to the action as parameters. The model binder consults the routing table to determine
5.
if any segments of the URL should be passed as parameters. The model binder can also pass
parameters from a posted form, from the URL query text, or from uploaded files.
The ControllerActionInvoker runs the action. Often, the action creates a new instance of a
6. model class, perhaps by querying the database with the parameters that the invoker passed to
it. This model object is passed to a view, to display results to the user.
As you can see, you can use routes to manage the behavior of controller factories, action
invokers, and model binders, because all these objects refer to the routing table. MVC is highly
extensible; therefore, developers can create custom implementations of controller factories,
action invokers, and model binders. However, by using routes, you can usually implement the
URL functionality that you need with the default implementations of these classes. You should
ensure that routes cannot implement your required functionality before you plan to customize
controller factories, action invokers, or model binders.
Question: A user wants to edit a comment that the user created in your MVC application. You
have not created any custom routes. What URL do you think the user must request, to see the
edit view with the right comment?
Adding and Configuring Routes
Every MVC web application has a RouteTable object in which routes are stored, in the Routes
properties. You can add routes to the Routes property by calling the MapRoute() method.
In the Visual Studio project templates for MVC 4, a dedicated RouteConfig.cs code file exists
in the App_Start folder. This file includes the RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes() static method
where the default route is added to the RouteTable object. You can add custom routes in this
method. The Global.asax.cs file includes a call to RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes() in the
Application_Start() method, which means that routes are added to the routing table whenever
the MVC application starts.
Properties of a Route
Before you can add a route, you must understand the properties of a route. This is to ensure that
these properties match the URL segments correctly and pass requests and parameters to the
right location. The properties of a route include the following:
Name. This string property assigns a name to a route. It is not involved in matching or
o
request forwarding.
URL. This string property is a URL pattern that is compared to a request, to determine if the
o route should be used. You can use segment variables to match a part of the URL. You can
specify a segment variable by using braces. For example, if you specify the URL,
“photo/{title}”, the route matches any request where the relative URL starts with the string,
“photo/”, and includes one more segment. The segment variable is “title” and can be used
elsewhere in the route.
Constraints. Sometimes you must place extra constraints on the route to ensure that it
matches only with the appropriate requests. For example, if you want relative URLs in the
form, “photo/34”, to specify a photo with the ID “34”, you must use a URL property like
“photo/{id}”. However, observe that this URL pattern also matches the relative URL,
o “photo/create”, because it has one extra segment. For IDs, you must constrain the URL to
match only segments comprising digits. You can do this by adding a constraint to the route.
The Constraints property enables you to specify a regular expression for each segment
variable. The route will match a request only if all the segment variables match the regular
expressions that you specify.
Defaults. This string property can assign default values to the segment variables in the URL
o pattern. Default values are used for segment variables when the request does not specify
them.
The Default Route Code
The default route specifies the Name, URL, and Defaults properties to obtain controller and
action names, and ID values, from the requested relative URL. By examining these properties,
you can understand how to construct your own routes.
The following code shows the default route in the Visual Studio MVC project templates.
The Default Route in RouteConfig.cs

routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id =
UrlParameter.Optional }
);
Observe that the URL pattern specifies three segments: {controller}, {action}, and {id}. This
means that a relative URL in the form, “photo/display/23”, will be sent to the Display action of
the PhotoController class. The third segment will be passed as a parameter to the action
method. Therefore, if the Display action accepts a parameter named id, the value, 23, will be
passed by MVC.
In the defaults property, the {id} segment is marked as optional. This means that the route still
matches a relative URL, even if no third segment is specified. For example, the route matches
the relative URL, “photo/create”, and passes the URL to the Create action of the
The defaults property specifies a default value of “Index” for the {action} segment. This means
that the route still matches a relative URL, even if no second segment is specified. For example,
the route matches the relative URL, “photo”, and passes the URL to the Index action of the
Finally, the defaults property specifies a default value of “Home” for the {controller} segment.
This means that the route still matches a relative URL, even if no segments are specified, that is,
if there is no relative URL. For example, the absolute URL, “http://www.advworks.com”,
matches this route, and the URL is passed to the Index action of the HomeController class.
As you can see, with the default route in place, developers build the web application’s home
page by creating a controller named, HomeController, with an action named, Index. This
action usually returns a view called, Index, from the Views/Home folder.
Creating Custom Routes
You can add custom routes by calling the routes.MapHttpRoute() method, just like the default
route.
In the following code example, a constraint is used to ensure that only digits match the {id}
segment variable.
A Custom Route
routes.MapRoute(
name: "PhotoRoute",
url: "photo/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Photo", action = "Details" },
constraints: new { id = "[0-9]+" }
);
Observe that the URL pattern in the route matches any relative URL that starts with “photo/”
and has one or more segments. However, in the constraints property, the route specifies a
regular expression for the {id} segment variable. This regular expression matches only if the
segment is composed of digits that range from 1 through 9. If the user requests the relative
URL, “photo/234”, then this route matches, and the routing engine forwards the request to the
Details action of the PhotoController class. If the user requests the relative URL,
“photo/create”, then this route does not match and a subsequent route must be used to forward
the request.
Precedence of Routes
Routes are evaluated by the routing engine in the order with which they are added to the
RouteTable.Routes collection. If a route matches, the routing engine uses it and does not
evaluate any later route in the collection. If a route does not match, the routing engine ignores it
and evaluates the next route in the collection. For this reason, you must add routes to the
RouteTable.Routes collection in the appropriate order. You can add the most specific routes
first, such as routes that have no segment variables and no default values. Routes with
constraints should be added before routes without constraints.
The route named "Default" matches any request, including those with no relative URL. This
default route should be the last that you add to the RouteTable.Routes collection. If the routing
engine evaluates this route, the route is always used. Any routes added after the “Default” route
are never used.
Question: A developer has removed all code from the Application_Start() method in
Global.asax.cs. When the developer runs the application, he or she receives 404 errors for any
request, regardless of the relative URL. Why does this occur?
Using Routes to Pass Parameters
The routing engine separates the relative URL in a request into one or more segments. Each
forward slash delimits one segment from the next. If you want one of the segments to specify
the controller name, you can use the {controller} segment variable. The controller factory
always interprets this variable as the controller to instantiate.
Alternatively, to fix a route to a single controller, you can specify a value for the controller
variable in the defaults property. In a similar manner, if you want one of the segments to
specify the action method, you can use the {action} segment
variable. The action invoker always interprets this variable as the action to call. Alternatively, to
fix a route to a single action, you can specify a value for the action variable in the defaults
property.
Segment variables or default values with other names have no special meaning to MVC and are
passed to actions. You can access the values of these variables by using one of two methods: the
RouteData.Values collection or by using model binding to pass values to action parameters.
The RouteData.Values Collection
In the action method, you can access the values of any segment variable by using the
RouteData.Values collection. Consider the following example:
In RouteConfig.cs, you have defined a route with the URL pattern

o
“{controller}/{action}/{title}”.
o The user requests the relative URL, “photo/edit/my%20photo”.
The RouteData.Values collection contains the following values, which you can use in the
action method:
o RouteData.Value["controller"]: This value has the value, “photo”.

o RouteData.Value["action"]: This value has the value, “edit”.
o RouteData.Value["title"]: This value has the value, “my%20photo”.
Using Model Binding to Obtain Parameters
Consider the following action method.

public void ActionMethod Display (int PhotoID)
{
return View(PhotoID);
}
The default MVC action invoker is a class named, ControllerActionInvoker. This invoker
uses a class named, DefaultModelBinder, to pass the appropriate parameters to actions. This
model binder uses the following logic to pass parameters:
The binder examines the definition of the action to which it must pass parameters. In the
1. example, the binder determines that the action requires an integer parameter called,
PhotoID.
The binder searches for values in the request, which can be passed as parameters by name. In
the example, the binder searches for integers because the action requires integers. The binder
searches for values in the following locations in sequential order:
2. a. Form Values. If the user fills out a form and clicks the Submit button, the binder can find
parameters in the Request.Form collection.
Route Values. If the matched route includes the segment variable {photoid}, the binder
b. can find the value for the PhotoID parameter in the RouteData.Values collection. This
match is case-insensitive.
Query Strings. If the user request includes named parameters after a question mark, the
c.
binder can find these parameters in the Request.QueryString collection.
Files: If the user request includes uploaded files, these files can be used as parameters in
d.
an action. File parameters in actions must use the HttpPostedFileBase type.
Therefore, you can use the default model binder to pass parameters to action strings. If the name
of an action method parameter matches the name of a route segment variable, the model binder
passes the parameter automatically.
Optional Parameters
Sometimes, you want requests to match a route, regardless of whether parameter values are
supplied. For example, you might want to enable users to specify a color for a product.
In the following example, the route added includes an optional color parameter.
A Route with an Optional Parameter

routes.MapRoute(
name: "ProductRoute",
url: "product/{id}/{color}",
defaults: new { color = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
The default values specify that {color} is optional. If the relative URL has three segments, the
route matches, and the third segment is passed to the RouteData.Values["color"] value. If the
relative URL has only two segments, the route matches, because the {color} is optional. In this
case, the RouteData.Values["color"] value does not exist. If the relative URL has only one
segment, the route does not match.
Question: A developer has replaced the default model binder with a custom model binder.
Now, several action methods are throwing exceptions on lines that use action parameters. How
can you fix this bug?
Demonstration: How to Add Routes

In this demonstration, you will see how to create URLs by adding routes to the MVC web
application. You will also see how to enable visitors to the Operas web application to browse
the operas by title.
Demonstration Steps
1.
Start Debugging.
2. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the operas I’ve seen link.
3. On the Index page, click the Details link corresponding to Cosi Fan Tutte.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, note that the URL is
http://localhost:<portnumber>/Opera/Details/1.
4.
Note: This URL indicates that the controller is Opera, the action is Details, and the ID is
1.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand OperasWebSite, expand Controllers, and then
6.
click OperaController.cs.
In the OperaController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Details
action code block, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
7.
public ActionResult DetailsByTitle(string title)
{
}
In the DetailsByTitle action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
Opera opera = (Opera)(from o in contextDB.Operas
8. where o.Title == title
select o).FirstOrDefault();
In the DetailsByTitle action code block, after the code that you just entered, type the
following code.
9. if (opera == null)
{
}
return View("Details", opera);
In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSite, expand App_Start, and then click
10.
RouteConfig.cs.
11.
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the call to the IgnoreRoute() method, press Enter
twice, and then type the following code.
12. routes.MapRoute(
name: "OperaTitleRoute",
url: "opera/title/{title}",
defaults: new { controller = "Opera", action = "DetailsByTitle" }
);
13.
All.
On the DEBUG menu of OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Start
14.
Debugging.
15. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the operas I’ve seen link.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, append the existing URL
with /title/rigoletto, and then click the Go button.
16.
Note: The details of the Rigoletto opera are displayed.
Unit Tests and Routes
Unit tests are small, isolated methods that check a specific aspect of your code. As your project
grows in complexity, you can rerun all unit tests to ensure that the verified functionality remains
in a working state. If your team uses Test Driven Development (TDD), you can define tests to
specify a functional requirement and then write code that passes your test. Such approaches
significantly increase the quality of your code, by highlighting bugs as soon as they arise.
You can use unit tests to ensure that routes in your MVC web application behave as designed. If
you do such tests, you can prevent many 404 HTTP errors and internal server errors from
reaching web application users. Users generally have a low tolerance for such errors, and if
errors arise too often, they will browse to the websites of your competitors.
Creating a HTTP Context Test Double
In a webpage request, ASP.NET stores details of the request in an HTTP Context object. These
details include the URL that was requested, details of the browser, and other information. To
write a unit test for routes, you must simulate the HTTP Context object by creating a test double
class.
The following code shows how to create a fake HTTP context object to use as a test double.
An HTTP Context Test Double

public class FakeHttpContextForRouting : HttpContextBase
{
FakeHttpRequestForRouting _request;
FakeHttpResponseForRouting _response;
//The constructor enables you to specify a request URL and an Application
path in
the test
public FakeHttpContextForRouting(string appPath = "/", string requestUrl
= "~/")
{
//Create new fake request and response objects
_request = new FakeHttpRequestForRouting(appPath, requestUrl);
_response = new FakeHttpResponseForRouting();
}
//This property returns the fake request
public override HttpRequestBase Request
{
get { return _request; }
}
//This property returns the fake response
public override HttpResponseBase Response
{
get { return _response; }
}
}
//This is the fake request class
public class FakeHttpRequestForRouting : HttpRequestBase
{
string _appPath;
string _requestUrl;
public FakeHttpRequestForRouting(string appPath, string requestUrl)
{
_appPath = appPath;
_requestUrl = requestUrl;
}
public override string ApplicationPath
{
get { return _appPath; }
}
public override string AppRelativeCurrentExecutionFilePath
{
get { return _requestUrl; }
}
public override string PathInfo
{
get { return ""; }
}
public override NameValueCollection ServerVariables
{
get { return new NameValueCollection(); }
}
}
//This is the fake response class
public class FakeHttpResponseForRouting : HttpResponseBase
{
public override string ApplyAppPathModifier(string virtualPath)

{
return virtualPath;
}
}
Writing Routing Tests
After creating an HTTP context test double, you can write unit tests for each route in the routing
table. These unit tests adopt the following general phases:
Arrange. In the Arrange phase of the test, you can create a new HTTP context from your test
double class. You can set the request URL for this object to be the URL you want to test.
o
You can then create a new route collection and call the RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes()
method in your web application.
Act. In the Act phase, you can test the routes by calling the GetRouteData() method of the
o
route collection. You can then pass the fake HTTP context to this method.
Assert. In the Assert phase, you can use the RouteData.Values collection to check that the
o
controller, action and other values are assigned correctly.
In the following example unit test, the default route is checked. The request URL has only a
single segment and the test asserts that this segment is passed as the controller name.
A Routing Unit Test

[TestMethod]
public void Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly()
{
//This test checks the default route when only the controller is specified
//Arrange
var context = new FakeHttpContextForRouting(requestUrl: "~/ControllerName");
var routes = new RouteCollection();
MyMVCApplication.RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes(routes);
// Act
RouteData routeData = routes.GetRouteData(context);
// Assert
Assert.AreEqual("ControllerName", routeData.Values["controller"]);
Assert.AreEqual("Index", routeData.Values["action"]);
Assert.AreEqual(UrlParameter.Optional, routeData.Values["id"]);
}
Question: You are writing a unit test to check your web application’s routing table. You want
to ensure that the request is passed to an action method called, “Edit”. What line of code would
you use in the Assert phase of the test to check this fact?

A navigation structure is a logical hierarchy of webpages, which enables users to browse to the
information that interests them. In simple web applications, the design of the navigation
structure is also usually simple. As your web application grows, it becomes difficult to present
menus and navigation controls that show the users clearly what their next click should be, at
every step. You need to understand how to build menus, which help users understand where
they are in your site and where to go next. You can do this by building menus and breadcrumb
controls.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the importance of well-designed navigation.

o Build clear menus in a web application.
o Add breadcrumb controls to a web application.
o Build site navigation in a web application.
The Importance of Well-Designed Navigation

The information architecture you design for your web application is a logical hierarchy of
objects.
This hierarchy should be clear and understandable to the audience of your web application. If
your web application is designed for people with specialist knowledge, you can implement
information architecture that requires specialist knowledge. For example, in an engineering web
application, you could base your information architecture on specialist technologies and
solutions that engineers understand. However, such information architecture would not be
helpful to the general public.
After designing the information architecture, you must present it in your web application. You
can add routes to ensure that URLs reflect your information architecture. Similarly, you must
add navigation controls to present the information architecture in the body of each webpage.
The navigation controls you build are the primary means by which users browse your web
application and locate content. You should ensure two things with these navigation controls:
An obvious next step. You should ensure that users can easily decide what link to click, on
each page. To achieve this aim, you can consider use cases. For each use case, you can list
what the user knows when they arrive at your web application. The user should be able to
o
choose the right link without any specialist or technical knowledge. For example, avoid
basing your links on any kind of technical jargon, unless you know that your audience
understands it.
A clear context. In a simple web application with only one or two levels in the information
architecture, users can easily keep track of where they are. In larger web applications with
many levels, you must provide navigation controls, which show users where they are and
how to navigate back up the hierarchy. Tree views and breadcrumb controls perform this
function well.
o
Best Practice: Base your navigation controls on the information hierarchy, rather than on the
model and model classes, database tables, or other technical structures in your web
application. Users will probably not understand the model classes, controllers, views, and
data storage mechanisms that underlie your web application.
Common Types of Navigation Controls
Remember that most web application visitors have browsed thousands of Internet applications
before they visit your home page. Visitors are usually familiar with common types of menus
used on many web applications, and you can make use of this knowledge by using the same
types of menus in your web application. Common menu types include the following:
Top menus. Often placed at the top of the page or immediately beneath the application
o branding, top menus link to the main areas of your web application. In some applications,
each item in the top menu has a submenu with links to lower level items and pages.
Tree views. A tree view is a hierarchical menu that can display many items in multiple levels
in your web application. By default, a tree view often displays only one or two levels of the
o information architecture. Users can expand lower levels to find the content they need. Tree
views enable users to explore multiple levels on a single page. Tree views can also show
clearly the position of the current page, in the hierarchy.
Breadcrumb trails. Often presented as a horizontal sequence of links across the top of a
webpage, a breadcrumb trail shows the current page and its parents in all the higher levels of
o
the hierarchy. Breadcrumb trails show the current position of the user, in the context of the
web application and enable users to navigate to higher, less specific pages.
Footer menus. The page footer is often not visible when a user arrives on a page. The user
must scroll to the end of the page to see the footer. The footer is often used as a location for
o important, but not business-critical, links. For example, links to copyright and other legal
information, links to parent companies, and links to site maps are often placed in the footer
menu.
The MVC Site Map Provider
In ASP.NET, one way to rapidly build information architecture and navigation controls to
present that architecture is to use a site map provider. A site map provider is an ASP.NET
component that stores the logical hierarchy of your web application. Navigation controls such
as top menus, tree views, and breadcrumb trails can take their links from this single hierarchy.
The MVC Site Map Provider is a provider designed to work with MVC controllers and actions.
It presents the information architecture that you can configure in a simple XML file. This
hierarchy is completely independent of the model, controllers, and actions in your applications,
although you can build links to them. The provider also includes HTML helpers, which you can
use in views to render menus, tree views, and breadcrumb trails.
Note: The MVC Site Map Provider is a component by Maarten Balliauw that is not included in
MVC web applications, by default. You can find it in the NuGet package manager by searching
for “MvcSiteMapProvider”.
Question: Analysis of web logs has shown that visitors to your web application can navigate to
low-level pages in your information architecture, quickly and easily. However, they
subsequently find other pages by returning to the home page and navigating the entire hierarchy
again from the top, or else they use the search tool. How can you enable users to navigate to
higher levels without starting from the home page again?
Configuring the MVC Site Map Provider
After installing the MVC Site Map Provider from the NuGet package manager, you must
configure the provider and set up the logical hierarchy it should present, before you can render
any menus.
Configuring the MVC Site Map Provider in Web.Config
You should configure the MVC Site Map Provider, by adding elements to the Web.config file
in the root folder of your MVC web application. When you install the site map provider, the
NuGet
package adds a <siteMap> element to the <system.web> section of this file.
The following code example shows how to configure the site map provider.
The <siteMap> Element in Web.config

<siteMap defaultProvider="MvcSiteMapProvider" enabled="true">
<providers>
<clear />
<add name="MvcSiteMapProvider"
type="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultSiteMapProvider, MvcSiteMapProvider"
siteMapFile="~/Mvc.Sitemap"
securityTrimmingEnabled="false"
cacheDuration="5"
enableLocalization="false"
scanAssembliesForSiteMapNodes="false"
includeAssembliesForScan=""
excludeAssembliesForScan=""
attributesToIgnore=""
nodeKeyGenerator="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultNodeKeyGenerator,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
controllerTypeResolver="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultControllerTypeResolver,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
actionMethodParameterResolver="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultActionMethodParameterRes
olver,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
aclModule="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultAclModule, MvcSiteMapProvider"
siteMapNodeUrlResolver="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultSiteMapNodeUrlResolver,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
siteMapNodeVisibilityProvider="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultSiteMapNodeVisibilityPro
vider,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
siteMapProviderEventHandler="MvcSiteMapProvider.DefaultSiteMapProviderEventHandle
r,
MvcSiteMapProvider"
/>
</providers>
</siteMap>
Note that you can configure the name of the XML file where the site map is stored, enable
security trimming, and configure caching.
Additional Reading: For complete details of the configuration values you can use with the
MVC Site Map Provider, together with other documentation, go to
Creating the Site Map File

The MVC Site Map Provider is the only site map provider that enables you to specify a
controller and action for every item in the site map. You do this by completing a site map file.
By default, the site map file is named Mvc.sitemap and is stored in the highest level of your
web application. The hierarchy consists of nested <mvcSiteMapNode> elements. This is the
hierarchy that the helpers will display in navigation controls.
The following example shows simple information architecture as described in an MVC site map
provider site map file.
An MVC Site Map File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<mvcSiteMap xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns="http://mvcsitemap.codeplex.com/schemas/MvcSiteMap-File-3.0"
xsi:schemaLocation=
"http://mvcsitemap.codeplex.com/schemas/MvcSiteMap-File-3.0
MvcSiteMapSchema.xsd"
enableLocalization="true">
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Home" controller="Home" action="Index">
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Products" controller="Product" action="Index"
key="AllProducts">
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Bikes" controller="Category" action="Display">
</mvcSiteMapNode>
</mvcSiteMapNode>
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Latest News" controller="Article"
action="DisplayLatest" >
<mvcSiteMapNode title="About Us" controller="Home" action="About" />
</mvcSiteMapNode>
</mvcSiteMap>
Question: You use the MVC Site Map Provider. Your boss notices that an incorrect link
appears in the highest menu and the tree view on every page in your web application. Your boss
asks you to fix every page in the web application. What steps should you take?
Adding Menu Controls

After configuring the site map provider and creating a site map file, you can add menus, tree
views, and other navigation controls to your views.
The MVC site map provider includes some HTML helpers to make this easy.
The following example code shows how to render a main menu in an MVC view, by using the
HTML.MvcSiteMap() helper.
Rendering a Menu Control

@Html.MvcSiteMap().Menu(false, false,
true)
In this example, the first parameter specifies that the menu does not start from the current node.
The menu starts from the top-level node, which is usually the home page of the web application.
The second parameter specifies that the starting node does not display as a child node at the
same level as second-level nodes. The third parameter specifies that the starting node displays
in the menu.
You can also use the Html.MvcSiteMap() helper to render a breadcrumb control, as displayed
in the following code.
Rendering a Breadcrumb Trail

@Html.MvcSiteMap().SiteMapPath()
The Html.MvcSiteMap() helper also includes functions that you can use to render node titles
and complete site maps.
Additional Reading:
For complete reference documentation that details the Html.MvcSiteMap() helper and its
functions, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288964&clcid=0x409
Question: What are some of the benefits of using the Html.MvcSiteMap() helper?
Demonstration: How to Build Site Navigation

In this demonstration, you will see how to create menus and breadcrumb trails by using the
MVC site map provider and its HTML helpers.
Demonstration Steps
On the PROJECT menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
1.
Manage NuGet Packages.
2. In the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click Online.
In the Search Online (Ctrl+E) box of the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages
3.
dialog box, type mvcsitemapprovider, and then click the Search button.
In the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click Install corresponding
4.
to MvcSiteMapProvider.
In the OperasWebSite - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, ensure that the
5.
MvcSiteMapProvider package is installed, and then click Close.
6. expand OperasWebSite, collapse App_Start, collapse Controllers, and then collapse
Views.
7. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Global.asax, click Mvc.sitemap.
In the Mvc.sitemap code window, locate the following code.
8.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Home" controller="Home" action="Index">
following code.
9.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="All Operas" controller="Opera" action="Index"
key="AllOperas"
/>
On the BUILD menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
10.
Build Solution.
11. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, expand Home, and then click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor after the <div> tag, press Enter,
12. and then type the following code.
Menu: @Html.MvcSiteMap().Menu(false, false, true)
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the site map menu code block, press Enter, and then
13. type the following code.
Breadcrumb Trail: @Html.MvcSiteMap().SiteMapPath()
14. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Opera, and then click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the <body> tag,
15. press Enter, and then type the following code.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the site map menu code block, press Enter, and then
Start Debugging.
17.
Note: On the Operas I Have Seen page, ensure that a menu is added.
18. On the Operas I Have Seen page, under Menu, click the All Operas link.
On the Index page, note that the Main Opera List is displayed.
19.
Note: On the Index page, you can also view the menu.
In the Breadcrumb Trail section of the Index page, click the Home link.
20.
Note: The Operas I Have Seen page is displayed.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, under Menu, click the About link.
21.
Note: The About page of the web application is displayed.
Lab: Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web

Applications
Scenario
An important design priority for the Photo Sharing application is that the visitors should be able
to easily and logically locate photographs. Additionally, photo galleries and photos need to
appear high in search engine results. To implement these priorities, you have been asked to
configure routes that enable the entry of user-friendly URLs to access photos.
You have been asked to ensure that the URLs of the following forms work to display a photo:
~/photo/display/PhotoId. In this form of URL, PhotoId is the database ID of the photo object.
o
This form of URL already works because it matches the default route.
~/photo/PhotoId. In this form of URL, PhotoId is the database ID of the photo object. This is
o
the logical URL to enter when you know the ID of the photo that you want to access.
~/photo/title/PhotoTitle. In this form of URL, PhotoTitle is the title of the photo object. This
o
is the logical URL to enter when you know the title of the photo that you want to access.
You have also been asked to implement the following navigation controls in the Photo Sharing
application:
o A menu with links to the main site areas

o A breadcrumb control
These navigation controls will be added to the menu after the completion of the main site areas.
Objectives
o Add routes to the ASP.NET Routing Engine in an ASP.NET MVC application.

o Build navigation controls within ASP.NET views.
Lab Setup
Username: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
o
Exercise 1: Using the Routing Engine
Scenario
o Create unit tests for the routes you wish to create.

o Add routes to the application that satisfy your tests.
o Try out routes by typing URLs in the Internet Explorer Address bar.
This approach conforms to the principles of Test Driven Development (TDD).
1. Test the routing configuration.

2. Add and test the Photo ID route.
3. Add and test the Photo Title route.
4. Try out the new routes.
Task 1: Test the routing configuration.

o User name: Admin
2.
Add an existing code file to the Photo Sharing Tests project, which contains test doubles
for HTTP objects, by using the following information:
3. o Destination folder: Doubles

o Source folder: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod07\Fake Http Classes
o Code file: FakeHttpClasses.cs
4. Add a reference from the Photo Sharing Tests project to the System.Web assembly.
Add a new Unit Test item to the PhotoSharingTests project. Name the file,
5.
RoutingTests.cs.
Add using statements to the RoutingTests.cs file for the following namespaces:
o System.Web.Routing
6. o System.Web.Mvc
o PhotoSharingTests.Doubles
o PhotoSharingApplication
7. Rename the TestMethod1 test to Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly.
In the Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly test, create a new var by using the following
information:
8. o Name: context
o Type: FakeHttpContextForRouting
o Request URL: ~/ControllerName
Create a new RouteCollection object named routes and pass it to the
9.
RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes() method.
Call the routes.GetRouteData() method to run the test by using the following information:
o Return type: RouteData

10. o Return object name: routeData
o Method: routes.GetRouteData
o HTTP context object: context
Assert the following facts:
11. o That routeData is not null

o That the controller value in routeData is “ControllerName”
o That the action value in routeData is “Index”
12. Add a new test to the RoutingTests class named, Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID.
In the Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID() test method, create a new var by using the
13. o Name: context

o Request URL: ~/photo/2
14.
15. o Return type: RouteData
o Return object name: routeData
o Http context object: context
o That routeData is not null

16. o That the controller value in routeData is “Photo”
o That the action value in routeData is “Display”
o That the id value in routeData is “2”
17. Add a new test to the RoutingTests class named Test_Photo_Title_Route
In the Test_Photo_Title_Route test method, create a new var by using the following
information:
18. o Name: context

o Request URL: ~/photo/title/my%20title
19.
o Return type: RouteData

20. o Return object name: routeData
o HTTP context object: context
o That routeData is not null

21. o That the controller value in routeData is “Photo”
o That the action value in routeData is “DisplayByTitle”
o That the title value in routeData is “my%20title”
Run all the tests in the Photo Sharing Tests project to verify the test results.
22.
Note: Two of the tests should fail because the routes that they test do not yet exist.
Task 2: Add and test the Photo ID route.
1. Open the RouteConfig.cs file in the PhotoSharingApplication project.

Add a new route to the Photo Sharing application by using the following information. Add
2. the new route before the default route:
o Name: PhotoRoute
o URL: photo/{id}
o Default controller: Photo
o Default action: Display
o Constraints: id = "[0-9]+"
3. Run all the tests in the Photo Sharing Tests project to verify the test results.
Task 3: Add and test the Photo Title route.
Add a new route to the Photo Sharing application by using the following information. Add
the new route after the PhotoRoute route but before the default route:
1. o Name: PhotoTitleRoute
o URL: photo/title/{title}
o Default controller: Photo
o Default action: DisplayByTitle
Add a new action method to PhotoController.cs by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Name: DisplayByTitle
o Parameter: a string named title
In the DisplayByTitle action method, use the context.FindPhotoByTitle() method to locate
3. a photo. If the context.FindPhotoByTitle() method returns null, return HttpNotFound().
Otherwise, pass the photo to the Display view.
4. Run all the tests in the Photo Sharing Tests project to verify the test results.
Task 4: Try out the new routes.
1. Start the PhotoSharingApplication project with debugging.

View properties of the Display link of any image on the home page, and note the route that
2.
has been used to formulate the link.
3. Display any image to verify the URL.
Access the following relative URL:
4.
o /photo/title/sample photo 3
5. Stop debugging.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a Photo Sharing application
with three configured routes that enable visitors to easily locate photos by using logical URLs.
Exercise 2: Optional—Building Navigation Controls
Scenario
o Add the MVC site map provider to your Photo Sharing application.
o Use the MVC site map provider to create a menu and a breadcrumb control.
At this stage of development, most of the main areas in the Photo Sharing Application are not
yet built; therefore, the menu will show only the home page and the All Photos gallery. Your
team will add new nodes to the site map as areas of the site are completed.
Complete this exercise if time permits
1. Install the MVC site map provider.

2. Configure the MVC site map provider.
3. Render menus and breadcrumb trails.
4. Try out the menus.
Task 1: Install the MVC site map provider.
1. Start the NuGet Packages manager and locate the MvcSiteMapProvider package.
2. Install the MvcSiteMapProvider package.
Task 2: Configure the MVC site map provider.
1. Open the Web.config file in the PhotoSharingApplication project.

2. Configure the MvcSiteMapProvider to disable localization.
3. Save the changes made to the Web.config file.
Open the Mvc.sitemap file and remove the <mvcSiteMapNode> element with the title,
4.
About.
Add an <mvcSiteMapNode> element within the Home node by using the following
information:
5. o Title: All Photos

o Controller: Photo
o Action: Index
o Key: AllPhotos
6. Save the changes made to the Mvc.sitemap file.
7. Build the solution.
Task 3: Render menus and breadcrumb trails.
Render a site menu on the Home Index view by using the following information:
o Helper: Html.MvcSiteMap()
1. o Method: Menu
o Start From Current Note: False
o Starting Node in Child Level: False
o Show Starting Node: True
Render a breadcrumb trail on the Home view by using the following information:
2. o Helper: Html.MvcSiteMap()
o Method: SiteMapPath
Render a site menu on the Photo Index view by using the following information:
3. o Method: Menu
o Start From Current Note: False
o Starting Node in Child Level: False
o Show Starting Node: True
Render a breadcrumb trail on the Photo Index view by using the following information:
4. o Helper: Html.MvcSiteMap()
o Method: SiteMapPath
Task 4: Try out the menus.
1. Start debugging the PhotoSharingApplication project.

2. Use the menu option to browse to All Photos.
3. Use the breadcrumb trail to browse to the Home page.
4. Stop debugging and close the Visual Studio application.
with a simple site map, menu, and breadcrumb control.
Question: In Exercise 1, when you ran the tests for the first time, why did
Test_Default_Route_Controller_Only pass when Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID and
Test_Photo_Title_Route fail?
Question: Why is the constraint necessary in the PhotoRoute route?

To create a compelling web application that is easy to navigate, you must consider carefully the
architecture of the information you present. You should try to ensure that the hierarchy of
objects you present in URLs and navigation controls matches user expectations. You should
also ensure that users can understand this hierarchy of objects without specialist technical
knowledge. By using routes and site map providers, you can present logical information
architecture to application visitors.
Best Practice: The default route is logical. However, it requires knowledge of controllers and
actions for users to understand URLs. You can consider creating custom routes that can be
understood with information that users already have.
Best Practice: You can use breadcrumb trails and tree view navigation controls to present the
current location of a user, in the context of the logical hierarchy of the web application.
Best Practice: You can use unit tests to check routes in the routing table, similar to the manner
with which you use tests to check controllers, actions, and model classes. It is easy for a small
mistake to completely change the way URLs are handled in your web application. This is
because new routes, if poorly coded, can override other routes. Unit tests highlight such bugs as
soon as they arise.

A route never takes effect.
Review Question(s)
Verify the correctness of the statement by placing a mark in the column to the right.
Statement Answer
You have implemented the MVC Site Map Provider in your web application and used
it to build menus and breadcrumb trails with which users can navigate the logical
hierarchy. MVC automatically takes routes from the MVC Site Map Provider so the
same hierarchy is used in URLs.
Question: You want to ensure that when the user specifies a relative URL in the form,
“customer/3546”, the request is forwarded to the DisplayByID() action in the
CustomerController. You also want to ensure that when the user specifies a relative URL in
the form, “customer/fullname”, the request is forwarded to the DisplayByName() action in the
CustomerController. What routes should you add?
MODULE 08: APPLYING STYLES TO ASP.NET MVC

4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Using Layouts
Lesson 2: Applying CSS Styles to an MVC Application
Module Overview
While building web applications, you should apply a consistent look and feel to the application.
You should include consistent header and footer sections in all the views. ASP.NET MVC 4
includes features such as cascading style sheets (CSS) styles and layouts that enhance the
appearance and usability of your web application. ASP.NET MVC 4 also includes features such
as mobile-specific views that allow you to build applications for different browsers or mobile
devices.
Objectives
o Apply a consistent layout to ASP.NET MVC 4 applications by using CSS and layout.
o Develop device-specific views to support various browsers.
o Build adaptive user interface for mobile devices.
Lesson 1 : Using Layouts

You need to build multiple views to support the operations of the application, such as creating
an order and querying order history. However, several maintenance issues arise while changing
the common part of the application layout, because of which you need to update each view. To
resolve these maintenance issues, you can build a common module or a shared view. A shared
view that helps to store the application logic is called a layout. ASP.NET MVC 4 includes
features that help simplify the process of creating and using layouts. You can further simplify
the application management process by using the _ViewStart file, to apply the layout to each
view, instead of individually editing each view.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe layouts.
o Describe how to use layouts.
o Describe the _ViewStart file.
What Are Layouts?
The ASP.NET MVC 4 Razor engine includes a feature called layouts. Layouts are also called
template views. Layouts enable you to define a common style template, and then apply it to all
the views in a web application. The functionality of layouts is similar to that of the master page
in a traditional ASP.NET web application. You can use layouts to define the content layout or
logic that is shared across views.
You can define multiple layouts in an ASP.NET MVC 4 application, and each layout can have
multiple sections. You can define these sections
anywhere in the layout file, even in the <head> section of the HTML. Sections enable you to
output dynamic content to multiple, non-contiguous, regions of the final response.
Question: What are some common scenarios when you would use layouts?
Creating a Layout
While creating layouts, you need to store the layout files in the \Views\Shared folder of the
project. The \Views\Shared folder is the default location, where you can store common view
files or templates.
The following example illustrates a layout.
A Layout View
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport"
content="width=device-width" />
<title>@ViewBag.Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
@RenderBody()
</div>
</body>
</html
In the preceding example, the @RenderBody() method indicates to the rendering engine where
the content of the view goes.
ViewBag is an object that the layout and view shares. You can use the ViewBag object to pass
information between a view and a layout. To pass information, you need to add a property to
the ViewBag object, in the ViewPage of the ViewController or View file, and use the same
property in the layout file. Properties help you control the content in the layout, to dynamically
render webpages from the code in the view file. For example, consider that the template uses
the ViewBag.Title property to render the <title> content in the view. This property helps define
the Title property of the ViewBag object in the view and retrieve the property in the layout.
This retrieval is possible because the code in the view file runs before the layout runs.
The following example illustrates a layout that contains a section.
Using Sections in Layouts

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
</head>
<body>
<div id="menu">
@RenderSection("MenuBar",required:false)
</div>
<div>
@RenderBody()
</div>
</body>
</html>
The MenuBar parameter in the RenderSection() helper method specifies the name of the
section that you want to render in the layout. The required parameter is optional; it allows you
to determine if the section you render is required. Consider that a section is required, and you
do not implement the section in the layout file. In this case, ASP.NET MVC 4.0 displays the
Section not defined exception at runtime.
Implementing sections in a layout file makes it easier to track content errors. If a section is not
required, you can choose to not include it in the layout.
Additional Reading: For more information about layouts and sections, you can see:
Question: Why do you have multiple sections in a layout?
Linking Views and Layouts
After defining the layout, you should link the layout to the view files. You should first remove
the content that is not required anymore in the view. Then, you need to create the link between
the view and the layout, so that the content removed from the view is not reflected in the layout.
To link a layout to a view, you need to add the Layout directive at the top of the view file. The
following code shows how to add a layout in a view file.
Linking to a View
@{
ViewBag.Title = "Details";
Layout = "~/Views/Shared/SiteLayout.cshtml";
}
<h2>Details</h2>
You can use the ViewBag.Title property to pass page title information from the view to the
layout. You can define other properties along with the ViewBag object, such as <meta>
elements in the <head> section, and enable them to pass information to the layout.
If you have multiple sections in the layout file, you define the content of the sections by using
the @section directive. The following code illustrates how to use the @section directive.
Using the @section Directive

@{
}
<h2>Details</h2>
@section MenuBar {
<p> this is menu</p>
}
In the preceding example, you set the layout file to display sections at the top of each view file.
Usually, you have the same layout across the entire web application or section. You can define
the layout for an application or section, by using the _ViewStart file. During runtime, the code
in the _ViewStart file runs before all the other views in the web application. Therefore, you can
place all common application logics in the _ViewStart file.
To use the _ViewStart file, you need to add the _ViewStart.cshtml file in the \Views folder of
your project. The following code illustrates the contents of the _ViewStart file.
The _ViewStart File

@{
}
Question: When should you use the _Viewstart file?
Lesson 2: Applying CSS Styles to an MVC

Application
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is an industry standard for applying styles to HTML pages.
Different methods of applying CSS to a webpage are available. These methods include external
CSS file, inline CSS, and CSS code block in HTML. Developers usually use an external CSS
file, because this file is shared across multiple pages and it helps apply a consistent style across
the application. You need to know how to import styles into a web application, to ensure
consistency in the appearance of the application. You also need to know how to use Expression
Blend to create rich and interactive user interfaces.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the user experience that can be accomplished by using Expression Blend.
o Import styles into an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
o Apply a consistent look and feel to an MVC 4 web application.
Overview of User Interface Design with Expression Blend
Expression Blend is a visual authoring tool that helps developers and designers to create user
interfaces for Windows 8 HTML5 applications and other web applications. Expression Blend
for HTML includes a visual designer, which serves as a good complement to Visual Studio.
Visual Studio is developer-centric, whereas Expression Blend for HTML is designer-centric.
The functions in Expression Blend facilitate developing HTML styles and CSS.
Expression Blend for HTML includes the interactive mode that enables developers to visualize
the
result of the design, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, by displaying results on the screen while they
edit the code. Expression Blend for HTML also includes CSS tools that enable you to generate
and edit CSS styles on the graphical user interface.
Question: What are the key benefits of using Expression Blend for HTML to edit CSS?
Importing Styles into an MVC Web Application

After creating CSS styles, you should import these styles into the web application. After
importing the CSS file into the web application, you need to modify the layout of the web
application, so that you can use the CSS styles that you imported. You can modify the layout of
a web application, by using the <link> element.
The following example shows how to use the <link> element.
Linking to a Style Sheet

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<link href="~/Views/Shared/StyleSheet1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
/>
</head>
<body>
<div id="menu">
@RenderSection("MenuBar",required:false)
</div>
<div>
@RenderBody()
</div>
</body>
</html>
CSS selectors help browsers to determine how the CSS styles should be applied. You can use
various selectors, such as class and id selectors, to apply styles to HTML elements.
CSS class Selector
You can define a CSS class selector to specify a style for a group of elements. To apply the
class selector to an HTML element, you need to add the class attribute to the HTML element.
You can use the .<class> syntax to add the style in the CSS file.
The following example shows how to add the class selector in a view.
Using a Class
@{
}
<h2>Details</h2>
@section MenuBar {
<p class=”menu”> this is menu</p>
}
The following CSS snippet shows how to create the class selector.
Applying a Style to a Class

.menu
{
font-weight:bold;
}
CSS id Selector
You can use the CSS id selector to specify a style for any unique element in your HTML code.
To apply the id selector to an HTML element, you need to add the id attribute and a unique
name to the HTML element. You can use the #<id> syntax to add the style in the CSS file.
The following example shows how to use the id attribute in a view.
Using The id Selector

@{
}
<h2>Details</h2>
@section MenuBar {
<p id="leftmenu"> this is menu</p>
}
The following CSS snippet shows how to create the CSS id selector.
Creating an ID Style
#leftmenu
{
font-size:16px;
}
Question: What are some common scenarios when you would use the class selector? What are
some common scenarios when you would use the id selector?
Demonstration: How to Apply a Consistent Look and Feel

In this demonstration, you will see how to:
o Create a layout.
o Apply the layout to an MVC view.
Demonstration Steps
Start Debugging.
1.
Note: On the Operas I Have Seen page, note that the main heading, the menu list, and the
breadcrumb control are displayed.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the All Operas link.
2. Note: On the localhost page, the main heading, the menu list, and the breadcrumb controls
are not displayed.
On the localhost page, click the Details link corresponding to any image.
3. Note: On the localhost page, the details of the opera are displayed. The main heading, the
menu list, and the breadcrumb controls are not displayed.
5. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand OperasWebSite, and then expand Views.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, right-click Shared, point to Add, and then
6.
click View.
7. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type SiteTemplate.
In the View engine box, ensure that the value is Razor (CSHTML), and then ensure that
8.
the Create a strongly-typed view check box is cleared.
In the Add View dialog box, clear the Use a layout or master page check box, and then
9.
click Add.
In the _SiteTemplate.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and
then press Delete.
10.
@{
Layout = null;
}
In the _SiteTemplate.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
11.
<title>_SiteTemplate</title>
Replace the TITLE element with the following code.
12.
13. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Home, and then click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, locate the following code, and then select the code.
<h1>Operas I Have Seen</h1>
<div class="topmenu">
14. @Html.MvcSiteMap().Menu(false, true, true)
</div>
<div class="clear-floats" />
<div class="breadcrumb">
15. On the EDIT menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Cut.
16. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, click _SiteTemplate.cshtml.
17. In the _SiteTemplate.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor in the DIV element.
On the EDIT menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
18.
Paste
In the _SiteTemplate.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the code
you just pasted, press Enter, and then type the following code.
19.
<div>
@RenderBody()
</div>
Place the mouse cursor after the </title> tag, press Enter, and then type the following code.
20.
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="~/content/OperasStyles.css" />
21. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Home, click Index.cshtml.
In the Razor code block of the Index.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select
22. the code, and then press Delete.
Layout = null;
In the Razor code block, type the following code.
23.
ViewBag.Title = "Operas I Have Seen";
In the Index.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then press
Delete.
<!DOCTYPE html>
24. <html>
<head>
<title>Operas I Have Seen</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
</div>
Delete.
25.
</div>
</body>
</html>
26. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Views, point to Add, and then click View.
In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type _ViewStart, and then, in the
27.
View engine box, ensure that the value is Razor (CSHTML).
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view and the Use a
28.
layout or master page check boxes are cleared, and then click Add.
In the _ViewStart.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
29.
Layout = null;
30.
Layout = "~/Views/Shared/_SiteTemplate.cshtml";
31.
<!DOCTYPE html>
In the _ViewStart.cshtml code window, select from the code located to the end tag of the
32.
HTML element, and then press Delete
33.
Start Debugging.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, note the main heading, the menu list, and the breadcrumb
34.
control.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the All Operas link, and then, on the Index of
35. Operas page, note that the main heading, the menu list, and the breadcrumb controls are
displayed.
On the Index of Operas page, click the Details link corresponding to any image, and then
36. note that the main heading, the menu list, and the breadcrumb controls are displayed along
with the opera details.

ASP.NET MVC 4 applications facilitate adaptive user interface to render content on different
devices. Adaptive user interface is a type of user interface that renders content based on the
capability of the target web browser or device. You need to ensure that your application
supports mobile devices, so that it reaches all types of audience. You also need to know how to
use media queries, mobile-specific views, and jQuery Mobile to ensure that your application is
effective on mobile devices.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the HTML5 viewport attribute.

o Explain how CSS media queries apply specific CSS based on the capabilities of the browser.
Explain how you can use MVC 4 templates to render views based on mobile device screen
o
size.
Describe the use of jQuery Mobile for building user interfaces that work on a wide variety of
o
mobile devices.
o Use NuGet to add jQuery Mobile to your projects.
The HTML5 Viewport Attribute
Adaptive rendering allows you to customize your web application to display differently, based
on the capabilities of the web browser or device.
Additional Reading: For more information about adaptive rendering techniques, go to:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288966&c lcid=0x409
Mobile browsers such as Internet Explorer use the viewport attribute to render webpages in a
virtual window. This virtual window is usually wider than the application screen. The viewport
attribute helps eliminate the need to reduce the size of layout of each page. Reducing the size of
the layout can break or distort the display of non-mobile-optimized web applications. Creating
the application interface by using the viewport attribute enables users to zoom into the different
areas of a webpage.
Additional Reading: For more information about the viewport attribute, visit:
The viewport tag is a meta tag that helps to control the width and height of webpages, while it
renders to web browsers.
The following example illustrates how to use the viewport tag.
Using the Viewport Tag

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-
scale=1">
The width and height properties help to specify the width and height of the virtual viewport
window. You can specify the width in pixels. You can use the keyword device-width to enable
the content to fit the native screen size of the browser.
The initial-scale property controls the initial scale or zoom level of the webpage. The
maximum-scale, minimum-scale, and user-scalable properties control the other scalability
features of the webpage.
Question: How can you control the size of the virtual viewport window?
CSS Media Queries

You may sometimes need to apply different CSS styles in your application, to support different
browsers. HTML5 includes CSS media queries, which are special selectors that begin with
@media. Media queries allow conditional application of CSS styles, based on the device
conditions or browser capabilities. You can apply media queries in CSS and HTML.
The following example illustrates a media query in CSS.
Using a Media Query

@media only screen and (max-width: 500px) {
header{
float: none;
}
}
You can also apply a media query in the <link> element. The following example illustrates how
to include a media query in a <link> element.
Using a Media Query in the Link Element

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="smallscreen.css" media="only screen
and
(max-width: 500px)" />
You can use CSS media queries to apply CSS styles when the screen size is less than 500
pixels. However, you can use CSS media queries only for the screen layout, but not the print
layout.
Additional Reading: For more information about media queries, visit
The following table describes all properties that you can include in a media query.
The width of the targeted display area, which includes the browser window in
desktop and mobile devices. In desktop computers, when you resize the
width browser window, the width of the browser changes. However, on most mobile
browsers, you cannot resize the browser window. This implies that the width
of the browser remains constant.
The height of the targeted display area, which includes the browser window in
height
desktop and mobile devices.
The width of the entire screen of a device. For a desktop with a screen
device-width
resolution of 1,024x768, the device-width is usually 1,024 pixels.
The height of the entire screen of a device. For a desktop with a screen
device-height
resolution of 1,024x768, the device-height is usually 768 pixels.
The orientation of the device. If the device-width is larger than the device-
orientation
height, the orientation value is set to landscape; otherwise, it is set to
portrait.
aspect-ratio The ratio of the width and height properties.
The ratio of the device-width and device-height properties. The following
example illustrates the device-aspect-ratio for a device with a screen
device-aspect- resolution of 1,280x720.
ratio
@media screen and (device-aspect-ratio: 16/9) { }
The number of bits per color component of the device. If the device is not a
color
color device, the value is zero.
color-index The number of entries in the color lookup table, of the output device.
The number of bits per pixel in a monochrome frame buffer. For non-
monochrome
monochrome devices, this value is zero.
The resolution of the output device, or the density of the pixels. The common
resolution
units for this property include dpi and dpcm.
scan The scanning process of TV output devices.
The property that detects whether the output is in the grid or bitmap format.
grid Grid-based devices return a value of one; all other devices return a value of
zero.
Question: Why would you choose to use CSS media queries, instead of using C# code, to
define styles for specific browsers?
MVC 4 Templates and Mobile-Specific Views
ASP.NET MVC 4 includes two new features, mobile display mode and custom display mode,
which help you to create webpages for mobile devices and different browsers.
Additional Reading: For more information about creating webpages for mobile device
browsers, go to
ASP.NET MVC 4 enables you to override views for
mobile devices by using a different set of view files, rather than using a configuration. When
ASP.NET MVC 4 receives a request from a mobile browser, it analyses the request for views
with the naming convention [view].mobile.cshtml. If ASP.NET MVC 4 detects a view with the
mentioned naming convention, ASP.NET MVC 4 will serve the request by using the mobile
version of the view; otherwise, it returns the request to the standard view.
Consider that your web application includes a layout that is specific to a browser. In this case,
you can create browser-specific views for that browser by checking the UserAgent string of
that browser. The UserAgent string helps identify a browser.
Additional Reading: For more information about creating browser-specific view, visit
Question: Why would you choose device-specific display modes over CSS media queries?
jQuery Mobile
The jQuery Mobile library is a mobile version of the jQuery library, which helps to develop
applications that run on mobile devices. jQuery helps to add responsive UI elements to a web
application. jQuery also enables developers to add interactive content to the mobile version of a
web application. The library also helps to ensure that older mobile devices see usable controls.
Similar to jQuery, jQuery Mobile library includes a set of JavaScript and CSS files that enable
you to build mobile-specific applications, without adjusting the HTML elements.
jQuery mobile includes the following JavaScript and CSS files:
o jquery.mobile.structure-<version>.css
o jquery.mobile.structure-<version>.min.css
o jquery.mobile.theme-<version>.css
o jquery.mobile.theme-<version>.min.css
o jquery.mobile-<version>.css
o jquery.mobile-<version>.js
o jquery.mobile-<version>.min.css
o jquery.mobile-<version>.min.js
o images/ajax-loader.gif
o images/ajax-loader.png
o images/icons-18-black.png
o images/icons-18-white.png
o images/icons-36-black.png
o images/icons-36-white.png
The jQuery.Mobile.MVC NuGet package simplifies the process of adding the jQuery Mobile
library to a web application by eliminating the need to manually install the library files. NuGet
is a Visual Studio extension that enables users to download packaged content from the Internet
and directly install the content into the project. The NuGet package contains the following
items:
The App_Start\BundleMobileConfig.cs file. This file helps to reference the jQuery

o
JavaScript and CSS files.
o jQuery Mobile CSS files
o A ViewSwitcher controller widget
o jQuery Mobile JavaScript files
o A jQuery Mobile-styled layout file
A view-switcher partial view. This provides a link at the upper-end of each page; this link
o
helps switch from desktop view to mobile view, and vice versa.
o .png and .gif image files
Additional Reading: For more information about the NuGet package, visit
Note: You can use the Microsoft Ajax Content Delivery Network (CDN) to attend to users, by
using the servers that are located geographically closer to them. CDN helps to improve the
performance of the application. After adding the NuGet package to your ASP.NET MVC
application, you can change the code in HTML or the view, to reference the jQuery Mobile
library that is hosted on Microsoft Ajax CDN.
Additional Reading: For more information about jQuery mobile that is hosted on Microsoft
CDN, visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288971&clcid=0x409
Question: What are the benefits of using Microsoft Ajax CDN?
Lab: Applying Styles to MVC 4 Web

Applications
Scenario
You have created a good amount of the photo-handling functionality for the Photo Sharing web
application. However, stakeholders are concerned about the basic black-and-white appearance
of the application. In addition, titles and menus do not appear on every page.
To resolve these issues, your manager has asked you to implement the following user interface
features:
A layout for all webpages. The layout should include common elements, such as the main
o
menu and breadcrumb controls, which should appear on every page of the application.
A style sheet and images for all webpages. The web design team has provided an HTML
mock-up application to show how the final product should look. This mock-up includes a
o
style sheet and image files. You need to import these files and apply them to every page of
the application.
A mobile-specific view. The web application should be accessible from mobile devices such
o as mobile phones and tablets. In particular, you need to ensure that devices with narrow
screens can access photos easily.
Objectives
o Apply a consistent look and feel to the web application.

Use layouts to ensure common interface features, such as the headers, are consistent across
o
the entire web application.
Ensure that the web application renders smoothly on screens of different sizes and aspect
o
ratios.
Lab Setup
Username: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
a. On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
b. In the navigation pane of the Options dialog box, click Package Manager.
c.
Exercise 1: Creating and Applying Layouts
Scenario
o Browse through the Photo Sharing web application without a layout applied.
o Create a new layout and link the application to the view by using a _ViewStart.cshtml file.
o Modify the home index and photo display views to use the new layout.
o Browse through the resulting web application.
1. Open and browse through the Photo Sharing application.

2. Create a new layout.
3. Set the default layout for the application.
4. Update the views to use the layout.
5. Browse through the web application.
Task 1: Open and browse through the Photo Sharing application.

o User name: Admin
2.
Start the web application in debugging mode and verify that the menu and the breadcrumb
3.
trail are available on the home page.
Browse to the All Photos webpage and verify that the menu and the breadcrumb trail are not
4.
available on this page.
Browse to the Sample Photo 1 webpage and verify that the menu and the breadcrumb trail
5.
are not available on this page.
6. Stop debugging.
Task 2: Create a new layout.

Add a new layout to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
o File location: /Views/Shared

1. o View name: _MainLayout
o View type: None
Change the content of the TITLE element so that the page takes its title from the
2.
ViewBag.Title property.
Add an H1 heading to the page body by using the following information:
3. o Class attribute: site-page-title
o Content: Adventure Works Photo Sharing
4. Add a DIV element to the page with the class, clear-floats.
Add a DIV element to the page with the id topmenu. Within this element, render the main
menu for the page by using the following information:
5. o Method: Menu()
o Start from current node: False
o Starting node in child level: True
o Show starting node: True
Add a DIV element to the page with the id breadcrumb. Within this element, render the
breadcrumb trail for the page by using the following information:
6.
o Method: SiteMapPath()
Add a DIV element to the page. Within this element, render the view body by using the
7.
o Helper: RenderBody()
8. Save the layout.
Task 3: Set the default layout for the application.
Add a new view to the web application by using the following information:
1. o File path: /Views
o View name: _ViewStart
o View type: None
2. In the _ViewStart.cshtml file, set the Layout to ~/Views/Shared/_MainLayout.cshtml
3. Remove all the HTML code from the _ViewStart.cshtml file, except the layout element.
4. Save the file.
Task 4: Update the views to use the layout.
1. Open the Views/Home/Index.cshtml view file.

In the first Razor code block, remove the existing line of code, and set the ViewBag.Title
2.
property to Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing.
Remove the following:
Tags along with the corresponding closing tags:
▪ <!DOCTYPE>
▪ <html>
o ▪ <head>
3. ▪ <meta>
▪ <title>
▪ <body>
▪ <div>
Content:
o ▪ Menu:
▪ Current Location:
4. Save the changes made to the Index.cshtml file.
5. Open the Views/Photo/Display.cshtml view file.
In the first Razor code block, remove the existing line of code and set the ViewBag.Title
6.
property to the Title property of the Model object.
Remove the following tags along with the corresponding closing tags:
o <!DOCTYPE>
o <html>
7. o <head>
o <meta>
o <title>
o <body>
o <div>
8. Save the changes made to the Display.cshtml file.
9. Open the Views/Shared/Error.cshtml view file.
In the Razor code block, remove the existing line of code and set the ViewBag.Title
10.
property to Custom Error.
Remove the following tags along with the corresponding closing tags:
o <!DOCTYPE>
o <html>
11. o <head>
o <meta>
o <title>
o <body>
o <div>
12. Save the changes made to the Error.cshtml file.
Task 5: Browse through the web application.
Start the web application in debugging mode and verify the menu and the breadcrumb trail
1.
on the home page.
Browse to the All Photos webpage and verify that the site title, menu, and breadcrumb trail
2.
are available on this page.
Browse to Sample Photo 1 webpage and verify that the site title, menu, and breadcrumb
3.
trail are available on this page.
4. Stop debugging.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an ASP.NET MVC 4 web
application that uses a single layout to display every page of the application.
Exercise 2: Applying Styles to an MVC Web Application
Scenario
Examine a mockup web application that shows the look-and-feel the web designers have
o
created for the Photo Sharing application.
Import a style sheet, with the associated graphic files from the mockup application, to your
o web application, and then update the HTML element classes to apply those styles to the
elements in views.
Examine the changes to the user interface after the styles have been applied.
1. Examine the HTML mockup web application.

2. Import the styles and graphics.
3. Update the element classes to use the styles.
4. Browse the styled web application.
Task 1: Examine the HTML mockup web application.
Open the mockup web application and verify the layout of the home page by using the
1.
o File path: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod08 \Expression Web Mock Up\default.html
2. Browse to the All Photos webpage and verify the layout of the page.
3. Browse to the details of any photo and verify the layout of the page.
4. Close Internet Explorer.
Task 2: Import the styles and graphics.
Add a new top-level folder to the PhotoSharingApplication project with the following
information:
1.
o Name of the folder: Content
Navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod08\Expression Web Mock Up\Content, and add the
following existing files to the new folder:
2.
o PhotoSharingStyles.css
o BackgroundGradient.jpg
Add a <link> element to the _MainLayout.cshtml file to link the new style sheet by using
3. o Type: text/css
o Relation: stylesheet
o Href: ~/content/PhotoSharingStyles.css
4. Save the _MainLayout.cshtml file.
Task 3: Update the element classes to use the styles.
1. Open the _PhotoGallery.cshtml file.

2. Locate the first DIV element in the file and set the class attribute to photo-index-card.
For the <img> tag, remove the width attribute and set the class attribute to photo-index-
3.
card-img.
4. For the next DIV element, set the class to photo-metadata.
5. For the <span>Created By:</span> element, set the class attribute to display-label.
For the <span>@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.UserName)</span> element, set the class
6.
attribute to display-field.
7. For the <span>Created On:</span> element, set the class attribute to display-label.
For the <span>@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.CreatedDate)</span> element, set the
8.
class attribute to display-field.
Task 4: Browse the styled web application.
Start the web application in debugging mode to examine the home page with the new style
1.
applied.
2. Browse to All Photos to examine the page with the new style applied.
3. Display a photo of your choice to examine the new style applied.
4. Stop debugging.
with a consistent look and feel.
Exercise 3: Optional—Adapting Webpages for Mobile Browsers
Scenario
o Create a new layout for mobile devices.

Add a media query to the web application style sheet to ensure that the photo index is
o
displayed on small screens.
Test the settings applied to the application by using a small browser and changing the user
o
agent string.
1. Test the application as a mobile device.

2. Add a new mobile layout.
3. Add a media query to the style sheet.
4. Retest the application as a mobile device.
Task 1: Test the application as a mobile device.
5. Start the web application in debugging mode.

Resize the browser window to the following dimensions:
1. o Width: 480 pixels
o Height: 700 pixels
2. Set the user agent string to IE9 for Windows Phone 7.
3. Refresh the home page and examine the mobile view of the application.
4. Stop debugging.
Task 2: Add a new mobile layout.
Create a copy of the _MainLayout.cshtml file in the Views/Shared folder and rename the
1.
file as _MainLayout.Mobile.cshtml.
In the _MainLayout.Mobile.cshtml file, in the main page heading, place a <br /> tag after
2.
the words Adventure Works.
After the H1 element, add an H2 element.
3.
o Content: Mobile Site
4. Save the _MainLayout.Mobile.cshtml mobile view.
Task 3: Add a media query to the style sheet.
1. Open the PhotoSharingStyles.css style sheet.

Add a media query to the style sheet that applies only to screen size and only when the
2.
maximum screen width is 500 pixels or less.
3. Examine the existing style of the topmenulink class.
4. Add the same style to the media query.
5. In the media query, set the width attribute for the topmenulink style to 100 pixels.
Task 4: Retest the application as a mobile device.
1. Start the web application in a debugging mode.

2. Clear the browser cache to ensure that the style sheet is reloaded.
3. Set the user agent string to IE9 for Windows Phone 7.
Close the developer window and refresh the web application to examine whether the
4.
problem persists in the mobile view of the application.
5. Stop debugging and close Microsoft Visual Studio.
that displays well on mobile devices and devices with small screens.
Question: When you first browsed the web application in Exercise 1, why was the menu and
the breadcrumb trail visible on the home page, but not on the All Photos page or any other
page?
Question: When you first viewed the site as a mobile browser in Exercise 3, what are the
problems you came across with the display of the site heading and menu?

In this module, you learned how to apply a consistent look and feel to a web application, and
share other common components, such as headers and footers, between all views. You also
learned how to use the CSS and display modes to adapt the web application for smaller screens
and mobile devices. You also familiarized yourself with HTML5 elements that allow you to
develop web applications that work on various browsers and devices.
When you develop web applications, you need to create applications that work on different
devices and browsers, such as iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Google Chrome, and Internet
Explorer 10. In such cases, you can use the HTML5 elements and features in MVC 4, such as
mobile-specific views, media queries, and jQuery Mobile library, to create applications that
work well in various browsers and devices.
Review Question(s)
Question: You are building an application, which needs to work in different mobile devices,
Windows Phone, Windows, and Mac. You want to reduce the effort for maintaining the code
which is required for different devices and you want to ensure that it would work with new
browsers. What should you do?
MODULE 09: BUILDING RESPONSIVE PAGES IN

ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Using AJAX and Partial Page Updates

Module Overview
Many web applications need to display large amount of information and graphics. Large
volumes of data make web applications take longer to load. Instead of having all the elements
on the page load multiple times, you can implement caching in your web applications to reduce
the need to repeatedly load the same elements. You can also use partial page updates to reduce
the need to load the entire webpage, by enabling the application to refresh only specific sections
of the webpage.
Objectives
o Implement partial page updates that help reduce the need to reload entire pages.
o Implement caching to reduce the loading time of the different elements of a webpage.
Lesson 1 : Using AJAX and Partial Page

Updates
While developing web applications, to update individual sections in the page, you may need to
reload the entire webpage. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) in ASP.NET MVC 4
enables partial page updates, to help update sections of a webpage, without reloading the entire
page. The Ajax.ActionLink helper helps implement partial page updates in your web
application.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the benefits of using partial page updates.

o Use AJAX in an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
o Use the Ajax.ActionLink helper.
Why Use Partial Page Updates?

ASP.NET and MVC facilitate server-side processing. Server-side processing enables HTML
rendering to occur at the server side and the server usually generates the HTML. When you
update a webpage, any updates or actions performed on the page require a round-trip request to
the server. Such constant server requests affect the performance of the application.
The AJAX development model helps reduce the need for refreshing an entire webpage, each
time an update of page content is required. AJAX uses
JavaScript and XML to obtain information from the client system. AJAX creates webpages
based on the XML information downloaded from the server. However, developing web
applications by using AJAX is not easy, because it requires using complex technologies, such as
JavaScript and XML. Microsoft includes a feature in ASP.NET called partial page updates that
functions along with AJAX to reduce the need for refreshing an entire webpage, each time an
update occurs.
Partial page updates use AJAX technologies to help update individual sections of a webpage,
during postback. Partial page updates:
o Require fewer lines of code.

o Help reduce the data sent to users, each time a webpage update occurs.
o Increase the responsiveness of the web application.
Question: How do partial page updates help in improving the responsiveness of a web
application?
Using AJAX in an MVC 4 Web Application
To implement AJAX in your MVC 4 application, you need to create views that render only the
updated content, and not the entire webpage.
You can initially develop your web application without using AJAX, and then check the
application for any functionality errors. This practice helps reduce the time required to
troubleshoot the application. This practice also helps separate any application functionality
errors from errors that occur while implementing AJAX.
To implement partial page updates, you need to create a view, called a partial view, which
includes
only the section that you need to update.
For example, consider a view as shown in the following code.
An Example View
@{
Layout = null;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Index</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
<div id="divMessage">@ViewBag.Message</div>
@Html.ActionLink("Refresh","HelloWorld")
</div>
</body>
</html>
In the preceding code example, ActionLink helps direct users to another view called
HelloWorld.
The following code shows the HelloWorld view.
The Hello World View

@{
Layout = null;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>HelloWorld</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
@ViewBag.Message
</div>
</body>
</html>
To implement AJAX in the preceding code example, you need to update the HelloWorld view
to render only the content that is updated.
Consider another example wherein you want to render only an updated message, on a webpage.
The following code shows a view that is updated to render only the changed message.
A ViewBag Example
@ViewBag.Message
With AJAX, the Javascript retrieves only a specific portion of a webpage, which you want to
update, from the server. In the ViewController class, you need to update the View function to
return the PartialView class, instead of the entire View class.
The following code shows how to update the View function to return the PartialView class.
Returning a Partial View in a Controller Action

public class Default1Controller : Controller
{
//
// GET: /Default1/
{
ViewBag.Message = "Hello";
return View();
}
[HttpGet]
public PartialViewResult HelloWorld()
{
ViewBag.Message = "Hello World";
return PartialView();
}
}
Optionally, you can add the HttpGet or HttpPost attributes before the View function. These
attributes help indicate if the partial page update should be performed over the HTTP POST or
HTTP GET method.
Question: What is the mandatory action that you should perform to implement partial page
updates in your web application?
The Ajax.ActionLink Helper
You can use the Ajax.ActionLink helper to trigger partial page updates. The Ajax.ActionLink
helper helps initiate the Javascript, to obtain the updated HTML information from the view and
replace or insert the updated HTML information at a specific location.
The following code shows how to use the Ajax.ActionLink helper.
Using the Ajax.ActionLink Helper

@{
Layout = null;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jQuery/jquery-1.8.3.js"
type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/mvc/3.0/jquery.unobtrusive-
ajax.min.js"
</head>
<body>
<div>
<div id="divMessage">@ViewBag.Message</div>
@Ajax.ActionLink("Refresh","HelloWorld", new AjaxOptions{ HttpMethod =
"POST",
UpdateTargetId = "divMessage", InsertionMode = InsertionMode.Replace })
</div>
</body>
</html>
In the preceding example, parameters such as HttpMethod and UpdateTargetId are included
along with the Ajax.ActionLink helper, to:
Obtain the HTML information from the HelloWorld view, by using the HTTP POST
o
method.
o Replace the content in the divMessage HTML element.
While using the Ajax.ActionLink helper, you need to include the jQuery and jQuery
unobtrusive libraries in the same webpage, because the Ajax.ActionLink helper uses scripts
from these two libraries.
Question: What is the primary function of the Ajax.ActionLink helper?

Web applications display information on a webpage by retrieving the information from a
database. If the information that should be retrieved from the database is large, the application
may take longer to display the information on a webpage. ASP.NET MVC 4 supports some
caching techniques to help reduce the time required to process a user request.
Before implementing caching, you should first analyze if caching is relevant to your
application, because caching is irrelevant to webpages whose content change frequently. To
successfully implement caching in your web application, you need to familiarize yourself with
the various types of caches, such as output cache, data cache, and HTTP cache.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the benefits of using caching.

o Describe the output cache.
o Describe the data cache.
o Describe the HTTP cache.
o Describe how to prevent caching for webpage content that changes frequently.
o Configure caching.
Why Use Caching?
Caching involves storing the information that is obtained from a database in the memory of a
web server. If the content rendered by a webpage is static in nature, the content can be stored in
caches or proxy servers. When a user requests content from a web application, caching ensures
that the user receives content from the cache, thereby eliminating the need for repeated real-
time processing.
Caching:
Reduces the need to repeatedly retrieve

o
the same information from the database.
o Reduces the need to reprocess data, if a user places a request multiple times.
o Helps improve the performance of a web application, by reducing the load on servers.
o Helps increase the number of users who can access the server farm.
However, caching does not help web applications that include frequent content changes. This is
because, the content rendered from a cache may be outdated, when compared to the current
information. Therefore, you should evaluate the content of your web application and analyze the
impact of rendering outdated content, before implementing caching.
Question: How does caching help increase the scalability of a web application?
The Output Cache
Output cache allows ASP.NET engines to store the rendered content of a webpage in the
memory of the web server. Therefore, when a user requests a specific page multiple times, the
content is retrieved from the cache, thereby avoiding the execution of programming code in the
server.
Output cache is a good complement to AJAX partial page updates. Output cache and partial
page updates reduce the workload on the server and increase the number of user requests that a
server can handle.
In ASP.NET MVC 4, you can implement output
caching, by adding the OutputCache attribute to the controller.
The following code shows how to implement output caching.
Configuring the Output Cache

[OutputCache(Duration = 60)]
{
}
The OutputCache attribute helps direct the rendering engine to the cache that contains results
from the previous rendering process. The Duration parameter of the OutputCache attribute
helps control the period of time in seconds for which data should be stored in the cache.
By default, the output cache stores only one copy of the rendered content, for each view.
Consider a view with the QueryString input parameter that enables content to change based on
the variable gathered from the database or a prior request. In this case, you can add the
VaryByParam property to the OutputCache attribute, to store a copy of each unique
combination of parameters in the cache.
The following code shows how to add the VaryByParam property to the OutputCache
attribute.
Caching by Parameter Value

[OutputCache(Duration = 60, VaryByParam="ID")]
{
}
In the preceding example, observe that the VaryByParam property refers to QueryString,
instead of other MVC parameters. You can also use the VaryByCustom property.
The following code shows how to add the VaryByCustom property to the OutputCache
attribute.
Using VaryByCustom
[OutputCache(Duration = 60, VaryByCustom="browser")]
{
You can add browser as the input parameter to the VaryByCustom property. The browser
parameter helps store a copy of the rendered content corresponding to each browser that the
application is run on. If you want to control and implement your own logic to determine when a
new copy should be stored, you need to override the GetVaryByCustomString function in the
Global.asax file of your project.
Question: How does the functioning of a web application that implements the output cache
differ from an application that does not implement output cache?
The Data Cache
Web applications usually depend on the content in a database, to render content on a webpage.
Databases sometimes encounter performance issues caused by poorly written queries, which
can slow down the performance of database requests resulting in poor webpage performance.
You can implement the data cache in your web application to avoid loading data from a
database every time a user places a request. The MemoryCache class allows you to implement
data cache in your web application. Implementing the data cache involves the following actions:
1. Loading information from the database

2. Storing content in the MemoryCache object
3. Retrieving data from the MemoryCache object
Ensuring that content is available in the MemoryCache object; otherwise, reloading the
4.
content
The following code shows how to add the MemoryCache object.
Using the Memory Cache

System.Data.DataTable dtCustomer = System.Runtime.Caching.MemoryCache.Default.
AddOrGetExisting("CustomerData", this.GetCustomerData(),
System.DateTime.Now.AddHours(1));
In the preceding example, the following parameters are specified:
o Key. The unique identifier of the object that should be stored in the memory cache.
o Value. The object that should be stored in the memory cache.
o AbsoluteExpiration. The time when the cache should expire.
You can use the AddOrGetExisting function, instead of the Add function, to enable the
application to refresh and retrieve data in one line of code. If the cache contains the relevant
data, the AddOrGetExisting function retrieves the data from the cache. If the cache does not
contain the relevant data, the AddOrGetExisting function allows adding the data to the cache,
and then rendering the same data on the webpage.
Question: What are the benefits of implementing data caching in MVC applications?
The HTTP Cache

You can implement HTTP caching in the Browser Cache and the Proxy Cache.
The Browser Cache
Most web browsers store the content downloaded from web servers in their local cache. Storing
data in the local cache helps remove the need to repeatedly download content from the server.
Web browsers frequently check content for updates. If the content is updated in the server, web
browsers download the content from the server, to attend to user requests. Otherwise, web
browsers render content from the local cache.
The Proxy Cache
The functionality of the proxy cache is similar to the functionality of the browser cache.
However, the cache is stored on a centralized server. Users can connect to the Internet or web
servers by using this proxy server. Proxy servers store a copy of a web application in a manner
similar to a web browser storing a copy of an application in the local drives. Many users can
access the cache in a proxy server, while only one user can access the browser cache at a time.
Question: What is the difference between HTTP cache and output cache?
Preventing Caching
Caching can sometimes create issues in web applications, because if an application involves
frequent content updates, caching prevents users from viewing these content updates. To
resolve caching issues, you can implement an HTTP header called Cache-Control. The Cache-
Control header indicates to the web browser how to handle the local cache. All HTTP clients,
such as browsers and proxy servers, respond to the instructions provided in the Cache-Control
header to determine how to handle the local cache of a web application.
Additional Reading: For more information about setting this header, go to:
You can use the HttpCachePolicy.SetCacheability method to specify the value of the Cache-
Control header. The HttpCachePolicy.SetCacheability method helps control caching
performance.
The following code shows how to use the HttpCachePolicy.SetCacheability method.
Using SetCacheability
Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.Private);
In the preceding example, the HttpCachePolicy.SetCacheability method takes the Private

enumeration value.
To prevent caching in your web application, you should set the Cache-Control header value to
NoCache.
The code shows how to exclude the HTTP cache in your web application.
Preventing Caching
Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
Question: What scenarios would require you to prevent caching for a web application?
Demonstration: How to Configure Caching

In this demonstration, you will see:
o How to configure the output cache for an MVC controller action.

o Measure the difference that the configured cache makes to the delivery of the page.
Demonstration Steps
On the DEBUG menu of the OperasWebSite – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
1.
Start Debugging.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Tools button, and then click F12 developer
2.
tools.
3. On the Cache menu of the developer window, click Always refresh from server.
4. On the Network tab of the developer window, click Start Capturing.
5. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the All Operas link.
6. When the page is fully loaded, in the developer window, click Stop Capturing.
In the URL section of the developer window, click http://localhost:<portnumber>/Opera,
7.
and then click Go to detailed view.
8. On the Timings tab, click the Request entry.
9. In the Duration column, note the value displayed.
10. On the Network tab, click Clear, and then click Start capturing.
12. When the page is fully loaded, in the developer window, click Stop capturing.
13.
In the Duration column, note the value displayed.
15. Note: The time taken by the server to render the /Opera page and return the page to the
browser is similar to the time taken by the server in the first instance. The page is not
cached.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the OperasWebSite – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
17.
under OperasWebSite, expand Controllers, and then click OperaController.cs.
18.
19. following code.
using System.Web.UI;
20.
Place the mouse cursor immediately before the located code, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
21.
[OutputCache(Duration=600, Location=OutputCacheLocation.Server,
VaryByParam="none")]
22.
Start Debugging.
24. On the Network tab, click Start capturing.
27.
29. In the Duration column, note the value displayed.
33.
In the Duration column, note the value displayed.
35.
Note: Note that the time taken by the server to render the /Opera page and return the page
to the browser is significantly less than the time taken by the server in the first instance.
36. On the File menu of the developer window, click Exit.
38. In the OperasWebSite – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Lab: Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET
MVC 4 Web Applications
Scenario
Your manager has asked you to include comments for photos in the Photo Sharing application.
Your manager has also highlighted that the performance of some pages in the application is too
slow for a production site.
You want to ensure that comments for photos take minimal loading time, for which you decide
to use partial page updates. You also want to return pages in quick time, while updated
information is displayed, for which you decide to configure caching in your application.
Objectives
o Write controller actions that can be called asynchronously and return partial views.
Use common AJAX helpers to call asynchronous controller actions, and insert the results into
o
Razor views.
o Configure ASP.NET caches to serve pages in quick time.
Lab Setup
Username: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
c.
Exercise 1: Using Partial Page Updates
Scenario
You have been asked to include a comment functionality on the photo display view of the Photo
Sharing application. You want to ensure high performance by using AJAX partial page updates.
o Import a partially complete controller to add comments, and a view to delete comments.
Add code to the controller for partial page update.
1. Import the Comment controller and Delete view.

2. Add the _CommentsForPhoto action and view.
3. Add the _Create Action and the _CreateAComment views.
4. Add the _CommentsForPhoto POST action.
5. Complete the _CommentsForPhoto view.
Task 1: Import the Comment controller and Delete view.

o User name: Admin
Open the PhotoSharingApplication.sln file from the following location:
2. File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Starter

o
\PhotoSharingApplication
Create a new folder in the Views folder by using the following information:
3.
o Name of the new folder: Comment
Add an existing item to the new Comment folder by using the following information:
4. File location of the existing item: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Comment
o
Components\Delete.cshtml
Add an existing item to the Controller folder by using the following information:
5.
File location of the existing item: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Comment
o
Components\CommentController.cs
Task 2: Add the _CommentsForPhoto action and view.
Add a new action to CommentController.cs. by using the following information:
o Annotation: ChildActionOnly
1. o Scope: public
o Return type: PartialViewResult
o Name: _CommentsForPhoto
2. Parameter: an integer named PhotoId
In the _CommentsForPhoto action, select all the comments in the database that have a
3.
PhotoID value equal to the PhotoId parameter, by using a LINQ query.
4. Save the PhotoId parameter value in the ViewBag collection to use it later in the view.
Return a partial view as the result of the _CommentsForPhoto action by using the
5.
o View name: _CommentsForPhoto
o Model: comments.ToList()
Add a new partial view to display a list of comments by using the following information:
o Parent folder: Views/Shared

6. o View name: _CommentsForPhoto
o View type: Strong.
o Model class: Comment
o Create partial view: Yes.
7. Bind the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml view to an enumerable collection of comments.
Create an H3 element by using the following information:
8.
o Heading: Comments
After the heading, create a DIV element with the ID comments-tool. Within this DIV
9.
element, create a second DIV element with the ID all-comments.
10. For each item in the model, render a DIV element with the photo-comment class.
Within the <div class="photo-comment"> element, add a DIV element with the photo-
11. comment-from class. Within this DIV element, render the UserName value of the model
item by using the Html.DisplayFor() helper.
Add a DIV element with the photo-comment-subject class. Within this DIV element,
12.
render the Subject value of the model item by using the Html.DisplayFor() helper.
Add a DIV element with the photo-comment-body class. Within this DIV element, render
13.
the Body value of the model item by using the Html.DisplayFor() helper.
Render a link to the Delete action by using the Html.ActionLink() helper. Pass the
14.
item.CommentID value as the id parameter.
In the Views/Photo/Display.cshtml view file, just before the Back To List link, render the
_CommentsForPhoto partial view by using the following information:
15. o Helper: Html.Action()

o Action: _CommentsForPhoto
o Controller: Comment
16. PhotoId parameter: Model.PhotoID
Run the application in debugging mode and browse to Sample Photo 1. Observe the
17.
display of comments on the page.
18. Close Internet Explorer.
Task 3: Add the _Create Action and the _CreateAComment views.
Add a new action to the CommentController.cs file by using the following information:
1. o Scope: public
o Name: _Create
2. Parameter: an integer named PhotoId.
In the _Create action, create a new Comment object and set its PhotoID property to equal
3.
the PhotoId parameter.
5. Return a partial view named _CreateAComment.
Add a new partial view for creating new comments by using the following information:
o Parent folder: Views/Shared

6. o View name: _CreateAComment
o View type: Strong
o Model class: Comment
o Create partial view: Yes
In the _CreateAComment view, render validation messages by using the
7. Html.ValidationSummary() helper. For the excludePropertyErrors parameter, pass
true.
8. After the validation messages, add a DIV element with the add-comment-tool class.
Within the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element, add a DIV element with no class
9.
or ID.
Within the DIV element you just created, add a SPAN element with the editor-label class
10.
and content Subject:
After the SPAN element you just created, add a second SPAN element with the editor-
11. field class. Within this element, render the Subject property of the model by using the
Html.EditorFor() helper.
Within the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element, add a second DIV element with no
12.
class or ID.
Within the DIV element you just created, add a SPAN element with the editor-label class
13.
and content Body:
After the SPAN element you just created, add a second SPAN element with the editor-
14. field class. Within this element, render the Body property of the model by using the
Html.EditorFor() helper.
Within the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element, add an INPUT element by using
15.
o Element: <input>
o Type: submit
16. Value: Create
17. Save all your changes.
Task 4: Add the _CommentsForPhoto POST action.
Add a new action to the CommentController.cs file by using the following information:
o Annotation: HttpPost
1. o Scope: public
o Name: _CommentsForPhoto
o Parameter: a Comment object named comment.
2. Parameter: an integer named PhotoId.
In the _ComentForPhoto action, add the comment object to the context and save the
3.
changes to the context.
Select all the comments in the database that have a PhotoID value equal to the PhotoId
4.
parameter by using a LINQ query.
Return a partial view as the result of the _CommentsForPhoto action by using the
6.
o View name: _CommentsForPhoto
7. Model: comments.ToList()
Task 5: Complete the _CommentsForPhoto view.
In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml view file, use a using{} block to render an HTML

form around all tags by using the following information:
1. o Helper: Ajax.BeginForm()
o Action name: _CommentsForPhoto
o PhotoId parameter: ViewBag.PhotoId
2. Ajax options: UpdateTargetId = "comment-tool"
In the form code block, in the <div class="comments-tool"> element, add a new DIV
3.
element with the add-comment-box class and the ID add-comment.
In the DIV element you just created, render the _Create action of the Comment controller
4. by using the Html.Action() helper. Pass the ViewBag.PhotoId value as the PhotoId
parameter.
Add script tags to the _MainLayout.cshtml page that reference the following content
delivery network (CDN) locations:
5.
o http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery/jquery-1.8.0.min.js
6. http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/mvc/3.0/jquery.unobtrusive-ajax.js
Start the web application in debugging mode, browse to Sample Photo 1, and observe the
7.
comments displayed.
Add a new comment to Sample Photo 1.
8.
o Subject: Test Comment
9. Body content: This comment is to test AJAX-based partial page updates.
10. Stop debugging.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have ensured that new comments can be added
and displayed on the pages of the application without a complete page reload. You will create a
Photo Sharing application with a comments tool, implemented by using partial page updates.
Exercise 2: Optional—Configuring the ASP.NET Caches
Scenario
You have been asked to configure the ASP.NET caches in the Photo Sharing application to
ensure optimal performance. Senior developers are particularly concerned that the All Photos
gallery might render slowly because it will fetch and display many photos from the database at
a time.
• Configure the output cache to store the photo index view.

Use the developer tools in Internet Explorer to examine the speed at which image files and
•
pages render with and without caching.
Configure the output cache to store the results of the GetImage action so that image files can
•
be returned from the cache.
1. Test the All Photos page with no caching.

2. Configure caching for the Index action.
3. Retest the All Photos page with Index caching.
4. Configure caching for the GetImage action.
5. Retest the All Photo page with GetImage caching.
Task 1: Test the All Photos page with no caching.
Start the application in debugging mode and configure the browser to always refresh the
1.
page from the server by using the Internet Explorer developer tools.
Capture traffic between the browser and the server when the All Photos page is loaded, by
2.
using the Network tools.
Record the time taken by the server to render the /Photo page and return the page to the
3.
browser. This value is the Request duration, which you can find on the Timings tab.
4. Clear the first network capture, and capture a second request to the All Photos page.
Record the second instance of time taken by the server to render the /Photo page and return
5.
the page to the browser. Observe if the duration is more or less than the first instance.
6. Stop debugging.
Task 2: Configure caching for the Index action.
Open the PhotoController.cs code file, and add a using statement for the following
1.
namespace:
2. System.Web.UI
Configure the Index action to use the output cache by using the following information:
3. o Duration: 10 minutes
o Location: Server
o Vary by parameters: None
Task 3: Retest the All Photos page with Index caching.
Start the application in debugging mode, and configure the browser to always refresh the
1.
page from the server, by using the Internet Explorer developer tools.
Capture the traffic between the browser and the server when the All Photos page is loaded,
2.
by using the Network tools.
Record the time taken by the server to render the /Photo page and return the page to the
3.
browser. This value is the Request duration, which you can find on the Timings tab.
Record the second instance of the time taken by the server to render the /Photo page and
5.
return the page to the browser. Observe if the duration is more or less than the first instance.
6. Record the time taken by the server to render the /Photo/GetImage/1 request.
7. Stop debugging.
Task 4: Configure caching for the GetImage action.
In the PhotoController, configure the GetImage action to use the output cache, by using
1.
o Duration: 10 minutes.
o Location: Server
2. Vary by parameters: id
Task 5: Retest the All Photo page with GetImage caching.
Start the application in debugging mode and configure the browser to always refresh the
1.
page from the server, by using the Internet Explorer developer tools.
Capture the traffic between the browser and the server when the All Photos page is loaded,
2.
by using the Network tools.
3. Record the time taken by the server to render the /Photo/GetImage/1 request.
Record the second instance of the time taken by the server to render the /Photo/GetImage/1
5.
request and return the page to the browser.
6. Close the developer tools, stop debugging, and close Visual Studio.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will create a Photo Sharing application with the Output
Cache configured for caching photos.
Question: In Exercise 2, why was the Request timing for /Photo not reduced for the first
request when you configured the output cache for the index action?
Question: In Exercise 2, when you configured the output cache for the GetImage() action, why
was it necessary to set VaryByParam="id"?

In this module, you used AJAX and partial page updates in MVC applications. AJAX and
partial page updates help reduce the need for reloading the entire page, when a user places a
request. Partial page updates also reduce the need for writing multiple lines of code, to update
specific portions of a webpage. You also used caching to increase the performance of a web
application.
Web applications usually run multiple queries to retrieve information from a database and
render content on the webpages. Users sometimes complain that webpages take longer to load.
Therefore, developers implement caching in the web application, to reduce the need to load data
from a database, every time a user places a request. Caching helps webpages load faster,
thereby increasing the performance of the application.
Review Question(s)
Question: An application is refreshing the content every 10 seconds for the updated
information from database. User complaints that this is impacting their work and has caused
data loss. How would you propose to help resolve this issue?
MODULE 10: USING JAVASCRIPT AND JQUERY

FOR RESPONSIVE MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Rendering and Executing JavaScript Code
Module Overview
Responsive web design is a web designing approach that helps create visually rich and
interactive web applications. JavaScript plays an important role in the development of
responsive web applications. You need to know how to use JavaScript to implement application
logic and resize interface elements, without triggering a full-page refresh. To simplify adding
JavaScript to your web application, you need to know how to use libraries such as jQuery,
jQuery UI, and jQuery Mobile.
Objectives
o Add JavaScript code to your web application.

o Use the jQuery and jQuery UI libraries, in your web application.
Lesson 1 : Rendering and Executing JavaScript

Code
You can create interactive HTML elements in your web application by using JavaScript.
ASP.NET renders these interactive elements on your webpages. You can add packaged
JavaScript libraries to your project by using the NuGet tool. You should know how to use
AJAX to update the contents of webpages. By using AJAX, you can optimize the performance
of your web application. In addition, you should know how the content delivery network (CDN)
helps take content geographically closer to users.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how to add JavaScript files to an MVC application.

o Describe how to call JavaScript functions in JavaScript libraries.
o Describe how to use JavaScript Libraries in MVC 4 web applications.
o List the benefits of using CDN to improve the performance of JavaScript libraries.
o Describe how to use the NuGet tool to add packages.
o Use the NuGet tool to add a JavaScript Library.
Adding JavaScript Files

You can add JavaScript code to web applications by:
o Adding the JavaScript code to HTML.

o Defining the JavaScript code in dedicated JavaScript files.
JavaScript code helps add interactive functionalities to the webpages of your application. The
following example shows how to add JavaScript to HTML.
Inserting a JavaScript Function

<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
function HelloWorld() {
alert('Hello World');
}
</script>
<div>
...
</div>
</body>
If you have multiple HTML pages in a web application, you need to add JavaScript code for
each HTML page. You cannot simultaneously add JavaScript code for multiple HTML pages.
Therefore, you can define the JavaScript code in a JavaScript file (.js file). Then, you can
reference the JavaScript file in multiple HTML pages. This enables you to maintain a single
JavaScript file, to edit the JavaScript code for multiple HTML pages. You can also have
multiple JavaScript code files for a single HTML page.
The following image displays the Add New Item dialog box that helps to add a JavaScript file.
FIGURE 10.1:ADDING A JAVASCRIPT FILE
The following example shows how to reference the new JavaScript file in HTML pages.
Referencing JavaScript Files

<script src="~/Scripts/JavaScript1.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
You can create the Scripts folder in the root folder of your MVC project, and then save all
JavaScript files in the Scripts folder.
Question: What are the advantages of using a JavaScript file?
Calling JavaScript Procedures

You can call functions defined in JavaScript files by using script blocks or event handlers.
The following code shows how to call the HelloWorld function from a script block.
Using a Script Block

<body>
HelloWorld();
</script>
<div>
Hello
</div>
</body>
Before calling a JavaScript function, you need to define the function by using a script block.
Then, you must reference the JavaScript file from the HTML pages.
If you want to avoid calling the JavaScript function directly, you can use the onclick JavaScript
event to trigger JavaScript functions. The onclick event initiates the JavaScript function
assigned to an HTML file, when you click the corresponding HTML element. JavaScript
functions that are attached to document object model (DOM) events are called event handlers.
The following code shows how to add the HelloWorld event handler to the button’s onclick
event.
Using an Event Handler

<body>
<div>
Hello
<input type="button" value="Hello" onclick="HelloWorld();" />
</div>
</body>
Additional Reading: For more information about events that are available for HTML elements,
go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288973&clcid=0x409
Question: What is the advantage of initiating JavaScript functions by using JavaScript events?
JavaScript Libraries
You can reduce the time taken to develop applications by using JavaScript libraries.
JavaScript libraries help to:
o Reduce the amount of code you need to write to add functions.

o Reduce the time the system takes to debug the application.
Some commonly used JavaScript libraries include the following:
jQuery
o
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288974&clcid=0x409)
o jQuery UI (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288975&clcid=0x410)
o jQuery Mobile (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288976&clcid=0x411)
o jQuery Validation (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288977&clcid=0x412)
o jQuery Cycle (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288978&clcid=0x413)
o jQuery DataTables (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288979&clcid=0x409)
o Prototype (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=299651&clcid=0x409)
o MooTools (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=299652&clcid=0x409)
You can use JavaScript libraries to make your application more interactive. The functioning of
JavaScript codes depends on the version of the library you use. Not all code may work with all
versions of a library.
The jQuery library (and its related libraries) has the additional advantage of dealing with the
differences in the DOM across different browsers and different browser versions.
Question: What is the advantage of using JavaScript libraries?
Using Content Delivery Networks for JavaScript Libraries
A content delivery network (CDN) is a group of geographically distributed servers used for
hosting contents for web applications. In many cases, you can bring web content geographically
closer to your applications users by using a CDN to host libraries. This will also improve the
scalability and robustness of the delivery of that content.
The amount of content stored in a CDN varies among different web applications. Some
applications store all their content on a CDN, while other applications store only some of their
content.
Microsoft has a dedicated CDN called Microsoft Ajax CDN that hosts some popular JavaScript
libraries, such as:
o jQuery
o jQuery UI
o jQuery Mobile
o jQuery Validation
o jQuery Cycle
o jQuery DataTables
o Ajax Control Toolkit
o ASP.NET Ajax
o ASP.NET MVC JavaScript Files
Note that Microsoft does not own the license of the JavaScript libraries mentioned in the
preceding list. Microsoft only hosts the libraries for developers.
You can often reduce the loading time of your web application, by using the JavaScript libraries
hosted on Microsoft Ajax CDN. Web browsers can cache these JavaScript libraries on a local
system.
The following code shows how to use JavaScript libraries.
Linking to JavaScript Libraries

<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery/jquery-1.8.0.js"
Additional Reading: For more information about Microsoft AJAX CDN, go to

Question: How can CDN help improve the performance of a web application?
Using the NuGet Tool to Add Packages

You can use the NuGet package manager to manage JavaScript libraries. You can avoid adding
JavaScript libraries manually to your web application by installing the NuGet package manager
in your application. This practice helps reduce the need for configuration tasks, while adding
JavaScript libraries to an application.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 supports installing and using NuGet packages. You can search for
NuGet packages in the NuGet store of Microsoft Visual Studio 2012. Then, you can directly
install them into your MVC application.
The following image shows the application page that you can use to manage NuGet packages.
FIGURE 10.2:MANAGING NUGET PACKAGES
After you select the NuGet package that you wish to install, click Install, to download and
install the package into your project.
Additional Reading: To search for NuGet packages and analyze the details of each package,
go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288981&clcid=0x410
Question: Why should you use NuGet packages to add JavaScript libraries to your web
application?
Demonstration: How to Use NuGet to Add a JavaScript

Library
o Add the jQueryUI library to an application by using NuGet Package Manager.

o Access the location where jQueryUI components are added in the MVC application.
o Link to a script file in the site template view.
Demonstration Steps
1. In the Solution Explorer pane of the
OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio
window, expand OperasWebSite.
Note: There is no folder named Scripts at the top level of the project.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Content.

2.
Note: The Content folder has only one file named OperaStyles.css, and there are no sub-
folders.
On the PROJECT menu of the OperasWebSite - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
3.
Manage NuGet Packages.
In the navigation pane of the OperasWebSite – Manage NuGet Packages dialog box,
4.
ensure Online is selected, and then click All.
In the result pane of the OperasWebSite – Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click
5. jQuery UI(Combined Library), click Install, and then, when the installation is complete,
click Close.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Scripts.
6. Note: NuGet Package Manager has added five files for jquery and jqueryUI to the
application. Note the version number for jquery and jqueryUI.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Contents, expand themes, expand base, and then click
jquery-ui.css.
7. Note: NuGet Package Manager has added style sheets to the Content folder. These styles
are used to set the styles for jQueryUI widgets, and the most important of these style sheets
is jquery-ui.css.
8. In the Solution Explorer pane, collapse base, expand Views, and then expand Shared.
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, click _SiteTemplate.cshtml.
10.
</head>
Place the mouse cursor before the located code, type the following code, and then press
Enter.
<script type="text/javascript" src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery-ui-
11. 1.10.0.js")"></scripts>
Note: In the above code, note that the version number provided is 1.10.0. When you type
the code, replace the version number 1.10.0 with the latest version number.
12.
following code.
13. <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"
href="@Url.Content("~/Content/themes/base/jquery-ui.css")"/>
Note: You can now use jQueryUI calls on any views in the application.
14.
All.

jQuery is a JavaScript library that simplifies the adding of JavaScript to HTML pages. jQuery is
an open-source software that you can use for free. It helps reduce the amount of code that you
need to write, to perform tasks such as accessing and modifying HTML elements on a webpage.
You can use the ajax function in jQuery to call a web service in your application. You can also
use jQuery UI to add interactions, animations, effects, and widgets to your web applications.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe jQuery.
o Describe how to link web applications to jQuery Libraries for client-side scripting.
o Describe how jQuery helps access the HTML elements of a webpage.
o Describe how to modify elements by using jQuery.
o Describe how to call a web service by using jQuery.
o Describe jQuery UI.
o Add a jQuery UI widget to an MVC 4 web application.
Introduction to jQuery
jQuery is a JavaScript library that you can use with different browsers. jQuery was first released
in 2006. jQuery helps query the HTML Document Object Model (DOM) and obtain a set of
HTML DOM elements. This feature of jQuery helps:
o Reduce the amount of code that you need to write, to perform a task.
o Reduce the development time of HTML applications.
jQuery includes the following features:
o DOM element selections

o DOM traversal and modification
o DOM manipulation, based on CSS selectors
o Events
o Effects and animations
o AJAX
o Extensibility through plug-ins
o Utilities
o Compatibility methods
o Multi-browser support
Additional Reading: For more information about jQuery, go to:

The jQuery family includes the following two companion modules:
jQuery UI. This library adds functions and other supporting elements that help implement a
o
rich interface to HTML-based applications.
jQuery mobile. This library adds functions that optimize the application interface for mobile
o
devices.
Question: Why should you use jQuery while developing web applications?
Linking to jQuery Libraries
jQuery Original Version and jQuery Minified Version provide similar functionalities; however,
they optimize web applications for different purposes:
jQuery Original Version (jQuery-<version>.js). This is the uncompressed version of the

o
jQuery library, with files sizes larger than 200 kilobytes (KB).
jQuery Minified Version (jQuery-<version>.min.js). This includes the compressed and gZip
versions of jQuery,
o
with file sizes of about 30 KB.
When you develop the production environment, you can use jQuery Minified Version to reduce
the loading time of the web application. If you use the minified version while working on the
development environment, you cannot access the source code of the JavaScript libraries during
the debug operation. Therefore, you can use the original version of jQuery, while creating the
development environment.
The following code shows how to reference the jQuery library in your web application. You can
add the line of code in the <head> element of your HTML.
Referencing jQuery
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery/jquery-1.8.0.min.js"
Bundling and Minification
Bundling is a new feature in ASP.NET 4.5 that you can use in MVC 4 web applications.
Bundling helps combine multiple JavaScript libraries into a single HTTP request.
Minification compresses code files before incorporating them in the client application. Bundling
and minification help reduce the loading time of web applications by reducing both the number
and size of HTTP requests.
To use bundling and minification in your web application, you should perform the following
steps:
Reference the Microsoft.AspNet.Web.Optimization library in your application by using

1.
NuGet packages.
2. In the App_Start folder of your project, add the BundleConfig.cs file.
In the BundleConfig.cs file, add the following code.
public static void RegisterBundles(System.Web.Optimization.BundleCollection
bundles)
3. {
bundles.Add(new
System.Web.Optimization.ScriptBundle("~/bundles/jquery").Include(
"~/Scripts/jquery-
{version}.js","~/Scripts/JavaScript1.js"));
}
4. In the Global.asax Application_Start event, add the following code.
BundleConfig.RegisterBundles(System.Web.Optimization.BundleTable.Bundles);
The ScriptBundle class enables you to define the bundle that helps combine multiple
JavaScript libraries into a single file. You can use a special placeholder, such as {version} in the
JavaScript path, to help update the version of jQuery libraries. ASP.NET replaces {version}
with the latest version number of the JavaScript libraries present in the Scripts folder. If the
minified version of jQuery is available in the Scripts folder, the MVC 4 engine selects the
minified version for bundling. Then, in your View file, you can include the following lines of
code to render the bundled JavaScript file.
<head>
@Scripts.Render("~/bundles/jquery")
</head>
You should add the following line of code in a page or namespace of the Web.config file in the
View folder. This code helps trigger the functioning of @Scripts.Render.
<add namespace="System.Web.Optimization"/>
Based on the compilation setting in the Web.config file, the jQuery library renders minified
versions of Javascript. For example, the following code sets the debug attribute of the
compilation element to false, which allows jQuery to use the non-minified version of the
libraries, making debugging of the libraries easier.
<compilation debug="false" />
Question: What are the benefits of using the minified version of jQuery in the production
environment?
Accessing HTML Elements by Using jQuery
jQuery helps access HTML elements, to create interactive web applications. You use the
following selector to select elements by element name, id, or CSS class, while adding jQuery
code to access HTML elements.
$(element name|#id|.class)
The following jQuery selector accesses the HTML element with the HelloButton ID.
$(“#HelloButton”)
You can use jQuery to access or modify all instances of a specific HTML element, in an HTML
page. The following jQuery selector identifies all instances of the A element in an HTML page.
$(“a”)
After accessing the HTML elements, you can perform actions on the elements, such as:
o Modifying the attributes on the HTML elements.

o Defining event handlers to respond to events associated with the selected HTML elements.
The following example adds an event handler to the click event of the HelloButton HTML
element.
Using a jQuery Event Handler

$("#HelloButton").click(function (event) {
alert("Hello World");
});
If the jQuery scripts load before the webpage loads, you may encounter errors such as object
not defined. You can place the jQuery code in the document.ready event, to prevent the code
from loading until all HTML elements in the page load.
The following code shows how to use the document.ready function
Using the Document Ready Function

$(document).ready(function () {
//Code placed here will not execute before the page is fully loaded.
});
The following complete example shows how to access HTML elements by using jQuery.
A Complete Example
<body>
<div>
Hello
<input type="button" value="Hello" id="HelloButton" />
</div>
$("#HelloButton").click(function (event) {
alert("Hello World");
});
});
</script>
</body>
Question: Why should you include the jQuery code in the document.ready event?
Modifying HTML Elements by Using jQuery
You can use jQuery to query HTML DOM and obtain HTML elements. You can use jQuery
functions to modify the attributes associated with the HTML elements. The following are some
commonly used jQuery functions, which enable you to modify HTML elements:
You can use the val function to get or set the value of an HTML element. The following
example shows how to use the val function to set the value of the HelloButton element to
“Hello World”.
The val Function

$('#HelloButton').val('Hello World');
You can use the css function to get or set the inline CSS style associated with an HTML
element. The following example shows how to use the css function to set the background color
of an HTML element to blue.
The css Function

$('#HelloButton').css('background-color','blue);
You can use the addclass function to assign a CSS class to an HTML element. The following
example shows how to use the addclass function to add the input_css_class to an HTML
element.
The addclass Function

$('#HelloButton').addClass('input_css_class');
Additional Reading: For more information about jQuery functions, go to

Question: If querying HTML DOM returns multiple HTML elements, how will jQuery
functions handle these elements?
Calling a Web Service by Using jQuery
jQuery includes the ajax function that helps:
1. Perform asynchronous calls to web services.

2. Retrieve the data returned from web services.
The following example illustrates how to use the ajax function.
Using the ajax Function

var req= $.ajax({
type: "POST",
dataType: "json",
url: "Customer.asmx/GetCustomerInfo",
data: "{'ID': '123'}",

contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
success: function (msg) {
alert("Data Saved: " + msg);
},
failure: function (msg) {
alert(msg);
}
});
The ajax function uses the parameters type, datatype, url, data, contentType, success, and
failure to control how to call the web services. These parameters are described as follows:
type. This parameter controls the request type that you should use while querying the web
o
services.
o dataype. This parameter defines the data type to be sent for AJAX services.
o url. This parameter provides the URL of the web services.
data. This parameter defines the data that you should provide as a parameter to the web
o
services.
contentType. This parameter defines the HTTP content type that you should use, when you
o
submit HTTP requests to web services.
success. This parameter defines the name of the function, which will be triggered when the
o
call completes successfully.
failure. This parameter defines the name of the function, which will be triggered when the
o
call completes with errors.
When calls to the web services complete, jQuery triggers one of two callback functions based
on the success of the call.
Additional Reading: For more information about the AJAX function, go to

Question: Why should you call web services by using jQuery?
Introduction to jQueryUI
jQuery simplifies interacting with JavaScript elements, by providing a simple query-based
syntax. jQuery UI is a library that includes widgets, animations, and themes that help you to
build a rich user interface.
jQuery Widgets
You can add different types of widgets to your pages by using the following jQuery functions:
o Accordion. This function adds accordion containers to your webpage.

Autocomplete. This function adds auto-
o
complete boxes that are based on user input.
o Button. This function adds buttons to your webpage.
o Datepicker. This function adds date-pickers to your webpage.
o Dialog. This function adds dialog boxes to your webpage.
o Menu. This function adds a menu to your webpage.
o Progressbar. This function adds animated and static progress bars to your webpage.
o Slider. This function adds sliders to your webpage.
o Spinner. This function adds a number spinner to a data entry box.
o Tabs. This function adds tabs to your webpage.
o Tooltip. This function displays a tooltip for interface elements.
jQuery Effects
You can add various effects by using the following jQuery functions:
o Color Animation. This function animates colors.

Toggle Class, Add Class, Remove Class, and Switch Class. This function adds or removes
o
CSS classes.
Effect. This function adds a variety of effects, such as appear, slide-down, explode, and fade-
o
in.
o Toggle. This function toggles any jQuery effect on and off.
o Hide and Show. This function displays or hides any jQuery effect.
jQuery Utility
You can align your webpage content by using the Position jQuery utility. This utility helps
align an element in relation to the position of another element.
To use jQuery UI:
Download the script and supporting files from

1.
2. Reference the JavaScript libraries in the HTML files.
The following line of code shows how to use jQuery UI.
Linking to jQuery UI
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.ui/1.9.2/jquery-ui.min.js"
Question: What is the key difference between jQuery and jQuery UI?
Demonstration: How to Add a jQueryUI Widget

o Create a set of expandable sections on a webpage by using the Accordion widget.
Demonstration Steps
On the DEBUG menu of the OperasWebsite – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
1.
Start Debugging.
3. In the Main Opera List section, click the Details link corresponding to Cosi Fan Tutte.
Under Reviews, note that there are three opera reviews displayed for Cosi Fan Tutte,
4.
simultaneously.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the OperasWebsite – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
6.
under Shared, click _ReviewsForOpera.cshtml.
In the _ReviewsForOpera.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
7.
<h3>Reviews</h3>
Place the mouse cursor immediately before the located code, type the following code, and
then press Enter.
8. <script>
$(function() {
$("#reviews-tool").accordion();
});
</script>
On the DEBUG menu of the OperasWebsite – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
9.
Start Debugging.
11. In the Main Opera List section, click the Details link corresponding to Cosi Fan Tutte.
Under Reviews, note that there are three expandable sections, and each section contains a
review.
12.
Note: You can expand each section and then read the review content.
Lab: Using JavaScript and jQuery for

Responsive MVC 4 Web Applications
Scenario
You have been asked to add a slideshow page to the web application that will show all the
photos in the database. Unlike the All Photos gallery, which shows thumbnail images, the
slideshow will display each photo in a large size. However, the slideshow will display only one
photo at a time, and cycle through all the photos in the order of ID.
You want to use jQuery to create this slideshow because you want to cycle through the photos
in the browser, without reloading the page each time. You also want to animate slide transitions
and show a progress bar that illustrates the position of the current photo in the complete list.
You will use jQueryUI to generate the progress bar.
Begin by importing a partially complete view that will display all photos simultaneously in the
correct format. Then, change styles and add jQuery code to the application to create your
slideshow.
Objectives
o Render and execute JavaScript code in the browser.

o Use the jQuery script library to update and animate page components.
o Use jQueryUI widgets in an MVC application.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
c.
Exercise 1: Creating and Animating the Slideshow View

Scenario
Your team has created a view that displays photos of the right size and format. However, the
view displays all photos simultaneously, one below the other.
Import the view and modify the style sheet so that the photos are displayed on top of each
o
other.
o Using jQuery, set the order for each photo so that each photo is displayed sequentially.
1. Import and test the slideshow view.

2. Modify the style sheet.
3. Animate the photo cards in the slideshow.
4. Link to the script and test the animation.
Task 1: Import and test the slideshow view.

o User name: Admin
2. File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod10\Starter

o
Add the SlideShow.cshtml view file to the Photo folder, from the following location:
3.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod10\Slide Show View
In the PhotoController.cs file, edit the SlideShow action method. Instead of throwing an
4. exception, return the SlideShow view you just added. Pass a list of all the photos in the
context object as the model.
Add a new site map node to the Mvc.sitemap file to link to the SlideShow action by using
o Tag: <mvcSiteMapNode>
5. o Title: Slideshow
o Visibility: *
o Controller: Photo
o Action: SlideShow
Start the web application in debugging mode, clear the browser cache, and then browse to
6.
the Slideshow view to examine the results.
7. Stop debugging.
Task 2: Modify the style sheet.

In the Content folder, open the PhotoSharingStyles.css style sheet. Add the following
properties to the style that selects <div> tags with the slide-show-card class:
1. o position: absolute
o top: 0
o left: 0
o z-index: 8
Add a new style to the PhotoSharingStyles.css style sheet by using the following
information:
2.
o Selector: #slide-show DIV.active-card
o z-index: 10
Add a new style to the PhotoSharingStyles.css style sheet by using the following
information:
3.
o Selector: #slide-show DIV.last-active-card
o z-index: 9
Start debugging, and then clear the Internet Explorer browser cache to ensure that the style
4.
sheet is reloaded.
5. Navigate to the Slideshow view and examine the results.
6. Stop debugging.
Task 3: Animate the photo cards in the slideshow.
1. Add a new top-level folder, named Scripts, to the Photo Sharing application.
2. Add a new JavaScript file, SlideShow.js, to the Scripts folder.
In the SlideShow.js file, create the following global variables:
o percentIncrement
3.
o percentCurrent
Set the percentCurrent value to 100.

4. Create a new function named slideSwitch with no parameters.
Within the slideSwitch function, add a line of code that selects the first <div> element with
5. active-card class that is a child of the element with an ID of slide-show. Store this element
in a new variable named $activeCard.
Add an if statement stating that if the $activeCard contains no elements, use the last DIV
6.
element with slide-show-card class that is a child of the element with an ID of slide-show.
Add a line of code that selects the next element after $activeCard. Store this element in a
7.
new variable named $nextCard.
Add an if statement stating that if $nextCard contains no elements, use the first DIV
8.
element with slide-show-card class and ID slide-show.
9. Add the last-active-card class to the $activeCard element.
10. Set the opacity of the $nextCard element to 0.0 by using the css() jQuery function.
Add the active-card class to the $nextCard element. This applies the z-order value 10,
11.
from the style sheet.
Use the animate() function to fade the $nextCard element to opacity 1.0 over a time
period of 1 second. When the animate() function is complete, remove the following classes
from the $activeCard element:
12.
o active-card
o last-active-card
13. Create a new anonymous function that runs when the document is fully loaded.
In the new anonymous function, use the setInterval() function to run the slideSwitch()
14.
function every 5 seconds.
Task 4: Link to the script and test the animation.
1. Open the SlideShow.cshtml view file.

2. Add a SCRIPT element that links to the SlideShow.js script file.
Start the application in debugging mode and navigate to the Slideshow view. Observe the
3.
fade effects.
4. Stop debugging.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a Photo Sharing application with a
slideshow page that displays all the photos in the application, sequentially.
Exercise 2: Optional—Adding a jQueryUI ProgressBar Widget

Scenario
The slideshow pages you added work well. Now, you have been asked to add some indication
of progress through the slideshow. You want to use a progress bar to show the position of the
current photo in the list of photos in the application. In this exercise, you will:
o Create a display by using the JQueryUI progress bar.

o Test the script that you created.

1. Complete the slideshow view and template view.
2. Modify the slideshow script.
3. Test the slideshow view.
Task 1: Complete the slideshow view and template view.
1. Open the SlideShow.cshtml view file from the Photo folder.

Within the <div id="slideshow-progress-bar-container">element, add a new <div>
2.
element with the ID slide-show-progress-bar.
Add a <script>tag to the Views/Shared/_MainLayout.cshtml view to link the view to
jQuery UI. Ensure the <script> tag appears after the other <script>tags in the HEAD
element. Link the view to the following location:
3. http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.ui/1.10.0/jquery-ui.min.js
Note: In the code, note that the version number provided is 1.10.0. When typing the code,
replace the version number 1.10.0 with the latest version number.
Add a <link> tag to link to the jQuery UI style sheet by using the following information:
o Type: text/css
o Rel: stylesheet
4.
Href: http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.9.2/themes/base/jquery-ui.css
o Note: In the code, note that the version number provided is 1.9.2. When typing the code,
replace the version number 1.9.2 with the latest version number.
Task 2: Modify the slideshow script.
1. Open the SlideShow.js JavaScript file.

2. Create a new function named calculateIncrement that takes no parameters.
In the new function, create a new variable named cardCount. Use this variable to store the
3. number of <div class="slide-show-card"> elements within the <div id="slide-show">
element.
4. Divide 100 by the cardCount variable, and store the result in percentIncrement.
Run the jQueryUI progressbar() function on the <div id="slidehow-progress-
5.
bar">element. Set the value to 100.
6. Before the call to setInterval(), insert a call to the new calculateIncrement() function.
At the beginning of the slideSwitch() function, add the value of percentIncrement to the
7.
value of percentCurrent.
Add an if statement stating that if percentCurrent is more than 100, set percentCurrent
8.
is to equal percentIncrement.
Run the jQueryUI progressbar() function on the <div id="slideshow-progress-bar">
9.
element. Set the value to percentCurrent.
Task 3: Test the slideshow view.
Start the web application in debugging mode and clear the browser cache. Navigate to the
1.
Slideshow view and examine the results.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a slideshow page with a progress bar
that displays the position of the current photo in the list of photos.
Question: What is the use of adding the two links to the _MainLayout.cshtml file in Task 1 of
Exercise 2?
Question: You added <script> tags to the _MainTemplate.cshtml file to enable jQueryUI. Is
this the optimal location for this link?

You have seen how to use JavaScript in a web application. JavaScript helps the application
interact with the actions of users and provide response to users, without reloading an entire
webpage. You also saw how to use the jQuery library to access the HTML DOM structure and
modify HTML elements. jQueryUI is a complement to the jQuery library, which contains
functions to build rich user interfaces.
Review Question(s)
Question: You are building an application that needs to update various parts of the page every
10 seconds. Your team is proposing to use IFRAME. But you want to reduce the number of
pages to be created. What type of technology should you propose to achieve this?
MODULE 11: CONTROLLING ACCESS TO ASP.NET

Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Implementing Authentication and Authorization

Module Overview
Authentication is a vital requirement in most web-based applications. Developers usually
display only restricted information to all users. Web applications require users to authenticate
themselves to view exclusive information. Web applications also display specific information
that is relevant to specific user roles. Microsoft ASP.NET 4.5 includes various authentication
models, including local authentication providers, claim-based authentication systems, and
federated authentication systems. You need to know how to use these authentication models to
implement authentication functionality in your web application. You should also know how to
authorize users and roles in your application to restrict information access according to user and
role membership.
Objectives
o Implement authentication and authorization systems in your web application.

o Manage users and roles in your web application.
o Authorize users and roles in your web application.
Lesson 1 : Implementing Authentication and

Authorization
Membership providers, which were introduced in ASP.NET 2.0, help you to create secure
authentication and authorizations systems for web applications. You need to know how to use
the membership provider model in ASP.NET 4.5, to change authentication methods with
minimum changes to the code. You can use claim-based authentication and federated
authentication to allow external users to authenticate themselves, and access and use the web
application. You should know how to configure restrictions in the web application to ensure
that users access only specific information that is permitted and relevant to them.
Lesson Objectives
o List the local authentication options available for an ASP.NET 4 web application.
o Describe how client-based authentication works.
o Describe how federated authentication works.
o Describe how to restrict access to resources.
o Authorize access to specific users to MVC 4 web application controller actions.
Local Authentication Providers
Authentication providers include code that runs when ASP.NET needs to authorize a user. The
code authenticates users by using the information stored in back-end databases, such as Active
Directory or Microsoft SQL Server. The membership system in ASP.NET 4.5 includes the
following authentication providers:
ActiveDirectoryMembershipProvider, SqlMembershipProvider,
SimpleMembershipProvider, and UniversalProviders. The SimpleMembershipProvider
and
UniversalProviders are new authentication providers that support the OAuth authentication
mechanism.
The ASP.NET 4.5 membership system allows application developers to switch amongst
authentication providers, without modifying the code.
The following is a description of the authentication providers—
ActiveDirectoryMembershipProvider and SqlMembershipProvider:
ActiveDirectoryMembershipProvider. This provider class is defined in the

o System.Web.Security namespace, and the provider enables you to use Active Directory as
the membership and role repository of your web application.
SqlMembershipProvider. This provider class is defined in the System.Web.Security
o namespace. The provider works with a specific table schema that you can generate by using
the aspnet_regdb.exe command.
ActiveDirectoryMembershipProvider and SqlMembershipProvider are configured to work

only with a specific table schema or directory. To overcome this restriction, Microsoft
developed SimpleMembershipProvider and UniversalProviders to replace
ActiveDirectoryMembershipProvider and SqlMembershipProvider.
SimpleMembershipProvider. This is a new generation of membership providers that works

with the SQL Server, SQL Server Compact Edition, Windows Azure SQL Database, and
o other versions of SQL Server. SimpleMembershipProvider requires only three key
parameters—table name, user ID, and user name. You use this provider to implement
authentication that works with any SQL Server database table schema.
UniversalProviders. This is a set of membership providers that works with any database that
Entity Framework supports. However, these providers work only with the database schema
o
designed by Microsoft. While initializing a universal provider, if the schema does not exist in
the database, the provider generates the schema.
Question: What is the benefit of using SimpleMembershipProvider?
Claims-Based Authentication
Claims-based authentication is a model that facilitates single sign-on. Single sign-on is a feature
that allows you to receive a claim when you log on to a centralized authentication system.
The claim is a ticket that authentication systems use to authenticate user logons. The claim
contains user identity information that helps authentication systems identify users. With claims-
based authentication systems, you can focus efforts on developing business functions, rather
than worrying about authenticating users.
Claims-based authentication facilitates:
o Authenticating users to access applications.

o Storing user account information and passwords.
o Checking enterprise directories for user information.
o Integrating the application with the identity systems of other platforms or companies.
To implement claims-based authentication in your web application, you need to use Windows
Identity Foundation (WIF) 4.5. WIF 4.5.is a set of .NET Framework classes that helps read
information from the claims in a web application.
The following steps describe the functioning of claims-based authentication systems:
When an unauthenticated user requests a webpage, the request is redirected to the Identity
1.
Provider (IP) pages.
2. The IP requires you to enter credentials such as the user name and password.
After you enter the credentials, the IP issues a token. Then, the token is returned to the web
3.
browser.
The web browser is redirected to the webpage that you originally requested. WIF determines
if the token satisfies the requirements to access the webpage. If the token satisfies all
4. requirements, a cookie is issued to establish a session. This cookie ensures that the
authentication process occurs only once. Then, the authentication control is passed on to the
application.
Question: What are the benefits of using claims-based authentication?
Federated Authentication
Federations rely on claims-based authentication to allow external parties such as trusted

companies to access their applications.
Federations use the WS-Federations claim standard to enable the exchange of claims between
two parties in a standardized manner.
WIF provides support for federations by using the WSFederationAuthenticationModule

HTTP module. WSFederationAuthenticationModule enables you to implement support for
federations in your ASP.NET 4.5 application, without implementing individual logic.
Federated authentication enables Security Token Service (STS) to:

o Process the claims from business partners.
o Extract user information from the claims.
STS enables you to focus more on writing the business logic. It eliminates the need to manage
the authentication information of business partners, in your web application.
Configuring the WSFederationAuthenticationModule helps specify the STS to which non-

authenticated requests should be redirected. WIF provides two methods of federated
authentication—FederatedPassiveSignIn and Passive Redirect.
FederatedPassiveSignIn Control
Consider cases when unauthenticated users try to access protected resources and you want to
redirect these users to a logon page. For such cases, you can embed the
FederatedPassiveSignIn control in the logon page of your web application, to redirect
unauthenticated users to the logon page. The FederatedPassiveSignIn control is configured
with issuer (STS) information.
You can use the FederatedPassiveSignIn control to:
o Exclude application-wide protection.

o Include a logon page with clickable controls.
Passive Redirect
Consider cases when unauthenticated users try to access a protected resource, and you want to
redirect these users to an STS without using an application logon page. For such cases, you can
use passive redirect.
Passive redirect enables STS to:
o Verify the identity of the unauthenticated users.

o Issue security tokens that contain the appropriate claims for users.
Passive redirect requires you to add WSFederationAuthenticationModule in the pipeline of

the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) modules, to identify unauthenticated user requests and
redirect users to the STS you specify. Adding WSFederationAuthenticationModule in the
HTTP pipeline processes the claim information before passing the claim to the ASP.NET 4.5
engine.
You can instantiate WSFederationAuthenticationModule and use it to trigger the sign-on

process. This functionality is similar to that of the FederatedPassiveSignIn control; however,
passive redirect implements this sign-on functionality with minimum coding effort.
Question: What are the benefits of using federated authentication?

Restricting Access to Resources
You can restrict user access by implementing the Authorize attribute in a controller, instead of
using the Web.config file as you would use in an ASP.NET WebForms application. The
Web.config file requires physical files to exist, for access control to work. You cannot use the
Web.config file to restrict user access because MVC applications route requests to actions, not
pages.
The following code shows how to add the Authorize attribute to your controller class.
Authorizing Action Methods

[Authorize()]
public ActionResult GetEmployee()
{
return View();
}
Observe the Authorize attribute in the code sample. If you specify this attribute, ASP.NET 4.5
mandates that users should be authorized to access the view returned by the code sample.
If you add the Authorize attribute at the class level, the attribute requires users to log on before
they can access anything in the controller class. To allow anonymous users to access a specific
portion of your class, you can use the AllowAnonymous attribute.
The following code shows how to use the AllowAnonymous attribute.

Using the AllowAnonymous Attribute
[AllowAnonymous()]
public ActionResult Register()
{
return View();
}
Question: Why should you use the Authorize attribute, instead of the Web.config file to
control authorization of pages in your ASP.NET MVC application?
Demonstration: How to Authorize Access to Controller Actions

o Generate authentication for access to a controller action.

o Handle unauthenticated requests for actions that require authentication by using ASP.NET.
Demonstration Steps
1.
Start Debugging.
2. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click All Operas.
On the Index of Operas page, click the Create New link.
3. Note: The Create an Opera page is displayed without logging on to the application. This
enables anonymous users to create new operas.
5.
expand OperasWebSite, expand Controllers, and then click OperaController.cs.
6.
public ActionResult Create()
7. Enter.
[Authorize]
8.
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create(Opera newOpera)
9. Enter.
[Authorize]
10.
All.
11.
Start Debugging.
13.
Note: The Login view is now displayed and this prevents anonymous users from creating
new operas.
14. On the Index of Operas page, click the Register link.
15. In the User name box of the Register page, type David Johnson.
In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, in the Confirm password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and
16.
then click Register.
18.
Note: The Add an Opera page is displayed because the request is authenticated.

Roles and memberships complement authentication features, to help you control all modes of
access in web applications. To define access levels for different types of users, you need to
know how to implement roles and users. ASP.NET 4.5 provides role providers and membership
providers to help you assign roles and users. ASP.NET 4.5 also enables you to create custom
role providers and custom membership providers. These custom providers allow you to store
role and user information in data sources not supported by ASP.NET 4.5, such as a FoxPro or
Oracle database.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe role providers in ASP.NET 4.5.

o Describe how to add user accounts to roles.
o Describe how to build custom role providers.
o Describe membership services.
o Describe how to build custom membership providers.
o Add code to an MVC 4 web application to help users reset their password.
Role Providers in ASP.NET 4.5

Role providers help develop applications by using a role-based security model. Similar to
membership providers, two types of role providers are available in ASP.NET 4.5—
ActiveDirectoryRoleProvider and SqlRoleProvider:
ActiveDirectoryRoleProvider. This provider class is defined in the System.Web.Security

o namespace, and the provider enables you to use Active Directory as the management model
for roles.
SqlRoleProvider. This provider class is defined in the System.Web.Security namespace. The
o provider works with only a specific table schema in Microsoft SQL Server. You can generate
this schema by using the aspnet_regdb.exe command.
WindowsTokenRoleProvider. This provider uses the Windows authentication token to
determine the role of users. Then, the provider checks if users belong to any group stored in
o
the Windows authentication token that was generated when they first logged on. The format
of the group name is Domain\Group.
ActiveDirectoryRoleProvider and SqlRoleProvider have restrictions such as lack of support

for non-SQL databases or developer-defined schema. Therefore, Microsoft developed
SimpleRoleProvider and UniversalProviders to replace ActiveDirectoryRoleProvider and
SqlRoleProvider. The following list describes the SimpleRoleProvider and
UniversalProviders:
SimpleRoleProvider. This is a new generation of role provider that works with SQL Server,
o SQL Compact Editions, and others versions of SQL Server. SimpleRoleProvider enables
you to implement authorization based on the table defined by application developers.
UniversalProviders. This is a database agnostic version that works with any database that
o Entity Framework supports. However, the database schema is determined by Microsoft. The
provider usually generates tables during initialization.
You can choose a role provider based on the membership provider that you select. You can also
mix role providers; for example, you can combine SimpleMembershipProvider and
UniversalRoleProvider. However, you should avoid mixing role providers because the manner
in which each provider identifies users is different.
Question: What is the difference between SimpleRoleProvider and SqlRoleProvider?
Adding User Accounts to Roles
When you use a database-based role provider, such as SimpleRoleProvider or

UniversalRoleProvider, you can load the initial data onto the database by directly editing the
table. You can also edit the table by using the AddUsersToRoles function. To use the
AddUsersToRoles function, you need to implement the custom management tool in your
application. The custom management tool helps call the AddUsersToRoles function, to add
roles to a database.
The following code shows how to use the
AddUsersToRoles function.
Using the AddUsersToRoles Function
AddUserToRoles("Peter", new string[] {"Admin","Staff"})
You can also use the AddUsersToRoles function in business applications to add users to a role.
However, you must ensure that the role to which you want to add users exists, before using the
AddUsersToRoles function. ASP.NET 4.0 and all previous versions of ASP.NET include the
Website Administration Tool (WSAT). Unfortunately, WSAT does not work with the
SimpleRoleProvider.
Question: Why should we not use WSAT while using SimpleRoleProvider?
Building a Custom Roles Provider
ASP.NET 4.5 allows you to build custom role providers. Custom role providers enable you to
implement role management that uses your own database schema and logic. To build a custom
role provider, you need to create a class that inherits the RoleProvider class.
The following code shows how to build a custom role provider.
Creating a Custom Role Provider

public class CustomRoleProvider :
RoleProvider
{
}
In the RoleProvider class, you need to implement the GetRolesForUser function. The
GetRolesForUser function takes the user name as the input and returns a list of roles to which
the user belongs. You can write your own code to obtain role information from the database or
other back-end stores.
The following code shows how to use the GetRolesForUser method.
Implementing the GetRolesForUser Function

public override string[] GetRolesForUser(string username)
{
//code to return a list of roles for users
}
After implementing the GetRolesForUser function, you need to apply the custom role provider
to the application by modifying the Web.config file.
The following code shows how to apply the custom role provider to the application.
Configuring a Site to Use a Custom Role Provider

<roleManager defaultProvider="CustomRoleProvider" enabled="true"
cacheRolesInCookie="false">
<providers>
<clear />
<add name="CustomRoleProvider" type="CustomRoleProvider” />
</providers>
</roleManager>
Question: Why should you create a custom role provider?
Providing Membership Services

You need to add the
SimpleMembershipProvider to the membership section of the Web.config file to use it for

membership services.
The following code shows how to add SimpleMembershipProvider to the Web.config file.
Configuring the Simple Membership Provider

<membership
defaultProvider="SimpleMembershipProvider"
>
<providers>
<clear/>
<add name="SimpleMembershipProvider"
type="WebMatrix.WebData.SimpleMembershipProvider, WebMatrix.WebData" />
</providers>
</membership>
Next, you need to create a User table. If you do not have a User table created already, you can
modify the AccountModel.cs file, to generate the table. To view the AccountModel.cs file, you
should select the Internet Application template, when you create the project.
In the following code sample, the UserProfile class from AccountModel.cs has been modified
to add an additional property, Country.
Creating a User Table

[Table("UserProfile")]
public class UserProfile
{
[Key]
[DatabaseGeneratedAttribute(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
public int UserId { get; set; }
public string Country { get; set; }
}
After modifying the AccountModel.cs file, you need to call the

WebSecurity.InitializeDatabaseConnection function in the App.Start.cs file. The
WebSecurity.InitializeDatabaseConnection function ensures that
SimpleMembershipProvider is configured with connection strings to the database.
The following code shows how the membership provider connects to the User table, by using
the DBConn connection string.
Connecting to the User Table

WebSecurity.InitializeDatabaseConnection(“DBConn”,”User”,”id”,”Username”,false)
If a specific table does not exist in a database, the autoCreateTables parameter helps indicate
to the membership provider that it may create the table. To initialize
SimpleMembershipProvider, you need to add the InitializeSimpleMembership attribute to
the AccountController class.
The following code shows how to add the InitializeSimpleMembership attribute to the
AccountController class.
Adding the InitializeSimpleMembership Attribute

[Authorize]
[InitializeSimpleMembership]
public class AccountController : Controller
{
}
Question: Why should we use the InitializeDatabaseConnection method?
Building a Custom Membership Provider

If you need to add functionality to a membership provider, such as custom logic for
authentication, you need to implement a custom membership provider.
The following code shows how to implement a custom membership provider.
A Custom Membership Provider

public class CustomMembershipProvider :
SimpleMembershipProvider
{
}
After implementing the custom membership provider, you override the ValidateUser method
defined in SimpleMembershipProvider. The following code shows how to override the
ValidateUser method defined in SimpleMembershipProvider.
Overriding the ValidateUser Method

public override bool ValidateUser(string username, string password)
{
}
In the preceding code sample, the ValidateUser method validates the user name and password
against the membership store.
Perhaps, you want to add logic to get the decryption key for passwords. To add this logic, you
can override the Provider constructor, when the custom membership provider is initializing.
Overriding the Provider constructor initializes the encryption engine.
Overriding the Provider Constructor

public CustomAdminMembershipProvider(SimpleSecurityContext simpleSecurityContext)
{
}
After adding logic to the custom membership provider, you need to modify the Web.config file
to apply the custom provider class to the application.
Adding a Custom Provider to Web.config

<membership defaultProvider="CustomMemberProvider">
<providers>
<clear/>
<add name="CustomMemberProvider" type=" CustomAdminMembershipProvider "
/>
</providers>
</membership>
Question: Why should you implement a custom membership provider?
Demonstration: How to Reset a Password

In this demonstration, you will see how to write code that uses a Membership Services Provider
to reset the user’s password. Using this code, you can enable users to control their own
passwords and reset the password without involving a site administrator.
Demonstration Steps
1.
under Controllers, click AccountController.cs.
In the AccountController.cs code window, locate the following comment.
2.
//Add Reset Password Code Here
In the AccountController.cs code window, replace the located comment with the following
code, and then press Enter.
try
3. {
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
In the try code block, type the following code.
4. changePasswordSucceeded =
Membership.Provider.ChangePassword(User.Identity.Name,
model.OldPassword, model.NewPassword);
In the catch code block, type the following code.
5.
changePasswordSucceeded = false;
6.
All.
7.
Start Debugging.
8. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Log In link.
On the Logon page, in the User name box, type David Johnson, in the Password box,
9.
type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Log in.
10. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Reset Password link.
On the ResetPassword page, in the Current password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then in
11.
the New password box, type Pa$$w0rd2.
In the Confirm new password box, type Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Change Password.
12. Note: On the ResetPassword page, the message, “Your password has been changed.” is
displayed.
15. If the Microsoft Visual Studio warning message appears, click Yes.
Lab: Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4

Web Applications
Scenario
A large part of the functionality for your proposed Photo Sharing application is in place.
However, stakeholders are concerned about security because there are no restrictions on the
tasks that users can complete. The following restrictions are required:
o Only site members should be able to add or delete photos.

o Only site members should be able to add or delete comments.
You have been asked to resolve these concerns by creating a membership system for the Photo
Sharing application. Visitors should be able to register as users of the web application and
create user accounts for themselves. After registration, when the users log on to the application,
they will have access to actions such as adding and deleting photos and comments. Anonymous
users will not have access to perform these actions. Additionally, registered users should also be
able to reset their own password.
Objectives
Configure a web application to use ASP.NET Form Authentication with accounts stored in
o
Windows Azure SQL database.
o Write models, controllers, and views to authenticate users in a web application.
o Provide access to resources in a web application.
o Enable users to reset their own password.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
o i. On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
ii. In the navigation pane of the Options dialog box, click Package Manager.
Under the Package Restore section, select the Allow NuGet to download missing
iii.
packages during build checkbox, and then click OK.
After completing the lab, take a Snapshot of the 20486B-SEA-DEV11 virtual machine.
o
Ensure that this Snapshot is applied before initiating the lab in Module 13.
Exercise 1: Configuring Authentication and Membership Providers
Scenario
You want to use a Windows Azure SQL database to store user accounts and membership
information.
o Create a Windows Azure SQL database.

o Configure a provider to connect to the database.
1. Configure a new Windows Azure SQL database.

2. Install universal providers.
3. Configure providers in Web.config.
Task 1: Configure a new Windows Azure SQL database.

o User name: Admin
2. o Portal address: http://manage.windowsazure.com

o User name: <username>
o Password: <password>
Create a new database server and a new custom database by using the following information:
o Database name: PhotoAppServices

o Database server: New SQL Database Server
3. o Logon name: <your first name>
o Logon password: Pa$$w0rd
o Logon password confirmation: Pa$$w0rd
o Region: <a region close to you>
In the list of allowed IP addresses for the PhotoAppServices database, add the following IP
address ranges:
4. o Rule name: First Address Range

o Start IP address: <first address in range>
o End IP address: <last address in range>
Task 2: Install universal providers.

1.
File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Starter
o
Install the Microsoft ASP.NET Universal Providers package in the
2.
PhotoSharingApplication project by using the NuGet Package Manager.
Task 3: Configure providers in Web.config.
Remove the connection string named DefaultConnection from the top-level Web.config
1.
file.
Obtain the connection string for the PhotoAppServices database and add it to the Web.config
2.
file.
Configure the web application to use Forms authentication in Web.config, by using the
3. o Parent element: <system.web>

o Element: <authentication>
o Mode: Forms
Configure the logon page for the web application by using the following information:
o Parent element: <authentication>

4. o Element: <forms>
o Logon URL: ~/Account/Login
o Timeout: 2880
Configure the default profile provider to use the connection string named
5.
PhotoAppServices.
Configure the Default Membership Provider to use the connection string named
6.
PhotoAppServices.
7. Configure the Default Role Provider to use the connection string named PhotoAppServices.
Configure the Default Session Provider to use the connection string named
8.
PhotoAppServices.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a Photo Sharing application that is
configured to use Windows Azure SQL database for user accounts and membership
information. In subsequent exercises, you will add model classes, actions, and views to
implement authentication for this database.
Exercise 2: Building the Logon and Register Views
Scenario
You have configured the Photo Sharing application to connect to Windows Azure SQL
database for authentication and membership services. However, to use forms authentication in
an MVC application, you need to build model classes, controllers, and views that enable users
to log on, log off, and register for an account.
o Add model classes.

o Add controllers.
o Import logon and register views.
o Test the developed components.
1. Add account model classes.

2. Add an account controller.
3. Import Logon and Register views.
4. Add authentication controls to the Template view.
5. Test registration, log on, and log off.
Task 1: Add account model classes.
1. Add a new Class file named AccountModelClasses.cs to the Models folder.

Add references to the following namespaces, to the new class file:
2. o System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations
o System.Data.Entity
Remove the AccountModelClasses class and add a new class by using the following
information:
3. o Scope: Public
o Name: UsersContext
o Inherit: DbContext
In the UsersContext class, create a constructor that passes the PhotoAppServices
4.
connection string to the base class constructor.
5. In the AccountModelClasses.cs code file, add a new public class named Login.
Add a new property to the Login class by using the following information:
6. o Scope: public
o Type: string
o Name: UserName
o Access: Read/Write
o Display name: User name
o Use the Required annotation.
o Scope: public
o Type: string
7. o Name: Password
o Data type: Password
o Scope: public
8. o Type: bool
o Name: RememberMe
o Display name: Remember me?
9. In the AccountModelClasses.cs code file, add a new public class named Register.
Add a new property to the Register class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Type: string
10. o Name: UserName
o Display name: User name
o Scope: public
o Type: string
11. o Name: Password
12.
o Scope: public
o Type: string
o Name: ConfirmPassword
o Display name: Confirm password
Ensure that this property matches the Password property by using the Compare
o
annotation.
Task 2: Add an account controller.
Add a new controller named AccountController to the MVC web application by using the
1.
Empty MVC controller template.
Delete the default Index action from the AccountController file and add using statement
references for the following namespaces:
2.
o System.Web.Security
Create a new action method in the AccountController class by using the following
information:
3. o Scope: public
o Name: Login
o Parameter: a string named returnUrl
In the Login action, store the returnUrl value in the ViewBag collection, and then return a
4.
view named Login.
information:
o HTTP verb: POST

5. o Scope: public
o Name: Login
o Parameters: a Login object named model and a string named returnUrl
Within the Login action method code block for the HTTP POST verb, check if the
6.
ModelState is valid.
Add an if…else statement to check the user’s credentials by using the following
7. information:
o Method: Membership.ValidateUser
o User name: model.UserName
o Password: model.Password
If the user’s credentials are correct, authenticate the user by using the following
information:
8. o Method: FormsAuthentication.SetAuthCookie
o User name: model.UserName
o Create persistent cookie: model.RememberMe
If returnUrl is a local URL, redirect the user to the returnUrl. Otherwise, redirect the user
9.
to the Index action of the Home controller.
If the user’s credentials are incorrect, add a model error to the ModelState object by using
10.
o Key: An empty string
o Error message: The username or password is incorrect
If the ModelState is not valid, return the current view and pass the model object so that the
11.
user can correct errors.
information:
12. o Scope: public

o Name: LogOff
o Parameters: None
In the LogOff action, log off the user, and then redirect to the Index action of the Home
13.
controller by using the FormsAuthentication.SignOut() method.
information:
14. o Scope: public

o Name: Register
o Parameters: None
15. In the Register action, return the Register view.
information:
16.
o HTTP verb: POST
o Scope: public
o Name: Register
o Parameter: a Register object named model.
Within the Register action method code block for the HTTP POST verb, check if the
17.
ModelState is valid.
If the ModelState is valid, create a try…catch block that catches exceptions of the type
18.
MembershipCreateUserException e.
In the try block, create a new user with the right user name and password by using the
19. Membership.CreateUser method. Store the result in a MembershipUser object named
NewUser.
Authenticate the new user and redirect the browser to the Index action of the Home
20.
controller.
In the catch block, add a model error to the ModelState object by using the following
information:
21.
o Key: Registration Error
o Error message: Report the error status code as a string
22.
user can correct errors.
Task 3: Import Logon and Register views.
1. Add a new folder named Account to the Views folder.

Add the Login.cshtml file to the Account folder from the following location:
2.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views
Add the Register.cshtml file to the Account folder from the following location:
3.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views
Task 4: Add authentication controls to the Template view.
1. Open the _MainLayout.cshtml page for editing.

Immediately before the DIV element with clear-floats class, insert a DIV element with
2.
login-controls class.
In the new DIV element, write a Razor if… else code block that checks whether the current
3.
request is from an authenticated user.
If the request is from an authenticated user, render a greeting message that includes the
4.
authenticated user’s name.
After the greeting message, render a link to the LogOff action by using the following
information:
5. o Helper: Html.ActionLink()
o Link text: Log Off
o Action name: LogOff
o Controller name: Account
If the request is from an anonymous user, render a link to the Login action by using the
following Information:
o Link text: Log In
o Action name: Login
After the Log In link, render a link to the Register action by using the following
Information:
o Link text: Register
o Action name: Register
Task 5: Test registration, log on, and log off.
Start the web application in debugging mode and register a user account by using the
1.
o User name: David Johnson
2. Log off and then log on with the credentials you just created.
3. Stop debugging.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will create a Photo Sharing application in which users
can register for an account, log on, and log off.
Exercise 3: Authorizing Access to Resources
Scenario
Now that you have enabled and tested authentication, you can authorize access to resources for
both anonymous and authenticated users.
You should ensure that:
o Only site members can add or delete photos.

o Only site members can add or delete comments.
o The account controller actions are authorized properly.
o Only authenticated users see the_Create view for comments in the Display view.
1. Restrict access to Photo actions.

2. Restrict access to the Comment actions.
3. Restrict access to the Account actions.
4. Check authentication status in a view.
5. Test authorization.
Task 1: Restrict access to Photo actions.
In the PhotoController.cs file, add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only
1.
authenticated users can access the Create action for the GET requests.
Add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only authenticated users can access the
2.
Create action for the HTTP POST verb.
Add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only authenticated users can access the Delete
3.
action.
4.
DeleteConfirmed action for the HTTP POST verb.
Task 2: Restrict access to the Comment actions.
In the CommentController.cs file, add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only
1.
authenticated users can access the _Create action.
Add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only authenticated users can access the Delete
2.
action.
3.
DeleteConfirmed action for the HTTP POST verb.
Task 3: Restrict access to the Account actions.

In the AccountController.cs file, add the [Authorize] annotation to ensure that only
1.
authenticated users can access all actions by default.
Add the [AllowAnonymous] annotation to ensure that anonymous users can access the
2.
Login action.
3.
Login action for the HTTP POST verb.
4.
Register action.
5.
Register action for the HTTP POST verb.
Task 4: Check authentication status in a view.
1. Open the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml partial view.

In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml partial view, add an if statement to ensure that the
2.
_Create partial view is only displayed if the request is authenticated.
If the request is not authenticated, render a link to the Login action of the Account
3.
controller to display the text To comment you must log in.
Task 5: Test authorization.
Start the web application in debugging mode and then attempt to add a new photo to the web
1.
application, without logging on to the application.
Without logging on to the application, view any photo in the application and attempt to add a
2.
comment.
Log on to the web application by using the following credentials:
3. o User name: David Johnson
Add a comment of your choice to the photo by using the following information:
4.
o Subject: Authenticated Test Comment
5. Stop debugging.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have authorized anonymous and authenticated
users to access resources in your web application.
Exercise 4: Optional—Building a Password Reset View
Scenario
Site visitors can now register as users of the Photo Sharing application and log on to the site so
that they can add photos and comments. However, they do not have the facility to change their
password. In this exercise, you will create a password reset page by using the membership
services provider.
1. Add a local password model class.

2. Add reset password actions.
3. Import the reset password view.
4. Add a link to the reset password view.
5. Test password reset.
Task 1: Add a local password model class.
Add a new class to the AccountModelClasses.cs file by using the following information:
1. o Scope: public
o Name of the class: LocalPassword
Add a new property to the LocalPassword class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Type: string
2. o Name: OldPassword
o Annotation: [Required]
o Display name: Current password
o Scope: public
o Type: string
3. o Name: NewPassword
o Annotation: [Required]
o Display name: New password
o Scope: public
o Type: string
4. o Name: ConfirmPassword
o Display name: Confirm new password
o Use the Compare annotation to ensure this property matches the NewPassword property.
Task 2: Add reset password actions.
In the AccountController class, add a new enumeration by using the following

information:
1. o Scope: public
o Name: ManageMessageId
o Values: ChangePasswordSuccess, SetPasswordSuccess
Add a new action to the AccountController class by using the following information:
o Scope: public
o Name: ResetPassword
o Parameters: an optional ManageMessageId object named message
If the message parameter is not null, set the ViewBag.StatusMessage property to Your
3.
password has been changed.
4. Set the ViewBag.ReturnUrl property to the URL of the ResetPassword action.
5. Return a view named ResetPassword.
Add a new action to the AccountController class by using the following information:
o Annotation: HttpPost
6. o Scope: public
o Name: ResetPassword
o Parameter: a LocalPassword object named model
In the new ResetPassword action for the HTTP POST verb, set the ViewBag.ReturnUrl
7.
property to the URL of the ResetPassword action.
8. Include an if statement to check whether the ModelState is valid.
If the ModelState is valid, create a new Boolean variable named
9.
changePasswordSucceeded, and then add a try… catch block that catches all exceptions.
In the try block, change the user’s password by using the following information:
o Method: Membership.Provider.ChangePassword
10. o User name: User.Identity.Name
o Old password: model.OldPassword
o New password: model.NewPassword
o Store the result in changePasswordSucceeded
11. In the catch block, set the changePasswordSucceeded variable to false.
After the try…catch code block, if changePasswordSucceeded is true, redirect to the
12. ResetPassword action and pass the ManageMessageId.ChangePasswordSucccess value
to the message parameter.
If changePasswordSucceeded is false, add a model error to the ModelState object by
13.
o Key: An empty string
o Message: The current password is incorrect or the new password is invalid
14.
errors can be corrected.
Task 3: Import the reset password view.
Add the ResetPassword.cshtml file to the Views/Account folder from the following
location:
1.
o Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views
Task 4: Add a link to the reset password view.
Add a new link to the _MainLayout.cshmtl template view by using the following
information:
1. o Position: After the link to the LogOff action

o Text: Reset
o Action: ResetPassword
o Controller: Account
Task 5: Test password reset.

Start the web application in debugging mode, and then log on with the following credentials:
2. Change the password from Pa$$w0rd to Pa$$w0rd2.
3. Stop debugging and close the open windows.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will build a Photo Sharing application in which
registered users can reset their own password.
Question: In Exercise 3, when you tried to add a photo before logging on to the application,
why did ASP.NET display the Login view?
Question: How can you ensure that only Adventure Works employees are granted access to the
Delete action of the Photo controller?

In this module, you discussed the various membership and role providers in ASP.NET 4.5. You
compared the benefits of using SimpleProviders and UniversalProviders with the benefits of
using other providers, for database-centric applications. However, for applications that need to
use Windows for authentication and authorization, you can use the existing role and
membership providers. You also viewed how to implement custom providers, to add
functionalities such as password encryption to your web application.
Review Question(s)
Question: What is the key difference between implementing authentication and authorization in
ASP.NET 4.5 from implementing the same in the previous versions of ASP.NET?
When you create web applications, you may need to create custom providers because you do
not want to use the schema provided by Microsoft. However, you can use SimpleProviders to
remove the need to develop custom providers and reduce the effort required for building
applications.
MODULE 12: BUILDING A RESILIENT ASP.NET

MVC 4 WEB APPLICATION
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Developing Secure Sites
Module Overview
Security is always the top priority for web applications, because publicly accessible web
applications are usually the targets of different types of web attacks. Hackers use web attacks to
access sensitive information. To help prevent these attacks, you need to know how to use
AntiXSS and request validation for your web application. Using various security mechanisms,
you can build a secure web application. Another problem that developers usually face is the
need to retain information amongst multiple postbacks. You need to know how to use state
management techniques to retain information for multiple HTTP requests. Using state
management, you can help reduce the need for users to re-enter information every time they
need to place a request.
Objectives
o Develop secure sites.

o Implement state management.
Lesson 1 : Developing Secure Sites

Web applications are often subject to security attacks. These attacks prevent the applications
from functioning properly, and the attackers try to access sensitive information stored in the
underlying data store. ASP.NET provides built-in protection mechanisms that help prevent such
attacks. However, such mechanisms also tend to affect the operation of your applications. You
should know when to enable or disable the protection mechanisms to avoid any impact on the
functionalities of your application. You also need to know how to use Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL) to prevent unauthorized access to information during information transmission.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how to avoid malicious attacks that use cross-site scripting.
o Describe the common attack techniques used by malicious users.
o Describe how to disable attack protection in your MVC application.
o Decide whether to disable attack protection in various scenarios.
o Describe the role of Secure Sockets Layer in helping secure web applications.
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-site scripting involves the malicious insertion of scripts in a user session. Cross-site
scripting poses information to other websites, by using the authentication information of users,
without their knowledge. For example, consider the code inserted into a web application to
maliciously post messages on social networking websites, without the knowledge of the users.
When a script is inserted into a web application, the script has full access to the Document
Object Model (DOM) of the HTML. This access allows the attacker to create fake input boxes
in the
application, create fake users, and post fake information on the web application.
The cross-site scripting attack usually takes input from improperly escaped output. These
scripting attacks usually impact query strings. For example, consider the following URL:
http://localhost/Default1/?msg=Hello
The following code shows how to access the msg querystring parameter from a controller
action.
Accessing a Query String Parameter

public ActionResult Index(string msg)
{
ViewBag.Msg = msg;
return View();
}
The following code shows how to display the value of the querystring parameter in a view.
Displaying the Query String Parameter

<div class="messages">@ViewBag.Msg<div>
After running the preceding code samples, the application should display the resultant word,
Hello. Now, consider a scenario where the query string parameter msg is changed to a less
benign value resulting in the following URL:
http://localhost/Default1/?msg=<script>alert('pwnd')</script>
As a result, the script block included in the query string is displayed to users. In such cases,
attackers can inject malicious code into your app by using the value of a query string parameter.
ASP.NET includes request validation, to help protect the input values that are subject to cross-
site scripting attacks. However, attackers can bypass this mechanism by using encoding to
subvert common cross-site scripting filters. For example, here is the same query string, this time
encoded:
http://localhost/Default1/?msg=Jon\x3cscript\x3e%20alert(\x27pwnd\x27)%20\x3c/script\x3e
You can modify the view class to use the @Ajax.JavaScriptStringEncode function to help
prevent cross-site scripting attacks, instead of directly using the input from query strings. The
following line of code shows how to use the @Ajax.JavaScriptStringEncode function.
Using the JavaScriptStringEncode Function

<div class="messages">@Ajax.JavaScriptStringEncode(ViewBag.Msg)<div>
You can also import the AntiXSS library to check the query string content for possible attacks.
The AntiXSS library is part of the Web Protection Library, which was developed by Microsoft
to detect more complex web attacks than those that the request validation of ASP.NET can
detect.
Additional Reading: To view more information on the AntiXSS library, go to

After importing the AntiXSS library in your MVC application, you can use the library to
encode any output content in HTML.
The following code shows how to use the AntiXSS library.
Using the AntiXSS Library

@using Microsoft.Security.Application
<div class="messages">@Encoder.JavaScriptEncode(ViewBag.Msg)<div>
The code in the preceding sample illustrates how to encode input values by using the
JavaScriptEncode method of the AntiXSS library, when displaying output in HTML. This
practice ensures that the input values are safe for display.
Question: What causes cross-site scripting attacks?
Other Attack Techniques
In addition to cross-site scripting attacks, hackers can use other types of attacks, including
cross-site request forgery and SQL injection attacks to subvert web applications.
Cross-Site Request Forgery
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) is an attack that occurs when you open a URL in a web
browser, by using your user context, without knowing that you are allowing attackers to make
changes to your system. For example, consider that your application uses query strings to pass
information
to other applications. You receive an email message with a link such as the following:
<a href="http://localhost/Default1/?id=100">Click Me</a>
When you click the link, the action associated with the view runs on your web browser.
Because, you are an authenticated user in the application, the attacker can now access your
system.
You can prevent CSRF by using the following rules:
Ensure that a GET request does not replay by clicking a link. The HTTP specifications for
1. GET requests imply that GET requests should be used only for retrieval and not for state
modifications.
Ensure that a request does not replay if an attacker uses JavaScript to simulate a form POST
2.
request.
Prevent any data modifications that use the GET request. These modifications should require
some user interaction. This practice of introducing user interaction does not help prevent
3.
form-based attacks. However, user interaction limits several types of easier attacks, such as
malicious links embedded in XSS-compromised sites.
The @Html.AntiForgeryToken() function helps protect your system from CSRF by using
unique tokens that are passed to the application along with requests. The
@Html.AntiForgeryToken() function uses not only a hidden form field but also a cookie
value, making it more difficult to forge a request.
The following code shows how to use the @Html.AntiForgeryToken() function in a view.
Using an Anti-Forgery Token

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
@Html.AntiForgeryToken();
@Html.EditorForModel();
<input type="submit" value="Submit" />
}
The following code shows how to force Anti-Forgery token checking in a controller by using
the ValidateAntiForgeryToken attribute.
Forcing Anti-Forgery Token Checking

[HttpPost]
[ValidateAntiForgeryToken()]
public ActionResult Index(User user)
{
Return View();
}
Note the ValidateAntiForgeryToken() attribute in the preceding code sample. This attribute
enables the controller to check if the user input from the HTML form includes the token
generated by the @Html.AntiForgeryToken(), before accepting a request.
SQL Injection Attack
SQL injection attacks are similar to cross-site scripting attacks. However, the difference is that
the user input is used to create dynamic SQL, instead of HTML. Observe the following line of
code.
cmd.CommandText = "select userID from Users where userID = '" +
Request.QueryString["user"] + "'";
Consider a scenario where an attacker modifies the query string as displayed in the following
line of code.
user=1' AND 1=1 GO SELECT * from Users WHERE NOT 0='
The following line of code denotes the resultant SQL.

select userID from Users where userID = '1' AND 1=1 GO SELECT * from Users WHERE
NOT
0=''
In this case, SQL returns everything from the Users table.
To prevent SQL injection attacks, you should:
1. Validate user input.

2. Avoid using string concatenations to create dynamic SQL.
3. Use parameterized commands with dynamic SQL.
4. Store all sensitive and confidential information in encrypted formats.
5. Ensure that the application does not use or access the database with administrator privileges.
Question: What is the best way to prevent SQL injection attacks if you cannot avoid dynamic
SQL?
Disabling Attack Protection

Request validation is an ASP.NET feature that examines an HTTP request and determines if it
contains potentially dangerous content.
Potentially dangerous content can include any HTML markup or JavaScript code in the body,
header, query string, or cookies of the request.
However, request validation can also cause the application to function improperly by preventing
some input from entering the application page for processing. Consider a situation in which
your application uses an HTML editor to generate HTML code for user input, before saving the
input
on the database. In this case, you may want to disable the request validation to allow the HTML
editor to function properly.
You can choose to disable request validation at different levels, such as, in the Web.config file,
on a webpage, or in a specific HTML element.
The following code shows how to disable request validation for your application in the
Web.config file.
Disabling Request Validation

<system.web>
<httpRuntime requestValidationMode="2.0" />
</system.web>
The following code shows how to add the ValidateInput(false) attribute to the controller, to
disable request validation for an action in a controller.
Using the ValidateInput Attribute

[HttpPost]
[ValidateInput(false)]
public ActionResult Edit(string comment)
{
return View(comment);
}
The following code shows how to add the AllowHtml attribute to the Prop1 property of the
model, to disable request validation for this property
Using the AllowHtml Attribute

[AllowHtml]
public string Prop1 { get; set; }
You should consider using attack protection techniques that:
o Have a minimum impact on the application.

o Involve minimum fields to accept HTML elements in the request validations.
Question: Describe a scenario when you would want to disable request validation?
Secure Sockets Layer

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an application layer protocol that helps:
o Encrypt content by using the public key infrastructure (PKI) keys.

o Protect the content that is transmitted between the server and client.
o Prevent unauthorized access of content during transmission.
o Reassure users that a site is genuine and certified.
You can use SSL on views that accept user input if the input includes sensitive information,
such as credit card information and passwords. Using SSL on such crucial views ensures the
confidentiality of the content and the authenticity of the sender. However, you may not be able
to analyze your code and easily detect if a user accesses the web application by using SSL.
ASP.NET MVC 4 includes the RequireHttps attribute that enables you to use SSL on the
views that involve sensitive information. The RequireHttps attribute redirects users to the SSL
link, if they request a view by using normal HTTP.
The following code shows how to add the RequireHttps attribute in your controller class and
action methods to require a user to use the SSL protocol.
Using the RequireHttps Attribute

[RequireHttps]
public class Controller1
{
[RequireHttps]
public ActionResult Edit()
{
}
}
You can use the RequireHttps attribute at the controller level or action level. This flexibility
allows you to choose SSL when required in your web application.
Note that web servers require you to configure the PKI certificate so that the server accepts SSL
connections. SSL certificates need to be purchased from a certificate authority (CA). During
application development, you can use the self-sign certificate to simplify the configuration
process.
Question: What action is required to be performed on the web server, before implementing
SSL?

While developing applications, you may want to create functions that require information to be
retained across requests. For example, consider an application in which you need to first select a
customer and then work on the order relevant to the customer. HTTP is a stateless protocol.
Therefore, ASP.NET includes different state management techniques to help store information
for multiple HTTP requests. You need to know how to configure and scale state storage
mechanisms to support web server farms.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the benefits of storing state information.

o List the options for storing state information.
o Configure state storage.
o Describe the scalability of state storage mechanisms.
o Store and retrieve state information in an MVC 4 web application.
Why Store State Information?

HTTP is a stateless protocol that does not relate submitted requests to each other. HTTP treats
each request as a new request. However, this independence among the requests affects business
applications that have information dependencies amongst functions. For example, consider that
you can access the Update Address function only after you provide the user logon information.
The page that handles the User Logon function is different from the page that handles the
Update Address function. Therefore, these functions require two separate HTTP
requests. With the default HTTP implementation, the server may lose the result of the logon
request, when a user accesses the Update Address page. ASP.NET implements the session
management technology to retain dependent information for multiple HTTP requests.
Session management enables web applications to store values for multiple HTTP requests,
regardless of whether the request is directed to the same page or multiple pages. The session
management process involves two techniques—server-side techniques and client-side
techniques, to retain user information pertinent to multiple HTTP requests.
Client-Side Session Management
Client-side session management technologies include:
o Hidden fields
o Cookies
o Query strings
Client-side session management technologies help retain dependent information when a user
triggers the HTTP POST action by clicking a button on a webpage. Then, when a page is
rendered, the server generates the dependent information.
Note: If you are familiar with ASP.NET Web Forms, you may have used View State and
Control State as client-side state storage. These techniques are not available in MVC because
they rely on Web Forms server controls.
Server-Side Session Management
Server-side options provide higher security for storing page information than the client-side
options because information retained by using client-side options is not visible to the client
system. However, server-side options require more web server resources such as memory for
storing data. This additional usage of resources can lead to scalability issues if the size of the
information to be stored is large.
ASP.NET provides the following server-side session management options:
o Application state
o Session state
o TempData
o Profile properties
o Database support
Additional Reading: For more information about ASP.NET state management

recommendations, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288986&clcid=0x415
Question: Why do you need to implement session management?
State Storage Options

You can store values for requests, and the subsequent requests related to the previous requests,
by using the TempData object. By default, the TempData object uses the Session variable to
store information relevant to requests.
You can use the TempData object to access session information, instead of using the Session
variable. The TempData object includes logic to handle redirection of information to different
views.
You can use the sessionState element in the Web.config file, to define the repository that
should retain the session state information. You can also use the sessionState element to turn
off session-state support. The following list describes some of the commonly used session state
storage options:
o The InProc mode. Stores the session in the ASP.NET process.

The StateServer mode. Stores session information in dedicated services running on the web
o server or on a dedicated server. It does not store information on Internet Information Services
(IIS).
o The SQLServer mode. Stores the session information in a SQL Server database.
o The Off mode. Deactivates the session state support in your application.
Question: Consider that you have a web server that contains multiple web servers. You want to
allow users to access the same state information for all the web servers they access. In this case,
which state storage mode should you used?
Configuring State Storage
You can configure state storage to use the StateServer and SQLServer modes.
The StateServer Mode
You need to run the ASP.NET state service on the server used for storing session information,
before using the StateServer mode. The ASP.NET state service is installed as a service when
ASP.NET and the .NET Framework are installed as part of Microsoft .NET Framework. The
ASP.NET service is installed at the following location:
systemroot \Microsoft.NET\Framework\ versionNum
ber \aspnet_state.exe
To configure an ASP.NET application for using the StateServer mode, you should perform the
following steps:
In the Web.config file of the application, set the mode attribute of the sessionState element
o
to StateServer.
In the Web.config file of the application, set the stateConnectionString attribute to
o
tcpip=<serverName>:42424.
To configure StateServer support in your application, you should perform the following steps:
1. Run the services.msc file.
Set the ASP.NET state service Startup Type attribute to automatic, and right-click the
2.
service.
3. Open the Web.config file, identify the sessionState element, and then update the code.
Consider that a session state is stored on the SampleStateServer remote computer. The
following code shows how to configure the StateServer mode.
Configuring the State Server Mode

<configuration>
<system.web>
<sessionState mode="StateServer"
stateConnectionString="tcpip=SampleStateServer:42424"
cookieless="false"
timeout="20"/>
</system.web>
</configuration>
Note: The objects stored in session state must be serializable, if the mode is set to StateServer
or SQLServer.
The SQLServer Mode
Before using the SQLServer mode, you need to install the ASP.NET session state database on
the SQL Server.. You can install the ASP.NET session state database by using the
aspnet_regsql.exe tool. To configure an ASP.NET application for using the SQLServer mode,
you should perform the following steps:
In the Web.config file of the application, set the mode attribute of the sessionState element
o
to SQLServer.
In the Web.config file of the application, set the sqlConnectionString attribute to a
o
connection string for your SQL Server database.
To create the session state database on SQL Server, you should perform the following steps:
1. Open the command prompt with administrative privileges.

From the <systemroot\Microsoft.NET\Framework\versionNumber> folder on your web
2.
server, run the Aspnet_regsql.exe tool.
3. Open the Web.config file, identify the sessionState element, and then update the code.
Consider that a session state is stored on the SampleSqlServer SQL Server. The following
code shows how to configure the SQLServer mode.
Configuring SQL Server Session State Storage

<configuration>
<system.web>
<sessionState mode="SQLServer"
sqlConnectionString="Integrated Security=SSPI;data
source=SampleSqlServer;" />
</system.web>
</configuration>
You can customize the behavior of the aspnet_regsql.exe tool by using switches such as -E, -S,
and -d. You can use these switches to change the name of the default ASPState database.
Additional Reading: For more information about the aspnet_regsql.exe tool, go to:
Question: Which tool should you install before using the SQLServer mode?
Scaling State Storage Mechanisms
The StateServer and SQLServer modes help access the state storage on a web server. These
modes allow multiple servers to access state storage information. This process distributes the
web workload among multiple web servers.
You can implement partitioning of session state to allow multiple state servers or multiple SQL
Server databases to handle session state information. You can apply the logic for partitioning,
by implementing the IPartitionResolver interface in your application. You need to configure
the Web.config file to control the session
management engine. Configuring the session management engine helps you use the logic to
identify the appropriate web server on which you can store information.
The following code shows how to configure the Web.config file, to enable the
IPartitionResolver interface.
Using the IPartitionResolver Interface

<configuration>
<system.web>
<sessionState
mode="SQLServer"
partitionResolverType=
"PartitionResolverClass" />
</system.web>
</configuration>
You can use the IPartitionResolver interface only when the session state uses the SQLServer
or StateServer modes. In the preceding code sample, note that no connection string is specified
by using the sqlConnectionString or stateConnectionString attributes.
Additional Reading: For more details about implementing state partitioning, go to:
Question: When should you implement the IPartitionResolver interface?
Demonstration: How to Store and Retrieve State Information

o Store and retrieve user preferences from session state in controller actions.
Demonstration Steps
1.
under OperasWebSite, expand Controllers, and then click HomeController.cs.
In the HomeController.cs code window, locate the following code.
2. public ActionResult About()

{
return View();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the located code, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
3.
public ContentResult GetBackground()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the GetBackground action code block, and then type the
following code.
string style;
4. if (Session["BackgroundColor"] != null)
{
}
else
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the if statement code block you just added, and then type the
5. following code.
style = String.Format("background-color: {0};", Session["BackgroundColor"])
Place the mouse cursor within the else statement code block you just added, and then type
6. the following code.
style = "background-color: #dc9797;";
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the GetBackground action code block and outside the
7. if…else statements, press Enter, and then type the following code.
return Content(style);
Place the mouse cursor outside any action code block but inside the HomeController class,
and then type the following code.
8.
public ActionResult SetBackground(string color)
{
}
Place the cursor within the SetBackground action code block, and then type the following
code.
9.
Session["BackgroundColor"] = color;
return View("Index");
10. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, expand Home, and then click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the P element, press
Enter twice, and then type the following code.
11.
<p>
Choose a background color:
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the text in the P element, press Enter, and then type
@Html.ActionLink("Pink", "SetBackground", new { color = "#dc9797"})
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the link you just created, press Enter, and then type the
13. following code.
@Html.ActionLink("Blue", "SetBackground", new { color = "#82bbf2"})
14. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Shared, and then click _SiteTemplate.cshtml.
15.
<body>
Replace the located code with the following code.
16.
<body style="@Html.Action("GetBackground", "Home")">
17.
Start Debugging.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Blue link, and then note that the blue
18.
background color has been applied to the home page.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the All Operas link.
19.
Note: If the background color of the page is blue, click the Refresh button.
On the Index of Operas page, click the Details link corresponding to the title, Cosi Fan
20.
Tutte.
On the Cosi Fan Tutte page, note that the blue background color has been applied to the
page.
21.
Note: The blue background preference is applied to all pages of the application.
22. On the Opera: Cosi Fan Tutte page, click Home.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Pink link, and then note that the pink
background color has been applied to the home page.
23.
Note: If the background color of the page is blue, click the Refresh button.
On the Index of Operas page, click the Details link corresponding to the title, Cosi Fan
25.
Tutte.
On the Cosi Fan Tutte page, note that the pink background color has been applied to the
page.
26.
Note: The pink background preference is applied to all pages of the application.
29. If the message Do you want to stop debugging? is displayed, click Yes.
Lab: Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web

Application
Scenario
The senior developer has asked you to implement the following functionality in your Photo
Sharing web application.
Any visitor of the application, including anonymous users, should be able to mark a
o
photograph as a favorite.
o If a user has marked a favorite, a link should be available to display the favorite photo.
o Favorite photos should be displayed in the slideshow view.
Objectives
o Store a setting for an anonymous or authenticated user in session state.

o Check a user preference when rendering an action link.
o Render a webpage by checking state values in the application.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Before starting the lab, you need to perform the following step:
Download Manage Nuget packages from the Project menu and note the version number for
o
the jquery.ui package.
Enable the Allow NuGet to download missing packages during build option, by
performing the following steps:
o i. On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
iii.
Exercise 1: Creating Favorites Controller Actions
Scenario
You have been asked to build functionality that stores the favorite photos of the visitors in the
session state of the web application. After users add photos to their favorites, they will be able
to view a slideshow of all the photos they selected as favorites.
o Create the Favorites Slideshow action.

o Create the Add Favorite action.
1. Create the Favorites Slideshow action.

2. Create the Add Favorite action.
Task 1: Create the Favorites Slideshow action.

o User name: Admin
2. File location: Allfiles (D:)\Labfiles\Mod12\Starter

o
In the PhotoController.cs code file, add a new action by using the following information:
3. o Scope: public
o Name: FavoritesSlideShow
In the FavoritesSlideShow action, create and instantiate a new enumerable list of Photo
4.
objects named favPhotos.
Create a new enumerable list of integers named favoriteIds. Set this list to be equal to the
5.
Session["Favorites"] variable by casting this variable as a list of integers.
6. If favoriteIds is null, set favoriteIds to be a new enumerable list of integers.
7. Create a new Photo object named currentPhoto. Do not instantiate the new object.
8. Create a new foreach code block that loops through all the integers in the favoriteIds list.
For each integer in the favoriteIds list, obtain the Photo object with the right ID value by
9.
using the context.FindPhotoById() method. Store the object in the currentPhoto variable.
If the currentPhoto variable is not equal to null, then add currentPhoto to the favPhotos
10.
list.
At the end of the FavoritesSlideShow action, return the SlideShow view and pass the
11.
favPhotos list as a model class.
Task 2: Create the Add Favorite action.
Add a new action to the PhotoController.cs file by using the following information:
o Scope: public
1. o Return type: ContentResult
o Name: AddFavorite
o Parameter: an integer named PhotoId
Create a new enumerable list of integers named favoriteIds. Set this list to be equal to the
2.
Session["Favorites"] variable, by casting the variable as a list of integers.
3. If favoriteIds is null, set favoriteIds to be a new enumerable list of integers.
4. Add the PhotoId value to the favoriteIds list of integers.
5. Set the Session["Favorites"] variable to equal the favoriteIds variable.
Return HTML content by using the following information:
o Method: Content()
6. o Content: The picture has been added to your favorites
o Content type: text/plain
o Encoding: System.Text.Encoding.Default
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create controller actions that store
values in the session state of the web application, and retrieve values from the same session
state.
Exercise 2: Implementing Favorites in Views
Scenario
You have created the necessary controller actions to implement favorite photos. Now, you
should implement the user interface components to display a control for adding a favorite. If a
user has favorites, you should display a link to the FavoritesSlideShow action.
o Add an AJAX action link in the Photo Display view.

o Add a link and update the site map.
1. Add an AJAX action link in the Photo Display view.

2. Add a link and update the site map.
3. Test favorites.
Task 1: Add an AJAX action link in the Photo Display view.
1. Open the Display.cshtml view for the Photo controller.

At the end of the <div class="photo-metadata"> element, insert a new <div> element with
2.
the ID, addtofavorites.
In the DIV element, include the Ajax.ActionLink() helper to render a link to the
AddFavorite action by using the following information:
o Text: Add this photo to your favorites

o Action: AddFavorite
3. o Controller: Photo
o Route values: Pass the Model.PhotoID value to the PhotoId action parameter.
o Pass a new AjaxOptions object.
o Update target ID: addtofavorites
o HTTP method: GET
o Insertion mode: Replace
Task 2: Add a link and update the site map.
1. Open the _MainLayout.cshtml view for editing.

After the breadcrumb trail, add a Razor @if statement to ensure that the
2.
Session["Favorites"] variable is not null.
If the Session["Favorites"] variable is not null, render a <div> element with the ID,
3.
favorites-link.
In the DIV element, render a link to the FavoritesSlideShow action by using the following
information:
o Link text: Favorite Photos
o Action: FavoritesSlideShow
o Controller: Photo
6. Open the Mvc.sitemap file.
Add a new site map node to the Mvc.sitemap file by using the following information:
o Title: Favorites
7. o Visibility: SiteMapPathHelper,!*
o Controller: Photo
o Action: FavoritesSlideShow
Task 3: Test favorites.
1. Start the web application in debugging mode.

2. Add three photos of your choice to your favorite photos.
3. Browse to the home page and click the Favorite Photos link.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to :
Create the user interface components for the favorite photos functionality.
Test the functionality of the user interface components.
Question: In this lab, you stored the list of favorite photos in the session state. While testing,
your manager notices that authenticated users lose their favorite photos list whenever they close
their browser. Where would you store a list of favorites for each authenticated user so that the
list is preserved whenever a user logs on to the web application?
Question: How would you create a view of favorite photos with the card-style presentation
users see on the All Photos page?

Web applications are usually subject to different kinds of attacks. These attacks enable attackers
to access sensitive information stored in the database and to perform malicious actions. You can
use AntiXSS and request validation, to protect the applications from web attacks. You can also
use state management techniques to store information for multiple HTTP requests to help avoid
users from typing the same information more than once.
Review Question(s)
Question: Recently, an error occurred in one of applications that you had developed for your
company. After performing few tests, you realize that the issue was due to an HTML code that
was passed from the user to the server. You want to prevent such issues in the future. What
would you consider to do?
While implementing web applications, you may want to use a rich format input editor, to enable
users to format the input within text boxes. Therefore, you may need to disable request
validation, to enable ASP.NET to capture and process user input.
Complex business functions usually involve multiple views. Such functions can pose problems
because information must be shared across multiple views. Session state management helps
resolve these problems, because it enables retaining information pertinent to multiple views.
MODULE 13: USING WINDOWS AZURE WEB

SERVICES IN ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB
APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Introducing Windows Azure
Lesson 2: Designing and Writing Windows Azure Services
Lesson 3: Consuming Windows Azure Services in a Web Application
Module Overview
Developers often place all application logic in the application code. While this practice works
for small-scale applications, it may not work for applications with a large number of users. An
alternate approach is to make the code modular, by modifying the applications to use web
services.
Windows Azure is a cloud-based platform that enables you to host web applications and
services. You can use Windows Azure to make your web application more scalable and
manageable. To effectively use Windows Azure, you need to know how to write a web service.
You also need to know how to call a web service from a web application or from other
applications, such as a mobile device application.
Objectives
o Describe Windows Azure.

o Design Windows Azure services.
o Call Windows Azure services from a web application.
Lesson 1 : Introducing Windows Azure

Windows Azure is a Microsoft platform that helps meet specific needs of hosting web
applications, such as creating scalable and highly available web applications. Windows Azure
enables you to host services, applications, and databases. Windows Azure also helps you create
cost-effective and secure web offerings that suit businesses of various types and sizes. You need
to know how to host applications, services, and databases on Windows Azure to increase the
scalability, flexibility, and availability of your web offerings.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe Windows Azure.

o Describe the hosting services available in Windows Azure.
o Explain how to host web applications in Windows Azure.
Describe the data storage options offered by Azure Storage and Windows Azure SQL
o
Database.
o Determine when to use Windows Azure.
What Is Windows Azure?

The Windows Azure application platform provides comprehensive services to host applications,
files, media, and databases. Windows Azure is a flexible platform that supports businesses of
various sizes, helps reduce the effort to develop scalable web applications, and decreases
development costs.
Microsoft hosts Windows Azure in multiple data centers, across the United States, Europe, and
Asia.
Windows Azure provides the following categories of services:
Execution Models. Provides three different
o execution models—virtual machines
(VMs), web applications, and cloud services, for running applications

Windows Azure Identity Management. Includes Windows Azure Active Directory and Access
o Control services to help manage identities, authentication, and authorization in a web
application.
Data Management. Includes services to host and manage relational database and Blob
o
content
Business Analytics Solutions. Includes services that helps perform business information
o analysis by using SQL Server Reporting Services and Apache Hadoop. Business analytics
solutions support all the data stores distributed across multiple Windows Azure data centers.
Networking Services. Includes services that provide networking capabilities to securely
o
connect multiple services in Microsoft data centers.
Messaging with Service Bus. Includes services that enable applications to communicate on
o
Windows Azure.
Media Management. Includes services that bring content geographically closer to users and
o help store large volumes of content outside the web application. Storing content outside the
application helps improve the performance of the application.
Question: What are the benefits of hosting applications on Windows Azure?
Benefits of Hosting Services in Windows Azure
Windows Azure enables you to configure application logic to run as services. Services denote a
portion of the application code, which performs specific business logic based on user inputs,
such as retrieving product pricing information. These services usually do not require:
o Administrator access to Windows.

o Complete access to the user interface of Windows.
Access to other functionalities that allow interacting with users, which VMs
o
facilitate.
Windows Azure cloud services do not use a dedicated VM. However, Windows Azure cloud
services use a role-based model that relies on the VM to host applications. The role-based
model includes a web role and a worker role. Each role is a VM that is preconfigured to support
automated deployment and monitoring of applications.
While deploying these cloud services, you need not create the VM. You only need to upload a
configuration file to direct Windows Azure how to configure the application. You need not
upload this configuration file on the VM; you can upload the file on to the staging environment.
Then, the Windows Azure management agent copies this configuration information to the
production servers.
Windows Azure cloud services do not retain state data in a role, because the VM has no
permanent storage. You can either use other services to retain state data or design the
application in a stateless manner.
Question: What are the benefits of using Windows Azure cloud services?
Benefits of Hosting Web Applications in Windows Azure
Hosting web applications on Windows Azure is similar to hosting services, because both cases
use virtual machines. However, unlike services, web applications provide full access to the IIS
instance assigned to your application. You can use a web application to host ASP.NET
websites, static content, open source applications, and other file-based web applications.
Hosting web applications in Windows Azure provides the following benefits:

It automates the process of deploying
o
applications to different hosting servers.
o It simplifies the process of scaling up and down as your application usage grows or contracts.
Question: What are the key benefits of using Windows Azure web applications?
Windows Azure Storage Services
Windows Azure includes the following storage services:
Azure Storage. This is also known as BLOB (Binary Large Object) service. You can use
Azure storage to store objects or file content relevant to your web applications. Each Blob
o
includes a unique URL that allows applications to directly access content in the Azure
Storage.
SQL Database. This is a relational database service on the Windows Azure
platform. You can use SQL Database as
o the database engine for storing application data in a web application hosted in Azure or on
any other Internet server. Other applications, such as desktop packages and mobile apps can
connect to the same database over the Internet. When you use SQL Database in Windows
Azure, you:
Increase the availability and scalability of the data store and any applications built on that
▪
data store.
▪ Reduce investments in hardware.
Question: What are the benefits of using Windows Azure SQL Database?
Discussion: Windows Azure Scenarios
Consider the following scenarios. In each case, discuss which Azure service will best suit the
scenario.
You are creating a photo sharing application, and you want to enable each user to discuss the
photos with their friends. You need to ensure that the photos in your application do not
1.
occupy large disk storage in your web farm. Therefore, you do not want to store the photos,
which the users upload, in your application database or server.
You are creating a Windows-based business
2. application. This application requires a centralized database that users can access by using
the Internet.
You are writing business logic for your company, and both public and internal applications
3.
want to use this business logic.
You are creating an application that uses a third-party component. The third-party
4.
component requires full access to the Windows console.
Lesson 2: Designing and Writing Windows
Azure Services
Windows Azure cloud services provide a scalable hosting platform for web applications. You
can use Windows Azure cloud services to host Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
services. Hosting such services helps transfer key business logic from a web application onto a
cloud platform. You need to know about the life cycle of the Windows Azure services to add
and modify code during the different stages of application development. You also need to know
how to use diagnostic tools in Windows Azure, to identify the problems that occur in your
application
Lesson Objectives
o Describe Windows Azure Visual Studio project templates.

o Write code to create a web service.
o Describe the life cycle of a web service.
o Deploy a web service.
o Debug a Windows Azure web service.
Windows Azure Visual Studio Project Templates

Microsoft Visual Studio provides project templates such as Windows Azure project, web role
project, and worker role project, which help create applications and host them on Windows
Azure.
Windows Azure Project
The Windows Azure project template facilitates role-based projects. This template includes
service definition and service configuration files.
Web Role Project
The web role project provides templates for the
following web roles:
o ASP.NET Web Forms

o ASP.NET MVC4
o ASP.NET MVC3
o ASP.NET MVC2
o WCF Service
o Silverlight Business Application
Worker Role Project

A worker role performs background processing by communicating with storage services and
other Internet-based services, without interacting with end users. Worker role projects are ideal
for long running services and other modular business logic.
Question: Which project template should you use to create Windows Communication
Foundation (WCF) services?
Coding a Web Service
Modular programming plays an important role in developing applications, because it enables

you to re-use application code. Re-using services enables cross-application sharing of business
logic.
To create code for a web service, you need to perform the following steps:
1. Open Microsoft Visual Studio and create a Windows Azure WCF Service web role project.
Rename the IService1 interface that the template creates by default. You can use the Visual
Studio Refactor menu to rename the
2.
interface and update references to it throughout the solution.
Modify the interface code to define the interface-level properties and methods. The
following code shows a simple service interface that defines a single method. Note the
3.
[ServiceContract] and [OperationContract] annotations.
[ServiceContract]
public interface IMyServiceInterface
{
[OperationContract]
string GetHelloWorld();
}
Rename the Service1 class that the template creates by default. Again, you can use the
4.
Refactor menu to help with this task.
Modify the service code to implement the methods required in the service interface. The
following code shows a simple service class that implements the previous simple interface.
public class MyService : IMyServiceInterface
5. {
public string GetHelloWorld()
{
return "Hello Azure
}
}
Press F5 to test the services locally by using the Windows Azure emulator. This practice
6. ensures that the services function appropriately, before deploying the services on Windows
Azure.
Question: Why should you test the service code before deploying the service on Windows
Azure?
The Life Cycle of a Service

The RoleEntryPoint class defines the method that Windows Azure hosts call, based on the
development stage of the application. The RoleEntryPoint class also helps define the functions
that add logic to services. WCF services may sometimes inherit the RoleEntryPoint class;
however, worker roles services mandatorily inherit the RoleEntryPoint class.
The RoleEntryPoint class helps define the following three life-cycle methods:
OnStart. Windows Azure triggers this

o
method when the application starts.
o OnStop. Windows Azure triggers this method when the application stops.
o Run. Windows Azure triggers this method to start long running processes.
The OnStart and OnStop methods return a Boolean value to the Windows Azure host, when a
function completes running. If the OnStart and OnStop methods returns false, Windows Azure
stops the application from running. You should ensure that the OnStart and OnStop methods
always return true, to ensure that your application continues running.
Windows Azure does not trigger the OnStop method if a process terminates because of
exceptions. Windows Azure treats all uncaught exceptions as unhandled exceptions that cause
processes to terminate.
While defining the RoleEntryPoint class, you must:
o Call the Application_Start method after the RoleEntryPoint.OnStart method finishes.

o Call the Application_End method before calling the RoleEntryPoint.OnStop method.
Question: When should you use the RoleEntryPoint class?
Deploying a Web Service

When you create an application project, the system creates two files—ServiceDefinition.csdef
and ServiceConfiguration.cscfg. These files control the Windows Azure instance that helps run
the application.
The following list describes the ServiceDefinition.csdef and ServiceConfiguration.cscfg files:
o ServiceDefinition.csdef. It helps define roles for your application.

ServiceConfiguration.cscfg. It is a hosted
o file that helps configure the instance assigned for your application. For example, you can use
ServiceConfiguration.cscfg to configure the number of instances for your application.
Two copies of ServiceConfiguration.cscfg are available, a cloud version and a local version,
which you can use to locally test the services before deploying on Windows Azure. You can
manually update the details in the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file by using the Windows Azure
property window.
Additional Reading: For more information about configuring a Windows Azure project, go to:
You can use the Package tool in Microsoft Visual Studio to generate the service package:
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click the web service project, and then click Package.
In the Service Configuration box of the Package Windows Azure Application dialog box,
2.
ensure that Cloud is selected, and then, in the Build Configuration box, click Release.
Click Package. Visual Studio creates the .cspkg file and the .cscfg file for the service and
3.
displays them in the File Explorer window
Then, you need to upload the services package to the staging environment of the Windows
Azure platform by using the management portal. Package files have the .cspkg extension. When
you upload the package, you also need to upload the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file. The
ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file directs Windows Azure on how to configure the hosting
environment.
After uploading and deploying the package on the Windows Azure platform, you can access the
service by using a URL, for example:
http:// <guid>.cloudapp.net/<service file name>
Question: When should you use the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file?
Debugging a Windows Azure Web Service
You can debug a Windows Azure application by using the following tools:
o Diagnostic log
o IntelliTrace
o Remote Desktop
Diagnostic Logs
To debug Windows Azure web services, you need to include the Diagnostic module in the
ServiceDefinition.csdef file. The Diagnostics module helps access the Application
Programming Interface (API), to perform diagnosis.
The following code shows how to include the Diagnostic module in the ServiceDefinition.csdef
file.
Configuring the Diagnostic Modulec

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ServiceDefinition name="MyHostedService"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ServiceHosting/2008/10/ServiceDefinition">
<WebRole name="WebRole1">
<Imports>
<Import moduleName="Diagnostics" />
</Imports>
</WebRole>
</ServiceDefinition>
Running the code in the preceding sample displays diagnostic data.
Additional Reading: For more information about the data types that you can configure your
application to collect, go to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288990&clcid=0x419
To enable your application to monitor additional information, you need to add the following
lines of code in the OnStart method of your application file.
Add Data Sources

var config = DiagnosticMonitor.GetDefaultInitialConfiguration();
config.WindowsEventLog.DataSources.Add("System!*");
DiagnosticMonitor.Start("Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.Diagnostics.ConnectionStr
ing",
config);
The lines of code in the preceding sample help:
Configure the Windows Azure service to capture the Windows Event log. The Windows
o
Azure engine generates this log when the service runs.
Save the Windows Event log to the log files that are stored in LocalStorage. You can access
o
the log files by using the Windows Azure storage explorer and download the files.
IntelliTrace
IntelliTrace is a feature in Windows Azure that enables you to:
o Access event log information.

Debug the application.
Note: The virtual machines in Windows Azure always run 64-bit operating systems. If you
o
have Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate installed on a machine that runs a 32-bit operating system,
you must install this Intellitrace hotfix. This Intellitrace hotfix helps install the 64-bit
IntelliTrace components.
Additional Reading: To install the Intellitrace hotfix, go to:

You can enable IntelliTrace, while you deploy or package services. You can also configure
services to enable IntelliTrace for specific events. This configuration helps capture detailed
information such as Windows log and system configurations.
The following image displays the IntelliTrace Settings dialog box.

FIGURE 13.1:THE INTELLITRACE SETTINGS DIALOG BOX
IntelliTrace also helps in problem diagnosis. You can simulate some problems that you may
encounter while running web services. Then, you can download the IntelliTrace logs from
Windows Azure by using the Server Explorer. These logs can help you to access and
understand the problems.
The following image displays the IntelliTrace tool in the Server Explorer.
FIGURE 13.2:INTELLITRACE LOGS
Remote Desktop
If you use Windows Azure Cloud Services, you can configure the application to provide remote
desktop access to an instance. This configuration provides full access to Windows event logs.
You can enable remote desktop access when you publish your cloud service. To do this, in the
Visual Studio Publish wizard, on the Settings page, select Enable Remote Desktop for all
roles. Then, you specify the credentials that a user should use to access the remote desktop
console. All instances of your application that run on Windows Azure will use these credentials.
After publishing the application on Windows Azure, you can access the remote desktop by
using the management portal.
Question: What is the difference between using diagnostic logs and IntelliTrace?
Lesson 3: Consuming Windows Azure Services

in a Web Application
After completing the setup and deployment of the Windows Azure Services, you need to add
logic to your application to use the services from ASP.NET MVC application and HTML code.
You can call a Windows Azure web service using server-side code or by using client-side code.
Lesson Objectives
o Call a Windows Azure web service by using server-side code.

o Explain how to call a Windows Azure web service by using jQuery and JSON.
o Call a Windows Azure web service by using jQuery.
Calling a Windows Azure Service by Using Server-Side Code
You can call web services hosted on Windows Azure in the same manner with which you call
standard web services or WCF services. To call a web service, you need to:
1. Add the service reference in your application.

2. Use the generated proxy class.
To add a service reference in an application, you need to use the URL of the service. You can
deploy a service in the production environment, by using the following URL format:
http://<urlname>.cloudapp.net/<servicename>.sv
You can deploy a service in the staging environment, by using the following URL format:
http://<guid>.cloudapp.net/<servicename>.svc
To use the WCF service hosted on Windows Azure, from your MVC application, you need
perform the following steps:
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click your project name, and then click Add Service
1.
Reference.
2. Enter the URL of the WCF service, and then click Go.
3. Define the local namespace of the service, and then click Add Service Reference.
Add the following code to an MVC controller class to use the generated proxy class and call
4.
the web service created earlier in this module.
{
Service1Client client = new Service1Client();
GetHelloWorldRequest request = new GetHelloWorldRequest();
GetHelloWorldResponse response = client.GetHello(request);
ViewBag.Response = response.GetHelloWorldResult;
return View();
}
Question: What is the key difference between deploying a service in the production
environment and deploying a service in the staging environment?
Calling a Windows Azure Service by Using jQuery

You can enable the jQuery ajax function to call WCF services, by configuring the services to
accept POST requests in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data format. JSON is a data
format that facilitates requests and responses between client and server systems.
The following code shows how to configure services to accept POST requests in the JSON data
format.
Accepting POST Requests

[ServiceContract]
public interface IService
{
[OperationContract]
[WebInvoke(Method = "POST",
BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Wrapped,
ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json)]
string GetHelloWorld();
}
You can use the ajax function in jQuery to submit requests to WCF services. While adding the
ajax function, you need to specify parameters such as type, url, contentType, and dataType.
The following code shows how to use the ajax function in jQuery, to call an Azure-hosted
WCF service.
Sending Requests to a WCF Service

// Function to call WCF Service
function CallService() {
$.ajax({
type: 'POST',
url: 'http://<guid>.cloudapp.net/service1.svc/GetHelloWorld',
data: '{}',
contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
dataType: “json”,
processdata: true,
success: function(msg) {
ServiceSucceeded(msg);
},
error: ServiceFailed// When Service call fails
});
}
function ServiceFailed(result) {
}
function ServiceSucceeded(result) {
result=result.GetHelloWorldResult;
}
After successfully calling the WCF service, the code in the preceding sample triggers the
ServiceSucceeded callback function.
Demonstration: How to Call a Windows Azure Service by
Using jQuery
In this demonstration, you will see how to call a web service by using jQuery.
Demonstration Steps
1. expand OperasWebSite, expand Views, expand Home, and then double-click
Index.cshtml.
2.
@Html.ActionLink("operas I've seen.", "Index", "Opera")
</p>
Place the mouse cursor after the located code, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
3.
<form>
</form>
Place the mouse cursor in the FORM element code block you just created, and then type
the following code.
4.
<input type="button" value="Get Latest Quote" name="GetLatestQuote"
onclick="callWebService();" />
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the INPUT element, press Enter, and then type the
5. following code.
<p id="quote-display"></p>
6.
</form>
following code.
7.
</script>
Place the mouse cursor in the SCRIPT element code block you just created, and then type
the following code.
8.
function callWebService() {
}
Place the mouse cursor in the callWebService function code block, and then type the
9. following code.
var serviceUrl = '@Url.Content("~/WebServices/QuotesService.asmx")';
In the callWebService function code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
variable you just created, press Enter, and then type the following code.
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: serviceUrl + "/LatestQuote",
data: {},
10. contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
dataType: "json",
success: OnSuccess,
error: OnError
});
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the callWebService function code block, but within
the SCRIPT element, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
11.
function OnSuccess(response) {
}
Place the mouse cursor in the OnSuccess function code block, and then type the following
code.
12. $('#quote-display').html(response.d);
Note: response.d is the property you use to access JSON data from the server.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the OnSuccess function code block, but within the
SCRIPT element, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
13.
function OnError(response) {
}
Place the mouse cursor within the OnError function, and then type the following code.
14.
$('#quote-display').html("Could not obtain the latest quote");
15.
Start Debugging.
On the Operas I Have Seen page, click Get Latest Quote.
16. Note: jQuery calls the web service and displays a quote on the home page. Note that you
need not reload the page to display the quote.
Lab: Using Windows Azure Web Services in

ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Scenario
In the Photo Sharing application, the users have the option to add location information of a
photo when they upload it. The senior developer recommends that you should store the location
as a longitude and latitude, and an address so that other applications can use the data in mash-
ups. You have been asked to create a service, hosted in Windows Azure, which will perform
this conversion. You have to call this service from the Photo Upload page in the Photo Sharing
application.
Objectives
o Install the Windows Azure software development kit (SDK).

o Create a Bing Maps developer account and trial key.
o Write a web service in Visual Studio that is hosted in Windows Azure.
o Call a Windows Azure web service from server-side code in a web application.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Before initiating this lab, you need to perform the following steps:
Apply the Snapshot of the virtual machine, 20486B-SEA-DEV11, that was taken after
▪
completing the lab in module 11.
Navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod
▪ 11\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then copy the
o web.config file.
▪ 13\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then paste the
web.config file.
▪
i. On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
iii.
After completing this lab, you need to take the Snapshot of the virtual machine. You need to
o
apply this Snapshot before initiating the labs in module 14, 15 and 16.
Exercise 1: Accessing Windows Azure and Bing Maps
Scenario
To develop a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service that is hosted in Windows

Azure, you must install the Windows Azure SDK. To resolve address details to latitude and
longitude data, you will use the Bing Maps Location API. You will call this API from the WCF
service hosted in Windows Azure so that you can re-use your web service from other Adventure
Works websites and applications.
o Install the Windows Azure SDK.

o Create a Bing Maps developer account.
o Create a Bing Maps Key.
1. Install the Windows Azure SDK.

2. Create a Bing Maps developer account.
3. Create a Bing Maps key.
Task 1: Install the Windows Azure SDK.

o User name: Admin
Navigate to the following webpage:
2.
o http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx
3. Download and run the Web Platform Installer.
Use the Web Platform Installer to download and install the Windows Azure SDK for .NET
4.
(VS 2012).
Task 2: Create a Bing Maps developer account.
Navigate to the following webpage:

1.
o https://www.bingmapsportal.com
Log on to the Bing Maps Account Center web application by using following the Windows
Live account credentials:
2.
o User name: <Your Windows Live account name>
o Password: <Your Windows Live account password>
Register a new Bing Maps developer account by using the following information:
3. o Account Name: <Your account name>

o Contact Name: <Your name>
o Email Address: <Your Windows Live account name>
Task 3: Create a Bing Maps key.
Create a new Bing Maps key in the Photo Sharing application by using the following
information:
1. o Application name: Photo Sharing Application

o Key type: Trial
o Application type: Public website
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to register an application to access the
Bing Maps APIs.
Exercise 2: Creating a WCF Service for Windows Azure
Scenario
You want to create a WCF service to resolve a locality string to a latitude and longitude by
looking up the information in the Bing Maps Geocode SOAP service. After creating the WCF
service, you need to host the service in Windows Azure by using the Windows Azure Cloud
Service project template from the Windows Azure SDK.
o Add a new Windows Azure Cloud Service project to the web application.
o Create the Location Checker Service interface.
o Add a service reference to the Bing Maps Geocode service.
o Write the Location Checker service.
o Publish the Service in Windows Azure.
1. Add a new Windows Azure Cloud Service project to the web application.
2. Create the Location Checker Service interface.
3. Add a service reference to the Bing Maps Geocode service.
4. Write the Location Checker service.
5. Publish the Service in Windows Azure.
Task 1: Add a new Windows Azure Cloud Service project to the web application.

1.
Add a new project to the PhotoSharingApplication web application by using the following
information:
2. o Template: Windows Azure Cloud Service

o Name: LocationChecker
o .NET Framework 4.5 role: WCF Service Web Role
3. Rename the WCFServiceWebRole1 project as LocationCheckerWebRole.
4. Rename the IService1.cs file as ILocationCheckerService.cs.
5. Rename the Service1.svc file as LocationCheckerService.svc.
Rename the WCFServiceWebRole1 namespace as LocationCheckerWebRole throughout
6.
the LocationCheckerService.svc.cs file.
7. Rename the Service1 class as LocationCheckerService.
In the ServiceDefinition.csdef file, set the value of vmsize for the
8.
LocationCheckerWebRole to ExtraSmall.
Task 2: Create the Location Checker Service interface.
1. Remove all the method declarations from the ILocationCheckerService interface.

Add a new method declaration to the ILocationCheckerService interface by using the
2.
o Annotation: [OperationContract]
o Return type: string
o Name: GetLocation
o Parameter: a string named address
Task 3: Add a service reference to the Bing Maps Geocode service.
Add a service reference to the LocationCheckerWebRole project by using the following

information:
1. Address:
o
http://dev.virtualearth.net/webservices/v1/geocodeservice/geocodeservice.svc?wsdl.
o Namespace: GeocodeService
In the LocationCheckerService.svc code file, add a using statement for the following
namespace:
2.
o LocationCheckerWebRole.GeocodeService
Task 4: Write the Location Checker service.
Remove the following public methods from the LocationCheckerService class:

1. o GetData
o CompositeType
Add a new method to the LocationCheckerService class by using the following
information:
2. o Scope: public
o Return type: string
o Name: GetLocation
o Parameter: a string named address
In the GetLocation method, create a string variable, results, and initialize the value of the
3.
results variable to an empty string.
From the Bing Maps Account Center page, copy the key you created for the Photo Sharing
4.
Application.
In the GetLocation method, create a string variable, key, and paste the key from the Bing
5.
Maps Account Center page as a value of the key variable.
Open the Geocoding Code.txt from the following location:
6.
o Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Service Code
Copy all the text from the Geocoding Code.txt file and paste the text into the GetLocation
7.
method, immediately after the key variable initialization.
8. At the end of the GetLocation method, return the string variable results.
Task 5: Publish the Service in Windows Azure.
Package the LocationChecker project by using the following information:

1
. o Service configuration: Cloud
o Build configuration: Debug
2
In Windows Internet Explorer, log on to the Windows Azure Portal.
.
Create a new cloud service by using the following information:
o URL: <Your Windows Live Account Name>LocationService

3
. Region: <Choose a location near you>
o
Note: If your Windows Live Account Name includes dots or @ symbols, replace these
characters with dashes.
Upload a new staging deployment to the new cloud service by using the following
information:
o Name: LocationChecker
Package location: Allfiles
4
. o (D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\LocationChecker\bin\Debug\
app.p ublish
o Package: LocationChecker.cspkg
o Configuration: ServiceConfiguration.Cloud.cscfg
o Deploy even if one or more roles contain a single instance.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a WCF cloud service. You
will also be able to publish the WCF cloud service in Windows Azure.
Exercise 3: Calling a Web Service from Controller Action
Scenario
Now that you have created and deployed the Location Checker WCF service in Windows
Azure, you can call the service from the Photo Sharing ASP.NET MVC web application. You
can also call the service from other .NET code, such as desktop applications, if necessary.
In this exercise, you will use the Location Checker service to add latitude and longitude data to
new photos as they are added to the Photo Sharing application.
1. Add a service reference to the Photo Sharing application.

2. Call the WCF service from the photo create action.
3. Configure the Services Database connection string.
4. Test the Location Checker service.
Task 1: Add a service reference to the Photo Sharing application.
Add a new Service Reference to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the

1.
o Address: Copy the URL from the CLOUD SERVICE page in the Windows Azure Portal
o Namespace: GeocodeService
Add a using statement for the following namespace to the PhotoController.cs code file:
2.
o PhotoSharingApplication.GeocodeService
Task 2: Call the WCF service from the photo create action.
Add a new method to the PhotoController class by using the following information:
o Scope: private
1. o Return type: string
o Name: CheckLocation
o Parameter: a string named location
In the CheckLocation method, create a new variable by using the following information:
2. o Type: LocationCheckerServiceClient
o Name of the variable: client
o Value of the variable: Null
In the CheckLocation method, create a new string variable, response, and initialize the
3.
value of the response variable to Null.
4. Add a new try…catch statement that catches all errors in a variable named e.
5. In the try block, set the client variable to be a new LocationCheckerServiceClient.
Pass the location parameter to the client.GetLocation method and store the result in the
6.
response variable.
7. In the catch block, store the e.Message property in the response variable.
8. At the end of the CheckLocation method, return the response string.
At the start of the Create action method for the HTTP POST verb, add an if statement that
9.
checks that photo.Location is not an empty string.
In the if statement, pass the photo.Location property to the CheckLocation method and
10.
store the result in a new string variable named stringLongLat.
Add an if statement to check whether the stringLongLat variable starts with the string,
11.
Success.
In the if statement, create a new array of characters named splitChars and add the single
12.
character ":" to the array.
Pass the splitChars array to the Split method of stringLongLat, and store the result in a
13.
new array of strings named coordinates.
Set the photo.Latitude property to the second string in the coordinates array and set the
14.
photo.Longitude property to the third string in the coordinates array.
Task 3: Configure the Services Database connection string.
In the Windows Azure Portal, copy the ADO.NET connection string for the
1.
PhotoSharingAppServices database to the clipboard.
Paste the connection string into the connectionString value for the AzureAppServices
2.
connection string.
Task 4: Test the Location Checker service.
1. Set PhotoSharingApplication as the startup project for the solution.

Run the web application in debugging mode, and then log on to the web application by using
the following credentials:
2.
o Password: Pa$$w0rd2
Add a new photo to the application by using the following information:
3. o Title: Testing Locations

o Photo: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Sample Photos\Beach.jpg
o Location: Florence, OR
Browse to the Home page and display your new photo to check the Latitude and Longitude
4.
properties.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a service reference for a
Windows Azure WCF service to a .NET Framework application. You will also be able to call a
WCF service from an MVC controller action.
Question: What is the advantage of calling the Bing Maps Geocoding service from a WCF
service in Windows Azure, instead of calling the Geocoding service directly from the Create
action in the MVC web application?
Question: Why is latitude and longitude data useful for photos in the Photo Sharing
application?

You can upload applications and services on Windows Azure to enable better scalability and re-
usability of the application logic. Windows Azure includes different roles that support
application needs such as hosting and storage. You can also use cloud services to host WCF
services, and use the hosting services available in MVC and HTML applications.
Review Question(s)
Question: Your teammate enquired whether you would be using Windows Azure or self host
the server for the application. What should you recommend to your teammate based on the fact
that the application loading would be seasonal?
MODULE 14: IMPLEMENTING WEB APIS IN

Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Developing a Web API
Lesson 2: Calling a Web API from Mobile and Web Applications
Module Overview
Most web applications require integration with external systems such as mobile applications.
You need to know how to use Web APIs to promote application interaction with external
systems. You can use the Web API to implement Representational State Transfer (REST)
services in your application. REST services help reduce application overhead and limit the data
that is transmitted between client and server systems. You need to know how to call Web API
services by using server-side code, jQuery code, and JSON.NET library to effectively
implement REST-style Web APIs in your application.
Objectives
o Develop a Web API.

o Call a Web API from mobile and web applications.
Lesson 1 : Developing a Web API

You need to know how to develop Web API for applications, because Web API facilitates
creating APIs for mobile applications, desktop applications, web services, web applications, and
other applications. By creating a Web API, you make the information in your web application
available for other developers to use in their systems. Each web application has a different
functional methodology; this difference can cause interoperability issues in applications. REST
services have a lightweight design, and Web API helps implement REST services to solve the
interoperability issues. You need to know how to use the different routing methods that
ASP.NET provides to implement REST services.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe Web APIs.

o Create a Web API for an MVC 4 web application.
o Describe REST services.
o Describe data return formats.
o Explain how to use routes and controllers to implement REST in Web APIs.
o Explore a Web API by using Internet Explorer as a client.
What Is a Web API?

Web API is a framework that is part of ASP.NET MVC 4 that enables you to build
Representational State Transfer (REST)-enabled APIs. REST-enabled APIs help external
systems use the business logic implemented in your application to increase the reusability of the
application logic. Web API facilitates two-way communication between the client system and
the server through tasks such as:
o Instructing an application to perform a specific task

o Reading data values
o Updating data values
Web API enables developers to obtain business information by using REST, without creating
complicated XML requests such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Web APIs use
URLs in requests, thereby eliminating the need for complicated requests. For example, the
following URL obtains information for a customer entity with the ID 1:
http://api.contoso.com/api/customers/1
Web API uses such URLs in requests and obtains results in the JSON format. The following
code shows a Web API request response in the JSON format.
A Web API JSON Response

[{"Id":1,"Name":"Tomato
soup","Category":"Groceries","Price":1.0},{"Id":2,"Name":
"Yo-yo","Category":"Toys","Price":3.75},{"Id":3,"Name":"Hammer","Category":
"Hardware","Price":16.99}]
REST and Web API enable all kinds of different applications, including mobile device
applications, to interact with services. In particular, REST and Web API provide the following
benefits for mobile applications:
They reduce the processing power needed to create complex request messages for data
o
retrieval.
They enhance the performance of the application by reducing the amount of data exchange
o
between client and server.
Question: What is the key benefit of using REST with Web APIs?
Routing in Web API
When you create a new project by using the Web API template in ASP.NET MVC 4, it includes
a default routing rule. This routing rule helps map HTTP requests to the Web API controllers
and actions by using HTTP verbs and the request URL.
You can make use of a naming convention to map requests to actions, or you can control the
behavior of the mapping by using annotations on action methods.
The Default API Route
Like standard MVC web applications, MVC Web
API uses routes to map requests to the right API
controller and action. In the Visual Studio project templates, the default API route is defined in
the WebApiConfig.cs file in the App_Start folder.
The following code shows the default route.

routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "API Default",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
);
In the preceding code sample, observe that the default route includes the literal path segment
api. This segment ensures that Web API requests are clearly separate from MVC controller
routes, because Web API requests must start with api.
The first placeholder variable, {controller} helps identify the API controller to forward the
request to. As for MVC controllers, Web API appends the word, Controller, to this value to
locate the right API controller class. For example, Web API routes a request to the URI,
api/products, to the controller called, ProductsController. As for MVC controllers, the
optional placeholder variable, {id}, is sent to the action as a parameter.
You can also define your own API routes in the same manner as you do for MVC routes.
Observe, however, that Web API routes can handle requests from many types of client systems,
including mobile device applications, desktop applications, web applications, and web services.
MVC routes only handle web browser requests.
Using the Action Naming Convention
The default Web API route does not include a placeholder variable for the action name. This is
because Web API uses the HTTP verb and a naming convention to route requests to the right
action within a given controller.
Clients can make HTTP requests with one of four standard verbs: GET, POST, PUT, and
DELETE. Other verbs are possible. Web API looks for an action whose name begins with the
requested HTTP verb. For example, if the client sends a DELETE request to the URI
api/products/23, Web API looks for a controller called ProductsController. Within this
controller, it locates an action whose name begins with Delete. According to the default route,
the segment 23 is the {id} parameter. If there is more than one action whose name begins with
Delete, Web API chooses the action that accepts a parameter called id.
The HttpGet, HttpPut, HttpPost, and HttpDelete Attributes
You can use the HttpGet, HttpPut, HttpPost, or HttpDelete attributes in your controller
action to override the action naming convention. You can also use these verbs to specify that a
function is mapped to a specific HTTP verb. The following table describes how the HTTP
attributes map to the HTTP verbs.
Attribute HTTP Verb

HttpGet GET
HttpPut PUT
HttpPost POST
HttpDelete DELETE
The following code illustrates the use of the HttpGet attribute on the FindProduct action.
Specifying the HTTP Verb

public class ProductsController : ApiController
{
[HttpGet]
public Product FindProduct(id) {}
}
In the preceding code sample, observe that the HTTP attributes only allow mapping of one
HTTP verb to an action in the controller.
The AcceptVerbs Attribute
The use of the AcceptVerbs attribute allows you to specify custom HTTP Verbs or multiple
HTTP verbs to the same actions in the controller.
The following code shows the use of the AcceptVerbs attribute to map specific HTTP verbs to
the action.
The AcceptVerbs Attribute

{
[AcceptVerbs("GET", "HEAD")]
public Product FindProduct(id) { }
[AcceptVerbs("MKCOL")]
public void MakeCollection() { }
}
The ActionName attribute
By default, the action name is the name of the action you specify in the controller. You can use
the ActionName attribute to specify the action name to be used in the routing.
The following code shows how to map an action to an HTTP request by using a custom action
name.
Mapping an Action
{
[HttpGet]
[ActionName("Thumbnail")]
public HttpResponseMessage GetThumbnailImage(int id);
[HttpPost]
[ActionName("Thumbnail")]
public void AddThumbnailImage(int id);
}
Question: What is the purpose of using the HTTP attributes?
Creating a Web API for an MVC 4 Web Application
MVC4 provides a Web API project template that helps implement Web API in a project.
The following image shows the list of project templates available in Microsoft Visual Studio.
FIGURE 14.1:THE NEW PROJECT DIALOG BOX
To implement a Web API template in your project, you need to perform the following steps:
1. In the New Project dialog box, click ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application.
In the Select a Template box of the New ASP.NET MVC 4 Project dialog box, click Web
2.
API.
The following image shows the New ASP.NET MVC 4 Project dialog box.
FIGURE 14.2:THE NEW ASP.NET MVC 4 PROJECT DIALOG BOX
After selecting the Web API template, you need to add a new MVC controller class that derives
from ApiController. The API controller class hosts application code for handling Web API
requests. ASP.NET MVC4 engine maps the URL together with the HTTP verb and the
controller or the action function of a controller, in the following format.
<http verb> http://<hostname>/api/<entity name>/<parameters>
The HTTP verb communicates to the Web API about the operations that it should perform;
whereas, the rest is to communicate which entity and operations to perform on. Therefore,
HTTP plays an important role. For example, consider the following API controller class.
{
public IEnumerable<Product> GetAllProducts()
{
}
public Product GetProductById(int id)
{
}
}
In the preceding code sample, note the controller classes GetAllProducts and
GetProductById. The GetAllProducts controller class helps obtain a full list of products from
the database. You can map the following URL and HTTP verb with the GetAllProducts
controller class.
GET /api/products
The GetProductById controller class helps obtain a specific product by using the ID detail.
You can map the following URL with the GetProductById controller class.
GET /api/products/id
Question: What is the syntax that the ASP.NET MVC engine uses for mapping controllers and
action functions?
RESTful Services
REST uses URLs and HTTP verbs to uniquely identify the entity that it operates on and the
action that it performs. REST helps retrieve business information from the server. However, in
addition to data retrieval, business applications perform more tasks such as creating, updating,
and deleting information on the database. Web API and REST facilitate handling such
additional tasks. They use the HTTP method to identify the operation that the application needs
to perform.
The following table provides information on some HTTP methods that Web API and REST use.
HTTP
Description
Verb
Use this method with the following URL to obtain a list of all customers.
GET
/api/customers
Use this method with the following URL to obtain a customer by using the ID
detail.
GET
/api/customers/id
Use this method with the following URL to obtain customers by using the
category detail.
GET
/api/customers?country=country
HTTP
Description
Verb
Use this method with the following URL to create a customer record.
POST
/api/customers
Use this method with the following URL to update a customer record.
PUT
/api/customers/id
Use this method with the following URL to delete a customer record.
DELETE
/api/customers/id
Web API allows developers to use a strong typed model for developers to manipulate HTTP
request. The following code shows how to use the POST, PUT, and DELETE methods for the
create, update, and delete requests to handle the creation, retrieval, updation, and deletion
(CRUD) of the customer records.
CRUD Operations
public HttpResponseMessage PostCustomer(Customer item)
{
}
public void PutCustomer(int id, Customer item)
{
}
public void DeleteProduct(int id)
{
}
Question: What is the mandatory requirement of create and update requests?
Data Return Formats

When a client makes a request to a Web API controller, the controller action often returns some
data. For GET requests, for example, this data might be all the properties of a specific product
or all the properties of all the products.
Web API can return this data in one of two formats: JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or
XML.
JSON and XML Data Formats
Both JSON and XML are text formats that represent information as strings. You can also use
JSON outside the JavaScript code.
The following code is a simple example of JSON.
A JSON Response
{"Name":"Albert","Age":29,"Height":145,"Skills":["Programming", "Technical
Writing"]}
You can represent the same data in the previous code sample, by using XML as shown in the
following code.
An XML Response
<Employee Name="Albert" Age="29" Height="145">
<Skills>
<Skill Name="Programming" />
<Skill Name="Technical Writing" />
</Skills>
</Employee>
When a client makes a request, the client can specify the data format for the response. If the
data format is not specified, Web API formats data as JSON by default.
Media Formatters
Web API uses a media formatter to format or serialize the information that a Web API REST
service returns. Web applications usually use the JSON format to format the data that functions
return. However, you can alternatively use the XML media formatter or add a custom media
formatter to control the data returned. Media formatters format the content that the server
renders to the client systems.
For example, consider that you want Web API to return CSV files. In this case, you need to
create a custom media formatter, to create as output data files in the CSV format, instead of
XML files in the JSON format.
The following code shows to add a new class in your project, to create a custom media
formatter.
A Custom Media Formatter

public class CsvFormatter : BufferedMediaTypeFormatter
{
}
Media formatter classes inherit from the following classes:
o MediaTypeFormatter. This is the fundamental class for all formatter classes.

BufferedMediaTypeFormatter. This is an extended class of formatter classes, which provides
o
support for buffering and asynchronous operations.
Additional Reading: For more information on creating media formatters, go to:

Question: Why should you use a media formatter for Web API REST services?
Using Routes and Controllers in Web APIs

ASP.NET MVC4 uses a route table to map a URL and a controller. When you create a project,
ASP.NET adds a default route by using the Web API template. This default route helps support
the operations of the REST-style Web APIs.
The following code shows the default route.

name: "API Default",
routeTemplate:
"api/{controller}/{id}",
defaults: new { id =
RouteParameter.Optional }
);
Consider that you want to include multiple actions, such as creating customers with XML and
JSON, in the same HTTP method. In this case, you cannot use the default route because it
requires a new request for each HTTP method and URL combination. Therefore, you need to
update the routing by modifying the Route Map in the WebApiConfig class.
The following code shows how to update the routing, to support multiple operations in the same
HTTP method.
Supporting Multiple Operations
name: "ActionApi",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
);
You can use the WebApiConfig class to enable multiple versions of API to coexist in the same
project. For example, you can include /api/v1/{controller} as Version One of your API and
include /api/v2/{controller} as a new version or Version Two of the API.
You may want to include supporting functions in the controller class, and hide the supporting
functions from the REST functions. You can eliminate the exposure of the function to the REST
interface by adding the NoAction attribute to the action function.
The following code shows how to add the NoAction attribute to the action function.
Using NoAction
[NonAction]
public string GetPrivateData()
{
}
By default, Web API exposes all public methods as REST services. You can prevent this by
making the function private, but this action prevents application code in the same project from
accessing the function. Therefore, you can use the NonAction attribute for functions that need
to be in public, but do not need to be exposed in REST.
Question: What is the key benefit of using the routing map?
Demonstration: How to Explore a Web API by Using Internet

Explorer
o Create a simple Web API for an existing ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
Download and examine the JSON files that the Web API generates by using Internet
o
Explorer.
Demonstration Steps
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand OperasWebSite.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under OperasWebSite, right-click Controllers, point to
2.
Add, and then click Controller.
In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type
3. OperasApiController, in the Template box, click Empty API Controller, and then click
Add
In the OperasApiController.cs code window, locate the following code.
4.
using System.Web.Http;
5. following code.
Place the mouse cursor in the OperasApiController class code block, press Enter, and
6. then type the following code.
private OperasDB contextDB = new OperasDB();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just typed, press Enter twice, and then
7.
public IEnumerable<Opera> GetOperas()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the GetOperas action code block, and then type the following
8. code.
return contextDB.Operas.AsEnumerable();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the GetOperas action code block, press Enter twice,
9.
public Opera GetOperas(int id)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the GetOperas action code block you just created, and then type
Opera opera = contextDB.Operas.Find(id);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just entered, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
11. if (opera == null)
{
throw new HttpResponseException(HttpStatusCode.NotFound);
}
return opera;
On the FILE menu of the OperasWebSite – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Save
13.
All.
14.
Start Debugging.
15.
http://localhost:<yourPortNumber>/api/OperasApi, and then click Go to.
16. In the Navigation bar, click Open.
If the “How do you want to open this type of file (.json)?” message is displayed, click
17.
More options, and then click Microsoft Visual Studio Version Selector.
On the EIDT menu of the OperasApi.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to
18.
Find and Replace, and then click Quick Find.
In the Search Item box of the Quick Find dialog box, type Rigoletto, and then click Find
19.
Next.
20. In the Microsoft Visual Studio dialog box, click OK.
In the Quick Find dialog box, click the Close button.
21. Note: Visual Studio finds the JSON data for the Rigoletto opera. Note that this is just one
entry in the JSON data, which includes all operas in the web application.
22. In the OperasApi.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, type http://localhost:
23.
<yourPortNumber>/api/OperasApi/3, and then click Go to.
24. In the Navigation bar, click Open.
25.
In the 3.json - Microsoft Visual Studio window, note that only the information relating to
the Nixon in China opera is displayed.
26.
Note: The value for the OperasID parameter corresponding to the Nixon in China opera is
3.
27. In the 3.json - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Lesson 2: Calling a Web API from Mobile and

Web Applications
After you complete the development of the Web API services, you need to create the client
applications to call these services. Calling Web API services is different from calling WCF
services. However, the methods that you need to use to call these services are similar, regardless
of the platform. You need to know how to call Web API services by using server-side code,
jQuery code and JSON.NET library, to effectively implement Web API services in most
application platforms.
Lesson Objectives
o Call Web APIs by using server-side code.

o Call Web APIs by using jQuery.
o Call Web APIs by using Windows Phone applications.
Calling Web APIs by Using Server-Side Code
You can call REST-style services by using ASP.NET server-side code. You can use the
HttpWebRequest class to create a manual HTTP request to the REST services. ASP.NET
provides a .NET library that you can use in web applications to call REST-enabled Web API
services from the .NET server. To use the .NET library, you need to install the
Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Client NuGet package. This NuGet package provides access to the
HttpClient class. The HttpClient class simplifies interacting with Web APIs, because it
reduces coding efforts.
After installing the NuGet package, you need to initialize the HttpClient class. The following
code illustrates how to initialize the HttpClient class.
Initializing the HttpClient Class

HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
client.BaseAddress = new Uri("http://localhost/");
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(new
MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("application/json"));
The last line of code in the preceding code sample informs the client system about the media
type that the client system should use. The default media type that applications use is
application/json. However, applications can use any other media type, based on the media type
that the REST-style services support.
The following code shows how to call Web API REST services by using server-side code.
Calling the API from Server-Side Code

HttpResponseMessage response = client.GetAsync("api/customers").Result;
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
var products = response.Content.ReadAsAsync<IEnumerable<Customer>>().Result;
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} ({1})", (int)response.StatusCode,
response.ReasonPhrase);
}
After running the code in the preceding code sample, you need to define a data model that
aligns itself with the one used by the Web API service to enable the .NET library to:
o Process the results of the server-side code.

o Return results as .NET objects for the application to use.
Then, you can use the GetAsync and ReadAsAsync methods to:
o Create requests to Web API REST services.

o Parse the content into .NET objects.
The PostAsJsonAsync function uses the HTTP POST method to call Web API services that
support the POST method.
Question: What is the benefit of using the Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Client NuGet package?
Calling Web APIs by Using jQuery Code

You can call Web API services in the same manner as you call other services that use
technologies such as WCF. You can also call Web API services by using the jQuery ajax
function.
The following code shows how to call a Web API service by using the jQuery ajax function.
Using the jQuery ajax Function

$.ajax({
url:
'http://localhost/api/customers/,
type: 'GET',
dataType: 'json',
success: function (data) {
},
error: function (e) {
}
});
In the preceding code sample, observe the dataType parameter of the ajax function. You
should set this parameter to json or another data type that the Web API service supports. Most
applications use JSON because it is light weight. The ajax function has built-in functionalities
that parse JSON results for the ease of developers.
You can use JSON.stringify() in the data parameter of the ajax function to serialize the
JavaScript objects into JSON objects for sending to the Web API method. The following code
shows how to use JSON.stringify() in the data parameter of the ajax function.
Using the stringify function
var customer = {
ID:'1',
CustName: 'customer 1'
};
$.ajax({
url: 'http://localhost/api/customer',
type: 'POST',
data:JSON.stringify(customer),
contentType: "application/json;charset=utf-8",
success: function (data) {
},
error: function (x) {
}
});
Question: What is the benefit of using JSON.stringify() in the ajax function?
Calling Web APIs Using Windows Phone Applications
You can use NuGet packages to call Web API REST services in .NET applications. However,
in Windows Phone web applications, you need to use the JSON.NET library to call Web API
REST services. The JSON.NET library is more light weight and it enhances the performance of
Windows Phone applications. You can download the library from
The JSON.NET library contains a set of .NET classes that help create JSON requests to any
REST-style
APIs. To use the JSON.NET library, you need to download it and place the JSON.NET
assembly in the /WindowsPhone folder of the /bin folder.
The following code shows how to call an HTTP request by using the WebClient class.
Using the WebClient Class

WebClient webClient = new WebClient();
Uri uri = new Uri("http://localhost/api/customer/");
webClient.DownloadStringCompleted += new
DownloadStringCompletedEventHandler(webClient_DownloadStringCompleted);
webClient.DownloadStringAsync(uri);
When you make a request by using the WebClient class, the JSON.NET library processes the
request and produces results from the WebClient class to return .NET objects. When you call
Web APIs by using the library, you need to add the DownloadStringCompleted event handler.
This event handler helps place logic to handle the data that Web APIs return.
In the DownloadStringCompleted event handler, you should add the code similar to the
following.
Coding the Event Handler

using Newtonsoft.Json;
/// Lines skipped
List<Customer> customers =
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<Customer>>(e.Result);
foreach (Customer em in customers)
{
}
The code in the preceding sample helps enable the JSON.NET library to deserialize the results
into .NET objects.
Question: What is the key benefit of using the JSON.NET library?
Lab: Implementing APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4

Web Applications
Scenario
Your manager wants to ensure that the photos and information stored in the Photo Sharing
application can be integrated with other data in web mash-ups, mobile applications, and other
locations. To re-use such data, while maintaining security, you need to implement a RESTful
Web API for the application. You will use this Web API to display the locations of photos on a
Bing Maps page.
Objectives
o Create a Web API by using the new features of ASP.NET MVC 4.

o Add routes and controllers to an application to handle REST requests.
o Call a REST Web API from jQuery client-side code.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Before initiating this lab, perform the following steps:
a.
b.
13\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then copy the
web.config file.
c. 14\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then paste the
web.config file.
d.
iii.
Exercise 1: Adding a Web API to the Photo Sharing Application
Scenario
You have been asked to implement a Web API for the Photo Sharing application to ensure that
photos can be used in third-party websites, mobile device applications, and other applications.
o Add a Web API controller for the Photo model class.

o Configure formatters and routes to support the Web API.
o Test the API by using Internet Explorer.
1. Add a Photo API controller.

2. Configure API routes.
3. Configure media-type formatters.
4. Test the Web API with Internet Explorer.
Task 1: Add a Photo API controller.

o User name: Admin
2.
Add a new API controller to the PhotoSharingApplication project by using the following
information:
3.
o Name: PhotoApiController
o Template: Empty API controller
Add a using statement for the following namespace to PhotoApiController.cs:
4.
Add a new variable to the PhotoApiController class by using the following information:
o Scope: private
5. o Type: IPhotoSharingContext
o Name: context
o Initial value: a new PhotoSharingContext object
Add a new action to the PhotoApiController by using the following information:
o Scope: public
6. o Return type: IEnumerable<Photo>
o Name: GetAllPhotos
o Parameters: none
7. In the GetAllPhotos action, return the context.Photos collection as an enumerable object.
o Scope: public
8. o Return type: Photo
o Name: GetPhotoById
o Parameters: an integer named id
In the GetPhotoById action, pass the id parameter to the context.FindPhotoById()
9.
method. Store the returned Photo object in a variable named photo.
If the photo variable is null, throw a new HttpResponseException and pass the
10.
HttpStatusCode.NotFound value.
11. At the end of the GetPhotoById action, return the photo object.
o Scope: public
12. o Return type: Photo
o Name: GetPhotoByTitle
o Parameters: a string named title
In the GetPhotoByTitle action, pass the title parameter to the context.FindPhotoByTitle()
13.
method. Store the returned Photo object in a variable named photo.
If the photo variable is null, throw a new HttpResponseException and pass the
14.
HttpStatusCode.NotFound value.
15. At the end of the GetPhotoByTitle action, return the photo object.
Task 2: Configure API routes.

In the WebApiConfig.cs code file, in the Register method, remove all existing route
1.
registrations.
Add a new route to the Register method by using the following information:
o Name: PhotoApi
2. o Route template: api/photos/{id}
o Default controller: PhotoApi
o Default action: GetPhotoById
o Constraint: id= "[0-9]+"
After the PhotoApi route, add a new route to the Register method by using the following
information:
3. o Name: PhotoTitleApi
o Route template: api/photos/{title}
o Default action: GetPhotoByTitle
After the PhotoTitleApi route, add a new route to the Register method by using the
4. o Name: PhotosApi
o Route template: api/photos
o Default action: GetAllPhotos
Task 3: Configure media-type formatters.
In the WebApiConfig.cs code file, at the end of the Register method, create a new variable
1.
named json. Set this variable to config.Formatters.JsonFormatter.
Set the json.SerializerSettings.PreserveReferencesHandling property to
2.
Newtonsoft.Json.PreserveReferencesHandling.Objects.
3. Remove the XmlFormatter object from the config.Formatters collection.
Task 4: Test the Web API with Internet Explorer.
1. Start that web application in debugging mode.

Request the photo with ID 4 by using the Web API. Display the returned JSON file by using
2.
Visual Studio and check that the Title property is Sample Photo 4.
Request the photo with title Sample Photo 5 by using the Web API. Display the returned
3.
JSON file by using Visual Studio and check that the Title property is Sample Photo 5.
Request all photos by using the Web API. Display the returned JSON file by using Visual
4.
Studio, and check that both Sample Photo 9 and Sample Photo 13 are present.
5. Close Visual Studio and stop debugging.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to create a simple Web API for an
ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
Exercise 2: Using the Web API for a Bing Maps Display
Scenario
You need to use the new Web API to obtain the photos in the client-side jQuery code. You will
use latitude and longitude properties to display these photos as pins on a Bing API map.
To create the map display in the Photo Sharing application, you must add a new view and action
for the photo controller. You must also add a new template view because the Bing Maps AJAX
control requires a different <!DOCTYPE> directive to the one in use elsewhere in the Photo
Sharing application. You will import a JavaScript file with basic Bing Maps code in place. To
this JavaScript file, you will add code to call the Web API, obtain photo details, and display
them on the map.
o Create a new template view.

o Create a map action, view, and script file.
o Obtain and display photos.
o Test the Bing Maps control.
1. Create a new template view.

2. Create a map action, view, and script file.
3. Obtain and display photos.
4. Test the Bing Maps control.
Task 1: Create a new template view.
In the Views/Shared folder, create a copy of the _MainLayout.cshtml view file and name
1.
the copy as _MapLayout.cshtml.
In the _MapLayout.cshtml file, replace the <!DOCTYPE html> declaration with
2. <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C/DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">.
3. In the onload event of the BODY element, call the GetMap() JavaScript function.
4. Remove the links to jQueryUI and unobtrusive AJAX.
Add a new link to the Bing Maps AJAX control in the HEAD element by using the
5. o Charset: UTF-8
o Type: text/javascript
o SRC: http://ecn.dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=7.0
Task 2: Create a map action, view, and script file.
o Scope: public
1. o Return type: ViewResult
o Name: Map
o Parameters: none
2. In the new Map action, return a View named Map.
Add a new view for the Map action by using the following information:
3. o View name: Map

o Type: Do not create a strongly-typed view
o Layout: _MapLayout.cshtml
4. Remove the H2 element from the Map.cshmtl view.
5. Add a new JavaScript block to the Map.cshtml view.
In the new JavaScript block, create a new variable named webApiUrl by using the
6.
Url.Content() helper to set the webApiUrl variable to ~/api/photos.
Create a new variable named pictureUrl by using the Url.Action() helper to set the
7. pictureUrl variable to the URL of the GetImage action of the Photo controller. Include a
forward slash at the end of the URL.
Create a new variable named displayUrl by using the Url.Action() helper to set the
8. displayUrl variable to the URL of the Display action of the Photo controller. Include a
forward slash at the end of the URL.
9. Add a new JavaScript script, with an empty src attribute, to the Map.cshtml view.
Use the Url.Content() helper to set the src attribute in the new JavaScript code to
10.
~/Scripts/MapDisplay.js.
Create a new DIV element by using the following information:
o ID: mapDiv
11. o Style position: absolute
o Style width: 650px
o Style height: 400px
Add the MapDisplay.js JavaScript file to the Scripts folder from the following location:
12.
o Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod14\Bing Maps Script
Add a new node to the site map by using the following information:
o Title: Map
13. o Visibility: *
o Controller: Photo
o Action: Map
15. Start the web application in debugging mode and browse to the Map page.
16. Stop debugging.
Task 3: Obtain and display photos.
In the MapDisplay.js script file, add a new function by using the following information:
1. o Name: GetPhotos
o Parameter: serviceUrl
2. Set the $.support.cors value to true.
Use the $.ajax() jQuery function to call the GetPhotos Web API by using the following
information:
o URL: serviceUrl
3. o Type: GET
o Data type: json
o Success: DisplayPics
o Error: OnError
Add a new function by using the following information:
4. o Name: DisplayPics
o Parameter: response
5. In the DisplayPics function, create two variables named location and pin.
Use the jQuery $.each function to loop through all the photo objects in the response
6.
collection.
For each photo object in the response collection, set the location variable to a new
location by using the following information:
7. o Object: Microsoft.Maps.Location
o Latitude: photo.Latitude
o Longitude: photo.Longitude
Set the pin variable to a new push pin by using the following information:
8. o Object: Microsoft.Maps.Pushpin
o Location: location
9. Set the pin.Title property to photo.Title and the pin.ID property to photo.PhotoID.
Ensure that the DisplayInfoBox method handles the click event for pushpins by using the
10. o Method: Microsoft.Maps.Events.addHandler

o Object: pin
o Event: 'click'
o Handler method: DisplayInfoBox
11. Add the pin object to the dataLayer object by using the dataLayer.push function.
Add a new function by using the following information:
12. o Name: OnError
o Parameter: response
In the OnError function, use the alert function to inform the user that the picture
13.
coordinates could not be obtained.
At the end of the GetMap function, call the GetPhotos function and pass the webApiUrl
14.
variable.
Task 4: Test the Bing Maps control.
Start the web application in debugging mode and browse to the Map page to check the map
1.
control.
2. Click a pin of your choice.
3. Click the thumbnail.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a template view to display a
Bing Map AJAX control, and create a view and script file to display a Bing Map. You will also
use jQuery to call a Web API and obtain details of photos. You will then mash up the data from
a web API with Bing Maps data.
Question: How do the API actions you added to the PhotoApiController controller in
Exercise 1 differ from other actions in MVC controllers?

You can use the Web API framework to facilitate creating REST-style Web API calls in
applications. REST-style Web API is recommended for mobile applications because of the light
weight design of REST services.
REST services use HTTP methods such as GET, POST, and PUT to notify the API of the
action that it needs to perform. Web APIs use the media formatter and the JSON.NET library to
serialize and deserialize information, respectively. You can call Web API services by using
server-side code, jQuery code, and the JSON.NET library.
Consider that you develop a mobile application by using Web APIs and the application needs to
use currency rate services. For this application, you cannot use WCF, because WCF can impede
the performance of the application by using XML for data exchanges. Therefore, you should
use REST and JSON in the application to reduce the data that is transmitted between the client
system and the server.
Review Question(s)
Question: We are developing a mobile application, which requires to access business data via
internet. You are proposing to use Web API but your colleague is proposing to use WCF. What
would be the key point for using Web API in this scenario?
MODULE 15: HANDLING REQUESTS IN ASP.NET

Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Using HTTP Modules and HTTP Handlers

Module Overview
ASP.NET MVC provides functionalities that help develop web applications. However,
ASP.NET MVC does not include functionalities that help change the encoding of the output. In
such cases, you need to know how to use an HTTP module or HTTP handler, to facilitate such
specific requests. Most web applications require two-way communication between the client
and server systems. The web sockets protocol facilitates two-way communications in a robust
manner.
Objectives
o Use HTTP modules and HTTP handlers.

o Use web sockets.
Lesson 1 : Using HTTP Modules and HTTP

Handlers
Applications perform actions on a request in the HTTP pipeline, before rendering a webpage.
You need to know how to use an HTTP module to implement custom authentication mechanism
for a webpage, before rendering the webpage. You can also use an HTTP module to create code
that renders content in a non-default encoding format that fits application needs. Sometimes,
you may need the application to handle requests by using application logic that differs from the
built-in ASP.NET page rendering logic. In such cases, you should know how to use the HTTP
handler to process such specific requests.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe how HTTP modules intercept web requests.

o Create HTTP modules.
o Describe how HTTP handlers intercept web requests.
o Create HTTP handlers.
o Determine when to use HTTP modules and HTTP handlers.
What Is an HTTP Module?
An HTTP module is a program that runs application logic on a webpage, before ASP.NET
renders the webpage. To understand the relevance of an HTTP module, you need to know about
the HTTP request pipeline. The IIS HTTP request pipeline is a sequence of programs that run
on requests, to help the application perform tasks. When the application receives a request, it
passes the request to the isapi_aspnet.dll ISAPI library and starts the ASP.NET execution
pipeline, to process the request.
Then, the request passes through the
HttpApplication instance of the application and the HttpModule library.
HTTP modules provide the following features to an application:
Security. Provide support for the custom authentication and authorization logic of your
o
application
Logging and statistics. Gather low-level information about the web application execution
o
cycle, for monitoring and logging purposes
Custom headers and footers. Allow insertion of custom header information in the response of
o
each request
The following is a list of HTTP modules in ASP.NET:
o OutputCache
o Session
o WindowsAuthentication
o FormsAuthentication
o PassportAuthentication
o UrlAuthorization
o FileAuthorization
o DefaultAuthentication
If you configure HTTP modules in an application, HTTP modules apply to all the HTTP
requests that the application receives. You cannot configure an HTTP module for a specific
page.
Question: What are the benefits of using HTTP modules in web applications?
Creating HTTP Modules
You can create an HTTP module by adding the CustomModule class to your project; this class
implements the IHttpModule interface in your application.
The following code shows how to create the CustomModule class in a project.
Coding a Custom Module
public class CustomModule : IHttpModule
{
public CustomModule ()
{
}
public String ModuleName
{
get { return "CustomModule"; }
}
public void Init(HttpApplication application)
{
context.Response.Write("<h1>Demo<h1>");
}
}
In the CustomModule class, you need to implement the following two methods:
ModuleName property. Provides a display name that enables other application code to
o
identify the HTTP module.
Init function. Provides the location to implement all logic for an HTTP module. The
o
HttpApplication class triggers this function when the application receives a request.
After you complete the development of an HTTP module, you need to register the HTTP
module in the Web.config file. The following code shows how to register an HTTP module for
an application running in IIS 6.0 or later versions, configured in the Classic mode.
Registering an HTTP Module for IIS 6.0

<configuration>
<system.web>
<httpModules>
<add name="CustomModule" type="CustomModule "/>
</httpModules>
</system.web>
</configuration>
The following code shows how to register an HTTP module for an application running in IIS
7.0 or later versions, configured in the Integrated mode.
Registering an HTTP Module for IIS 7.0 or Later

<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<modules>
<add name="CustomModule" type="CustomModule"/>
</modules>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
Question: You have developed a custom HttpModule. What must you do to ensure that your
ASP.NET application uses the custom module developed?
What Is an HTTP Handler?
HTTP modules help apply logic to all HTTP requests that an application receives. The
HttpHandler function is a processing engine that processes specific HTTP requests. For
example, you can configure an HttpHandler function to handle *.ashx files. You can map an
HttpHandler function to a URL based on the file extension of the requested server-side page,
such as *.aspx.
The following list describes some common HttpHandler functions:
o ASP.NET page handler (*.aspx). This is the default HTTP handler for ASP.NET pages.
o Web service handler (*.asmx). This is the default HTTP handler for web service pages.
Generic web handler (*.ashx). This is the default HTTP handler for all web handlers that do
o
not have a user interface and include the @WebHandler directive.
o Trace handler (trace.axd). This is a handler that helps display page trace information.
You can use the *.ashx file extension with the Http handler because:
o The extension does not include any page-rendering logic.

o The extension allows developers to write logic to send responses to the client systems.
You can use a custom HTTP handler with the *.rss extension, to generate Real Simple
Syndication (RSS) feed content for user requests. You can also use a custom handler to request
images from the database and send the images to the client systems.
Question: What is the primary use of the HTTP generic handler (*.ashx)?
Discussion: Scenarios for HTTP Modules and Handlers
Consider the following scenarios. In each case, discuss with the rest of the class to determine
whether an HttpModule or HttpHandler best suits the case.
You are creating a photo sharing application, and you want to enable each user to discuss
photos and cycling trips with their friends. You need to ensure that the application renders
o
photos to users, from the database table, without requiring users to first save the file on their
system.
You are creating a Representational State Transfer (REST)-based business application
o programming interface (API) that requires a custom HTTP header, before accepting a
request.
o You are creating a business API to provide content in custom XML format.
You developing an application that requires saving diagnostic information about the header
o
of an HTTP request.
AJAX technologies are constantly evolving. The HTTP protocol does not cater to crucial
requirements such as real-time information updates from the server. You need to know how to
use web sockets to create two-way communication between the client and server systems. You
also need to know when to use the traditional HTTP model and the web sockets protocol, based
on the needs of your application.
Lesson Objectives
o Describe the WebSocket protocol.

o Describe how to create web sockets connections.
o Determine when to use web sockets.
o Add a web sockets-based application to an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
What Is the WebSocket Protocol?
The WebSocket protocol is a standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The
HTML 5 specification includes support for web sockets.
Additional Reading: For more information about the WebSocket protocol, go to:
The protocol facilitates two-way communication between web browsers and web servers. The
protocol helps overcome the issue of HTTP not providing two-way communication.
Developers often build two-way communication applications by using inefficient techniques

such as long running loops and polling. These techniques consume large amounts of memory
and other resources of both the server and client systems. The WebSocket protocol resolves the
problems that arise with using such techniques by creating a constant socket connection
between the client and server. All communication between the client and server systems then
occurs through the socket. This socket eliminates the need to re-create a request multiple times,
during real-time communications between the client and server systems. Remember that all
browsers may not support web sockets. Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and Windows 8
applications, which use JScript and HTML5, do support web sockets. Latest versions of
Chrome, Safari, and Firefox also support web sockets.
The web sockets work in a similar manner as traditional network sockets. The only difference is
that during the initial handshake, web sockets use the Upgrade HTTP request that includes the
Upgrade HTTP header. If the server accepts web sockets, the server returns a response with the
status code, 101. Then, the client and server systems send the payload by using the socket.
When the client system no longer requires communication with the server, the application sends
a close connection payload, to notify the server to close the web socket.
Question: What is the key difference between traditional HTTP and web sockets?
Coding Web Sockets Connections

To use web sockets, you need to implement server-side services that can handle the two-way
communication between the server and the client systems. To simplify the programming work,
Microsoft provides the Microsoft.WebSockets NuGet package. This package includes a library
that helps handle web socket operations on the server. While coding web sockets, you can:
o Use the Web API framework to create a REST service that handles the initial handshake.
Use the WebSocket library to promote
o
communication between the client and server systems.
The following code shows how to create a REST service and use the WebSocket library, to
handle the operations of web sockets on the server.
Using the Web Sockets Library

public class ChatController : ApiController
{
public HttpResponseMessage Get(string username)
{
HttpContext.Current.AcceptWebSocketRequest(new ChatWebSocketHandler());
return Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.SwitchingProtocols);
}
class ChatWebSocketHandler : WebSocketHandler
{
public ChatWebSocketHandler()
{
}
public override void OnOpen()
{
}
public override void OnMessage(string message)
{
}
}
}
Observe the Get function in the preceding code sample. The ASP.NET engine maps this
function to a URL and the controller with a GET request. After the initial handshake:
o The WebSocket library establishes the web socket at the client and server end.
The application passes the handling of communications to the ChatWebSocketHandler
o
class inherited from the WebSocketHandler class.
Whenever the client system sends a message to the service application hosted on the web
server, the message triggers the OnMessage function. The OnMessage function enables you to
respond to the message.
To ensure that a message triggers the OnMessage function, you need to add the following code
to the Web.config file.
Configuring Web Sockets

<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="aspnet:UseTaskFriendlySynchronizationContext" value="true" />
</appSettings>
</configuration>
On the client side, you can use the WebSocket object to establish two-way communication
between the client and server systems. The following code shows how to use the WebSocket
object in JavaScript.
Calling Web Sockets from the Browser

websocket = new WebSocket('ws://localhost/api/service1');
websocket.onopen = function () {
};
websocket.onerror = function (event) {
};
websocket.onmessage = function (event) {
};
websocket.send('Hello');
websocket.close();
});
The preceding code sample shows how to add JavaScript functions to respond to events. The
following list describes some common JavaScript functions.
onmessage. You can use this function when the client system receives a message from the
o
server.
o onopen. You can use this function when the WebSocket library establishes the web socket.
o onerror. You can use this function when an error occurs.
To send a message in JavaScript, you can use the WebSocket.send() function. After all
communications between the client and server systems end and you no longer need the web
socket connection, you can use the WebSocket.close() function. This function helps close the
web socket communication channel between the client and server systems.
Question: What is the purpose of using Web APIs to create a service for handling web sockets?
What Is SignalR?
SignalR is a set of components that simplifies the development of bidirectional real-time web
applications, such as chat rooms in websites.
SignalR uses WebSockets wherever possible to connect. This means that it supports all HTML5
compatible browsers. A key advantage of using SignalR is that it supports remote procedure
calls (RPCs) with HTML or even .NET applications and can automatically switch to periodic
polling for older browsers.
To install the package to your application, you can use NuGet to find the package,
Microsoft.AspNet.SignalR.
After installation, you can implement the server-side code for the server logic.
To use SignalR, you need to implement a class that inherits from SignalR library. The following
example broadcasts a message to all clients when a message is received from one client.
Coding SignalR Connections

using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.AspNet.SignalR;
public class DemoConnection : PersistentConnection
{
protected override Task OnReceived(IRequest request, string connectionId,
string
data)
{
return Connection.Broadcast(data);
}
}
After the server code is implemented, you need to add ASP.NET routing to map the URL back
to the SignalR library. The following code maps the /demo URL to the DemoConnection library
for handling the message communication by using SignalR.
Mapping SignalR URLs

public class Global : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
RouteTable.Routes.MapConnection<DemoConnection>("demo", "/demo");
}
}
SignalR also includes a JavaScript library that can be used by clients to help perform
communications between client and server. The SignalR library depends on the jQuery library.
The following JavaScript code sends a message to the server, receives a message back, and
displays the received message.
Client-Side SignalR Code

<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.7.min.js"
<script src="Scripts/jquery.signalR-1.0.1.min.js"
$(function () {
var connection = $.connection('/demo);
connection.received(function (data) {
alert(data);
});
connection.start().done(function() {
$("#broadcast").click(function () {
connection.send('Hello');
});
});
});
</script>
Question: What is the key benefit of using SignalR, instead of WebSockets directly?
Demonstration: How to Add a Chat Room to a Web

Application by using SignalR
In this demonstration, you will see how to add a simple chat room to a web application by using
SignalR.
Demonstration Steps
In the Solution Explorer pane of the OperasWebsite – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
1.
right-click OperasWebSite, point to Add, and then click Class.
In the Name box of the Add New Item – OperasWebSite dialog box, type ChatHub, and
2.
then click Add.
In the ChatHub.cs code window, locate the following code.
3.
using System.Web;
4. following code.
5.
public class ChatHub
6.
public class ChatHub : Hub
In the ChatHub class code block, type the following code.
7. public void Send(string name, string message)
{
}
In the Send method code block, type the following code.
8.
Clients.All.broadcastMessage(name, message);
Note: The Send() method sends any message received, back to all the clients that are
connected to the hub. You need to define the broadcastMessage() method in the client-
side code to receive messages. The client-side code must also call the Send() method to
broadcast messages.
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, expand Home, and then click Chat.cshtml.
In the Chat.cshtml code window, within the final <script> element, type the following
code.
10.
$(function() {
});
Within the anonymous function you just created, type the following code.
11.
var chat = $.connection.chatHub;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the variable you just created, press Enter, and then
chat.client.broadcastMessage = function (name, message) {
12. };
Note: This function is the implementation of the broadcastMessage() function that you
called in the Hub code.
Within the anonymous function you just created, type the following code.
13.
var listItem = '<li>' + name + ': ' + message + '</li>';
$('#discussion').append(listItem);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the broadcastMessage function code block, press
var displayname = prompt('Enter your name:', '');
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the displayname variable code block you just created,
$('#chat-message').focus();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code block you just created, press Enter, and then
17.
$.connection.hub.start().done(function () {
});
Within the anonymous function code block you just created, type the following code.
18.
$('#sendmessage').click(function () {
});
Within the new anonymous function code block you just created, type the following code.
19.
chat.server.send(displayname, $('#chat-message').val());
$('#chat-message').val('').focus();
21.
Start Debugging.
22. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Enter the Operas Chat Room link.
In the Enter your name box of the localhost needs some information dialog box, type
23.
Rebecca Laszlo, and then click OK.
In the Message box of the Operas I Have Seen page, type a message of your choice, and
then click Send.
24.
Note: SignalR sends the message you typed to the hub. The hub broadcasts the message to
all connected clients.
25. On the taskbar, right-click the Internet Explorer icon, and then click Internet Explorer.
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type http://localhost:<portnumber>,
26.
and then press Enter.
27. On the Operas I Have Seen page, click the Enter the Operas Chat Room link.
In the Enter your name box of the localhost needs some information dialog box, type
28.
Elisa Graceffo, and then click OK.
In the Message box of the Operas I Have Seen page, type a message of your choice, and
29.
then click Send.
On the taskbar, click the first instance of the Internet Explorer window. Note that the
30. message from Elisa Graceffo is displayed because both users are connected to the same
hub.
31. Close all the Internet Explorer windows.
Lab: Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4

Web Applications
Scenario
The Adventures Works board and managers are pleased with the Photo Sharing application, but
have requested that interactivity should be maximized to encourage users to register and
participate fully in the community. Therefore, you have been asked to add chat functionality to
the application. Authenticated members should be able to start a chat on a particular photo from
the Display view. Chat rooms for each photo should be separated from each other. Users in the
chat room should be able to send a message to all other users in that chat room, and they should
be able to see all the messages that have been sent since they joined the chat room.
You have decided to use SignalR to implement the chat room over Web Sockets.
Objectives
o Install SignalR in an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.

o Configure SignalR on the server and create a SignalR hub.
o Link to the required script files for SignalR in an MVC view.
o Create the script for SignalR connections and send messages to groups.
Lab Setup
Estimated Time:
60 minutes
User Name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
Before initiating this lab, perform the following steps:
a.
b.
13\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then copy the
Web.config file.
c. 15\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\PhotoSharingApplication, and then paste the
Web.config file.
d.
iii.
Exercise 1: Creating a SignalR Hub
Scenario
Before you can write JScript code on the client to connect to SignalR, you must configure and
code a SignalR Hub on the web server.
o Install SignalR in the Photo Sharing application.

o Configure routing.
Create a SignalR hub to accept messages from clients and forward those messages to other
o
clients who are chatting about the same photo.
1. Install SignalR.
2. Create a Hub class.
3. Configure SignalR routes.
Task 1: Install SignalR.

o User name: Admin
2.
In the NuGet Package Manager, search for the following pre-release package:
3.
o Microsoft.aspnet.signalr
4. Install the Microsoft ASP.NET SignalR package in the PhotoSharingApplication project.
Notice the additions that the NuGet package has made to the project references and the
5.
Scripts folder.
Task 2: Create a Hub class.
1. Add a new class file named ChatHub.cs to the PhotoSharingApplication.

Remove the following namespace references from the ChatHub.cs class file:
2. o System.Collections.Generic;
o System.Linq;
Add the following namespace references to the ChatHub.cs class file:
3. o System.Threading.Tasks
o Microsoft.AspNet.SignalR
4. Ensure that the ChatHub class inherits from the Microsoft.AspNet.SignalR.Hub class.
In the ChatHub class, create a new method by using the following information:
o Scope: public
5. o Return type: Task
o Name: Join
o Parameter: an integer named photoId
In the Join method, return the result of the Groups.Add() method by using the following
information:
6.
o Connection ID: Context.ConnectionId
o Group name: "Photo" + photoId
In the ChatHub class, create a new method by using following information:
o Scope: public
o Return type: Task
7. o Name: Send
o First parameter: a string named username
o Second parameter: an integer named photoId
o Third parameter: a string named message
In the Send method, create a new string variable named groupName and set the value to
8.
"Photo" + photoId.
In the Send method, return the result of the addMessage method for the groupName
group by using the following information:
9. o Method: Clients.Group(groupName).addMessage()
o User name: username
o Message: message
Task 3: Configure SignalR routes.

In the Global.asax code-behind file, add a reference to the Microsoft.AspNet.SignalR
1.
namespace.
In the Application_Start() method, immediately after the RegisterAllAreas() code, call the
2.
RouteTable.Routes.MapHubs() method.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to install SignalR in an MVC 4 web
application, configure routes for SignalR, and create a hub to receive and forward simple text
messages.
Exercise 2: Creating a Photo Chat View
Scenario
Now that you have set up and configured SignalR and a SignalR hub on the server side, you
must use JScript and the SignalR JScript library to send and receive messages on the client side.
Create a new MVC controller action and Razor view to display the chat user interface for a
o
particular photo.
Link to the JScript libraries that SignalR requires and write client-side script to call the Join()
o
and Send() methods on the hub.
o Test the chat functionality.
1. Create a chat action and view.

2. Link to the chat view.
3. Link to JScript files.
4. Script SignalR connections.
5. Script SignalR messages.
6. Test the chat room.
Task 1: Create a chat action and view.
o Annotation: [Authorize]
1. o Scope: public
o Name: Chat
o Parameter: an integer named id
Create a new Photo object named photo and get the photo value by passing the id
2.
parameter to the context.FindPhotoById() method.
3. If the photo object is null, return an HTTP Not Found status code.
4. At the end of the action, return the Chat view and pass the photo object as the model class.
Add the following view file to the Views/Photo folder:
5.
o Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod15\Chat View\Chat.cshtml
Task 2: Link to the chat view.
In the Display.cshtml view file, after the DIV element with ID addtofavorites, add a new
1.
DIV element, with ID chataboutthisphoto.
In the new DIV element, render a link to the Chat view by using the following information:
o Helper: Html.ActionLink()
2. o Text: Chat about this photo
o View: Chat
o Route values: pass the Model.PhotoID value to the id parameter.
Start the web application in the debugging mode, display a photo of your choice, and then
3.
click Chat.
Log on with the following credentials:
5. Attempt to send a chat message.
6. Stop debugging.
Task 3: Link to JScript files.
Add a new SCRIPT element at the end of the Chat.cshtml view file, with type
1.
text/javascript.
In the new SCRIPT element, create a new variable named username. In a new Razor code
2.
block, use the User.Identity.Name property to set the value for the variable.
Create a second new variable named photoid and use the Model.PhotoID property to set
3.
the value for the variable.
4. Add a new SCRIPT element, with type text/javascript, and an empty src attribute.
In the new script element, use the Url.Content() helper to set the src attribute to the
following path:
5. ~/Scripts/jquery.signalR-1.0.0.js
o Note: NuGet installs the latest version of SignalR. Ensure that the name of the script file
you enter matches the name of the file in the Scripts folder.
following path:
7.
o ~/signalr/hubs
following path:
9.
o ~/Scripts/ChatRoom.js
Task 4: Script SignalR connections.
1. Add a new JScript file named ChatRoom.js to the Scripts folder.

In the new JavaScript file, use jQuery to create an anonymous function that runs when the
2.
page loads.
Use the $.connection.chatHub property to obtain the ChatHub you already created, and
3.
then store the hub in a variable named chat.
4. Use jQuery to set the initial focus on the element with ID chat-message.
5. Create an anonymous function that runs when the $.connection.hub.start() method is done.
Call the chat.server.join() function on the SignalR hub, pass the photoid value as a
6.
parameter, and then create an anonymous function that runs when the function is done.
Task 5: Script SignalR messages.
In the ChatRoom.js JScript file, after creating and instantiating the chat variable, set the
1. chat.client.addMessage property to be a new anonymous function with two parameters,
name and message.
In the new function, create a variable named encodedName, and use jQuery to set this
2.
variable to a new <div> with the name parameter as its HTML content.
In the new function, create a variable named encodedMessage, and use jQuery to set this
3.
variable to a new <div> with the message parameter as its HTML content.
Create a new variable named listItem. Set the value of this variable to an HTML LI element
4.
that includes the encodedName and encodedMessage variables.
5. Append the listItem element to the page element with ID discussion.
In the function that runs when the client.server.join() method is done, create an anonymous
6.
function that runs when the button with ID sendmessage is clicked.
In the new anonymous function, call the chat.server.send() method by using the following
information:
7. o User name: username

o Photo ID: photoid
o Message: use the value of the element with ID chat-message
Use jQuery to obtain the element with ID chat-message, set its value to an empty string, and
8.
give it the focus.
Task 6: Test the chat room.
Start the web application in debugging mode and log on with the following credentials:
2. Browse to the chat page for Sample Photo 1.
3. Send a message of your choice and observe the results.
Start a new instance of Windows Internet Explorer, and browse to the Photo Sharing
4.
application home page.
Register a new user account with the following credentials:
5. o User name: Mark Steele
6. Browse to the chat page for Sample Photo 1, and then send a message of your choice.
Switch to the first instance of Internet Explorer, and then send a second message of your
7.
choice. Observe the messages sent between the two users.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create MVC controller actions and
views to display a user interface for SignalR functionality, link to the JScript libraries that
SignalR requires, and use JScript to connect to a SignalR hub and send messages.
Question: In the chat functionality that you created, each photo in the Photo Sharing
application has a separate chat room. How is this separation possible with one SignalR hub?
Question: In Exercise 2, you wrote JScript code that called the chat.server.join() and
chat.server.send() functions. In which script file are these functions defined?

Most web applications do not limit themselves to rendering HTML content. They require
functionalities that support custom logic such as custom authentication. To suit such cases, you
can use HTTP modules and HTTP handlers to run custom logic before or after rendering a
webpage. The web socket technology in MVC 4 provides support for two-way communication
between client and server systems. This technology is useful for web applications that require
constant updates between the client and server systems.
You create an application that obtains the latest product pricing information from the internal
database. The pricing is constantly updated every time business users feel the need for updates.
Therefore, you need to ensure that the application updates pricing information every five
minutes. In such cases, you can to use the web socket technology to implement price update.
You can also add code to download the product image stored in the product database by using a
generic handler (*.ashx file).
Review Question(s)
Question: You want to select technology that could be used for developing a web based
chatting applications for your client. Which technology would you prefer in this scenario?
MODULE 16: DEPLOYING ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB

APPLICATIONS
Contents:
Module Overview
Lesson 1: Deploying a Web Application
Lesson 2: Deploying an ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application
Module Overview
After developing an application, you need to deploy the application to the production
environment to make the application available to users. The configuration or deployment
method of each application varies based on the setup of the production environment. ASP.NET
MVC applications have some special considerations such as the configuration needed for IIS.
Objectives
o Configure and deploy an ASP.NET web application.

o Deploy an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
Lesson 1 : Deploying a Web Application

The considerations for deploying a web application to a web farm are different for single and
multi-server configurations. For example, in multi-server web farms, you need to ensure that the
state information is available on all web servers. You also need to ensure that the dependencies
needed for hosting ASP.NET MVC 4 web applications are present in the web farm. If any of
the application dependencies are missing on the production web servers, some or all of your
applications may not function and users may encounter errors. You need to apply special
considerations while deploying web applications on Windows Azure. Deploying a web
application on Windows Azure provides advantages such as high availability and flexibility.
Lesson Objectives
o Ensure that dependencies are present for hosting ASP.NET MVC4 applications.
o Deploy an ASP.NET MVC4 web application to a single-server web farm.
o Deploy an ASP.NET MVC4 web application to a multi-server web farm.
o Deploy an ASP.NET MVC 4 web application on Windows Azure.
ASP.NET MVC 4 Dependencies

ASP.NET MVC 4 is built on the ASP.NET Framework 4.0. Each web application requires a
range of different components to be present on the web server, to function appropriately.
Examples of common requirements include:
The ASP.NET Framework 4.0 Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR runs any
o managed code such as C# classes. All ASP.NET web applications require the CLR, and you
can install the CLR with Internet Information Services (IIS).
The ASP.NET MVC 4 runtime. The
ASP.NET MVC 4 runtime locates controllers and actions to handle each request that the web
o
application receives, and it returns the compiled webpages to users. You can install the MVC
runtime in your web application by installing the MVC 4 NuGet package. All MVC web
applications require the MVC runtime.
A Database server. Most web applications use a database to store information such as
product details, customer details, images, and other entities. You need to ensure that the
production environment supports the database that you used during development. For
o
example, if you use SQL Compact during development, you need to ensure that Microsoft
SQL Compact is installed on the production server. Alternatively, you can migrate the
database to Microsoft SQL Server.
Entity Framework. If you use Entity Framework to model data in your web application, you
o
need to ensure that you deploy the framework with your application.
Membership Providers. If your application uses membership providers to store user accounts
and roles, you need to ensure that these providers are available on the server. The .NET
o Framework includes the SQL Server Membership Provider. If you use the Universal
Membership Providers by installing the NuGet package, you need to ensure that you include
the NuGet package with your deployed application.
Question: Which of the common requirements in the above list is required to support forms
authentication?
Deploying Web Applications to Web Servers
Before you deploy a web application to a production IIS web server, you must create and
configure the IIS application and the folder that hosts the application.
Creating an IIS Web Application
You need to host ASP.NET MVC 4 web applications in an IIS web folder that is marked as a
web application starting point. You can use the Internet Service Manager tool to configure this
setting on the top-level folder of the web application. When you mark a web folder as a web
application, you enable IIS to recognize that the
content of the folder is ASP.NET and requires the ASP.NET runtime engine to process each
request.
After creating an application, you need to configure the application to use .NET 4.0 or above.
This practice enables ASP.NET MVC 4 to run, because the MVC runtime components are part
of the .NET framework.
IIS Application Pools
In IIS, web applications are run within a context known as an application pool. You can run
many applications in the same application pool or install an application in its own isolated pool.
Applications that run in the same application pool share the following resources:
Worker Process. The worker process uses a single execution process to run all the
o
applications in a pool.
Memory. The applications share a single memory range, because the applications in a pool
o
share a single worker process.
o Identity. The applications within a single pool share a user account.
You can place two or more applications in an application pool, and thereby reduce the total
memory usage, because the applications share memory. However, this arrangement can reduce
the reliability of each application, because a malfunctioning application can affect all the
applications in the pool. To maximize the reliability of an application, you should install the
application in an isolated pool that runs only one specific application.
The shared identity within an application pool affects the way the applications authenticate
resources such as database servers when using integrated authentication. Each application
within a pool shares a single user account. If each application has a separate database, you need
to set permissions, to enable the user accounts to access all the databases. If you separate
applications into isolated pools, you can use a different user account for each application. This
practice can enhance the security of the application, because each account can access only one
database.
Deploying the Application
When the IIS web application is ready, you need to copy the web application files to IIS. These
files include all the model classes, controllers, views, script files, style sheets, images, and any
other content in the Microsoft Visual Studio ASP.NET MVC 4 project. You can use the
deployment tools available in Microsoft Visual Studio, or other technologies such as FTP, to
copy these files. When the copy operation is complete, the web application is ready for
deployment.
Question: What is the purpose of configuring additional application pools?
Deploying Web Applications to Multi-Server Farms

You can deploy a web application to a multi-server web farm to increase performance,
resilience, and reliability. In a multi-server web farm, a group of two or more web servers host a
single web application. All the servers in the farm share a single server name, such as
www.contoso.com. Windows Network Load Balancing or dedicated hardware load balancers
distribute browser requests to the servers.
A multi-server farm usually has greater capacity than a single web server, because the multi-
server farm almost equally shares the load amongst
several servers. Multi-server farms also increase reliability. When a server fails for any reason,
the load balancing mechanism automatically directs requests to another server that remains
online.
If you decide to deploy your web application to a multi-server farm, you need to perform the
following steps. To complete these steps, you may need to work with the web server
administrator who is responsible for the server farm:
Create IIS applications and application pools on each server. This step is the same as
configuring the applications and application pools in a single-server scenario. However, you
1.
need to perform this step on every server in the farm. You also need to ensure that
applications and application pools have the same configuration, throughout the farm.
Create a matching IIS configuration on each server. IIS configuration options, such as any
2. encryption certificates, file extensions, and optional components, should be identical on
every server in the farm.
Use external hosted session state or session affinity. You can configure ASP.NET web
applications to store session state in the Windows State Service or a database. You should
use this technique in a multi-server farm, because each request from a single user session
might be directed to a different web server. Alternatively, by configuring session affinity,
3. you can ensure that all requests from a user session are always sent to the same web server.
If you do not use external hosted session state or session affinity, the user preference on one
web server may get lost when a request is sent to another web server. Session affinity is
supported by some but not all load balancing solutions. Work with your web server
administrator to determine if affinity is available on your farm.
Configure the machineKey element in the Web.config file. If you are using external hosted
session state, you can encrypt the connection between the web servers and the State Service
server or database server. This technique improves security by protecting session state
during network transmissions. You can configure this encryption by setting up the
4.
machineKey element in the Windows registry.
Additional Reading: For more information about configuring the machineKey element, go
to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=288995&clcid=0x424
Question: What is the purpose of configuring the machineKey element in the Web.config file?
Deploying Web Applications on Windows Azure
You can deploy any ASP.NET web application, including ASP.NET MVC 4 web applications,
on Windows Azure. By choosing Windows Azure as a platform, you can use a highly-available
and flexible infrastructure that you can optimize to cope with intense load. You have a choice of
subscriptions, which can help you to pay only for the traffic that your web application uses.
Deploying a web application on Windows Azure is different from deploying the application on
on-premise versions of IIS. To deploy an application on Windows Azure, you perform the
following
steps:
1. Create a new web application in the Windows Azure management portal.

2. Download and save a publishing profile for the new web application.
In Microsoft Visual Studio, open your web application solution. Then, start the Publish
3.
wizard and import the publishing profile.
Ensure that you select the correct connection strings for Entity Framework connections,
4.
service database connections, and any other database connections.
5. Complete the Publish wizard.
6. Observe that Microsoft Visual Studio publishes the web application to Windows Azure.
When the process is complete, you can access the Windows Azure-hosted web application from
any Internet-connected browser.
Note: At the time of writing, Windows Azure web applications are still in preview, within the
Windows Azure platform.
Windows Azure Web Applications and Windows Azure Cloud Services
Instead of publishing an ASP.NET MVC web application as a web application in Windows

Azure, you can choose to build and publish a Windows Azure cloud service. A cloud service is
a Windows Azure component that you can use to build a flexible multi-tiered application, with
a discrete architecture. A cloud service consists of one or more web roles and worker roles, each
with its own application files and configuration.
In a Windows Azure web application, all components of your web application run in a single
process. You can administer the web application as a single object.
Windows Azure cloud services help separate user interface logic that you build in a web-role
project, from business logic that you build in a worker process project. This separation provides
greater flexibility, and it enables calling the business logic from other processes, such as mobile
applications. You can separately administer web roles and worker processes, and run them in
separate processes. However, to publish a web application as a cloud service with separate web
roles and worker roles, you need to download and install the Windows Azure SDK. You can
download and install the Windows Azure SDK by using the Web Platform Installer. You can
use the Windows Azure cloud service templates as the starting point for your application.
Question: How does Windows Azure cloud services help enhance the flexibility of the
application?
Demonstration: How to Create a Windows Azure Website

In this demonstration, you will see how to create a new database and a new website in Windows
Azure.
Demonstration Steps
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type http://www.windowsazure.com,
2.
and then click the Go to button.
In the upper-right corner of the Windows Azure: Microsoft’s Cloud Platform | Cloud
3.
Hosting | Cloud Services page, click PORTAL.
On the Sign in to your Microsoft account page, in the Microsoft account box, type <your
4.
username>, in the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Sign in.
5. In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click WEB SITES.
In the lower-left pane of the Windows Azure page, click NEW, and then click CUSTOM
6.
CREATE.
In the URL box of the Create Web Site page, type <your username>operas, and then, in
7.
the REGION box, click <A region near you>.
In the DATABASE box of the Create Web Site page, click Create a new SQL database,
8. in the DB CONNECTION STRING NAME box, type OperasDB, and then click the
Next button.
In the NAME box of the Specify database settings page, type OperasDB, in the SERVER
9. box, click New SQL database server, and then, in the LOGIN NAME box, type <your
first name>.
In the PASSWORD box of the Specify database settings page, type Pa$$w0rd, in the
PASSWORD CONFIRMATION box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click the Complete
10. button.
Note: Windows Azure creates the new website and database to support the Operas website.
Lesson 2: Deploying an ASP.NET MVC 4 Web

Application
Deploying ASP.NET MVC applications is similar to deploying other ASP.NET applications.
This process is simple and straightforward. However, you need to update the configuration of
the application for use in the production environment. Microsoft Visual Studio includes features
that simplify updating the configuration of the application. You can also automate the
deployment process by using deployment tools available in Microsoft Visual Studio.
Lesson Objectives
o Reconfigure an ASP.NET MVC application to deploy it on a production web server.

Use the Bin Deploy method to deploy the .NET Framework libraries along with your web
o
application.
o Use the deployment tools in Visual Studio.
Reviewing Configuration for Production
Each ASP.NET MVC web application includes a Web.config file. In addition to this file,
Microsoft Visual Studio creates two variance files to specify deployment transformations to the
Web.config file. You can use these variance files for different build configurations. The
variance files include:
The Web.release.config file. This file stores the changes that Microsoft Visual Studio applies
o
to the Web.config file, when you compile the application in the Release mode.
The Web.debug.config file. This file stores
o
the changes that Microsoft Visual Studio applies to the Web.config file, when you compile
the application in the Debug mode.
Microsoft Visual Studio can automatically transform the Web.config file for use in different
environments. Before you publish the application, you can remove the debug attribute from the
Web.config file.
The following code shows how to remove the debug attribute from the Web.config file by
using a deployment transformation.
Removing the Debug Attribute for Deployment

<system.web>
<compilation xdt:Transform="RemoveAttributes(debug)" />
</system.web>
The following code shows how to remove the debug attribute from the Web.config file by
using a deployment transformation.
Removing the Debug Attribute by Using a Deployment Transformation

<system.web>
<compilation xdt:Transform="RemoveAttributes(debug)" />

</system.web>
The preceding code sample uses the xdt:Transform attribute to modify the existing
Web.config file and produce the published Web.config file. You can also use the Insert value
to add additional elements to the resultant Web.config file.
For example, the following code shows how to insert a new connection string setting in the
resultant Web.config file.
Inserting a Connection String

<connectionStrings>
<add name="DemoConnStr" connectionString="Data Source=|DataDirectory|demo.sdf"
providerName="System.Data.SqlServerCe.4.0" xdt:Transform="Insert"/>
Question: How can you configure the Web.config file for publishing to a production
environment without using the Web.release.config configuration file?
Using Bin Deploy

ASP.NET MVC applications depend on a range of .NET assemblies; these assemblies ensure
that the application functions as required. These assemblies are dynamic-link library (DLL) files
available in your project references. The assembly files are usually already present on the web
server because they are included as part of the MVC library installation. However, sometimes
the web server administrators do not install all .NET Framework assemblies. Microsoft Visual
Studio provides the Bin Deploy feature to copy all depending assembly files into a folder within
the
deployed web application. This feature helps deploy dependencies on the server.
You can use the Add Deployable Dependencies feature to generate the
_bin_deployableAssemblies folder. This folder includes the following libraries:
o Microsoft.Web.Infrastructure
o System.Web.Helpers
o System.Web.Mvc
o System.Web.Razor
o System.Web.WebPages
o System.Web.WebPages.Deployment
o System.Web.WebPages.Razor
You can choose a specific set of libraries to include in Microsoft Visual Studio. This practice
enables you to ensure that Microsoft Visual Studio deploys the:
o Right assemblies.
o Right versions of the assemblies.
You can then copy the library to the bin folder of the production server, after adding it to the
library of your project.
Question: Why should you use the deployable assembly as part of the deployment plan?
Using Visual Studio 2012 Deployment Tools
The Publish feature helps generate a copy of the web application when the application is ready
for deployment in the production environment. The feature includes three methods to deploy the
application:
o File Share
o FTP
o Web Deploy
On the Publish web application page, you can publish the application by using File Share or
FTP.
You can use File Share for servers to which you

have direct network access. Alternatively, you can use File Share to publish a web application
first to a local folder. Then, you can manually copy the files to the web server. File Share also
allows you to specify a profile to store all deployment options. This practice eliminates the need
to specify the deployment options every time you publish the application.
If you select Web Deploy, you can specify database settings, such as connection strings, in the
publishing wizard. These settings will override the settings in the Web.config file in the target
environment. Web Deploy also includes tools to automatically update the schema of the
database. These tools eliminate the need to manually update the schema. The publishing tool
detects all schema changes and generates scripts to apply those changes to the published
database. If your development and production web servers are isolated from each other, you can
run these generated scripts on the production environment. This practice replicates schema
changes on a server where Microsoft Visual Studio is not installed.
The following image shows the Publish web application page.

FIGURE 16.1:THE PUBLISH WEB APPLICATION PAGE
Question: What is the benefit of using the Web Deploy publish tool?
Demonstration: How to Deploy a Website to Windows Azure

In this demonstration, you will see how to obtain a publish profile from Windows Azure and
use it to publish a website from Visual Studio.
Demonstration Steps
2.
and then click the Go to button.
3.
On the Sign in to your Microsoft account page, in the Microsoft account box, type <your
4.
username>, in the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Sign in.
5. In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click WEB SITES.
In the NAME column of the Web Sites – Windows Azure page, click <your
6.
username>operas.
On the Web Sites – Windows Azure page, click DASHBOARD.
7.
Note: If the quick start page appears, repeat the steps 5 and 6 before proceeding to the next
step.
In the quick glance section of the Web Sites – Windows Azure page, click the Download
8.
publish profile link.
9. In the Navigation bar, click Save, and then click the Close button.
11.
right-click OperasWebSite, and then click Publish.
12. On the Profile page of the Publish Web wizard, click Import.
In the Import Publish Settings dialog box, click <your
13.
username>operas.azurewebsites.net.PublishSettings, and then click Open.
14. On the Connection page of the Publish Web wizard, click Validate Connection.
15. If the Certificate Error dialog box appears, click Accept.
16. On the Connection page, click Next.
17. On the Settings page, click Next.
18. On the Preview page, click Start Preview.
On the Preview page, click Publish.
19. Note: Visual Studio publishes the website. This process can take several minutes. When
the publish operation is complete, the website is displayed in the Internet Explorer window.
20. If the Certificate Error dialog box appears, click Accept.
In the Internet Explorer window, if the Server Error in ‘/’ Application error is displayed,
click the Refresh button.
21.
Note: If the Operas I Have Seen page does not appear, you need to re-publish the
OperasWebSite project.
In the Navigation bar, if the message Intranet settings are turned off by default. is
23.
displayed, click Turn on Intranet settings.
If the message Are you sure you want to turn on intranet-level security settings?
24.
appears, click Yes.
25. On the Index of Operas page, click the Details link corresponding to Cosi Fan Tutte.
26. On the Opera: Cosi Fan Tutte page, click the Back to List link.
27. On the Index of Operas page, click the Details link corresponding to Nixon in China.
Lab: Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web

Applications
Scenario
You have completed the development and testing of the photo sharing application. Your
managers and senior developers have signed off the project, and have requested you to deploy
the application to the Adventure Works Windows Azure account.
Objectives
o Prepare an MVC web application for deployment.

o Deploy an MVC web application to Windows Azure.
Lab Setup
User name: Admin
Password: Pa$$w0rd
In this lab, you will create a web application in Windows Azure that runs in Free mode. Free
mode is an excellent tool for testing and running small, non-intensive web applications.
However, there is a limit of 165 megabytes (MB) of data transfer per day on the Free mode tool.
After completing Exercise 2, you are encouraged to further test the deployed web application.
However, if you do a lot of extra testing, you may encounter the limit and the application may
become unavailable.
Also, before initiating this lab, perform the following steps:
1.
2.
1. On the TOOLS menu of the Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Options.
2. In the navigation pane of the Options dialog box, click Package Manager.
3.
Exercise 1: Deploying a Web Application to Windows Azure
Scenario
o Reconfigure the Photo Sharing application for release deployment.

Configure the Entity Framework initializer class, which fills the database with initial data,
o
and ensure that the build configuration and connection strings are correct.
Create a new web application in Windows Azure and deploy the Photo Sharing application to
o
the new site.
1. Prepare the Photo Sharing application project for deployment.

2. Create a new website in Windows Azure.
3. Deploy the Photo Sharing application.
Task 1: Prepare the Photo Sharing application project for deployment.

o User name: Admin
Open the Photo Sharing application solution from the following location:
2.
o File location: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod16\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication.
In the Build properties of the PhotoSharingApplication project, select the Release
3.
configuration.
4. o URL: http://www.windowsazure.com
o Password: <your password>
5. Copy the ADO.NET connection string for the PhotoSharingDB to the clipboard.
In the Web.config file, paste the connection string into the connectionString attribute of
6. the PhotoSharingDB connection string. Set the password in the pasted connection string to
Pa$$w0rd.
Log on to the Bing Maps Account Center web application by using the following
information:
7. o URL: https://www.bingmapsportal.com
o Password: <Your Windows Live account password>
8. Copy the Bing Maps key.
9. Replace the text, {Your Bing Key}, in the MapDisplay.js file, with the copied key.
Task 2: Create a new website in Windows Azure.
In Windows Azure, create a new website by using the following information:
o URL: <your username>PhotoSharing

o Region: <a region near you>
1. o Database: PhotoSharingDB
o Database connection string name: PhotoSharingDB.
o Database user: <Your first name>
Task 3: Deploy the Photo Sharing application.
In Windows Internet Explorer, download the publish profile for the <your
1.
username>PhotoSharing web application.
In Microsoft Visual Studio, start the Publish Web wizard and import the publish profile you
2.
just downloaded.
For the Photo Sharing Context database connection, select the PhotoSharingDB
3.
connection string.
For the Photo Sharing DB database connection, select the PhotoSharingDB connection
4.
string.
5. For the UsersContext database connection, select the PhotoSharingDB connection string.
6. Preview the files that require changes, and then publish the web application.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to prepare an ASP.NET MVC web
application for production deployment, create a web application in Windows Azure, and deploy
an MVC web application to Windows Azure.
Exercise 2: Testing the Completed Application
Scenario
You have completed and fully deployed the Photo Sharing web application in Windows Azure.
Now, you want to perform some final functionality tests before you confirm the completion of
the application to your manager.
1. Add a photo and a comment.

2. Use the slideshow and favorites options.
3. Test the chat room.
Task 1: Add a photo and a comment.
Log on to the Adventure Works Photo Sharing web application by using the following
information:
1.
Add a new photo to the web application by using the following information:
2. o Title: Test New Photo

o Photo: Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod16\Sample Photos\track.JPG
o Description: This is the first photo added to the deployed web application
3. Display the new photo and check if the data is displayed correctly.
Add a new comment to the new photo by using the following information:
4. o Subject: Functionality Check
o Body: The photo metadata is displayed correctly
Task 2: Use the slideshow and favorites options.

Examine the Slideshow webpage and check that the display of all photos functions as
1.
designed.
2. Add three photos to your favorites list.
3. View the Favorites slideshow.
1. Enter the chat room for Sample Photo 1.

2. Send a message.
Start a new instance of Internet Explorer and browse to the Photo Sharing application by
3. o URL: http://<yourusername>PhotoSharing.azurewebsites.net
o User name: Mark Steele
4. Enter the chat room for Sample Photo 1.
Send a second message and switch to the first instance of Internet Explorer. Send a third
5.
message.
6. Close Internet Explorer and Visual Studio.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to confirm that all the functionalities
that you built in the Photo Sharing application run correctly in the Windows Azure deployment.
Question: Why is it unnecessary to use bin deployment in this lab?
Question: In the labs for this course, you used the same Windows Azure SQL Database for
both development and production. If you wanted to use separate databases for development and
production, but did not want to reconfigure the web application every time you deployed to the
development and production web servers, how would you configure the web application?

Deployment is usually the last task that developers perform; however, this is the task that
developers do not spend much time on. The target environment usually impacts the deployment
procedure. In the case of Windows Azure, service packages allow the management portal to
deploy the package to the virtual machine that hosts the workload.
To simplify the deployment process, Microsoft Visual Studio consists of a number of tools that
help developers generate files for deployment. These tools also help handle the database during
deployment. You can also generate the Web.config file based on the environment that it deploys
to.
Review Question(s)
Question: You need to create two packages for deployment-for testing and for production
environment. This is because of the difference in server name and other environment settings.
What should you do?
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LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 01: EXPLORING
ASP.NET MVC 4
Exercise 1: Exploring a Photo Sharing Application
Task 1: Register a user account.
In the result pane of the Hyper-V Manager console, in the Name list of the Virtual
1.
Machines area, right-click 20486B-SEA-DEV11, and then click Connect.
2. To log on to 20486B-SEA-DEV11, click the Ctrl+Alt+Delete button.
In the User name box, type Admin, in the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click
3.
the Forward button.
4. On the Windows 8 Start screen, click Visual Studio 2012.
On the taskbar, right-click the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio icon, and then click
5.
Pin this program to taskbar.
On the FILE menu of the Start Page – Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to Open,
6.
and then click Project/Solution.
In the Open Project dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
7. (D):\Labfiles\Mod01\PhotoSharingSample, click PhotoSharingSample.sln, and then
click Open.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
8.
click Start Without Debugging.
On the Home page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, in the upper-right
corner, click Register.
9.
Note: In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, if a notification bar appears,
click Don’t show this message box again.
10. On the Register page, in the User name box, type <A user name of your choice>.
On the Register page, in the Password box, type <A password of your choice>, in the
11.
Confirm password box, type <A password of your choice>, and then click Register.
Task 2: Upload and explore photos.
1. On the Home page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/window, click All Photos.

2. On the Photo Index page, click the Details link corresponding to the “Orchard” image.
3. On the Photo: Orchard page, in the Subject box, type Just a Test Comment.
In the Body box, type This is a Sample, and then click Create.
4.
Note: The comment you have added appears in the Comments section.
On the Photo: Orchard page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/photo/2 window,
5.
click Add a Photo.
6. On the Create New Photo page, in the Title box, type Fall Fungi.
7. In the Upload new Picture box, click Browse.
In the Choose File to Upload dialog box, navigate to Allfiles (D):\
8.
Labfiles\Mod01\Pictures, click fungi.JPG, and then click Open.
9. In the Description box, type Sample Text, and then click Create.
10. On the Photo Index page, verify that the newly added photo is displayed.
11. On the Photo Index page, click the Details link corresponding to the “Fall Fungi” image.
12. On the Photo: Fall Fungi page, note that the description provided for the photo is updated.
Task 3: Use slideshows.
On the Photo: Fall Fungi page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/photo/6

window, click the Slideshow tab.
1.
Note: You can view all the images on the Photo Index page. Verify that all the images in
the gallery are displayed in the slideshow.
On the SlideShow page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Photo/SlideShow
2.
window, click All Photos.
On the Photo: Fall Fungi page, click the Add to favorites link.
4.
Note: Verify that the message, “The picture has been added to your favorites”, is displayed.
5. At the lower-left corner of the Photo: Fall Fungi page, click the Back to List link.
6. On the Photo Index page, click the Details link corresponding to the “Orchard” image.
On the Photo: Orchard page, click the Add to favorites link.
7.
8. At the lower-left corner of the Photo: Orchard page, click the Back to List link.
9. On the Photo Index page, click the Details link corresponding to the “Flower” image.
On the Photo: Flower page, click the Add to favorites link.
10.
On the Photo: Flower page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/photo/1 window,
click Favorites.
11.
Note: Verify that all the images that you have added as favorites are displayed in the
slideshow.
Task 4: Test the authorization.
In the upper-right corner of the SlideShow page, click the Log Off link.
1. Note: Before clicking All Photos, on the Privacy tab of the Internet Options dialog box,
click Clear Sites, and then click OK. After clearing the sites, press F5, or click the Refresh
button, before you click All Photos.
2. On the Home page, click All Photos.
On the Photo: Fall Fungi page, in the Comments section, note that the message, “To
4.
comment you must log in”, is displayed.
5. On the Photo: Fall Fungi page, click All Photos.
On the Photo Index page, click the Create New link.
Note: Ensure that you are not able to view your user name in the web application. If you are
6. able to view your user name, press F5 or click the Refresh button, before proceeding to the
next step.
Note: You are directed to the Logon page, and prompted to enter the logon credentials.
8. In the PhotoSharingSample – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to understand the functionality of a photo
sharing application, and implement the required application structure in the Adventure Works
photo sharing application.
Exercise 2: Exploring a Web Pages Application
Task 1: Create a Web Pages application.

On the FILE menu of the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to New, and
2.
then click Web Site.
In the navigation pane of the New Web Site dialog box, expand Installed, expand
3.
Templates, and then click Visual C#.
In the result pane of the New Web Site dialog box, click ASP.NET Web Site (Razor v2),
4.
and then click OK.
On the DEBUG menu of the WebSite1 – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Start
5.
Debugging.
On the home page of the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, click Contact to
6.
review its contents.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the WebSite1(1) - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
1.
click Web.config.
In the Web.config code window, locate the <DbProviderFactories> element, and then
2.
locate the <add> element.
In the <add> element, note that the value of the description attribute is .NET Framework
3.
Data Provider for Microsoft SQL Server Compact.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the WebSite1(1) - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
4.
click Default.cshtml.
5. In the Default.cshtml code window, note that the value of Layout is ~/_SiteLayout.cshtml.
6. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Contact.cshtml.
In the Contact.cshtml code window, note that the value of Layout is ~/_SiteLayout.cshtml.
7. Note: This indicates that the Default.cshtml and the Contact.cshtml files use the same
layout file, ~/_SiteLayout.cshtml.
In the Contact.cshtml code window, examine the Razor code and note that there are no
8.
links to .css files.
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, click _SiteLayout.cshtml.
In the _SiteLayout.cshtml code window, in the HEAD element, note that there is a link to
10.
~/Content/Site.css.
11. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Content, and then click Site.css.
12. In the Site.css code window, verify the style sheet for _SiteLayout.cshtml.
In the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, in the Solution Explorer pane,
1.
right-click WebSite1(1), point to Add, and then click Add New Item.
2. In the Add New Item – WebSite1(1) dialog box, click Web Page (Razor v2).
In the Name box of the Add New Item – WebSite1(1) dialog box, type TestPage.cshtml,
3.
and then click Add.
In the TestPage.cshtml code window of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio
4. window, in the BODY element, type the following code.
<h1>This is a Test Page</h1>
On the FILE menu of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Save
5.
All.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
6.
click Default.cshtml.
In the Default.cshtml code window, in the P element, type the following code.
7.
<a href="~/TestPage.cshtml">
Test Page
</a>
On the FILE menu of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Save
8.
All.
On the DEBUG menu of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Start
9.
Debugging.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Default.cshtml window, click Test Page to
view its contents.
10.
Note: The text, “This is a Test Page”, is displayed on the webpage that you just added.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the WebSite1(1) - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
1.
TestPage.cshtml.
In the TestPage.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor before <!DOCTYPE html>,
2.
and then press Enter twice.
In the first line of the TestPage.cshtml code window, type the following code block.
3.
@{
}
In the Razor code block of the TestPage.cshtml code window, type the following code.
4.
Layout = "~/_SiteLayout.cshtml";
5. On the FILE menu of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Save All.
On the DEBUG menu of the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Start
6.
Debugging.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/TestPage.cshtml window, note that the standard
7.
site layout and styles have been applied.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/TestPage.cshtml window, click the Close
8.
button.
9. In the WebSite1(1) – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple Web Pages application in
Visual Studio.
Exercise 3: Exploring a Web Forms Application
Task 1: Create a Web Forms application.
1. On the taskbar, click the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio icon.
On the FILE menu of the Start Page -Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to New, and
2.
then click Project.
In the left pane of the New Project dialog box, expand Installed, expand Templates, and
3.
then expand Visual C#.
Under Visual C#, click Web, and then, in the result pane, click ASP.NET Web Forms
4.
Application.
In the Name box, replace WebApplication1 with TestWebFormsApplication, and then
5.
click OK.
On the DEBUG menu of the TestWebFormsApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio
6.
window, click Start Debugging.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Default.aspx window, click Contact to review
7.
the contents.
8. In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Contact.aspx window, click the Close button.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the TestWebFormsApplication – Microsoft Visual

1.
Studio window, click Web.config.
In the Web.config code window, locate the <configuration> element, locate the
2.
<connectionStrings> element, and then locate the <add> element.
In the <add> element, note that the value of the providerName attribute is
3.
4.
Studio window, click Default.aspx.
In the first line of the Default.aspx code window, note that the value of the
5.
MasterPageFile attribute is ~/Site.Master.
6. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Contact.aspx.
In the first line of the Contact.aspx code window, note that the value of the
MasterPageFile attribute is ~/Site.Master.
7.
Note: The Default.aspx and Contact.aspx files are linked to the same layout file.
In the Contact.aspx code window, examine the code, and note that there are no links for
8.
files with a .css extension.
9.
Studio window, click Site.Master.
10. In the Site.Master code window, note that the path for BundleReference is ~/Content/css.
11. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Bundle.config.
12. In the Bundle.config code window, note that there are links to files with a .css extension.
14. In the Site.css code window, note that the style sheet for Site.Master is displayed.

1. Studio window, right-click TestWebFormsApplication, point to Add, and then click
Web Form.
In the Item name box of the Specify Name for Item dialog box, replace WebForm1 with
2.
TestPage, and then click OK.
In the Testpage.aspx code window, in the DIV element, type the following code.
3.
On the FILE menu of the TestWebFormsApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio
4.
window, click Save All.
5.
Studio window, click Default.aspx.
In the Default.aspx code window, in the P element, type the following code.
6. <a href="TestPage.aspx">
Test Page
</a>
7.
8.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Default.aspx window, click the Test Page link
to view the newly created Web Form page.
9.
Note: The text, “This is a Test Page”, is displayed on the Web Form page.
10. In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/TestPage.aspx window, click the Close button.
Task 4: Apply the master page.

1.
Studio window, click TestPage.aspx.
In the first line of the Testpage.aspx code window, place the mouse cursor after the word,
2. “Page”, press Spacebar, and then type the following code.
MasterPageFile="~/Site.master"
In the TestPage.aspx code window, select the code from <!DOCTYPE html> to </html>,
3.
and then press Delete.
In the third line of the TestPage.aspx code window, type the following code.
4. <asp:Content runat="server"
ID="BodyContent"
ContentPlaceHolderID="MainContent">
</asp:Content>
5.
6.
7. In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/TestPage.aspx window, click Home.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/window, click the Test Page link, and then note
8.
that the standard site layout and styles have been applied to the page.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/TestPages.aspx window, click the Close
9.
button.
In the TestWebFormsApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close
10.
button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple Web Forms application
in Visual Studio.
Exercise 4: Exploring an MVC Application
Task 1: Create an MVC 4 application.
1. On the taskbar, click the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio icon.
On the FILE menu of the Start Page – Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to New,
2.
and then click Project.
In the navigation pane of the New Project dialog box, expand Installed, expand Templates,
3.
and then expand Visual C#.
In the navigation pane of the New Project dialog box, under Visual C#, click Web, and
4.
then, in the result pane, click ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application.
5. In the Name box, replace MvcApplication with TestMVCApplication, and then click OK.
In the Select a template section of the New ASP.NET MVC 4 Project dialog box, ensure
6.
that Internet Application is selected, and then click OK.
On the DEBUG menu of the TestMVCApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
7.
click Start Debugging.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, click Contact to review the contents of
8.
the page.
9. In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/Home/Contact window, click the Close button.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the TestMVCApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
window, click Web.config.
In the Web.config code window, locate the <configuration> element, locate the
2.
<connectionStrings>element, and then locate the <add> element.
In the <add> element, note that the value for the providerName attribute is
3.
4. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, and then click _ViewStart.cshtml.
In the _ViewStart.cshtml code window, note that the value for Layout is
5.
~/Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml.
6. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Home, and then click Contact.cshtml.
7. In the Contact.cshtml code window, note that there are no files with the .css extension.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, collapse Home, expand Shared, and then
8.
click _Layout.cshtml.
9. In the _Layout.cshtml code window, note that there are calls to the Styles helper.
11. In the Site.css code window, note that the style sheet for _Layout.cshtml is displayed.

1.
window, expand Home.
2. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Home, point to Add, and then click View.
In the View name box of the AddView dialog box, replace View1 with TestPage, clear the
3.
Use a layout or master page check box, and then click Add.
In the DIV element of the TestPage.cshtml code window, type the following code.
4.
5. On the toolbar, click the Save button.
6. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Controllers, and then click HomeController.cs.
In the HomeController.cs code window, in the HomeController class, type the following
code.
7. public ActionResult TestPage ()
{
return View();
}
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Home, click Index.cshtml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, in the first P element, type the following code.
10. <a href="~/Home/TestPage">
Test Page
</a>
On the FILE menu of the TestMVCApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
11.
click Save All.
12.
In the http://localhost:<portnumber>/ window, click the Test Page link to view the newly
created page.
13.
Note: The text, “This is a Test Page”, is displayed on the newly created page.
14. In the http://localhost:<portnumber>/home/TestPage window, click the Close button.

1.
window, expand Views, expand Home, and then click TestPage.cshtml.
In the TestPage.cshtml code window, remove the following line of code.
2.
Layout = null;
In the TestPage.cshtml code window, delete all tags, except the following.
3.
On the FILE menu of the TestMVCApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
5.
click Save All.
6.
7. In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/ window, click the Test Page link.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/home/TestPage window, note that the standard
8.
site layout and styles have been applied.
In the http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/home/TestPage window, click the Close
9.
button.
10. In the TestMVCApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to build a simple MVC application in
Visual Studio.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 02: DESIGNING

Lab: Designing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Applications
Exercise 1: Planning Model Classes
Task 1: Examine the initial investigation.

1.
3.
the Forward button.
4. On the Windows 8 Start screen, click Desktop.
5. On the taskbar, click the File Explorer icon.
In the Libraries window, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02, and then double-click
6.
InitialInvestigation.docx.
On the View tab of the InitialInvestigation.docx - Microsoft Word window, in the Show
7.
group, ensure that the Navigation Pane check box is selected.
8. In the Navigation pane, click Introduction to view the contents of the Introduction section.
In the Navigation pane, click General Description of the Photo Sharing Application to
9.
view the contents.
10. In the Navigation pane, click Use Cases to view the contents.
11. In the Navigation pane, under Use Cases, view all the Use Cases in the document.
In the InitialInvestigation.docx - Microsoft Word window, review Figure 1: Use Case
12.
Summary.
13. In the InitialInvestigation.docx - Microsoft Word window, click the Close button.
Task 2: Plan the photo model class.

2. In the D:\Labfiles\Mod02 window, double-click DetailedPlanningDocument.docx.
In the DetailedPlanningDocument.docx - Microsoft Word window, locate the MVC
3.
Model section.
4. In the MVC Model section, locate the Table 1: MVC Model table.
5. In the first row of the Model Class column, type <Model class name1>.
6. In the first row of the Description column, type <Description of the model class>.
In the Table 1: MVC Model table, in the first row of the Properties column, type
7.
<Property1>.
8. Add other properties to the model class.
In the Table 1: MVC Model table, in the first row of the Data Types column, type <Data
9.
type1>.
10. Add other data types corresponding to the photo properties.
In the Model Class column of the Table 1: MVC Model table, select all the rows adjacent
11.
to the properties you have added, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
In the Description column of the Table 1: MVC Model table, select all the rows adjacent
12.
to the properties you have added, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
13. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click Save.
14. On the taskbar, move the pointer to the lower-left corner, and then click the Start icon.
15. On the Windows 8 Start screen, click Microsoft Visio 2010.
On the File tab of the Microsoft Visio window, click the New tab, and then, in the
16.
Template Categories section, click Software and Database.
In the Choose a Template section, click UML Model Diagram, click Metric Units, and
17.
then, in the result pane, click Create. If prompted to add a new template, click Yes.
In the Shapes pane of the Drawing1 - Microsoft Visio window, ensure UML Static
18.
Structure (Metric) is selected.
19. In the UML Static Structure stencil, drag the Class shape onto the drawing page.
20. On the drawing page, right-click the Class shape, and then click Properties.
21. In the Name box of the UML Class Properties dialog box, type <Model name1>.
22. In the Categories pane of the UML Class Properties dialog box, click Attributes.
23. In the Attributes table, in the first row of the Attribute column, type <Property1>.
24. In the first row of the Type column, click <Data type1>.
25. Add the attributes for all the properties you added, and then click OK.
26. On the Quick Access Toolbar of the Drawing1 - Microsoft Visio window, click Save.
In the Save As dialog box, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod02, in the File name box,
27.
type PhotoSharingLDM, and then click Save.
Task 3: Plan the comment model class.
1. On the taskbar, click the Microsoft Word icon.

2.
Model section.
In the DetailedPlanning Document.docx - Microsoft Word window, locate the Table 1:
3.
MVC Model table.
4. In the second row of the Model Class column, type <Model name2>.
5. In the second row of the Description column, type <Description of the model>.
In the Properties column of the Table 1: MVC Model table, add the properties
6.
corresponding to the model class you created.
In the Data Types column of the Table 1: MVC Model table, add data types
7.
corresponding to the comment properties.
In the Model Class column of the Table 1: MVC Model table, select all the rows adjacent
to the properties you added, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
8.
Note: The rows in the Model Class column should only be merged if you have created
more than one property.
In the Description column, select all the rows adjacent to the properties you added, right-
9. click, and then click Merge Cells.
Note: The rows in the Description column should only be merged if you have created
more than one property.
11. On the taskbar, click the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio 2010 icon.
In the Shapes pane of the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio window, ensure that
12.
the UML Static Structure (Metric) stencil is selected.
13. In the UML Static Structure stencil, drag the Class shape onto the drawing page.
14. On the drawing page, right-click the Class shape, and then click Properties.
15. In the Name box of the UML Class Properties dialog box, type <Model name2>.
16. In the Categories pane of the UML Class Properties dialog box, click Attributes.
In the Attributes table, in the first row of the Attribute column, type the name of the
17.
property you added.
18. In the first row of the Type column, select the corresponding data type.
19. Add the attributes for all the properties you added, and then click OK.
On the Home tab of the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio window, in the Tools
20.
group, click Connector.
On the drawing page, move the mouse pointer over one of the model classes, click the blue
21.
cross, and then drag the connector to the second model class.
22. On the drawing page, right-click the connector, and then click Shape Display Options.
In the End Options section of the UML Shape Display Options dialog box, clear the First
23.
end name and the Second end name check boxes, and then click OK.
On the drawing page of PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio window, right-click the
24.
connector, and then click Properties.
In the Categories pane of the UML Association Properties dialog box, ensure that
25.
Association is selected.
In the Association Ends table, for each end of the connector, select an appropriate value
for the Multiplicity column, and then click OK.
26. Note: The values you choose should be determined by the number of photos that can be
associated with a comment and the number of comments that can be associated with a
photo.
On the Quick Access Toolbar of the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio window,
27.
click Save.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for a model, and
configure the properties and data types of the model classes.
Exercise 2: Planning Controllers
Task 1: Plan the photo controller.

1. On the taskbar, click the Microsoft Word icon.
2.
Controllers section.
In the DetailedPlanning Document.docx - Microsoft Word window, locate the Table 2:
3.
MVC Controllers table.
4. In the first row of the Controller column, type <Controller1>.
5. In the first row of the Action column, type <Action1>.
6. Add other required actions for the controller for photos.
7. In the first row of the Description column, type <Description1>.
Add other descriptions to the subsequent rows of the Action column.
8.
Note: Describe when each action is run, what it does, and any views it returns.
In the Controller column of the Table 2: MVC Controllers table, select all the rows
9.
adjacent to the Action column, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
Task 2: Plan the comment controller.
In the Table 2: MVC Controllers table, in the second row of the Controller column, type
1.
<Controller2>.
2. In the Action column, corresponding to <Controller2>, type <Action1>.
3. Add other required actions in the subsequent rows of the Action column.
4. In the Description column, type the description of the corresponding actions.
In the Controller column of the Table 2: MVC Controllers table, select all the adjacent
5.
rows to the actions you planned, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for controllers and
configure their properties and data types.
Exercise 3: Planning Views
Task 1: Plan the single photo view.

1.
Views section, and then locate the Table 3: MVC Views table.
2. In the first row of the Controller column, type <Controller1>.
3. Add other required controllers to the Table 3: MVC Views.
4. In the first row of the View column, type <View1>.
In the subsequent rows of the View column, add other required views corresponding to the
5.
controllers.
6. In the Description column, type the description of the corresponding views.
In the Controller column of the Table 3: MVC Views table, select all the rows adjacent to
7.
the actions you planned for <Controller1>, right-click, and then click Merge Cells.
8. In the Controller column, merge the rows corresponding to the other controllers.
10. On the taskbar, click the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio icon.
On the File tab of the PhotoSharingLDM.vsd - Microsoft Visio window, click the New
11.
tab.
12. In the Template Categories section of the New tab, click Software and Database.
In the Choose a Template section, click Wireframe Diagram, and then, in the result pane,
13.
click Create.
In the Shapes pane of the Drawing1 - Microsoft Visio window, ensure Dialogs (Metric) is
14.
selected.
15. In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag the Application Form shape to the drawing page.
16. On the drawing page, resize the new shape to fill most of the page.
In the Application Form shape, double-click Application Title, and then type the title you
17.
want to be displayed.
In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag the Panel shape to the Application Form shape, and
18.
drop it under the title.
19. Resize the panel to fill the width of the Application Form shape.
20. Resize the panel to the same height as the Application Form shape.
21. In the Shapes pane, click Controls (Metric).
22. In the Controls (Metric) stencil, drag a Hyperlink shape to the panel.
23. In the Hyperlinks dialog box, click Cancel.
On the drawing page of the Drawing2 - Microsoft Visio window, double-click Hyperlink,
24.
and then type Home.
25. Add links for Gallery, Add a Photo, and Slideshow on the panel.
26. In the Shapes pane, click Dialogs (Metric).
In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag a Panel shape to the Application Form shape, and
27.
drop the panel beneath the menu.
28. Resize the panel to display a large photo.
29. In the Shapes pane, click Web and Media Icons (Metric).
In the Web and Media Icons (Metric) stencil, drag a Photos shape to the panel you
created.
30. Note: Add other elements to the wireframe diagram that you feel are necessary based on
your reading of the InitialInvestigation document. Steps will vary, depending on the
elements you feel are necessary.
31. On the Quick Access Toolbar of the Drawing2 - Microsoft Visio window, click Save.
32.
type SinglePhotoWireframe, and then click Save.
Task 2: Plan the gallery view.
On the File tab of the SinglePhotoWireframe.vsd - Microsoft Visio window, click the
1.
New tab.
2. In the Template Categories section of the New tab, click Software and Database.
In the Choose a Template section, click Wireframe Diagram, and then, in the result pane,
3.
click Create.
In the Shapes pane of the Drawing3 - Microsoft Visio window, ensure Dialogs (Metric)
4.
is selected.
5. In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag an Application Form shape to the drawing page.
6. On the drawing page, resize the new shape to fill most of the page.
In the Application Form shape, double-click Application Title, and type the title you
7.
want to be displayed.
In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag the Panel shape to the Application Form shape, and
8.
drop it under the title.
9. Resize the panel to fill the width of the Application Form shape.
10. Resize the panel to be approximately the same height as the title.
11. In the Shapes pane, click Controls (Metric).
12. In the Controls (Metric) stencil drag a Hyperlink shape to the panel.
13. In the Hyperlinks dialog box, click Cancel.
On the drawing page of the Drawing3 - Microsoft Visio window, double-click Hyperlink,
14.
and then type Home.
On the panel, add Hyperlinks with the following labels: Gallery, Add a Photo, and
15.
Slideshow.
16. In the Shapes pane, click Dialogs (Metric).
In the Dialogs (Metric) stencil, drag a Panel shape to the Application Form shape, and
17.
drop the panel beneath the menu.
18. Resize the panel to display a thumbnail photo.
19. In the Shapes pane, click Web and Media Icons (Metric).
In the Web and Media Icons (Metric) stencil, drag a Photos shape to the panel you
created.
Note: You can add multiple panels to display many thumbnails in the Gallery view. your
20. reading of the InitialInvestigation document.
Note: Add other elements to the wireframe diagram that you feel are necessary based on
Steps will vary, depending on the elements you feel are necessary.
22.
type PhotoGalleryWireframe, and then click Save.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will create proposals for views and their layouts.
Exercise 4: Architecting an MVC Web Application
Task 1: Hosting options.
1. On the taskbar, click the DetailedPlanningDocument(docx) - Microsoft Word icon.

In the DetailedPlanningDocument(docx) - Microsoft Word window, locate the Hosting
2.
Recommedations section, and then locate the Web Server section.
3. Under Web Server, type the recommended host and web server configuration.
Task 2: Choose a data store.
In the Database section of the DetailedPlanningDocument(docx) - Microsoft Word

1.
window, type the recommended database and server configuration.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create proposals for hosting
arrangements.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 03: DEVELOPING

ASP.NET MVC 4 MODELS
Exercise 1: Creating an MVC Project and Adding a Model
Task 1: Create a new MVC project.
1.
3.
the Submit button.
On the File menu of the Start Page - Microsoft Visual Studio window, point to New, and
5.
then click Project.
In the left pane of the New Project dialog box, expand Installed, expand Templates, and
6.
then expand Visual C#.
Under Visual C#, click Web, and then, in the result pane, click ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
7.
Application.
8. In the Name box of the New Project dialog box, type PhotoSharingApplication.
9. In the Location box, ensure that the location specified is Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03.
In the New Project dialog box, ensure that the Create directory for solution check box is
10.
selected, and then click OK.
In the Select a template list of the New ASP.NET MVC 4 Project dialog box, click
11.
Empty, and then click OK.
Task 2: Add a new MVC model.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
window, right-click Models, point to Add, and then click Class.
In the Name box of the Add New Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, type Photo,
2.
and then click Add.
3.
In the Name box of the Add New Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, type
4.
Comment, and then click Add.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC 4 web application
and add model classes to the web application.
Exercise 2: Adding Properties to MVC Models
Task 1: Add properties to the Photo model class.

1.
window, click Photo.cs.
In the Photo class of the Photo.cs code window, type the following code, and then press
2. Enter.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoID property code, press Enter, and then type
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Title property code, press Enter, and then type the
4. following code.
public byte[] PhotoFile
{ get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoFile property code, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
5.
public string ImageMimeType
{ get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ImageMimeType property code, press Enter, and
6.
public string Description
{ get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Description property code, press Enter, and then
7.
public DateTime CreatedDate
{ get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the CreatedDate property code, press Enter, and then
8.
public string UserName
{ get; set; }
Task 2: Add properties to the Comment model class.

1.
window, click Comment.cs.
In the Comment class of the Comment.cs code window, type the following code, and then
2. press Enter.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the CommentID property code, press Enter, and then
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoID property code, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
4.
public string UserName
{ get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the UserName property code, press Enter, and then
public string Subject { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Subject property code, press Enter, and then type
6.
the following code.
public string Body { get; set; }
Task 3: Implement a relationship between model classes.

1.
In the Photo.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the UserName property
code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
2.
public virtual ICollection<Comment>
Comments { get; set; }
3. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Comment.cs.
In the Comment.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Body property
4.
code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
public virtual Photo Photo
{ get; set; }
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add properties to classes to describe
them to the MVC runtime. You will also implement a one-to-many relationship between
classes.
Exercise 3: Using Data Annotations in MVC Models
Task 1: Add display and edit data annotations to the model.

1.
In the Photo.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Title property code,
[DisplayName("Picture")]
In the Photo.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the System.web
3. namespace code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
using System.ComponentModel;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ImageMimeType property code, press Enter, and
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the System.ComponentModel namespace code, press
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Description property code, press Enter, and then
6. [DataType(DataType.DateTime)]
[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString =
"{0:MM/dd/yy}")]
In the Comment.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Subject property
8. code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the System.Web namespace code, press Enter, and then
9.
Task 2: Add validation data annotations to the model.

1.
In the Photo.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoID property
2. code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
[Required]
In the Comment.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the UserName
4.
property code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
[Required]
[StringLength(250)]
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add property descriptions and data
annotations to the two model classes in the MVC web application.
Exercise 4: Creating a New Windows Azure SQL Database
Task 1: Add an Entity Framework Context to the model.

1.
window, right-click References, and then click Manage NuGet Packages.
In the navigation pane of the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages
2.
window, click Online, click EntityFramework, and then click Install.
3. On the License Acceptance page, click I Accept.
4. In the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages window, click Close.
6.
PhotoSharingContext, and then click Add.
In the PhotoSharingContext.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
7. System.Web namespace, press Enter, and then type the following code.
In the PhotoSharingContext.cs code window, locate the following code.
8.
public class PhotoSharingContext
9.
: DbContext
10. In the PhotoSharingContext class, type the following code.
public DbSet<Photo> Photos
{ get; set; }
public DbSet<Comment> Comments
{ get; set; }
Task 2: Add an Entity Framework Initializer.

1.
2.
PhotoSharingInitializer, and then click Add.
In the PhotoSharingInitializer.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
System.web namespace code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
3.
using System.IO;
In the PhotoSharingInitializer.cs code window, locate the following code.
4.
public class
PhotoSharingInitializer
Append the following to the existing line of code.
5.
: DropCreateDatabaseAlways
<PhotoSharingContext>
In the Libraries dialog box, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03\CodeSnippets, and
7.
then double-click getFileBytes.txt.
8. In the getFileBytes.txt - Notepad window, press Ctrl+A, and then press Ctrl+C.
9. On the taskbar, click the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio icon.
Place the mouse cursor in the PhotoSharingInitializer class of the PhotoSharingInitializer.cs
10.
code window, press Enter, and then press Ctrl+V.
In a new line of the PhotoSharingInitializer class, type the following code, press Spacebar,
11. and then click Seed(PhotoSharingContext context).
override
In the Seed method, place the mouse cursor after the call to base.Seed, press Enter twice,
var photos = new List<Photo>
{
new Photo {
Title = "Test Photo",
Description = "Your
Description",
UserName = "NaokiSato",
PhotoFile = getFileBytes
("\\Images\\flower.jpg"),
ImageMimeType =
"image/jpeg",
CreatedDate = DateTime.Today
}
};
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the list of Photo objects, press Enter twice, and then
13.
photos.ForEach(s =>
context.Photos.Add(s));
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Entity Framework context code, press Enter twice,
var comments = new List<Comment>
{
new Comment {
14. PhotoID = 1,
UserName = "NaokiSato",
Subject = "Test Comment",
Body = "This comment " +
"should appear in " +
"photo 1"
}
};
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the list of Comment objects, press Enter twice, and
15.
comments.ForEach(s =>
context.Comments.Add(s));
16. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Global.asax.
In the Global.asax code window, place the cursor at the end of the System.Web.Routing
17.
using PhotoSharingApplication.Models;
18. In the Application_Start method code block, type the following code.
Database.SetInitializer
<PhotoSharingContext>
(new PhotoSharingInitializer());
Task 3: Create a Windows Azure SQL database and obtain a connection string.
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type http://www.windowsazure.com/
2.
3. On the Windows Azure page, click PORTAL.
4. In the Username box, type <your Windows Live user name>.
5. In the Password box, type <your Windows Live password>, and then click Sign in.
6. In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click SQL DATABASES.
7. In the lower pane, click NEW.
8. In the New dialog box, click SQL DATABASE, and then click CUSTOM CREATE.
In the Name box of the NEW SQL DATABASE - CUSTOM CREATE page, type
9.
PhotoSharingDB.
10. In the SERVER box, click New SQL database Server, and then click the Next button.
11. In the LOGIN NAME box, type <your first name>.
12. In the LOGIN PASSWORD box, type Pa$$w0rd.
13. In the LOGIN PASSWORD CONFIRMATION box, type Pa$$w0rd.
In the REGION box, click <a region close to you>, and then click the Complete button.
14. Note: In the sql databases result pane, note that a new database, PhotoSharingDB, has been
created.
In the Name column of the sql databases page, click PhotoSharingDB, and then click the
15.
DASHBOARD tab.
16. In the quick glance section, click the Manage allowed IP addresses link.
17. In the RULE NAME box of the result window, type First Address Range.
18. In the START IP ADDRESS box, type <first address in range>.
19. In the END IP ADDRESS box, type <last address in range>.
In the lower pane of the SQL Databases – Windows Azure window, click Save.
20.
Note: To add more IP address ranges, you can repeat the steps 18–20.
In the Name column of the sql databases page, click PhotoSharingDB, and then click the
21.
DASHBOARD tab.
22. In the quick glance section, click the Show connection strings link.
In the ADO.NET box of the Connection Strings window, select the given text, and then
23.
press Ctrl+C.
25. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Web.config.
In the Web.config code window, place the mouse cursor after the </appsettings> tag, press
Enter, and then type the following code.
26.
<connectionStrings>
connectionString = ""
providerName =
In the connectionStrings code block, place the mouse cursor within the quotes after
27.
connectionString = and then press Ctrl-V.
In the pasted content, locate the text {your_password_here} and then replace it with
28.
Pa$$w0rd.
On the Build menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window
29.
click Build Solution, and then note that the application is built successfully.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC application that uses
Windows Azure SQL Database as its data store.
Exercise 5: Testing the Model and Database
Task 1: Add a controller and views.

1.
window, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click Controller.
2. In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type PhotoController.
In the Template list, click MVC Controller with read/write actions and views, using
3.
Entity Framework.
4. In the Model class list, click Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
In the Data context class list, click PhotoSharingContext
5.
(PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
6. In the Views list, ensure that the Razor (CSHTML) view is selected, and then click Add.
Task 2: Add an image and run the application.
1. In the File Explorer window, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod03\Images.

2. In the Images window, right-click flower.JPG and then click Copy.
4.
window, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, point to Add, and then click New Folder.
5. In the NewFolder1 box, type Images.
6. Under PhotoSharingApplication, right-click Images, and then click Paste.
In the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, press F5.
7. Note: The Internet Explorer window is displayed with an error message. The error message
is expected because the home page view has not been added.
photo/index, and then press Enter.
8.
Note: The details of the added image are displayed on the Index page. The scaffold
templates do not display the image itself. You will see how to display images in later labs.
On the Index page, click the Details link.
9. Note: The details of the added image such as the image type, image description, and image
creation date are displayed on the Details page. The scaffold templates do not display the
image itself.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add controllers, views, and images
to an MVC web application and test the application by displaying data from a Windows Azure
SQL database.

ASP.NET MVC 4 CONTROLLERS
Exercise 1: Adding an MVC Controller and Writing the Actions
Task 1: Create a photo controller.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
In the Libraries window, navigate to Allfiles
6.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod04\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication, and then double-click
PhotoSharingApplication.sln.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand PhotoSharingApplication, right-click Controllers,
7.
point to Add, and then click Controller.
In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type PhotoController, in
8.
the Template box, ensure that Empty MVC controller is selected, and then click Add.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
System.Web.MVC namespace, press Enter, and then type the following code.
9.
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Globalization;
In the PhotoController class code block, press Enter, type the following code, and then
10.
press Enter.
private PhotoSharingContext context =
new PhotoSharingContext();
Task 2: Create the Index action.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, replace the Index action code with the following
1.
code.
context.Photos.ToList());
Task 3: Create the Display action.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Index
action code block, press Enter, type the following code, and then press Enter.
1. public ActionResult Display
(int id)
{
}
In the Display action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
2.
Photo photo =
context.Photos.Find(id);
In the Display action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
3. if (photo == null)
{
}
4. In the Display action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
return View("Display", photo);
Task 4: Write the Create actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Display
1.
{
}
In the Create action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
2. Photo newPhoto = new Photo();
newPhoto.CreatedDate =
DateTime.Today;
In the Create action code block, type the following code.
3.
return View("Create", newPhoto);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Create action code block, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
4. [HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create
(Photo photo, HttpPostedFileBase image)
{
}
In the Create action code block that you newly created with HTTP verb POST, type the
5. following code, and then press Enter.
photo.CreatedDate = DateTime.Today;
In the Create action code block created with HTTP verb POST, type the following code,
if (!ModelState.IsValid)
{
return View("Create", photo);
}
else
{
if (image != null)
{
6. photo.ImageMimeType =
image.ContentType;
photo.PhotoFile = new
byte[image.ContentLength];
image.InputStream.Read(
photo.PhotoFile, 0,
image.ContentLength);
}
}
In the Create action code block created with HTTP verb POST, immediately after the code
7.
you just added, press Enter, type the following code, and then press Enter.
Task 5: Create the Delete actions for GET and POST HTTP verbs.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Create
action code block that you created with HTTP verb POST, press Enter twice, and then type
the following code.
1.
public ActionResult Delete (int id)
{
}
In the Delete action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
2.
Photo photo =
In the Delete action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
{
}
In the Delete action code block, type the following code.
4.
return View("Delete", photo);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Delete action code block, press Enter twice, and
[HttpPost]
5. [ActionName("Delete")]
public ActionResult DeleteConfirmed
(int id)
{
}
In the Delete action code block that you newly created, type the following code, and then
press Enter.
6.
Photo photo =
7. In the Delete action code block, type the following code.
context.Photos.Remove(photo);
Task 6: Create the GetImage action.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Delete
1. public FileContentResult GetImage
(int id)
{
}
In the GetImage action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
2.
Photo photo =
In the GetImage action code block, type the following code, and then press Enter.
if (photo != null)
{
return File(photo.PhotoFile,
3. photo.ImageMimeType);
}
else
{
return null;
}
On the toolbar of the PhotoSharingAppliaction - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the
4.
Save Controller\PhotoController.CS (Ctrl+S) button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC controller that
implements common actions for the Photo model class in the Photo Sharing application.
Exercise 2: Optional—Writing the Action Filters in a Controller
Task 1: Add an action filter class.

1.
window, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click Class.
In the Add New Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, in the Name box, type
2.
ValueReporter, and then click Add.
In the ValueReporter.cs code window of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual
Studio window, place the mouse cursor at the end of System.Web namespace, press Enter,
3.
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Web.Routing;
In the ValueReporter.cs code window, locate the following code.
4.
public class ValueReporter
5. Append the following code to the existing line of code.
: ActionFilterAttribute
Task 2: Add a logValues method to the action filter class.
In the ValueReporter class code block of the ValueReporter.cs code window, press Enter,
private void logValues
(RouteData routeData)
{
}
In the logValues method code block, type the following code.
var controller =
routeData.Values["controller"];
var action =
2. routeData.Values["action"];
string message = string.Format(
"Controller: {0}; Action: {1}",
controller, action);
Debug.WriteLine(message,
"Action Values");
In the logValues method code block, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
3. foreach (var item in

routeData.Values)
{
}
4. In the foreach loop, type the following code.
Debug.WriteLine(
">> Key: {0}; Value: {1}", item.Key,
item.Value);
Task 3: Add a handler for the OnActionExecuting event.
In the ValueReporter class code block, place the mouse cursor before the logValues method
1. code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
override
Press the Spacebar, and then double-click the following code from the list.
2.
OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
In the OnActionExecuting event code block, select the following code, and then press
3. Delete.
base.OnActionExecuting(filterContext);
In the OnActionExecuting event code block, type the following code.
4.
logValues(filterContext.RouteData);
On the toolbar of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
5.
the Save Controllers\ValueReporter.cs (Ctrl+S) button.
Task 4: Register the Action Filter with the Photo Controller.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click PhotoController.cs

2.
public class PhotoController
: Controller
Place the mouse cursor before the PhotoController class code block, press Enter, and then
[ValueReporter]
4.
the Save Controllers\PhotoController.cs (Ctrl+S) button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an action filter class that logs
the details of actions, controllers, and parameters to the Visual Studio Output window,
whenever an action is called.
Exercise 3: Using the Photo Controller
Task 1: Create the Index and Display views.
On the BUILD menu of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
window, click Build Solution.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, locate the following code, right-click the code, and
2. then click Add View.
3. In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name in the View name box is Index.
4. In the View engine box, ensure that the Razor (CSHTML) view is selected.
5. In the Add View dialog box, select the Create a strongly-typed view check box.
6. In the Model class box, click Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
7. In the Scaffold template box, click List.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Reference script libraries and the Use a
8.
layout or master page check boxes are selected, and then click Add.
In the Index.cshtml code window, select the following code.
9.
@Html.ActionLink("Details", "Details",
new { id=item.PhotoID } )
10.
@Html.ActionLink("Display", "Display", new { id=item.PhotoID } )
public ActionResult Display(int id)
13. In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name in the View name box is Display.
14. In the Views engine box, ensure that the Razor (CSHTML) view is selected.
15.
selected.
In the Model class box, ensure that the Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models) model
16.
class is selected.
17. In the Scaffold template box, click Details.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Reference script libraries and the Use a
18.
layout or master page check boxes are selected, and then click Add.
Task 2: Use the GetImage action in the Display view.
In the Display.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
1. <div class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model =>
model.Title)
</div>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the model.Title property code block, press Enter, and
2.
@if (Model.PhotoFile != null) {
}
In the if statement code block, type the following code.
3.
<img width="800" src="" />
In the src attribute of the <img> tag, type the following code.
4.
@Url.Action("GetImage", "Photo",
new { id=Model.PhotoID })
5.
the Save Views\Photo\Display.cshtml (Ctrl+S) button.
On the BUILD menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
6.
click Build Solution.
Task 3: Run the application and display a photo.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
Note: The Internet Explorer window displays an error message. The error message is
expected because the home page view has not been added.
2.
photo/index, and then press Enter.
In the Output pane of the PhotoSharingApplication (Running) - Microsoft Visual
4.
Studio window, click the Output tab.
On the Output tab, locate the following line of code.
>>Key: controller; Value : photo
5. >>Key: action; Value: index
Note: In the above line of code, note that there are no calls to the Display and GetImage
actions.
On the Index page, click the Display link corresponding to the title Me standing on top of
a mountain.
7.
Note: The selected image is displayed on the Display page.
In the Output pane of the PhotoSharingApplication (Running) - Microsoft Visual
9.
Studio window, click the Output tab.
On the Output tab, locate the following code.
>>Key: controller; Value: photo
>>Key: action; Value: Display
>>Key: id; Value: 1 Action Values: Controller: Photo; Action: GetImage
10. >>Key: controller; Value: Photo
>>Key: action; Value: GetImage
>>Key: id; Value: 1
Note: In the above code, note that there are calls to the Display and GetImage actions.
Each call passes a PhotoID.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication (Running) - Microsoft Visual
11.
Studio window, click Stop Debugging.
On the FILE menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
12.
click Exit.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an MVC application with
views that you can use to test controllers, actions, and action filters.

ASP.NET MVC 4 VIEWS
Exercise 1: Adding a View for Photo Display
Task 1: Add a new display view.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
6. (D):\Labfiles\Mod05\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication, and then double-click
7. window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, expand Controllers, and then click
PhotoController.cs.
On the BUILD menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio
8.
public ActionResult Display (int id)
10. In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name in the View name box is Display.
12. In the Add View dialog box, select the Create a strongly-typed view check box.
13. In the Model class box, click Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
14. In the Scaffold template box, ensure that the value is Empty.
15.
click Add.
Task 2: Complete the photo display view.

1.
<title>Display</title>
2.
<title> Photo: @Model.Title </title>
In the DIV element, type the following code.
3.
<h2>"@Model.Title"</h2>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </h2> tag, press Enter twice, and then type the
4. following code.
<img width="800" src="" />
In the src attribute of the <img> tag, type the following code.
5.
@Url.Action("GetImage", "Photo",
new { id = Model.PhotoID })
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the <img> tag, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
6. <p>
@Html.DisplayFor(
model =>
model.Description)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the Description
7. <p>
@Html.DisplayNameFor( model => model.UserName):
@Html.DisplayFor( model => model.UserName)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the UserName property,
press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
<p>
8. @Html.DisplayNameFor(
model => model.CreatedDate):
@Html.DisplayFor(
model => model.CreatedDate)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the CreatedDate
9.
<p>
@Html.ActionLink("Back to List", "Index")
</p>
10.
the Save Views\Photo\Display.cshtml(Ctrl+S) button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a single display view to the
Photo Sharing web application and display the properties of a photo.
Exercise 2: Adding a View for New Photos
Task 1: Add a new create view.

1.
window, under Controllers, click PhotoController.cs.
3. In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name in the View name box is Create.
5.
selected.
In the Model class box, ensure that the Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models) class is
6.
selected.
7. In the Scaffold template box, ensure that the Empty template is selected.
Ensure that the Create as a partial view and Use a layout or master page check boxes are
8.
clear, and then click Add.
Task 2: Complete the photo create view.
In the Create.cshtml code window, locate the following code.

1.
<title>Create</title>
2.
<title>Create New Photo</title>
In the DIV element of the Create.cshtml code window, type the following code, and then
3. press Enter twice.
<h2>Create New Photo</h2>
In the DIV element, place the mouse cursor at the end of the </h2> tag, press Enter, and
@using (Html.BeginForm("Create",
4. "Photo", FormMethod.Post,
new { enctype =
"multipart/form-data" }))
{
}
In the using code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
5.
@Html.ValidationSummary(true)
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ValidationSummary helper, press Enter, and then
6.
<p>
@Html.LabelFor(
model => model.Title):
@Html.EditorFor(
model => model.Title) @Html.ValidationMessageFor(
model => model.Title)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the Title property, press
7. <p>
@Html.LabelFor(
model => model.PhotoFile):
<input type="file" name="Image" />
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the Image controls,
<p>
@Html.LabelFor(
8. model => model.Description):
@Html.EditorFor(
model => model.Description)
model => model.Description)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the Description
controls, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
<p>
9. @Html.LabelFor(
model => model.UserName):
@Html.DisplayFor(
model => model.UserName)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the UserName controls,
10. <p>
@Html.LabelFor(
model => model.CreatedDate):
@Html.DisplayFor(
model => model.CreatedDate) </p>
controls, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
<p>
11. <input type="submit"
value="Create" />
@Html.ActionLink("Back to List",
"Index")
</p>
On the toolbar of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the
12.
Save Views\Photo\Create.cshtml(Ctrl+S) button.
Razor view to display new photos.
Exercise 3: Creating and Using a Partial View
Task 1: Add a gallery action to the Photo Controller.

1.
2. In the PhotoController.cs code window, locate the Index action code block.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Index action code block, press Enter twice, and then
3. [ChildActionOnly]
public ActionResult _PhotoGallery
(int number = 0)
{
}
In the _PhotoGallery action code block, type the following code.
List<Photo> photos;
4. if (number == 0)
{
photos = context.Photos.ToList();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if code block, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
else
5. {
photos = (
from p in context.Photos
orderby p.CreatedDate descending
select p).Take(number).ToList();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the else code block, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
6.
return PartialView("_PhotoGallery",
photos);
7.
the Save Controllers\PhotoController.cs(Ctrl+S) button.
Task 2: Add a photo gallery partial view.

then click Add View.
2.
public ActionResult _PhotoGallery
(int number = 0)
In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name is _PhotoGallery,
3.
and then ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view check box is selected.
In the Model class box, ensure that the value is Photo (PhotoSharingApplication.Models),
4.
and then, in the Scaffold template box, ensure that the value is Empty.
In the Add View dialog box, select the Create as a partial view check box, and then click
Add.
5.
Note: In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml code windo the code block @model
PhotosharingApplication.Models.Photo is displayed.
6.
window, right-click Views, point to Add, and then click New Folder.
In the Solution Explorer pane, name the newly created folder as Shared, and then press
7.
Enter.
In the Solution Explorer pane, drag the _PhotoGallery.cshtml file from the Photo folder to
8.
the Shared folder.
Task 3: Complete the photo gallery partial view.
In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml code window, locate the following code.

1.
@model
PhotoSharingApplication.Models.Photo
Replace the preceding code with the following code.
2. @model
IEnumerable
<PhotoSharingApplication.Models.Photo>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the @model code block, press Enter twice, and then
3.
@foreach(var item in Model)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the foreach code block, and then type the following code.
4.
<h3>"@item.Title"</h3>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H3 element, press Enter twice, and then type the
5. following code.
if (item.PhotoFile != null)
{
}
In the if code block, type the following code.
6. <img width="200"
src="@Url.Action("GetImage",
"Photo",
new { id = item.PhotoID })" />
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if code block, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
7. <p>
Created By:
@Html.DisplayFor(
model => item.UserName)
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag corresponding to the UserName display
control, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
8. <p>
Created On:
@Html.DisplayFor(
model => item.CreatedDate)
</p>
display control, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
9.
@Html.ActionLink("Display", "Display",
new { id = item.PhotoID })
On the toolbar of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the
10.
Save Views\Shared\_PhotoGallery.cshtmal(Ctrl+S) button.
Task 4: Use the photo gallery partial view.

2.
context.Photos.ToList());
Replace the preceding code with the following code.
3.
return View("Index");
In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name is Index, and
5.
then clear the Create a strongly-typed view check box.
6. Ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is clear, and then click Add.
7.
8.
<title>All Photos</title>
9.
<h2>All Photos</h2>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H2 element, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
10. <p>
@Html.ActionLink("Add a Photo",
"Create", "Photo")
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag, press Enter twice, and then type the
11. following code.
@Html.Action("_PhotoGallery", "Photo")
12.
the Save Views\Photo\Index.cshtml(Ctrl+S) button.
partial view to display multiple photos.
Exercise 4: Adding a Home View and Testing the Views
Task 1: Add a Controller and View for the home page.
In the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, in the Solution

1.
Explorer pane, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click Controller.
2. In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type HomeController.
3. In the Template box, ensure that Empty MVC Controller is selected, and then click Add.
In the HomeController.cs code window, locate the following code, right-click the code, and
5. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name is Index.
6.
not selected.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is
7.
clear, and then click Add.
8.
9.
<title>Welcome to Adventure Works
Photo Sharing</title>
<p>
10. Welcome to Adventure Works Photo
sharing! Use this site to share
your adventures.
</p>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </p> tag, press Enter, and then type the following
11. code.
<h2>Latest Photos</h2>
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the </h2> tag,
press Enter, and then type the following code.
12.
@Html.Action("_PhotoGallery",
"Photo", new { number = 3 })
13.
the Save Views\Home\Index.cshtml(Ctrl+S) button.
Task 2: Use the web application.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note that the total number of
2.
photos displayed is three.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Display link
3.
corresponding to the photo that you want to display.
On the display page, note that the photo is displayed with the title, description, user name,
4.
and created date, and then click the Back to List link.
5. On the All Photos page, note the total number of photos displayed.
6. On the All Photos page, click the Add a Photo link.
On the Create New Photo page, in the Title box, type My First Photo, and then click
7.
Browse.
In the Choose File to Upload dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
8.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod05\SamplePhotos.
9. In the SamplePhotos folder, select the photo of your choice, and then click Open.
On the Create New Photo page, in the Description box, type This is the first test of the
10.
Create photo view, and then click Create.
11. On the All Photos page, note that the photo titled My First Photo is displayed.
In the PhotoSharingApplication (Running) - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the
Close button.
13.
Note: If you receive the “Do you want to stop debugging?” message, click Yes.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a web application in which
users can upload and view the photos.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 06: TESTING AND

DEBUGGING ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Lab: Testing and Debugging ASP.NET MVC 4
Web Applications
Exercise 1: Performing Unit Tests
Task 1: Create a test project.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
7. window, right-click Solution ‘Photo Sharing Application’ (1 project), click Add, and
then click New Project.
In the navigation pane of the Add New Project dialog box, click Visual C#, click Test,
8.
and then, in the result pane, click Unit Test Project.
9. In the Name box, type PhotoSharingTests, and then click OK.
10.
window, under PhotoSharingTests, right-click References, and then click Add Reference.
In the navigation pane of the Reference Manager - PhotoSharingTests window, click
11.
Solution, and then click Projects.
In the result pane, select the check box corresponding to PhotoSharingApplication, and
12.
then click OK.
13.
window, under PhotoSharingTests, right-click References, and then click Add Reference.
In the navigation pane of the Reference Manager - PhotoSharingTests window, click
14.
Assemblies, and then click Extensions.
In the result pane, select the check box corresponding to System.Web.Mvc with version
15.
number 4.0.0 .0, and then click OK.
Task 2: Write the tests.

1. window, under PhotoSharingTests, right-click UnitTest1.cs, click Rename, type
PhotoControllerTests, and then press Enter.
In the PhotoControllerTests.cs code window, locate the following code.
3.
4.
public void Test_Index_Return_View()
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
5. using System.Collections.Generic;
using PhotoSharingApplication.Controllers;
Place the mouse cursor in the Test_Index_Return_View test method code block, and then
PhotoController controller =
6. new PhotoController();
var result = controller.Index()
as ViewResult;
Assert.AreEqual("Index",
result.ViewName);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Test_Index_Return_View test method code
block, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
7. [TestMethod]
public void Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test method code block,
8.
var controller = new PhotoController();
var result = controller._PhotoGallery() as PartialViewResult;
Assert.AreEqual(typeof(List<Photo>), result.Model.GetType());
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test method
code block, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
9. [TestMethod]
public void Test_GetImage_Return_Type()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor in the Test_GetImage_Return_Type test method code block, and
10.
var result = controller.GetImage(1) as ActionResult;
Assert.AreEqual(typeof(FileContentResult), result.GetType());
On the TEST menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
11.
point to Run, and then click All Tests.
In the Test Explorer pane, expand Passed Tests (1), and then note that only the
12.
Test_Index_Return_View test is passed.
Under Failed Tests (2), note that the Test_GetImage_Return_Type and the
13.
Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type tests are failed.
Under Failed Tests (2), click Test_GetImage_Return_Type, and then note that the test
14.
failed while trying to connect to the database.
Under Failed Tests (2), click Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type, and then note that the test
15.
failed while trying to connect to the database.
Task 3: Implement a repository.

1.
window, expand PhotoSharingApplication.
2.
window, right-click Models, click Add, and then click New Item.
In the navigation pane of the Add New Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, click
3.
Code, and then, in the result pane, click Interface.
4. In the Name box, type IPhotoSharingContext, and then click Add.
In the IPhotoSharingContext.cs code window, locate the following code.
5.
interface IPhotoSharingContext
6.
public interface IPhotoSharingContext
Place the mouse cursor in the IPhotoSharingContext interface code block, press Enter,
IQueryable<Photo> Photos { get; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Photos property code block, press Enter, and then
IQueryable<Comment> Comments { get; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Comments property code block, press Enter, and
int SaveChanges();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SaveChanges method code block, press Enter, and
T Add<T>(T entity) where T : class;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Add method code block, press Enter, and then type
11. the following code:
Photo FindPhotoById (int ID) ;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the FindPhotoById method code block, press Enter,
Comment FindCommentById (int ID) ;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the FindCommentById method code block, press
T Delete<T>(T entity) where T : class;
14. In the Solution Explorer pane, click PhotoSharingContext.cs.
In the PhotoSharingContext.cs code window, locate the following code.
15.
public class PhotoSharingContext : DbContext
16.
, IPhotoSharingContext
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Comments DbSet property code block, press
17. IQueryable<Photo> IPhotoSharingContext.Photos
{
get { return Photos; }
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Photos property code block, press Enter twice, and
IQueryable<Comment> IPhotoSharingContext.Comments
{
get { return Comments; }
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Comments property code block, press Enter twice,
19. int IPhotoSharingContext.SaveChanges ()
{
return SaveChanges();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SaveChanges method code block, press Enter
twice, and then type the following code.
20. T IPhotoSharingContext.Add<T>(T entity)
{
return Set<T>().Add(entity);
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Add method code block, press Enter twice, and
21. Photo IPhotoSharingContext.FindPhotoById(int ID)
{
return Set<Photo>().Find(ID);
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the FindPhotoById code block, press Enter twice, and
22. Comment IPhotoSharingContext.FindCommentById(int ID)
{
return Set<Comment>().Find(ID);
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the FindCommentById method code block, press
23. T IPhotoSharingContext.Delete<T>(T entity)
{
return Set<T>().Remove(entity);
}
24.
click Save All.
25. On the BUILD menu, click Build Solution.
Task 4: Refactor the photo controller to use the repository.

1.
window, expand Controllers, and then click PhotoController.cs.
2.
private PhotoSharingContext context = new PhotoSharingContext();
3.
private IPhotoSharingContext context;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the context object code block, press Enter twice, and
4. public PhotoController ()
{
context = new PhotoSharingContext();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoController constructor code block, press
5. public PhotoController (IPhotoSharingContext Context)
{
context = Context;
}
In the PhotoController.cs code window, locate the Display action method, and then locate
Photo photo = context.Photos.Find(id);
7.
Photo photo = context.FindPhotoById(id);
Locate the Create action method for the POST verb, and then locate the following code.
8.
9.
context.Add<Photo>(photo);
Locate the Delete action method, and then locate the following code.
10.
11.
Locate the DeleteConfirmed action method, and then locate the following code.
12.
13.
Photo photo = context.FindPhotoById (id);
In the DeleteConfirmed action method, locate the following code.
14.
context.Photos.Remove(photo);
15.
context.Delete<Photo>(photo);
Locate the GetImage action method, and then locate the following code.
16.
17.
18.
19.
corresponding to any photo of your choice.
On the Sample Photo 5 page, note that the changes are displayed, and then, in the Windows
20.
Internet Explorer window, click the Close button.
Task 5: Refactor the tests to use a mock repository.

1.
window, right-click PhotoSharingTests, click Add, and then click New Folder.
2. In the NewFolder1 box, type Doubles, and then press Enter.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Doubles, click Add, and then click Existing
3.
Item.
In the Add Existing Item - PhotoSharingTests dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
4. (D):\Labfiles\Mod06\Fake Repository\ FakePhotoSharingContext.cs, and then click
Add.
5. In the Solution Explorer pane, click PhotoControllerTests.cs.
In the PhotoControllerTests.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
PhotoSharingApplication.Contollers namespace, press Enter, and then type the following
code.
6. using System.Linq;
using PhotoSharingTests.Doubles;
Locate the Test_Index_Return_View test method, and then locate the following code.
7.
PhotoController = new PhotoController();
8.
var context = new FakePhotoSharingContext();
var controller = new PhotoController(context);
Locate the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test method, place the mouse cursor at the
beginning of the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test method code block, press Enter,

context.Photos = new [] {
new Photo(),
new Photo(),
new Photo(),
new Photo()
}.AsQueryable();
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Model_Type test method, locate the following code, select the
10. located code, and then press Delete.
Locate the Test_GetImage_Return_Type test method, place the mouse cursor at the
beginning of the Test_GetImage_Return_Type method, press Enter, and then type the
11. following code.

new Photo{ PhotoID = 1, PhotoFile = new byte[1], ImageMimeType =
"image/jpeg" },
12. new Photo{ PhotoID = 2, PhotoFile = new byte[1], ImageMimeType =
"image/jpeg" },
"image/jpeg" },
"image/jpeg" }
}.AsQueryable();
In the Test_GetImage_Return_Type method code block, locate the following code.
13.
14.
15.
click Run, and then click All Tests.
In the Test Explorer pane, note that all tests have passed.
16. Note: All the tests passed because the FakePhotoSharingContext test double can return test
values without connecting to a database. A test double or mock object is an object used in
test projects that behaves like the corresponding object in the web application project.
Task 6: Add further tests.

1.
window, click PhotoControllerTests.cs.
In the PhotoControllerTests.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
PhotoControllerTests class, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
2. [TestMethod]
public void Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter ()
{
}
In the Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter test method code block, type the following
code, and then press Enter twice.
3. new Photo(),
new Photo(),
new Photo(),
new Photo()
}.AsQueryable();
4. code, and then press Enter.
code.
5.
var modelPhotos = (IEnumerable<Photo>)result.Model;
Assert.AreEqual(4, modelPhotos.Count());
Select all the code in the Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter method, including the
6.
[TestMethod] annotation.
On the Edit menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
7.
click Copy.
8. Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter method.
9. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
Locate the following code in the code block you just pasted.
10.
public void Test_PhotoGallery_No_Parameter()
Replace the code with the following line of code.
11.
public void Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter()
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter method, locate the following code.
12.
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter method, replace the located code with the
13. following code.
var result = controller._PhotoGallery(3) as PartialViewResult;
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter, method, locate the following code.
14.
In the Test_PhotoGallery_Int_Parameter, method, replace the located code with the
following code.
15.
On the TEST menu of the PhotoSharingApplication -Microsoft Visual studio window,
16.
click TEST, point to Run, and then click All Tests.
17. In the Test Explorer pane, note that all tests passed.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a set of PhotoController tests
defined in the PhotoSharingTests project of the Photo Sharing application.
Exercise 2: Optional—Configuring Exception Handling
Task 1: Edit Web.config for exception handling.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under PhotoSharingApplication, click Web.config.

1. Note: Ensure that you click the Web.config file in the root folder, and not the Web.config
file in the Views folder.
In the Web.config code window, locate the following code.
2.
<system.web>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
3.
<customErrors mode="On" defaultRedirect="Error">
</customErrors>
In the <customErrors> element, type the following code.
4.
<error statusCode="500" redirect="~/Error.html"/>
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, point to Add, and then
5.
click New Item.
In the navigation pane of the Add New Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, under
6.
Visual C#, click Web, and then, in the result pane, click HTML Page.
7. In the Name box, type Error.html, and then click Add.
In the TITLE element of the Error.html code window, type the following code.
8.
Error
9. In the BODY element, type the following code.
<h1>500 Error</h1>
<p>There has been an internal server error</p>
Task 2: Create a custom error view.
In the Solution Explorer pane, collapse Controllers, collapse Models, and then expand
1.
Views.
2.
click View.
3. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type Error.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view and the Create
4.
as a partial view check boxes are clear.
5.
click Add.
In the Error.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
6.
<title>Error</title>
7.
<title>Custom Error</title>
In the Error.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the beginning of the code
8. window, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
@model System.Web.Mvc.HandleErrorInfo
9.
<h1>MVC Error</h1>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H1 element, press Enter, and then type the
10. following code.
Controller: @Model.ControllerName <br />
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the <br /> tag corresponding to the ControllerName
11. property, press Enter, and then type the following code.
Action: @Model.ActionName <br />
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the <br /> tag corresponding to the ActionName
12. property, press Enter, and then type the following code.
Message: @Model.Exception.Message
13.
click Save All.
Task 3: Configure errors in the PhotoController class.
In the Solution Explorer pane, collapse Views, expand Controllers, and then click
1.
PhotoController.cs.
2.
[ValueReporter]
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the beginning of the
3. [ValueReporter] annotation, press Enter, and then type the following code.
[HandleError(View = "Error")]
In the PhotoController class code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the GetImage
action, press Enter, and then type the following code.
4.
public ActionResult SlideShow()
{
}
5. In the SlideShow action code block, type the following code.
throw new NotImplementedException("The SlideShow action is not yet ready");
Task 4: Raise errors.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication –Microsoft Visual Studio window,

1.
2.
corresponding to the “Sample Photo 5” image.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, replace the URL
3.
/Photo/Display/5 with /Photo/Display/malformedID, and then click the Go button.
In the Windows Internet Explorer window, note that the custom error view displays the
4.
controller, action, and error message.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, replace the URL
5.
/Photo/Display/malformedID with /Photo/SlideShow, and then click the Go button
6. The Microsoft Visual Studio application breaks on the throw statement.
7. In the NotImplementedException window, click the Close button.
In the lower-right part of the PhotoSharingApplication (Debugging) - Microsoft Visual
8.
Studio window, click the IntelliTrace tab.
In the IntelliTrace pane, click the ASP.NET: GET "/photo/slideshow" message.
9.
Note: Note the details of the HTTP call.
In the IntelliTrace pane, click the Exception: Thrown: “The SlideShow action is not yet
ready” (System.NotImplementedException) message.
10.
Note: In the PhotoController.cs code window, note that the SlideShow action code block is
highlighted.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication (Intelligence Debugging) -
11.
Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Stop Debugging.
In the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close
12.
button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to:
Configure a custom error handling strategy for an MVC application.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 07: STRUCTURING

Lab: Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Applications
Exercise 1: Using the Routing Engine
Task 1: Test the routing configuration.
1.
3.
the Submit button.
5.
6.
window, expand Photo Sharing Tests, and then expand Doubles.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Doubles, point to Add, and then click Existing
7.
Item.
In the Add Existing Item – PhotoSharingTests dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
8.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod07\Fake Http Classes, click FakeHttpClasses.cs, and then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under PhotoSharingTests, right-click References, and then
9.
In the navigation pane of the Reference Manager – PhotoSharingTests dialog box, under
10.
Assemblies, click Framework.
In the list of assemblies, click System.Web, select the check box corresponding to
11.
System.Web, and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click PhotoSharingTests, point to Add, and then click
12.
Unit Test.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click UnitTest1.cs, click Rename, type RoutingTests,
13.
In the RoutingTests.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting namespace, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
15.
using System.Web.Routing;
using PhotoSharingTests.Doubles;
using PhotoSharingApplication;
In the RoutingTests.cs code window, locate the following code, and then select the code.
16.
17.
public void Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly()
In the Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly test method code block, press Enter twice,
var context = new FakeHttpContextForRouting(requestUrl: "~/ControllerName");
In the RoutingTests.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the var context
code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
19.
RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes(routes);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes() method code
20. block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the routes.GetRouteData method code block, press
21.
Assert.IsNotNull(routeData);
Assert.AreEqual("ControllerName", routeData.Values["controller"]);
Assert.AreEqual("Index", routeData.Values["action"]);
Place the mouse cursor after the Test_Default_Route_ControllerOnly() test method but
inside the RoutingTests class code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
22. [TestMethod]
public void Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID()
{
}
In the Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID test method code block, type the following
23. code.
var context = new FakeHttpContextForRouting(requestUrl: "~/photo/2");
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the var context code block that you just entered, press
24.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the routes.GetRouteData() method code block, press
26. Assert.IsNotNull(routeData);
Assert.AreEqual("Photo", routeData.Values["controller"]);
Assert.AreEqual("Display", routeData.Values["action"]);
Assert.AreEqual("2", routeData.Values["id"]);
Place the mouse cursor after the Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID test method but inside
RoutingTests class code block, and then type the following code.
27. [TestMethod]
public void Test_Photo_Title_Route ()
{
}
In the Test_Photo_Title_Route test method code block, type the following code.
28.
var context = new FakeHttpContextForRouting(requestUrl:
"~/photo/title/my%20title");
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the var context code block that you just entered, press
29.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the routes.GetRouteData() method code block, press
Enter., and then type the following code.
31. Assert.IsNotNull(routeData);
Assert.AreEqual("Photo", routeData.Values["controller"]);
Assert.AreEqual("DisplayByTitle", routeData.Values["action"]);
Assert.AreEqual("my%20title", routeData.Values["title"]);
32.
In the Test Explorer pane of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio
33. window, expand Passed Tests, and then note that the
Test_Default_Route_Controller_Only route test has passed.
34. window, under Failed Tests, note that the Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID and the
Test_Photo Title_Route route tests have failed.
35.
window, click the Close button.
Task 2: Add and test the Photo ID route.

1. window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, expand App_Start, and then click
RouteConfig.cs.
2.
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code, press Enter twice, and then type the following
code.
routes.MapRoute(
3. name: "PhotoRoute",
url: "photo/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Photo", action = "Display" },
);
On the TEST menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click
4.
5. window, under Passed Tests, note that the Test_Photo_Route_With_PhotoID route test has
passed.
6.
Task 3: Add and test the Photo Title route.
In the RouteConfig.cs code window, place the mouse cursor after the PhotoRoute route but
before the Default route code block, and then type the following code.
1. routes.MapRoute(
name: "PhotoTitleRoute",
url: "photo/title/{title}",
defaults: new { controller = "Photo", action = "DisplayByTitle" }
);
2. window, under PhotoSharingApplication, expand Controllers, and then click
PhotoController.cs.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor after the Display action code
block, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
3.
public ActionResult DisplayByTitle(string title)
{
}
In the DisplayByTitle action method code block, type the following code.
Photo photo = context.FindPhotoByTitle(title);
{
}
return View("Display", photo);
5.
6.
window, under Passed Tests, note that the Test_Photo_Title_Route route test has passed.
7.
Task 4: Try out the new routes.

1.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing! Use this site to share your adventures
2.
page, right-click the Display link corresponding to any image, and then click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, note that the Address property does not include the name of
3.
the Display action method, and then click Cancel.
4.
page, click the Display link corresponding to any image.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, note that the URL does not
5.
include the name of the Display action method.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, select /photo/<ID> in the
6.
URL, and then press Delete.
In the Address bar, append the existing URL with /photo/title/sample photo 3, and then
click the Go to button.
7.
Note: Note that the Sample Photo 3 is displayed.
with three configured routes that enable visitors to easily locate photos by using logical URLs.
Exercise 2: Optional—Building Navigation Controls
Task 1: Install the MVC site map provider.
On the PROJECT menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
window, click Manage NuGet Packages.
In the navigation pane of the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages dialog
2.
box, click Online.
In the Search Online box of the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages
3.
dialog box, type MvcSiteMapProvider, and then click the Search button.
In the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click Install
4.
corresponding to the MVCSiteMapProvider package.
5. In the PhotoSharingApplication - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click Close.
Task 2: Configure the MVC site map provider.

window, under Global.asax, click Web.config.
1.
Note: Ensure that you do not open the Web.config file in the Views folder.
2. In the <siteMap> element of the Web.config code window, locate the <add> element.
In the enableLocalization attribute, of the <add name="MvcSiteMapProvider"> element,
3.
change the value of the attribute from true to false.
4.
click Save Web.config.
5.
window, click Mvc.sitemap.
In the Mvc.sitemap code window, select the following code, and then press Delete.
6.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="About" controller="Home" action="About"/>
In the <mvcSiteMapNode> element, type the following code.
7. <mvcSiteMapNode title="All Photos" controller="Photo" action="Index"
key="AllPhotos"
/>
8.
click Save Mvc.sitemap.
On the BUILD menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
9.
click Build Solution.
Task 3: Render menus and breadcrumb trails.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, expand Home, and then click Index.csthml.
2. type the following code, and then press Enter.
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the MvcSiteMap
3. code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
4. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Photo, and then click Index.csthml.
In the Index.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the MvcSiteMap
6.
code block, press Enter, and then type the following code.
Task 4: Try out the menus.

1.
On the Welcome to Adventures Works Photo Sharing page, under Menu, click the All
2.
Photos link, and then note that the All Photos page is displayed.
3. In the Breadcrumb Trail section of the All Photos page, click the Home link.
5. In the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
with a simple site map, menu, and breadcrumb control.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 08: APPLYING

STYLES TO ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Lab: Applying Styles to MVC 4 Web
Applications
Exercise 1: Creating and Applying Layouts
Task 1: Open and browse through the Photo Sharing application.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
5.
6. Note: The Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing! Use this site to share your
adventures page is displayed. The menu and the breadcrumb trail for the site are displayed
on this page.
page, under Home, click the All Photos link.
7.
Note: The All Photos page is displayed. The menu and the breadcrumb trail for the site are
not displayed on this page.
Under Sample Photo 1 of the All Photos page, click the Display link.
8.
Note: The menu and the breadcrumb trail are not displayed on the Sample Photo 1 page.
Task 2: Create a new layout.

1.
window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, and then expand Views.
2. Under Views, right-click Shared, point to Add, and then click View.
3. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type _MainLayout.
4. Ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view check box is cleared.
5. Ensure that the Create as a partial view check box is cleared.
6. Ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is cleared, and then click Add.
In the _MainLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
7.
<title>_MainLayout</title>
8.
9.
<h1 class="site-page-title">Adventure Works Photo Sharing
</h1>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H1 element you just created, press Enter, and then
10. <div class="clear-floats" />
Note: The clear-floats class you just added to the page will be used with the style sheet for
the web application.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just typed, press Enter, type the
following code, and then press Enter.
11.
<div id="topmenu">
@Html.MvcSiteMap().Menu(false, true, true)
</div>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just typed, press Enter, type the
following code, and then press Enter.
12.
<div id="breadcrumb">
@Html.MvcSiteMap().SiteMapPath()
</div>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just typed, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
13.
<div>
@RenderBody()
</div>
14.
click Save Views\Shared\_MainLayout.cshtml.
Task 3: Set the default layout for the application.

1.
window, right-click Views, point to Add, and then click View.
2. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type _ViewStart.
3. Ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view check box is cleared.
4. Ensure that the Create as a partial view check box is cleared.
5. Ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is cleared, and then click Add.
6.
Layout = null;
7.
Layout = "~/Views/Shared/_MainLayout.cshtml";
In the _ViewStart.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code and all the
8. subsequent lines of code, and then press Delete.
<!DOCTYPE html>
9.
click Save Views/_ViewStart.cshtml.
Task 4: Update the views to use the layout.

1.
window, under Views, expand Home, and then click Index.cshtml.
2.
Layout = null;
3.
ViewBag.Title = "Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing";
Delete.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
4. <head>
<title>Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
Delete.
5.
Current Location: @Html.MvcSiteMap().SiteMapPath()
Delete.
6.
</div>
</body>
</html>
7.
click Save Views\Home\Index.cshtml.
8.
window, under Views, expand Photo, and then click Display.cshtml.
9.
Layout = null;
10.
ViewBag.Title = Model.Title;
Locate the following code, select the code, and then press Delete.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
11. <head>
<title>@Model.Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
Locate the following code, select the code, and then press Delete.
12. </div>
</body>
</html>
13.
click Save Views\Photo\Display.cshtml.
14.
window, in the Views/Shared folder, double-click Error.cshtml.
In the Error.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
15.
Layout = null;
16.
ViewBag.Title = "Custom Error";
In the Error.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then press
Delete.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
17. <head>
<title>Custom Error</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
In the Error.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then press
Delete.
18.
</div>
</body>
</html>
19.
click Save Views\Shared\Error.cshtml.
Task 5: Browse through the web application.

1.
Note: On the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note that the menu and the breadcrumb
trail are displayed.
On the Menu of the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the All Photos link.
2. Note: On the All Photos page, note that the menu and the breadcrumb trail are now
displayed.
Under Sample Photo 1 of the All Photos page, click the Display link.
3. Note: On the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note that the Sample Photo 1 is
displayed. The site title, menu, and breadcrumb trail are now displayed on this webpage.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create an ASP.NET MVC 4 web
application that uses a single layout to display every page of the application.
Exercise 2: Applying Styles to an MVC Web Application
Task 1: Examine the HTML mockup web application.

In the PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod08
\Expression Web Mock Up, and then double-click default.html.
2.
Note: On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note the colors, fonts, and
layout of the page.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the All Photos link.
3. Note: On the All Photos page, note that the layout of the page is similar to the home page,
but more photos are displayed on the page.
On the All Photos page, click the Details link corresponding to any image.
4.
Note: The photo, metadata, description, and comments are displayed on the Details page.
Task 2: Import the styles and graphics.

1. Switch to the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window.
2.
window, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, point to Add, and then click New Folder.
3. In the Solution Explorer pane, rename NewFolder1 as Content, and then press Enter.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Content, point to Add, and then click Existing
4.
Item.
In the Add Existing Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
5. (D):\Labfiles\Mod08\Expression Web Mock Up\Content, click PhotoSharingStyles.css,
and then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Content, point to Add, and then click Existing
6.
Item.
In the Add Existing Item - PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, click
7.
BackgroundGradient.jpg, and then click Add.
8. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, click _MainLayout.cshtml.
9.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the TITLE element, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
10.
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="~/content/PhotoSharingStyles.css"
/>
On the FILE menu of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
11.
click Save Views\Shared\_MainLayout.cshtml.
Task 3: Update the element classes to use the styles.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under DisplayTemplates, click _PhotoGallery.cshtml.

In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml window, locate the following code.
2. @foreach (var item in Model)
{
<div>
In the code, replace the <div> tag with the following code.
3.
<div class="photo-index-card">
In the DIV element of the _PhotoGallery.cshtml window, locate the following code.
4.
<img width="200"
5.
<img class="photo-index-card-img"
6. In the _PhotoGallery.cshtml window, locate the <div> tag after the <img> tag.
Replace <div> tag with the following code.
7.
<div class="photo-metadata">
8. <span>
Created By:
</span>
9. <span class="display-label">
Created By:
</span>
10. <span>
@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.UserName)
</span>
11. <span class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.UserName)
</span>
12. <span>
Created On:
</span>
<span class="display-label">
13. Created On:
</span>
14. <span>
@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.CreatedDate)
</span>
15. Replace the code with the following code.
<span class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model => item.CreatedDate)
</span>
Task 4: Browse the styled web application.

1.
Note: On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, examine the styles applied to the home
page. Note the colors, fonts, and background gradient image. Also note the layout of the
photo thumbnail cards, and the top menu and breadcrumb trail shortcuts.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, click the All Photos link.
2.
Note: Note the new style applied to the photo gallery on the All Photos page.
On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to a photo.
3.
Note: Note the new style applied to the display view.
with a consistent look and feel.
Exercise 3: Optional—Adapting Webpages for Mobile Browsers
Task 1: Test the application as a mobile device.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,

1.
On the Tools menu of the Windows Internet Explorer window, click F12 developer tools.
2.
Note: In the Windows Internet Explorer window, note that a developer window is
displayed.
3. On the Tools menu of the developer window, point to Resize, and then click Custom.
4. In the Width box of the Resize Browser dialog box, type 480.
5. In the Height box, type 700, and then click Add.
In the dimensions area of the Resize Browser dialog box, click 480x700, and then click
Resize.
6.
Note: The size of the Windows Internet Explorer window has reduced according to the
specified dimensions.
7. In the Resize Browser dialog box, click Close.
On the Tools menu of the developer window, point to Change user agent string, and then
8.
click IE9 for Windows Phone 7.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, click the Refresh (F5)
10. button.
Note: The main heading, menu, and other elements of the home page do not display
correctly in the mobile view.
Task 2: Add a new mobile layout.

1.
window, under DisplayTemplates, right-click _MainLayout.cshtml, and then click Copy.
2. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Shared, and then click Paste.
Under DisplayTemplates, right-click Copy of _MainLayout.cshtml, click Rename, type
3.
_MainLayout.Mobile, and then press Enter.
In the _MainLayout.Mobile.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
4.
<h1 class="site-page-title">Adventure Works Photo Sharing</h1>
5. <h1 class="site-page-title">
Adventure Works <br />
Photo Sharing
</h1>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H1 element, press Enter, and then type the
6. following code.
<h2>Mobile Site</h2>
7.
click Save Views\Shared\_MainLayout.Mobile.cshtml.
Task 3: Add a media query to the style sheet.

1.
window, under Content, click PhotoSharingStyles.css.
In the PhotoSharingStyles.css code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the style
sheet, press Enter, and then type the following code.
2.
@media only screen and (max-width: 500px) {
}
In the PhotoSharingStyles.css code window, locate the following code.
.topmenulink {
float: left;
background-color: #cccccc;
3. width: 200px;
height: 35px;
text-align: center;
line-height: 2em;
border-radius: 5px;
margin: 5px;
}
In the PhotoSharingStyles.css code window, place the mouse cursor in the media query you
just added, and then type the following code.
.topmenulink {
float: left;
background-color: #cccccc;
4. width: 200px;
height: 35px;
text-align: center;
line-height: 2em;
border-radius: 5px;
margin: 5px;
}
In the media query you just pasted, locate the following code.
5.
width: 200px;
6. In the located code, replace 200px with 100px.
Task 4: Retest the application as a mobile device.

1.
2. On the Tools menu of the Windows Internet Explorer window, click F12 developer tools.
3. On the Cache menu of the developer window, click Clear browser cache.
4. In the Clear Browse Cache dialog box, click Yes.
On the Tools menu of the developer window, point to Change user agent string, and then
5.
click IE9 for Windows Phone 7.
6. On the Tools menu of the developer window, point to Resize, and then click Custom.
In the dimension area of the Resize Browser dialog box, click 480x700, and then click
Resize.
7.
Note: The size of the Windows Internet Explorer window has reduced according to the
specified dimensions.
8. In the Resize Browser dialog box, click the Close button.
9. On the File menu of the developer tools window, click Exit.
In the Address bar of the Windows Internet Explorer window, click the Refresh (F5)
button, and then note that the home page of the web application is displayed without
10. problems in the mobile view.
Note: This indicates that the mobile view and media query have been successfully applied.
In the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close
12.
button.
that displays well on mobile devices and devices with small screens.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 09: BUILDING

RESPONSIVE PAGES IN ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB
APPLICATIONS
Lab: Building Responsive Pages in ASP.NET
MVC 4 Web Applications
Exercise 1: Using Partial Page Updates
Task 1: Import the Comment controller and Delete view.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
In the Libraries window, navigate to Allfiles (D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Starter
5.
\PhotoSharingApplication, and then double-click PhotoSharingApplication.sln
6. window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, right-click Views, point to Add, and then
click New Folder.
7. In the Solution Explorer pane, rename New Folder1 as Comment, and then press Enter.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, right-click Comment, point to Add, and then
8.
click Existing Item.
9.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Comment Components, click Delete.cshtml, and then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click
10.
Existing Item.
11. (D):\Labfiles\Mod09\Comment Components, click CommentController.cs, and then
click Add.
Task 2: Add the _CommentsForPhoto action and view.

1.
window, click CommentController.cs.
In the CommentController.cs code window, locate the following code.
2. public CommentController (IPhotoSharingContext Context)

{
context = Context;
}
Place the mouse cursor after the located code, press Enter twice, and then type the
following code.
3. [ChildActionOnly]
public PartialViewResult _CommentsForPhoto(int PhotoId)
{
}
In the _CommentsForPhoto action code block, type the following code.
var comments = from c in context.Comments
4.
where c.PhotoID == PhotoId

select c;
ViewBag.PhotoId = PhotoId;
return PartialView("_CommentsForPhoto", comments.ToList());
On the BUILD menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio
7.
In the CommentController.cs code window, right-click the following code, and then click
8. Add View.
public PartialViewResult _CommentsForPhoto(int PhotoId)
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the name in the View name box is
9.
_CommentsForPhoto.
10. Select the Create a strongly-typed view check box.
11. In the Model Class box, click Comment. (PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
12. Select the Create as a partial view check box, and then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, drag the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml file
13.
from the Comment folder to the Shared folder.
In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
14.
@model PhotoSharingApplication.Models.Comment
15.
@model IEnumerable<PhotoSharingApplication.Models.Comment>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just entered, press Enter twice, and then
<h3>Comments</h3>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the H3 element you just created, press Enter, and then
17. <div id="comments-tool">
<div id="all-comments">
</div>
</div>
In the <div id="all-comments"> element, type the following code.
@foreach (var item in Model)
18. {
<div class="photo-comment">
</div>
}
In the <div class="photo-comment"> element, type the following code.
19. <div class="photo-comment-from">

From:
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.UserName)
</div>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the DIV element you just created, press Enter, and
20. <div class="photo-comment-subject">
Subject:
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Subject)
</div>
21.
<div class="photo-comment-body">
@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Body)
</div>
@Html.ActionLink("Delete This Comment", "Delete", new { id = item.CommentID})
23. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Photo, and then click Display.cshtml.
24.
<p>
@Html.ActionLink("Back To List", "Index")
@Html.ActionLink("Delete This Photo", "Delete", new { id = Model.PhotoID })
</p>
Immediately before the located code, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
25.
@Html.Action("_CommentsForPhoto", "Comment", new { PhotoId = Model.PhotoID })
26.
27. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the All Photos link.
28. Under Sample Photo 1, click the Display link.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, scroll to the end of the page,
29.
and then note that the two comments are displayed.
Task 3: Add the _Create Action and the _CreateAComment views.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click CommentController.cs.

In the CommentController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor within the
CommentController class but outside any method code block, and type the following
code.
2.
public PartialViewResult _Create(int PhotoId)
{
}
In the _Create action code block, type the following code.
3.
Comment newComment = new Comment();
newComment.PhotoID = PhotoId;
In the _Create action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the Comment
4. object you just created, press Enter, and then type the following code.
ViewBag.PhotoID = PhotoId;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ViewBag attribute you just created, press Enter,
5. and then type the following code:
return PartialView("_CreateAComment");
6.
click View.
7. In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, type _CreateAComment.
8. Ensure that the Create a strongly-typed view check box is selected.
In the Model Class box, ensure that the value is Comment
9.
(PhotoSharingApplication.Models).
10. Select the Create as a partial view check box, and then click Add.
In the _CreateAComment.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
11. @model statement, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
@Html.ValidationSummary(true)
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the validation messages you just created, press Enter,
12.
<div class="add-comment-tool">
</div>
In the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element you just created, type the following
code.
13.
<div>
</div>
In the DIV element you just created, type the following code.
14. <span class="editor-label">
Subject:
</span>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SPAN element you just created, press Enter, and
15.
<span class="editor-field">
@Html.EditorFor(model => model.Subject)
</span>
In the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element, place the mouse cursor after the end tag
of the DIV element, press Enter, and then type the following code.
16.
<div>
</div>
<span class="editor-label">
17.
Body:
</span>
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SPAN element you just created, press Enter, and
18.
<span class="editor-field">
@Html.EditorFor(model => model.Body)
</span>
In the <div class="add-comment-tool"> element, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
19. second DIV element, press Enter, and then type the following code.
<input type="submit" value="Create" />
20.
click Save All.
Task 4: Add the _CommentsForPhoto POST action.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click CommentController.cs.

In the CommentController.cs code window, place the cursor within the
CommentController class but outside any method code block, and then type the following
code.
2.
[HttpPost]
public PartialViewResult _CommentsForPhoto(Comment comment, int PhotoId)
{
}
In the _CommentsforPhoto action code block you just created, type the following code.
3.
context.Add<Comment>(comment);
In the _CommentsforPhoto action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
comment object you just created, press Enter, and then type the following code.
4.
var comments = from c in context.Comments
where c.PhotoID == PhotoId
select c;
5. query you just created, press Enter, and then type the following code.
ViewBag.PhotoId = PhotoId;
6. ViewBag attribute you just created, press Enter, and then type the following code.
return PartialView("_CommentsForPhoto", comments.ToList());
7.
click Save All.
Task 5: Complete the _CommentsForPhoto view.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, click _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml.

2.
<h3>Comments</h3>
following code.
3.
@using (Ajax.BeginForm("_CommentsForPhoto",
new { PhotoId = ViewBag.PhotoId },
new AjaxOptions { UpdateTargetId = "comments-tool" }))
{
In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml code window, locate the last </div> tag, press Enter,
4. and then add the following code.
}
5. In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml code window, locate the last </div> tag.
Before the located tag, type the following code.
6.
<div id="add-comment" class="add-comment-box">
</div>
7.
@Html.Action("_Create", "Comment", new { PhotoId = ViewBag.PhotoId })
9.
</head>
Just before the located code, insert the following code.
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery/jquery-1.8.0.min.js"
10. type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/mvc/3.0/jquery.unobtrusive-
ajax.js"
11.
Under Sample Photo 1, click the Display link, and then, on the Welcome to Adventure
13.
Works Photo Sharing page, note that the two comments are displayed.
14. In the Subject box, type Test Comment.
In the Body box, type This comment is to test AJAX-based partial page updates., and
then click Create.
15.
Note: Note that the new comment is displayed without a page reload.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have ensured that new comments can be added
and displayed on the pages of the application without a complete page reload. You will create a
Photo Sharing application with a comments tool, implemented by using partial page updates.
Exercise 2: Optional—Configuring the ASP.NET Caches
Task 1: Test the All Photos page with no caching.

On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window,
1.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Tools button, and then
2.
click F12 developer tools.
4. On the Network tab of the developer window, click Start capturing.
In the URL column of the developer window, click http://localhost:<portnumber>/Photo,
7.
On the Timings tab, click the Request entry, and then, in the Duration column, note the
8.
time taken.
9. On the Network tab of the developer window, click Clear, and then click Start capturing.
12.
On the Timings tab, click the Request entry, and then, in the Duration column, note that
13.
the time taken is reduced.
Task 2: Configure caching for the Index action.

2.
3. following code.
using System.Web.UI;
4.
Enter.
5.
VaryByParam="none")]
6.
click Save All.
Task 3: Retest the All Photos page with Index caching.
On the DEBUG menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,

1.
6.
7.
time taken.
11.
12.
13. On the Network tab of the developer window, click Back to summary view.
14. In the URL column, click /Photo/GetImage/1, and then click Go to detailed view.
15. Click the Request entry, and then, in the Duration column, note the duration.
Task 4: Configure caching for the GetImage action.

1.
public FileContentResult GetImage (int id)
then press Enter.
2.
VaryByParam="id")]
3.
click Save All.
Task 5: Retest the All Photo page with GetImage caching.

1.
In the URL column of the developer window, click /Photo/GetImage/1, and then click Go
6.
to detailed view.
7.
duration.
8. Click Clear, and then click Start capturing.
10. When the page is fully loaded, in the developer window, click Stop Capturing.
In the URL column of the developer window, click /Photo/GetImage/1, and then click Go
11.
to detailed view.
12.
15.
button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will create a Photo Sharing application with the Output
Cache configured for caching photos.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 10: USING

JAVASCRIPT AND JQUERY FOR RESPONSIVE
Lab: Using JavaScript and jQuery for
Responsive MVC 4 Web Applications
Exercise 1: Creating and Animating the Slideshow View
Task 1: Import and test the slideshow view.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
5.
\PhotoSharingApplication, and then double-click PhotoSharingApplication.sln.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the, PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio
6. window, under PhotoSharingApplication, expand Views, right-click Photo, point to Add,
and then click Existing Item.
In the Add Existing Item – PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, navigate to Allfiles
7.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod10\Slide Show View, click SlideShow.cshtml, and then click Add.
8. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Controllers, and then click PhotoControllers.cs.
In the PhotoControllers.cs code window, locate the following code.
9.
throw new NotImplementedException("The Slideshow action is not yet ready");
10.
return View("SlideShow", context.Photos.ToList());
11. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Mvc.sitemap.
12. <mvcSiteMapNode title="Add a Photo" visibility="*" controller="Photo"
action="Create"
/>
following code.
13.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Slideshow" visibility="*" controller="Photo"
action="SlideShow" />
14.
On the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Tools button, and then click F12
15.
developer tools.
A message stating “Are you sure you want to clear the browser cache?” is displayed. Click
17.
Yes to clear the browser cache.
On the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Slideshow link.
19. Note: Note that the Slide Show view displays all the photos in a large size, one below the
other.
Task 2: Modify the style sheet.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Content, and then click PhotoSharingStyles.css.
2.
#slide-show DIV.slide-show-card {
following code.
3. position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
z-index: 8;
4.
#slideshow-progress-bar-container {
then press Enter.
5.
#slide-show DIV.active-card {
z-index: 10;
}
6.
#slide-show DIV.last-active-card {
z-index: 9;
}
7.
8.
developer tools.
10.
12. Note: Note that only Sample Photo 13 is displayed. The other photos are rendered in the
same absolute position behind Sample Photo 13. Your script will use the Z-order of
different style classes to move each photo to the top of the stack.
Task 3: Animate the photo cards in the slideshow.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right - click PhotoSharingApplication, point to Add, and
1.
then click New Folder.
2. In the NewFolder1 box, type Scripts, and then press Enter.
3. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Scripts, point to Add, and then click New Item.
4. In the Add New Item – PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, click JavaScript File.
5. In the Name box, type SlideShow.js, and then click Add.
In the SlideShow.js code window, type the following code.
6.
var percentIncrement;
var percentCurrent = 100;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the variable you just created, press Enter twice, and
7.
function slideSwitch () {
}
In the slideSwitch() function code block, type the following code.
8.
var $activeCard = $('#slide-show DIV.active-card');
following code.
9.
if ($activeCard.length == 0) {
$activeCard = $('#slide-show DIV.slide-show-card:last');
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if statement you just created, press Enter, and then
var $nextCard = $activeCard.next();
following code.
11.
if ($nextCard.length == 0) {
$nextCard = $('#slide-show DIV.slide-show-card:first');
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if statement you just created, press Enter, and then
12.
$activeCard.addClass('last-active-card');
Note: Note that this last-active-card class applies the z-order value 9, from the style sheet.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the last-active-card class you just added, press Enter,
$nextCard.css({ opacity: 0.0 });
following code.
14. $nextCard.addClass('active-card');
Note: Note that this active-card class applies the z-order value 10, from the style sheet.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the active-card class you just added, press Enter, and
15.
$nextCard.animate({ opacity: 1.0 }, 1000, function () {
$activeCard.removeClass('active-card last-active-card');
});
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the slideSwitch() function, press Enter twice, and then
16.
$(document).ready(function() {
});
In the anonymous function you just created, type the following code.
17.
setInterval("slideSwitch()", 5000);
18.
click Save All.
Task 4: Link to the script and test the animation.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Photo, click SlideShow.cshtml.

In the SlideShow.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
2.
<h2>Slideshow</h2>
then press Enter twice.
3.
<script type="text/javascript"
src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/SlideShow.js")"></script>
4.
5.
Note: The script fades between different photos in the application.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a Photo Sharing application with a
slideshow page that displays all the photos in the application, sequentially.
Exercise 2: Optional—Adding a jQueryUI ProgressBar Widget
Task 1: Complete the slideshow view and template view.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Photo, click SlideShow.cshtml.

In the SlideShow.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
2.
<div id="slideshow-progress-bar-container">
3. following code.
<div id="slideshow-progress-bar"></div>
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, expand Shared, and then click
4.
_MainLayout.cshtml.
5.
</head>
then press Enter.
6.
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.ui/1.10.0/jquery-
ui.min.js"></script>
7.
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="~/Content/PhotoSharingStyles.css">
then press Enter.
8.
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"
href="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.9.2/themes/base/jquery-ui.css" />
9.
click Save All.
Task 2: Modify the slideshow script.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Scripts, click SlideShow.js.

In the SlideShow.js code window, locate the following code.
2.
$(document).ready(function() {
Place the mouse cursor immediately before the located code, press Enter twice, and then
3.
function calculateIncrement() {
}
Place the cursor within the calculateIncrement() function you just created, and then type
var cardCount = $('#slide-show DIV.slide-show-card').length;
percentIncrement = 100 / cardCount;
following code.
$('#slideshow-progress-bar').progressbar({
6. value: 100
});
Note: Note that the jQueryUI progressbar() function displays a progress bar widget.
7.
setInterval("slideSwitch()", 5000);
8. then press Enter.
calculateIncrement();
9.
var $activeCard = $('#slide-show DIV.active-card');
10. then press Enter.
percentCurrent += percentIncrement;
following code.
11.
if (percentCurrent > 100) {
percentCurrent = percentIncrement;
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if statement you just added, press Enter, and then
12.
$('#slideshow-progress-bar').progressbar({
value: percentCurrent
});
13.
click Save All.
Task 3: Test the slideshow view.

1.
2.
developer tools.
4.
6. Note: On the Slideshow tab of the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note that all the
photos in the application are displayed, with a fade animation and a progress bar.
In the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close
8.
button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a slideshow page with a progress bar
that displays the position of the current photo in the list of photos.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 11: CONTROLLING

ACCESS TO ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Lab: Controlling Access to ASP.NET MVC 4
Web Applications
Exercise 1: Configuring Authentication and Membership Providers
Task 1: Configure a new Windows Azure SQL database.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type http://www.windowsazure.com/,
6.
7. On the Windows Azure page, click PORTAL.
8. In the someone@example.com box, type <username>.
9. In the Password box, type <password>, and then click Sign in.
In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click SQL DATABASES, and then click
10.
NEW.
11. In the New dialog box, click SQL DATABASE, and then click CUSTOM CREATE.
In the Name box of the NEW SQL DATABASE - CUSTOM CREATE dialog box, type
12.
PhotoAppServices.
13. In the SERVER box, click New SQL Database Server, and then click the Next button.
14. In the LOGIN NAME box, type <your first name>.
15. In the LOGIN PASSWORD box, type Pa$$w0rd.
16. In the LOGIN PASSWORD CONFIRMATION box, type Pa$$w0rd.
In the REGION box, click <a region close to you>, and then click the Complete button.
17. Note: In the sql databases result pane, note that a new database, PhotoAppServices, is
created.
In the Name column of the sql databases page, click PhotoAppServices, and then click the
18.
DASHBOARD tab.
19. In the quick glance section, click the Manage allowed IP addresses link.
20. In the RULE NAME box of the result window, type First Address Range.
21. In the START IP ADDRESS box, type <first address in range>.
22. In the END IP ADDRESS box, type <last address in range>.
In the lower pane of the SQL Databases – Windows Azure window, click Save.
23.
Note: To add more IP address ranges, you can repeat the steps 18–23.
Task 2: Install universal providers.

2.
On the PROJECT menu of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio
3.
window, click Manage NuGet Packages.
In the navigation pane of the PhotoSharingApplication – Manage NuGet Packages dialog
4.
box, click Online.
In the Search Online box of the PhotoSharingApplication – Manage NuGet Packages
5.
dialog box, type Microsoft.aspnet.providers.
On the PhotoSharingApplication – Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click Microsoft
6.
ASP.NET Universal Providers, and then click Install.
7. In the License Acceptance dialog box, click I Accept.
When the installation is complete, in the PhotoSharingApplication – Manage NuGet
8.
Packages dialog box, click Close.
Task 3: Configure providers in Web.config.
In the Solution Explorer pane of the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio

1.
window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, and then click Web.config.
In the <connectionStrings> element of the Web.config code window, locate the following
code, select the located code, and then press Delete.
2.
<add name="DefaultConnection" providerName="System.Data.SQLClient"
connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=aspnet-
PhotoSharingApplication-<id>;Integrated Security=SSPI" />
3. Switch to Internet Explorer.
4. In the Internet Explorer window, click the Back button.
5. In the NAME column of the sql databases result pane, click PhotoAppServices.
6. On the photoappservices page, click DASHBOARD.
In the quick glance section of the photoappservices page, click the Show connection
7.
strings link.
In the ADO.NET box of the Connection Strings dialog box, select the given text, right-
8.
click the selected text, and then click Copy.
In the Web.config code window, place the mouse cursor before the </connectionStrings>
tag, press Enter, and then type the following code.
10. <add name="PhotoAppServices"
connectionString = ""
providerName =
In the connectionStrings code block you just typed, place the mouse cursor within the
11.
quotes after connectionString =, right-click, and then click Paste.
In the content you just pasted, locate the text {your_password_here}, and then replace the
12.
text with Pa$$w0rd.
13.
<system.web>
following code.
14.
<authentication mode="Forms">
</authentication>
Place the cursor within the <authentication> element you just created, and then type the
15. following code.
<forms loginUrl="~/Account/Login" timeout="2880" />
<add name="DefaultProfileProvider"
16. type="System.Web.Providers.DefaultProfileProvider,
System.Web.Providers, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection"
applicationName="/"/>
Within the located code, select the following text.
17.
DefaultConnection
Replace the selected text with the following text.
18.
PhotoAppServices
<add name="DefaultMembershipProvider"
type="System.Web.Providers.DefaultMembershipProvider, System.Web.Providers,
19. Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"
connectionStringName="DefaultConnection" enablePasswordRetrieval="false"
enablePasswordReset="true" requiresQuestionAndAnswer="false"
requiresUniqueEmail="false" maxInvalidPasswordAttempts="5"
minRequiredPasswordLength="6" minRequiredNonalphanumericCharacters="0"
passwordAttemptWindow="10" applicationName="/" />
20.
DefaultConnection
21.
PhotoAppServices
<add name="DefaultRoleProvider"
22. type="System.Web.Providers.DefaultRoleProvider,
System.Web.Providers, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection”
applicationName="/"/>
23.
DefaultConnection
24.
PhotoAppServices
25. <add name="DefaultSessionProvider"

type="System.Web.Providers.DefaultSessionStateProvider, System.Web.Providers,
Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"
connectionStringName="DefaultConnection"/>
26.
DefaultConnection
27.
PhotoAppServices
28.
click Save All.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have created a Photo Sharing application that is
configured to use Windows Azure SQL database for user accounts and membership
information. In subsequent exercises, you will add model classes, actions, and views to
implement authentication for this database.
Exercise 2: Building the Logon and Register Views
Task 1: Add account model classes.
In the Name box of the Add New Item – PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, type
2.
AccountModelClasses.cs, and then click Add.
In the AccountModelClasses.cs code window, locate the following code.
3.
using System.Web;
following code.
4.
In the AccountModelClasses.cs code window, locate the following code.
5.
public class AccountModelClasses
6.
public class UsersContext : DbContext
Place the mouse cursor within the UsersContext class code block you just created, and
7. public UsersContext ()
: base("PhotoAppServices")
{
}
Place the mouse cursor after the UsersContext class code block, press Enter twice, and
8.
public class Login
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Login class code block you just created, and then type
the following code.
9.
[Required]
[Display(Name = "User name")]
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the UserName property code block you just created,
10.
[Required]
[DataType(DataType.Password)]
public string Password { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Password property code block you just created,
11.
[Display(Name = "Remember me?")]
public bool RememberMe { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor after the Login class code block, press Enter twice, and then type
the following code.
12.
public class Register
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Register class code block you just created, and then type
the following code.
13.
[Required]
[Display(Name = "User name")]
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the UserName property code block you just created,
14.
[Required]
public string Password { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Password property code block you just created,
15. [Display(Name = "Confirm password")]
[Compare("Password", ErrorMessage = "The password and confirmation password do
not
match.")]
public string ConfirmPassword { get; set; }
16.
click Save All.
Task 2: Add an account controller.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then click
1.
Controller.
2. In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type AccountController.
In the Template box, ensure that the Empty MVC controller template is selected, and
3.
then click Add.
In the AccountController.cs code window, locate the following code, select the code, and
then press Delete.
//
4. //GET: /Account/
{
return View();
}
Locate the following code.
5.
following code.
6.
using System.Web.Security;
Place the mouse cursor within the AccountController class code block, and then type the
following code.
7.
public ActionResult Login(string returnUrl)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Login action method code block, and then type the
following code.
8.
ViewBag.ReturnUrl = returnUrl;
return View();
Place the mouse cursor within the AccountController class but outside any action method
code block, and then type the following code.
9. [HttpPost]
public ActionResult Login(Login model, string returnUrl)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Login action method code block for the HTTP POST
verb, and then type the following code.
10.
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the if code block you just added, and then type the following
code.
if (Membership.ValidateUser(model.UserName, model.Password))
11. {
}
else
{
}
Place the cursor within the if statement code block you just added, and then type the
12. following code.
FormsAuthentication.SetAuthCookie(model.UserName, model.RememberMe);
following code.
if (Url.IsLocalUrl(returnUrl))
{
13. return Redirect(returnUrl);
}
else
{
return RedirectToAction("Index", "Home");
}
Place the mouse cursor within the empty else clause you created in the first instance, and
ModelState.AddModelError("", "The username or password is incorrect");
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Login action method for the HTTP POST verb,
15. outside any of the if statements, and then type the following code.
return View(model);
Place the mouse cursor within the AccountController class but outside any action method,
16.
public ActionResult LogOff()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the LogOff action code block you just created, and then type
the following code.
17.
FormsAuthentication.SignOut();
Place the cursor within the AccountController class but outside any action method, and
18.
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Register action code block you just created, and then
return View();
Place the mouse cursor within the AccountController class but outside any action method
code block, and then type the following code.
20.
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Register(Register model)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Register action method code block for the HTTP POST
verb, and then type the following code.
21.
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the if code block you just created, and then type the
following code.
try
22. {
}
catch (MembershipCreateUserException e)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the try code block you just created, and then type the
following code.
23.
MembershipUser NewUser = Membership.CreateUser(model.UserName,
model.Password);
following code.
24. FormsAuthentication.SetAuthCookie(model.UserName, false);

Place the mouse cursor within the catch code block you created, and then type the
following code.
25.
ModelState.AddModelError("Registration Error", "Registration error: " +
e.StatusCode.ToString());
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Register action method for the HTTP POST verb,
26. outside any of the if statements, and then type the following code.
return View(model);
27.
click Save All.
Task 3: Import Logon and Register views.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Views, point to Add, and then click New Folder.
2. In the NewFolder1 box, type Account, and then press Enter.
3. Under Views, right-click Account, point to Add, and then click Existing Item.
4.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views, click Login.cshtml, and then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Account, point to Add, and then click Existing
5.
Item.
6.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views, click Register.cshtml, and then click Add.
Task 4: Add authentication controls to the Template view.
1.
_MainLayout.cshtml.
2.
<div class="clear-floats" />
Place the mouse cursor immediately before the located code, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
3.
<div class="login-controls">
</div>
Place the mouse cursor within the DIV element you just created, and then type the following
code.
@if (Request.IsAuthenticated)
4. {
}
else
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the @if statement code block you just created, and then type
@:Hello, @User.Identity.Name
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the greeting message you just created, press Enter, and
@Html.ActionLink("Log Off", "LogOff", "Account")
Place the mouse cursor within the else code block you created, and then type the following
7. code.
@Html.ActionLink("Log In", "Login", "Account")
8. following code.
@Html.ActionLink("Register", "Register", "Account")
9.
click Save All.
Task 5: Test registration, log on, and log off.

1.
2. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click Register.
3. In the User name box of the Register section, type David Johnson.
4. In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd.
In the Confirm password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Register.
5. Note: At the upper-right corner of the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page,
note that the authentication controls show your first name to indicate that you are logged
on.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log Off link.
6. Note: Before clicking the Log In link, click any other link or menus to ensure that you
have successfully logged off.
7. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log In link
8. In the User name box of the Login section, type David Johnson.
In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Log in.
9. Note: At the upper-right corner of the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page,
if you see your first name in the authentication controls, it implies that the model classes,
controller, and views are working as expected.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will create a Photo Sharing application in which users
can register for an account, log on, and log off.
Exercise 3: Authorizing Access to Resources
Task 1: Restrict access to Photo actions.

1.
2.
public ActionResult Create()
3. Enter.
[Authorize]
4.
public ActionResult Create(Photo photo, HttpPostedFileBase image)
5. Enter.
[Authorize]
6.
public ActionResult Delete(int id)
7. Enter.
[Authorize]
8.
public ActionResult DeleteConfirmed(int id)
9. Enter.
[Authorize]
10.
click Save All.
Task 2: Restrict access to the Comment actions.

1.
window, under Controllers, click CommentController.cs.
2.
public PartialViewResult _Create(int PhotoId)
3. Enter.
[Authorize]
4.
public ActionResult Delete(int id = 0)
5. Enter.
[Authorize]
6.
public ActionResult DeleteConfirmed(int id)
7. Enter.
[Authorize]
8.
click Save All.
Task 3: Restrict access to the Account actions.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click AccountController.cs.

In the AccountController.cs code window, locate the following code.
2.
public class AccountController : Controller
3. Enter.
[Authorize]
4.
public ActionResult Login(string returnUrl)
5. Enter.
[AllowAnonymous]
6.
public ActionResult Login(Login model, string returnUrl)
7. Enter.
[AllowAnonymous]
8.
9. Enter.
[AllowAnonymous]
10.
public ActionResult Register(Register model)
11. Enter.
[AllowAnonymous]
12.
click Save All.
Task 4: Check authentication status in a view.

In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, under Shared, click
1.
_CommentsForPhoto.cshtml.
2.
@Html.Action("_Create", "Comment", new { PhotoID = ViewBag.PhotoId })
Enter.
3.
@if (Request.IsAuthenticated)
{
Place the mouse cursor after the located code, press Enter, and then type the following code.
4.
}
In the _CommentsForPhoto.cshtml code window, at the end of the code you just typed, press
5. else
{
@Html.ActionLink("To comment you must log in", "Login", "Account");
}
6.
click Save All.
Task 5: Test authorization.

1.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click Add a Photo.
2.
Note: ASP.NET forwards the browser to the Login action of the Accounts controller
because the request is unauthenticated.
3. On the Login page, click All Photos.
4. On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to a photo of your choice.
On the result page, view the comments for the photo.
5. Note: A link to the Login action is displayed at the lower end of the page, instead of the
comment creation form.
6. On the result page, click the To comment you must log in link.
On the Login page, in the User name box, type David Johnson, in the Password box, type
7.
Pa$$w0rd, and then click Log in.
8.
corresponding to a photo of your choice.
On the result page, view the comments for the photo.
9.
Note: The create comment form is displayed because the request is authenticated.
In the Comments section of the result page, in the Subject box, type Authenticated Test
10.
Comment.
11. In the Body box, type <a comment of your choice>, and then click Create.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will have authorized anonymous and authenticated
users to access resources in your web application.
Exercise 4: Optional—Building a Password Reset View
Task 1: Add a local password model class.

1.
window, under Models, click AccountModelClasses.cs.
In the AccountModelClasses.cs code window, place the mouse cursor in the
PhotoSharingApplication.Models namespace code block, but outside any class code block,
2.
public class LocalPassword
{
}
In the LocalPassword class code block, type the following code.
3. [Required]
[Display(Name = "Current password")]
public string OldPassword { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the OldPassword property code block that you just
created, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
4. [Required]
[Display(Name = "New password")]
public string NewPassword { get; set; }
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the NewPassword property code block you just created,
5. [Display(Name = "Confirm new password")]
[Compare("NewPassword", ErrorMessage = "The password and confirmation password
do not
match.")]
public string ConfirmPassword { get; set; }
6.
click Save All.
Task 2: Add reset password actions.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, click AccountControllers.cs.

In the AccountControllers.cs code window, place the mouse cursor in the
AccountController class code block, but outside any action method code block, press
2. public enum ManageMessageId
{
ChangePasswordSuccess,
SetPasswordSuccess,
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ManageMessageId code block, press Enter, and
3.
public ActionResult ResetPassword (ManageMessageId? message)
{
}
In the ResetPassword action code block, type the following code.
4. if (message != null)
{
ViewBag.StatusMessage = "Your password has been changed";
}
In the ResetPassword action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you
5. just typed, press Enter, and then type the following code.
ViewBag.ReturnUrl = Url.Action("ResetPassword");
In the ResetPassword action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you
6. just typed, press Enter, and then type the following code.
return View();
In the AccountControllers.cs code window, place the mouse cursor within the
AccountController class, but outside any action method code block, press Enter, and then
7.
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult ResetPassword (LocalPassword model)
{
}
In the ResetPassword action code block for the HTTP POST verb, type the following
8. code.
ViewBag.ReturnUrl = Url.Action("ResetPassword");
In the ResetPassword action code block for the HTTP POST verb, press Enter, and then
{
}
In the if statement code block, type the following code.
bool changePasswordSucceeded;
try
10. {
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
11. changePasswordSucceeded =
Membership.Provider.ChangePassword(User.Identity.Name,
model.OldPassword, model.NewPassword);
In the catch block, type the following code.
12.
changePasswordSucceeded = false;
Place the cursor at the end of the try…catch code block, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
if (changePasswordSucceeded)
{
13.
return RedirectToAction("ResetPassword", new { message =

ManageMessageId.ChangePasswordSuccess });
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if statement code block, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
14. else
{
ModelState.AddModelError("", "The current password is incorrect or the new
password is invalid");
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the ResetPassword action code block for the HTTP
15. POST verb, but outside the if statements, press Enter, and then type the following code.
return View(model);
16.
click Save All.
Task 3: Import the reset password view.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Views, right-click Account, point to Add, and then
1.
click Existing Item.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod11\Account Views, click ResetPassword.cshtml, and then click Add.
2.
Note: In the Solution Explorer pane, note that the ResetPassword.cshtml file is added to the
Account folder.
Task 4: Add a link to the reset password view.

2.
@Html.ActionLink("Log Off", "LogOff", "Account")
3. following code.
@Html.ActionLink("Reset", "ResetPassword", "Account")
4.
click Save All.
Task 5: Test password reset.

1.
2. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log In link.
On the logon page, in the User name box, type David Johnson, in the Password box, type
3.
Pa$$w0rd, and then click Log in.
4. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Reset link.
5. On the ResetPassword page, in the Current password box, type Pa$$w0rd.
In the New password box, type Pa$$w0rd2, in the Confirm new password box, type
Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Change Password.
6.
Note: The message, “Your password has been changed” is displayed.
8.
button.
9. In the SQL Databases – Windows Azure window, click the Close button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will build a Photo Sharing application in which
registered users can reset their own password.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 12: BUILDING A

RESILIENT ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATION
Lab: Building a Resilient ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Application
Exercise 1: Creating Favorites Controller Actions
Task 1: Create the Favorites Slideshow action.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
4. On the Start screen, click Desktop.
In the Libraries window, navigate to Allfiles (D:)\Labfiles\Mod12\Starter
6.
7. window, expand PhotoSharingApplication, expand Controllers, and then click
PhotoController.cs.
8. public ActionResult SlideShow()

{
return View("SlideShow", context.Photos.ToList());
}
following code.
9.
public ActionResult FavoritesSlideShow()
{
}
Place the cursor within the FavoritesSlideShow action code block you just created, and
List<Photo> favPhotos = new List<Photo>();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the favPhotos list code block you just created, press
List<int> favoriteIds = Session["Favorites"] as List<int>;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the favoriteIds list code block you just created, press
12.
if (favoriteIds == null)
{
favoriteIds = new List<int>();
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the if statement code block you just created, press
Photo currentPhoto;
Place the mouse cursor at the of the currentPhoto object code block you just created, press
14.
foreach (int currentId in favoriteIds)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the foreach code block you just created, and then type the
15. following code.
currentPhoto = context.FindPhotoById(currentId);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just created, press Enter, and then type
the following code.
16. if (currentPhoto != null)
{
favPhotos.Add(currentPhoto);
}
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the foreach code block you created earlier, press
17. return View("SlideShow", favPhotos);
Note: You do not need to create a new view for the FavoritesSlideShow action. Instead,
you can re-use the SlideShow.cshtml view by passing a different list of Photo objects.
18.
click Save All.
Task 2: Create the Add Favorite action.
Place the mouse cursor immediately after the FavoritesSlideShow action code block, but
inside the PhotoController class code block, and then type the following code.
1.
public ContentResult AddFavorite(int PhotoId)
{
}
Place the cursor within the AddFavorite action code block you just created, and then type
List<int> favoriteIds = Session["Favorites"] as List<int>;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the favoriteIds list code block you just created, press
if (favoriteIds == null)
3. {
favoriteIds = new List<int>();

}
favoriteIds.Add(PhotoId);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just created, press Enter, and then type the
5. following code.
Session["Favorites"] = favoriteIds;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just created, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
6.
return Content("The picture has been added to your favorites", "text/plain",
System.Text.Encoding.Default);
7.
click Save All.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create controller actions that store
values in the session state of the web application, and retrieve values from the same session
state.
Exercise 2: Implementing Favorites in Views
Task 1: Add an AJAX action link in the Photo Display view.

1.
window, expand Views, expand Photo, and then click Display.cshtml.
<div>
<span class="display-label">
2. @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.CreatedDate):
</span>
<span class="display-field">
@Html.DisplayFor(model => model.CreatedDate)
</span>
</div>
following code.
3.
<div id="addtofavorites">
</div>
@Ajax.ActionLink("Add this photo to your favorites",
"AddFavorite",
"Photo",
4. new { PhotoId = Model.PhotoID },
new AjaxOptions {
UpdateTargetId = "addtofavorites",
HttpMethod = "GET",
InsertionMode = InsertionMode.Replace
})
5.
click Save All.
Task 2: Add a link and update the site map.
_MainLayout.cshtml.
1.
Note: In the <script> tag of the _MainLayout.cshtml code window, ensure that the version
number for jquery.ui is same as the version number noted in the Manage NuGet package. If
not, update the version number provided in the <script> tag.
2. <div id="breadcrumb">
Current Location: @Html.MvcSiteMap().SiteMapPath()
</div>
following code.
3.
@if (Session["Favorites"] != null) {
}
In the @if statement code block, type the following code.
<div id="favorites-link">
4.
</div>
5.
@Html.ActionLink("Favorite Photos", "FavoritesSlideShow", "Photo")
6.
click Save All.
7. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Mvc.sitemap.
8.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Slideshow" visibility="*" controller="Photo"
action="SlideShow" />
following code.
9.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Favorites" visibility="SiteMapPathHelper,!*"
controller="Photo" action="FavoritesSlideShow" />
10.
click Save All.
Task 3: Test favorites.

1.
Note: On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, note that there is no link
to the FavoritesSlideShow action.
2. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click All Photos.
On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to any photo of your choice.
3.
Note: Ensure that the photo you have selected is not already added to the favorites list.
On the result page, click the Add this photo to your favorites link.
4. Note: The message, “The picture has been added to your favorites” is displayed. This
indicates that the AJAX action displays a confirmation message without a full-page reload.
5. On the result page, click the Back to List link.
6.
Note: Ensure that the photo you have selected is not already added to the favorites list.
On the result page, click the Add this photo to your favorites link, and then click the
7.
Back to List link.
8.
Note: Ensure that the photo you selected is not already added to the favorites list.
On the result page, click the Add this photo to your favorites link, and then click the
9.
Back to List link.
On the All Photos page, click Home, and then click the Favorite Photos link.
10. Note: The slideshow displays the photos that were marked as favorites. On the Home page,
if you are not able to view the Favorite Photos link, click the Refresh button.
12.
button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to :
Create the user interface components for the favorite photos functionality.
Test the functionality of the user interface components.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 13: USING WINDOWS

AZURE WEB SERVICES IN ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB
APPLICATIONS
Lab: Using Windows Azure Web Services in
ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications
Exercise 1: Accessing Windows Azure and Bing Maps
Task 1: Install the Windows Azure SDK.
1.
3.
the Forward button.
5. On the taskbar, click the Windows Internet Explorer icon.
In the Address bar, type http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx, and
6.
then click Go to.
7. On the Download the Microsoft Web Platform page, click Free Download.
8. In the Navigation bar, click Run.
In the Search box of the Web Platform Installer 4.5 window, type Windows Azure
9.
SDK, it will search automatically.
In the Web Platform Installer 4.5 window, click Windows Azure SDK for .NET (VS
10.
2012) <latest version>, click Add, and then click Install.
11. In the PREREQUISITES page of the Web Platform Installer 4.5 wizard, click I Accept.
12. On the FINISH page, click Finish.
13. In the Web Platform Installer 4.5 window, click Exit.
Task 2: Create a Bing Maps developer account.
1. Switch to Windows Internet Explorer.

In the Address bar, type https://www.bingmapsportal.com, and then click the Go to
2.
button.
On the Home – Bing Maps Account Center page, click the Create a Bing Maps Account
3.
link.
On the Sign in to your Microsoft account page, in the someone@example.com box, type
4. <Your Windows Live account name>, and then, in the Password box, type <Your Windows
Live account password>.
On the Sign in to your Microsoft account page, select the Keep me signed in check box, and
5.
then click Sign in.
6. In the Maps Account Center page, click Continue.
On the Account Details page, in the Account Name box, type <Your account name>, and
7.
then in the Contact Name box, type <Your name>.
In the Email Address box, ensure that the text, <Your Windows Live account name>
8.
appears, select the I agree to the Bing Maps check box, and then click Save.
9. In the result window, under Account, click Update or view account details.
Task 3: Create a Bing Maps key.
In the My Account section of the Create key - Bing Maps Account Center page, click
1.
Create or view keys.
In the Application Name box of the Create key - Bing Maps Account Center page, type
2. Photo Sharing Application, in the Key Type box, ensure that the value is Trial, and then,
in the Application type box, ensure that the value is Public website.
In the Enter the characters you see box, type <the characters seen in the image>, and then
click Submit.
3.
Note: On the Create Key - Bing Maps Account Center page, the message, “Key created
successfully” is displayed.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to register an application to access the
Bing Maps APIs.
Exercise 2: Creating a WCF Service for Windows Azure
Task 1: Add a new Windows Azure Cloud Service project to the web application.

2.
3.
point to Add, and then click New Project.
In the navigation pane of the Add New Project dialog box, under Installed, expand Visual
4.
C#, and then click Cloud.
In the Add New Project dialog box, click Windows Azure Cloud Service, in the Name
5.
box, type LocationChecker, and then click OK.
In the .NET Framework 4.5 roles box of the New Windows Azure Cloud Service dialog
6.
box, click WCF Service Web Role, click the Right Arrow button, and then click OK.
7.
window, right-click WCFServiceWebRole1, and then click Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, rename WCFServiceWebRole1 as
8.
LocationCheckerWebRole, and then press Enter.
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click IService1.cs, and then click Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, rename IService1.cs as ILocationCheckerService.cs, and
10.
then press Enter.
12. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Service1.svc, and then click Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, rename Service1.svc as LocationCheckerService.svc, and
13.
then press Enter.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under LocationCheckerService.svc, double-click
14.
LocationCheckerService.svc.cs.
In the LocationCheckerService.svc.cs code window, locate the following code.
15.
namespace WCFServiceWebRole1
In the LocationCheckerService.svc.cs code window, right-click the located code, point to
16.
Refactor, and then click Rename.
In the New name box of the Rename dialog box, type LocationCheckerWebRole, ensure
17.
that the Preview reference changes check box is selected, and then click OK.
18. In the Preview Changes – Rename dialog box, click Apply.
20.
public class Service1 : ILocationCheckerService
In the located code, select the text Service 1, right-click Service 1, point to Refactor, and
21.
then click Rename.
In the New name box of the Rename dialog box, type LocationCheckerService, ensure
22.
that the Preview reference changes check box is selected, and then click OK
23. In the Preview Changes – Rename dialog box, click Apply.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under LocationChecker, double-click
24.
ServiceDefinition.csdef.
In the ServiceDefinition.csdef code window, locate the following code.
25.
<WebRole name="LocationCheckerWebRole" vmsize="Small">
In the ServiceDefinition.csdef code window, replace the located code with the following
26. code.
<WebRole name="LocationCheckerWebRole" vmsize="ExtraSmall">
On the FILE menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Micorosft Visual Studio window,
27.
click Save All.
Task 2: Create the Location Checker Service interface.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under LocationCheckerWebRole, double-click

1.
ILocationCheckerService.cs
In the ILocationCheckerService.cs code window, locate the following code, select the code,
and then press Delete.
2. [OperationContract]
string GetData(int value);
[OperationContract]
CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite);
Place the mouse cursor in the ILocationCheckerService interface code block, and then type
the following code.
3.
[OperationContract]
string GetLocation(string address);
4.
click Save All.
Task 3: Add a service reference to the Bing Maps Geocode service.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under LocationCheckerWebRole, right-click References,

1.
and then click Add Service Reference.
In the Address box of the Add Service Reference dialog box, type
2. http://dev.virtualearth.net/webservices/v1/geocodeservice/geocodeservice.svc?wsdl, and
then click Go.
In the Namespace box of the Add Service Reference dialog box, type GeocodeService,
3.
and then click OK.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under LocationCheckerWebRole, double-click
4.
LocationCheckerService.svc.
5.
using System.Text;
6. following code.
using LocationCheckerWebRole.GeocodeService;
7.
click Save All.
Task 4: Write the Location Checker service.
In the LocationCheckerService.svc.cs code window, locate the following code, select the
code, and then press Delete.
1. public string GetData(int value)
{
return string.Format("You entered: {0}", value);
}
In the LocationCheckerService.svc.cs code window, locate the following code, select the
code, and then press Delete.
public CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite)
{
if (composite == null)
{
2. throw new ArgumentNullException("composite");
}
if (composite.BoolValue)
{
composite.StringValue += "Suffix";
}
return composite;
}
Place the mouse cursor in the LocationCheckService class code block, and then type the
following code.
3.
public string GetLocation(string address)
{
}
In the GetLocation method you just created, type the following code.
4.
string results = "";
In the lower part of the Create Key - Bing Maps Account Center page, select the key
6.
corresponding to Photo Sharing Application, right-click the key, and then click Copy.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the results variable, press Enter, and then type the
8. following code.
string key = "";
Place the mouse cursor within the key variable, and then, on the EDIT menu of the
9.
PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Paste.
In the PhotoSharingApplication window, navigate to Allfiles
11.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Service Code, and then double-click Geocoding Code.txt.
12. On the Edit menu of the Geocoding Code.txt - Notepad window, click Select All.
13. On the Edit menu of the Geocoding Code.txt- Notepad window, click Copy.
15. Place the mouse cursor at the end of the key variable, and then press Enter.
On the EDIT menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
16.
click Paste.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just pasted, press Enter, and then type the
17. following code.
return results;
18.
click Save All.
Task 5: Publish the Service in Windows Azure.
In the Solution Explorer pane, collapse LocationCheckerWebRole, right-click

1.
LocationChecker, and then click Package.
In the Service Configuration box of the Package Windows Azure Application dialog
box, ensure that Cloud is selected, and then, in the Build Configuration box, click Debug,
and then click Package.
2.
Note: Visual Studio creates the .cspkg file and the .cscfg file for the service and displays
them in the File Explorer window.
4. In the Windows Internet Explorer window, click the New Tab button.
5.
http://www.windowsazure.com, and then click Go to.
6. On the Home page of the Windows Azure window, click the PORTAL link.
7. In the left pane of the Windows Azure window, click CLOUD SERVICES.
In the lower pane of the Cloud services – Windows Azure window, click NEW, and then
8.
click CUSTOM CREATE.
In the URL box of the Create a cloud service dialog box, type <Your Windows Live
9. Account Name>LocationService, in the REGION/AFFINITY GROUP box, click
<Choose a location near you>, and then click Complete.
10 In the NAME column of the Cloud services – Windows Azure window, click <Your Live
. Account Name>LocationService.
11 On the <Your Live Account Name>locationservice page, click INSTANCES, click
. STAGING, and then click UPLOAD A New staging deployment.
12 In the DEPLOYMENT NAME box of the Upload a package dialog box, type
. LocationChecker, and then, in the PACKAGE box, click FROM LOCAL.
13
(D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Starter\PhotoSharingApplication\LocationChecker\bin\Debug\a
.
pp.publi sh, click LocationChecker.cspkg, and then click Open.
14 In the CONFIGURATION box of the Upload a package. dialog box, click FROM
. LOCAL.
15 In the Choose File to Upload dialog box, click ServiceConfiguration.Cloud.cscfg, and
. then click Open.
In the Upload a package. dialog box, select the Deploy even if one or more roles contain
a single instance check box, and then click OK.
16
. Note: It may take several minutes to fully create and deploy the service. Ensure the process
is complete before you proceed to Exercise 3.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a WCF cloud service. You
will also be able to publish the WCF cloud service in Windows Azure.
Exercise 3: Calling a Web Service from Controller Action
Task 1: Add a service reference to the Photo Sharing application.

2.
window, collapse LocationChecker, and then expand PhotoSharingApplication.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under PhotoSharingApplication, right-click References, and
3.
then click Add Service Reference.
On the taskbar, point to the Windows Internet Explorer icon, and then click the Cloud
services – Windows Azure window.
4.
Note: If the Cloud services – Windows Azure window is not displayed, click
DASHBOARD.
In the SITE URL section of the Cloud services – Windows Azure window, click the link
5.
provided.
6. In the result window, click the LocationCheckerService.svc link.
7. In the Address bar of the result window, right-click the URL, and then click Copy.
8. Switch to Microsoft Visual Studio.
In the Address box of the Add Service Reference dialog box, right-click anywhere, and
9.
then click Paste.
10. In the Add Service Reference dialog box, click Go.
In the Namespace box of the Add Service Reference dialog box, type GeocodeService,
11.
and then click OK.
12.
window, expand Controllers, and then double-click PhotoController.cs.
13.
14. following code.
using PhotoSharingApplication.GeocodeService;
15.
click Save All.
Task 2: Call the WCF service from the photo create action.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the
PhotoController class but outside any action code block, and then type the following code.
1.
private string CheckLocation(string location)
{
}
In the CheckLocation method code block, type the following code.
2.
LocationCheckerServiceClient client = null;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the client variable code block, press Enter, and then
string response = "";
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the response variable code block, press Enter, and then
try
4. {
}
catch (Exception e)
{
}
5.
client = new LocationCheckerServiceClient();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the client variable you just entered, press Enter, and
response = client.GetLocation(location);
In the catch code block, type the following code.
7.
response = "Error: " + e.Message;
Place the mouse cursor after the catch code block but in the CheckLocation method, press
return response;
9. [Authorize]
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create(Photo photo, HttpPostedFileBase image)
{
following code.
10.
if (photo.Location != "")
{
}
In the if code block, type the following code.
11.
string stringLongLat = CheckLocation(photo.Location);
the following code.
12.
if (stringLongLat.StartsWith("Success"))
{
}
In the if statement code block you just created, type the following code.
13.
char[] splitChars = {':'};
string[] coordinates = stringLongLat.Split(splitChars);
the following code.
15. photo.Latitude = coordinates[1];
photo.Longitude = coordinates[2];
Note: Remember that the array is zero-based.

16.
click Save All.
Task 3: Configure the Services Database connection string.

2. In the left pane of the Windows Azure Portal window, click SQL Databases.
In the NAME column of the SQL Databases – Windows Azure window, click
3.
PhotoAppServices.
4. In the result window, click DASHBOARD.
5. Under quick glance, click Show connection strings.
6. Select all the text in the ADO.NET box.
7. Right-click the selected code, and then click Copy.
9. In the Solution Explorer pane, double-click web.config.
In the Web.config code window, select the following code, which is the connection string
value for the PhotoSharingDB connection string.
10. Server=tcp:{Your Azure Database URL},1433;Database=PhotoSharingDB;User

ID={Your ID
Here};Password=Pa$$w0rd;Trusted_Connection=False;Encrypt=True;Connection
Timeout=30;
PersistSecurityInfo=true
11. Right-click the selected code, and then click Paste.
In the pasted content, locate the text {your_password_here} and then replace it with
12.
Pa$$w0rd
13.
click Save All.
Task 4: Test the Location Checker service.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, and then click Set as
1.
Startup Project.
2.
Note: If you get error while debugging, reopen the PhotoSharingApplication.sln file, and
run the web application in debugging mode.
3. On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, click Log In.
In the User name box of the Login page, type David Johnson, in the Password box, type
4.
Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Log In.
5. On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, click Add a Photo.
In the Title box of the Create New Photo page, type Testing Locations, and then, in the
6.
Picture box, click Browse.
7.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod13\Sample Photos, click Beach.jpg, and then click Open.
In the Location box of the Create New Photo page, type Florence, OR, and then click
8.
Create.
On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to the "Testing Locations"
9.
photo.
On the Testing Locations page, note that the Latitude and Longitude values are displayed.
10.
Note: The latitude and longitude values are taken from the Location Checker WCF service.
12. In the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to add a service reference for a
Windows Azure WCF service to a .NET Framework application. You will also be able to call a
WCF service from an MVC controller action.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 14: IMPLEMENTING

WEB APIS IN ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB APPLICATIONS
Lab: Implementing APIs in ASP.NET MVC 4
Web Applications
Exercise 1: Adding a Web API to the Photo Sharing Application
Task 1: Add a Photo API controller.
1.
3.
the Forward button.

6.
Note: If the Windows Azure Tools dialog box appears, click Convert the project to
target Windows Azure Tools – v2.0., and then click OK. In the result Windows Internet
Explorer window, click the Close button, and switch to the Microsoft Visual Studio
window.
7. window, under PhotoSharingApplication, right-click Controllers, point to Add, and then
click Controller.
8. In the Controller name box of the Add Controller dialog box, type PhotoApiController.
9. In the Template list, click Empty API controller, and then click Add.
In the PhotoApiController.cs code window, locate the following code.
10.
using System.Web.Http;
11. following code.
Place the mouse cursor within the PhotoApiController class code block, and then type the
12. following code.
private IPhotoSharingContext context = new PhotoSharingContext();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just added, press Enter twice, and then
13.
public IEnumerable<Photo> GetAllPhotos()
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the GetAllPhotos action code block you just created, and
return context.Photos.AsEnumerable();
Place the mouse cursor in the PhotoApiController class, but outside any action code
block, and then type the following code.
15.
public Photo GetPhotoById(int id)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the GetPhotoById action code block you just created, and
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just added, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
{
}
return photo;
Place the mouse cursor in the PhotoApiController class, but outside any action code
block, and then type the following code.
19.
public Photo GetPhotoByTitle(string title)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the GetPhotoByTitle action code block you just created,
Photo photo = context.FindPhotoByTitle(title);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just added, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
{
}
return photo;
23.
click Save All.
Task 2: Configure API routes.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand App_Start, and then double-click WebApiConfig.cs.
In the WebApiConfig.cs code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then
press Delete.
2. config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "DefaultApi",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
);
Place the mouse cursor within the Register method code block, and then type the following
code.
config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
3. name: "PhotoApi",
routeTemplate: "api/photos/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "PhotoApi", action = "GetPhotoById" },
);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoApi route code block you just added, press
4.
config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "PhotoTitleApi",
routeTemplate: "api/photos/{title}",
defaults: new { controller = "PhotoApi", action = "GetPhotoByTitle" }
);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the PhotoTitleApi route code block you just added,
5. config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "PhotosApi",
routeTemplate: "api/photos",
defaults: new { controller = "PhotoApi", action = "GetAllPhotos" }
);
6.
click Save All.
Task 3: Configure media-type formatters.
In the WebApiConfig.cs code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the you just
1. typed, press Enter twice, and then type the following code.
var json = config.Formatters.JsonFormatter;
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the json variable code block you just added, press
2.
json.SerializerSettings.PreserveReferencesHandling =
Newtonsoft.Json.PreserveReferencesHandling.Objects;
Place the mouse cursor at the end the code you just added, press Enter, and then type the
3. following code.
config.Formatters.Remove(config.Formatters.XmlFormatter);
4.
click Save All.
Task 4: Test the Web API with Internet Explorer.

1.
Note: The Adventure Works Photo Sharing page is displayed.
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type
2.
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/api/photos/4, and then press Enter.
In the lower-end of the Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, a message stating “Do you
3. want to open or save 4.json (712 KB) from localhost?” is displayed. Click Open to view
the file.
4.
5. In the 4.json code window, note that the Title property is Sample Photo 4.
6. In the 4.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
7.
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/api/photos/sample photo 5, and then press Enter.
8. want to open or save sample photo 5.json (750 KB) from localhost?” is displayed. Click
Open to view the file.
9.
Microsoft Visual Studio Version Selector.
10. In the sample photo 5.json code window, note that the Title property is Sample Photo 5.
11. In the sample photo 5.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
12.
http://localhost:<yourportnumber>/api/photos, and then press Enter.
13. want to open or save photos.json (15.0 MB) from localhost?” is displayed. Click Open to
view the file.
On the EDIT menu of the photos.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Find and
14.
Replace, and then click Quick Find.
In the Search Item box of the Quick Find dialog box, type Sample Photo 9, click the
Find Next button, and then click the Close button.
15.
Note: In the photos.json code window, note that Visual Studio locates the text, Sample
Photo 9. This implies that the API has included this photo in the returned photos.
On the EDIT menu of the photos.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click Find and
16.
Replace, and then click Quick Find.
In the Search Item box of the Quick Find dialog box, type Sample Photo 13, click the
Find Next button, and then click the Close button.
17.
Note: In the photos.json code window, note that Visual Studio locates the text, Sample
Photo 13. This implies that the API has included this photo in the returned photos.
18. In the photos.json – Microsoft Visual Studio window, click the Close button.
Results: At the end of this exercise, you will be able to create a simple Web API for an
ASP.NET MVC 4 web application.
Exercise 2: Using the Web API for a Bing Maps Display
Task 1: Create a new template view.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, and then expand Shared.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, right-click _MainLayout.cshtml, and then
2.
click Copy.
3. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Shared, and then click Paste.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Shared, right-click Copy of _MainLayout.cshtml,
4.
and then click Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, rename Copy of _MainLayout.cshtml as
5.
_MapLayout.cshtml, and then press Enter.
6. In the Solution Explorer pane, double-click _MapLayout.cshtml.
In the _MapLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
7.
<!DOCTYPE html>
8.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
In the _MapLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code.
9.
<body>
10 Replace the located code with the following code.

. <body onload="GetMap();">
In the _MapLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and
11 then press Delete.
.
<script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.ui/1.9.0/jquery-ui.min.js"
In the _MapLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and
then press Delete.
12
. <script src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/mvc/3.0/jquery.unobtrusive-
ajax.js"
13 In the _MapLayout.cshtml code window, locate the following code.

. </head>
Enter.
14
. <script charset="UTF-8" type="text/javascript"
src="http://ecn.dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=7.0"></scrip
t>
15 On the FILE menu of the PhotoSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
. click Save All.
Task 2: Create a map action, view, and script file.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Controllers, double-click PhotoController.cs.

In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor in the PhotoController
class code block, but outside any action code block, press Enter, and then type the
following code.
2.
public ViewResult Map()
{
}
In the Map action code block you just created, type the following code.
3.
return View("Map");
public ViewResult Map()
In the View name box of the Add View dialog box, ensure that the text is Map, and then
5.
ensure that the Create a Strongly-Typed View check box is cleared.
In the Add View dialog box, ensure that the Use a layout or master page check box is
6.
selected, and then click the Browse button.
In the Content of the folder box of the Select a Layout Page dialog box, click
7.
_MapLayout.cshtml, and then click OK.
8. In the Add View dialog box, click Add.
In the Map.cshtml code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then press
9. Delete.
<h2>Map</h2>
In the Map.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor outside the Razor code block,
press Enter, and then type the following code.
10.
</script>
Place the mouse cursor in the SCRIPT element, and then type the following code.
11.
var webApiUrl = '@Url.Content("~/api/photos")';
12. following code.
var pictureUrl = '@Url.Action("GetImage", "Photo")/';
13. following code.
var displayUrl = '@Url.Action("Display", "Photo")/';
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the </script> tag, press Enter twice, and then type the
14. following code.
<script src="" type="text/javascript"></script>
Place the mouse cursor in the empty src attribute you just created, and then type the
15. following code.
@Url.Content("~/Scripts/MapDisplay.js")
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the JavaScript code you just created, press Enter twice,
16.
<div id="mapDiv" style="position: absolute; width: 650px; height:
400px;"></div>
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Scripts, point to Add, and then click Existing
17.
Item.
18.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod14\Bing Maps Script, click MapDisplay.js and then click Add.
19. In the Solution Explorer pane, double-click Mvc.sitemap.
20. <mvcSiteMapNode title="Add a Photo" visibility="*" controller="Photo"
action="Create"
/>
21. Enter.
<mvcSiteMapNode title="Map" visibility="*" controller="Photo" action="Map" />
22.
click Save All.
23.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, click Map.
24. Note: On the Map page, the Bing Map AJAX control is displayed. However, there are no
push pins on the map.
Task 3: Obtain and display photos.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Scripts, and then double-click MapDisplay.js.
At the end of the file, insert the following code.
2.
function GetPhotos(serviceUrl) {
}
In the GetPhotos function code block, type the following code.
3.
$.support.cors = true;
following code.
$.ajax({
4. url: serviceUrl,
type: 'GET',
dataType: 'json',
success: DisplayPics,
error: OnError
});
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the GetPhotos function code block, press Enter twice,
5.
function DisplayPics(response) {
}
In the DisplayPics function code block, type the following code.
6.
var location;
var pin;
following code.
7.
$.each(response, function(index, photo) {
});
In the $.each function code block, type the following code.
8.
location = new Microsoft.Maps.Location(photo.Latitude, photo.Longitude);
9. following code.
pin = new Microsoft.Maps.Pushpin(location);
following code.
10.
pin.Title = photo.Title;
pin.ID = photo.PhotoID;
11. following code.
Microsoft.Maps.Events.addHandler(pin, 'click', DisplayInfoBox);
12. following code.
dataLayer.push(pin);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the DisplayPics function code block, press Enter
13. twice, and then type the following code.
function OnError(response) {
}
In the OnError function code block, type the following code.
14.
alert("Could not obtain the picture coordinates");
In the GetMap function code block, locate the following code.
15.
infoboxLayer.push(infoBox);
16. following code.
GetPhotos(webApiUrl);
17.
click Save All.
Task 4: Test the Bing Maps control.

1.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works page, click Map.
Note: On the Map of All Photos page, if the message The specified credentials are invalid.
You can sign up for a free developer account at http://www.bingmapsportal.com
is displayed, then click the http://www.bingmapsportal.com link, and then log on to the
2.
page by using your Windows Live credentials. Then, in the PhotoSharingApplication -
Microsoft Visual Studio window, you should re-start the web application in debugging
mode and navigate to the Map page.
Note: On the Map page, the Bing Map AJAX control is displayed along with push pins on
the map.
On the Map page, click a pin of your choice.
3.
Note: The info box appears, displaying the photo as a thumbnail with the title.
In the info box of the Map page, click the thumbnail.
4.
Note: The web application redirects you to the Display view, which displays the full size
photo.
6.
button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create a template view to display a
Bing Map AJAX control, and create a view and script file to display a Bing Map. You will also
use jQuery to call a Web API and obtain details of photos. You will then mash up the data from
a web API with Bing Maps data.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 15: HANDLING

REQUESTS IN ASP.NET MVC 4 WEB
APPLICATIONS
Lab: Handling Requests in ASP.NET MVC 4
Web Applications
Exercise 1: Creating a SignalR Hub
Task 1: Install SignalR.
1.
3.
the Forward button.

6.
window.
7. window, right-click Solution ‘PhotoSharingApplication’, and then click Manage NuGet
Packages for Solutions.
In the navigation pane of the PhotoSharingApplication.sln - Manage NuGet Packages
8.
dialog box, under Online, click NuGet official package source.
In the PhotoSharingApplication.sln - Manage NuGet Packages dialog box, click inside
9.
the Stable Only box, and then click Include Prerelease.
In the Search Online box of the PhotoSharingApplication.sln - Manage NuGet
10.
Packages dialog box, type Microsoft.aspnet.signalr.
11. In the list of packages, click Microsoft ASP.NET SignalR, and then click Install.
If the Select Projects dialog box appears, clear all projects except
12.
PhotoSharingApplication, and then click OK.
13. In the License Acceptance dialog, click I Accept.
14. When the installation is complete, click Close.
window, under PhotoSharingApplication, and then expand References.
15.
Note: The NuGet package has added three Microsoft.aspnet.SignalR namespaces to the
project references.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under PhotoSharingApplication, expand Scripts.
16. Note: The NuGet package has added five jquery scripts, including two signalR scripts, to
the Scripts folder.
Task 2: Create a Hub class.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, point to Add, and

1.
then click Class.
2.
ChatHub.cs, and then click Add.
In the ChatHub.cs code window, locate the following code, select the code, and then press
Delete.
3.
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
4.
using System.Web;
following code.
5.
using System.Threading.Tasks;
6.
public class ChatHub
In the ChatHub.cs code window, replace the located code with the following code.
7.
public class ChatHub : Hub
In the ChatHub class code block, type the following code.
8. public Task Join(int photoId)
{
}
In the Join method code block, type the following code.
9.
return Groups.Add(Context.ConnectionId, "Photo" + photoId);
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the Join method code block, press Enter twice, and
10.
public Task Send(string username, int photoId, string message)
{
}
In the Send method code block, type the following code.
11.
string groupName = "Photo" + photoId;
12. following code.
return Clients.Group(groupName).addMessage(username, message);
13.
click Save All.
Task 3: Configure SignalR routes.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, click Global.asax.

In the Global.asax code window, locate the following code.
2.
3. following code.
In the Global.asax code window, locate the following code.
4.
AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
5. following code.
RouteTable.Routes.MapHubs();
On the FILE menu of the PhotSharingApplication - Microsoft Visual Studio window,
6.
click Save All.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to install SignalR in an MVC 4 web
application, configure routes for SignalR, and create a hub to receive and forward simple text
messages.
Exercise 2: Creating a Photo Chat View
Task 1: Create a chat action and view.

1. In the Solution Explore pane, expand Controllers, and then click PhotoController.cs.
In the PhotoController.cs code window, place the mouse cursor in the PhotoController
class, but outside any action method code block, and then type the following code.
2. [Authorize]
public ActionResult Chat(int id)
{
}
Place the mouse cursor within the Chat action code block, type the following code, and then
3. press Enter.
In the Chat action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just added,
type the following code, and then press Enter.
4.
if (photo == null) {
}
In the Chat action code block, place the mouse cursor at the end of the code you just added,
return View("Chat", photo);
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand Views, right-click Photo, point to Add, and then click
6.
Existing Item.
7.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod15\Chat View\Chat.cshtml, click Chat.cshtml, and then click Add.
8.
click Save All.
Task 2: Link to the chat view.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Photo, click Display.cshtml.

<div id="addtofavorites">
@Ajax.ActionLink("Add this photo to your favorites",
"AddFavorite",
"Photo",
2. new { PhotoID = Model.PhotoID },
new AjaxOptions {
UpdateTargetId = "addtofavorites",
HttpMethod = "GET",
InsertionMode = InsertionMode.Replace
})
</div>
3. following code.
<div id="chataboutthisphoto">
</div>
Place the mouse cursor within the DIV element code block you just added, and then type
@Html.ActionLink("Chat about this photo", "Chat", new { id = Model.PhotoID })
5.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, in the Latest Photos section,
6.
click the Display link corresponding to the image of your choice.
On the Sample Photo page, click the Chat about this photo link, and then note that the
7.
logon page appears.
8. In the User name box of the Login page, type David Johnson.
In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Log in.
9. Note: If an exception appears when you log on, you need to replace the connection string
in the Web.config file from the PhotoAppServices project. Also, in the connection string,
you need to replace {your_password_here} with Pa$$w0rd.
On the Chat page, in the message box, type Test message, and then click Send.
10.
Note: The message is not sent because the SignalR scripts are not yet written.
Task 3: Link to JScript files.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, under Photo, click Chat.cshtml.

In the Chat.cshtml code window, place the mouse cursor at the end of the view file, press
2.
</script>
Place the mouse cursor in the SCRIPT element code block you just added, type the
3. following code, and then press Enter.
var username = '@User.Identity.Name';
In the SCRIPT element, place the mouse cursor at the end of the username variable, press
var photoid = @Model.PhotoID
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SCRIPT element code block, press Enter, and then
<script type="text/javascript" src=""></script>
6. Place the mouse cursor within the src attribute, and then type the following code.
@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.signalR-1.0.0.js")
Note: NuGet installs the latest version of SignalR. Ensure that the name of the script file you
enter matches the name of the file in the Scripts folder.
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SCRIPT element code block that you just added,
Place the mouse cursor within the src attribute, and then type the following code.
8.
@Url.Content("~/signalr/hubs")
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the SCRIPT element code block that you just added,
Place the mouse cursor within the src attribute, and then type the following code.
10.
@Url.Content("~/Scripts/ChatRoom.js")
11.
click Save All.
Task 4: Script SignalR connections.
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click Scripts, point to Add, and then click New Item.
In the Search Installed Templates box of the Add New Item –
2.
PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, type JavaScript.
In the Add New Item – PhotoSharingApplication dialog box, click JavaScript File, and
3.
then click Add.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Scripts, right-click JavaScript1.js, and then click
4.
Rename.
In the Solution Explorer pane, under Scripts, rename JavaScript1.js as ChatRoom, and
5.
then press Enter.
In the ChatRoom.js code window, type the following code.
6.
$(function() {
});
Place the mouse cursor within the anonymous function code block you just added, and then
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the chat variable code block, press Enter, and then
$('#chat-message').focus();
following code.
9.
$.connection.hub.start().done(function(){
});
Place the mouse cursor within the anonymous function you just created, and then type the
following code.
10.
chat.server.join(photoid).done(function() {
});
11.
click Save All.
Task 5: Script SignalR messages.
In the ChatRoom.js code window, locate the following code.

1.
following code.
2.
chat.client.addMessage = function (name, message) {
};
Place the mouse cursor within the anonymous function code block you just created, and
var encodedName = $('<div />').text(name).html();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the encodedName variable code block, press Enter,
var encodedMessage = $('<div />').text(message).html();
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the encodedMessage variable code block, press Enter,
var listItem = '<li>' + encodedName + ': ' + encodedMessage + '</li>';
Place the mouse cursor at the end of the listItem variable code block, press Enter, and then
$('#discussion').append(listItem);
In the ChatRoom.js code window, locate the following code.
7.
chat.server.join(photoid).done(function() {
});
Place the mouse cursor within the located code, and then type the following code.
8.
$('#sendmessage').click(function() {
});
Place the mouse cursor within the anonymous function you just created, and then type the
9. following code.
chat.server.send(username, photoid, $('#chat-message').val());
10. following code.
$('#chat-message').val('').focus();
11.
click Save All.

1.
3. In the User name box of the Login page, type David Johnson.
4. In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Log in.
5.
corresponding to Sample Photo 1
6. On the Sample Photo 1 page, click the Chat about this photo link.
On the Chat page, in the message box, type Test message, and then click Send.
7.
Note: The script sends the message to the hub that returns the message to all browsers
currently connected to the group of this photo.
In the Address bar of the Internet Explorer window, type http://localhost:<portnumber>/,
9.
10. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log off link.
11. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Register link.
In the User name box of the Register page, type Mark Steele, in the Password box, type
12.
Pa$$w0rd.
13. In the Confirm password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Register.
14.
corresponding to Sample Photo 1.
On the Chat page, in the message box, type Second test message, and then click Send.
16. Note: On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, if the user name shown is
David Johnson and not Mark Steele, click the Refresh button before proceeding with the
steps.
On the taskbar, point to the Internet Explorer icon, and then click the David Johnson
Chat – Windows Internet Explorer icon.
17.
Note: The new message from Mark Steele is displayed because both users joined the chat
for Sample Photo 1.
18. On the Chat page, in the message box, type Third test message, and then click Send.
On the taskbar, point to the Internet Explorer icon, and then click the Mark Steele Chat -
Windows Internet Explorer.
19.
Note: The new message is displayed in Internet Explorer.
20. In the Internet Explorer windows, click the Close button.
21.
button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to create MVC controller actions and
views to display a user interface for SignalR functionality, link to the JScript libraries that
SignalR requires, and use JScript to connect to a SignalR hub and send messages.
LAB ANSWER KEY: MODULE 16: DEPLOYING

Lab: Deploying ASP.NET MVC 4 Web
Applications
Exercise 1: Deploying a Web Application to Windows Azure
Task 1: Prepare the Photo Sharing application project for deployment.
1.
3.
the Forward button.

window.
7.
window, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, and then click Properties.
8. In the PhotoSharingApplication code window, ensure that the Build tab is selected.
9. In the Configuration box, click Release.
11.
and click the Go to button.
12.
In the Microsoft account box of the Sign in to your Microsoft account page, type <Your
13. Windows Live account name>, in the Password box, type <your password>, and then
click Sign in.
14. In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click SQL Databases.
15. In the Name column, click PhotoSharingDB.
16. On the photosharingdb page, click DASHBOARD.
17. In the quick glance section of the photosharingdb page, click Show connection strings.
In the ADO.NET box of the Connection Strings dialog box, select all the text, right-click
18.
the selected text, and then click Copy.
19. On the taskbar, click the PhotoSharingApplication – Microsoft Visual Studio icon.
In the Solution Explorer pane, expand PhotoSharingApplication, and then click
20.
Web.config.
21. <add name="PhotoSharingDB" connectionString="Server=tcp:{Your Azure Database

URL},1433;Database=PhotoSharingDB;User ID={Your ID
Here};Password=Pa$$w0rd;Trusted_Connection=False;Encrypt=True;Connection
Timeout=30;PersistSecurityInfo=true" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
In the located code, select the contents of the connectionString attribute, right-click the
22.
selected text, and then click Paste.
Within the text you just pasted, select the following text.
23.
{your_password_here}
24. Replace the selected text with the word, Pa$$w0rd.
On the taskbar, click the SQL Databases – Windows Azure – Windows Internet
25.
Explorer icon.
26. In the Internet Explorer window, click the New Tab button.
27.
https://www.bingmapsportal.com, and then click the Go to button.
28. On the Home – Bing Maps Account Center page, click the Sign In link.
If the Sign in to your Microsoft account page appears, in the Microsoft account box, type
29. <Your Windows Live account name>, in the Password box, type <Your Windows Live
account password>, and then click Sign in.
In the left pane of the Create Key - Bing Maps Account Center page, under My Account,
30.
click the Create or view keys link.
In the Key/URL section of the Create Key - Bing Maps Account Center page, select the
31. key corresponding to Photo Sharing Application, right-click the key, and then click
Copy.
33.
window, expand Scripts, and then click MapDisplay.js.
In the MapDisplay.js code window, locate the following code, right-click the selected code,
34. and then click Paste.
{Your Bing Key}
35.
click Save All.
Task 2: Create a new website in Windows Azure.
On the taskbar, point to the Internet Explorer icon, and then click the SQL Databases –
1.
Windows Azure – Windows Internet Explorer icon.
2. In the Connection Strings dialog box, click Close.
3. In the left pane of the Windows Azure page, click the Web Sites icon.
In the lower-left pane of the Windows Azure page, click New, and then click Custom
4.
Create.
5. In the URL box of the Create Web Site dialog box, type <your username>PhotoSharing.
6. In the REGION box, click <a region near you>.
7. In the DATABASE box, click PhotoSharingDB.
8. In the DB CONNECTION STRING NAME box, type PhotoSharingDB.
9. In the DB USER box, type <your first name>.
In the PASSWORD box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click the Complete icon.
10. Note: Windows Azure creates the new web application. You need to upload the Photo
Sharing application project to this web application.
Task 3: Deploy the Photo Sharing application.
On the Windows Azure page, in the Name column, click <your username>PhotoSharing,
1.
and then click DASHBOARD.
In the quick glance section of the <your username>PhotoSharing page, click Download
2.
the publish profile.
3. In the Navigation bar, click Save, and then click the Close button.
In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click PhotoSharingApplication, and then click
5.
Publish.
On the Profile page of the Publish Web wizard, in the Select or import a publish profile
6.
box, click Import, and then click Browse.
In the Import Publish Settings dialog box, click <your
7.
username>PhotoSharing.azurewebsites.net.PublishSettings, and then click Open.
8. In the Import Publish Profile dialog box, click OK.
9. On the Connection page, click Validate Connection, and then click Next.
If the Certification Error dialog box appears, click Accept.
Note: If the PhotoSharingContext, the PhotoSharingDB, and the UsersContext boxes

are not displayed, you need to publish the PhotoSharingApplication project again. Note
10. that, at some instances the PhotoSharingDB box will be displayed with the 500 Error
page. At these instances, you need to close the publish wizard and you need to publish the
project again. At the second instance, you will be able to see all the three boxes-the
PhotoSharingContext box, the PhotoSharingDB box, and the UsersContext box.
On the Settings page, in the PhotoSharingContext box, click PhotoSharingDB to get the
following value.
11.
Data Source=tcp:{Your Azure Database URL},1433;Initial Catalog=PhotoSharingDB;
Integrated Security=False;User ID={Your ID Here};Password=Pa$$w0rd;
Connection Timeout=30; Encrypt=True
In the PhotoSharingDB box, click PhotoSharingDB to get the following value.
12. Data Source=tcp:{Your Azure Database URL},1433;Initial Catalog=PhotoSharingDB;

Integrated Security=False;User ID={Your ID Here};Password=Pa$$w0rd;Connection
Timeout=30; Encrypt=True
In the UsersContext box, click PhotoSharingDB to get the following value.
13. Data Source=tcp:{Your Azure Database URL},1433;Initial Catalog=PhotoSharingDB;

Integrated Security=False;User ID={Your ID Here};Password=Pa$$w0rd;
Connection Timeout=30; Encrypt=True
14. On the Settings page, click Next.
On the Preview page, click Start Preview.
15.
Note: The files that require changes are displayed.
On the Publish page, click Publish.
16.
Note: Visual Studio publishes the Photo Sharing web application to Windows Azure. This
process may take several minutes. When the process is complete, a new tab in Windows
Internet Explorer displays the Photo Sharing home page.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to prepare an ASP.NET MVC web
application for production deployment, create a web application in Windows Azure, and deploy
an MVC web application to Windows Azure.
Exercise 2: Testing the Completed Application
Task 1: Add a photo and a comment.
1. On the Welcome to Adventures Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log In link.
In the User name box of the Login page, type David Johnson, in the Password box, type
2.
Pa$$w0rd2, and then click Log in.
3. On the Create New Photo page, click Add a Photo.
4. In the Title box, type Test New Photo, and then click Browse.
5.
(D):\Labfiles\Mod16\Sample Photos, click track.JPG, and then click Open.
In the Description box, type This is the first photo added to the deployed web
6.
application, and then click Create.
7. On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to Test New Photo.
8. On the Test News Photo page, note that the metadata you entered is displayed correctly.
9. In the Subject box of the Comments section, type Functionality Check.
In the Body box, type The photo metadata is displayed correctly, and then click Create.
10.
Note: The new comment is displayed on the website.
Task 2: Use the slideshow and favorites options.
On the Test New Photo page, click Slideshow, and then view a slideshow of the images.
1. Note: The slideshow displays all the photos in the web application and includes the faded
transition between photos and the jQueryUI progress bar widget.
2. On the Test New Photo page, click All Photos.
3. On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to Sample Photo 1.
4. On the Sample Photo 1 page, click the Add this photo to your favorites link.
On the Sample Photo 3 page, click the Favorite Photos link, and then view a slideshow of
11.
the images that you added to the favorites list.
1. On the SlideShow page, click All Photos.

On the Chat page, in the message box, type A test message for Sample Photo 1, and then
click Send.
4.
Note: Your message is displayed in the conversation.
In the Address bar, type http://<yourusername>PhotoSharing.azurewebsites.net, and
6.
then click the Go to button.
On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click the Log Off link, and then
7.
click the Refresh button.
9. In the User name box of the Login page, type Mark Steele.
10. In the Password box, type Pa$$w0rd, and then click Log In.
11. On the Welcome to Adventure Works Photo Sharing page, click All Photos.
On the All Photos page, click the Display link corresponding to Sample Photo 1.
12. Note: Ensure that the user name, Mark Steele is displayed in the upper-right corner. Else,
you need to refresh the page to get the correct user name.
On the Sample Photo 1 page, click the Chat about this photo link.
13. Note: Ensure that the user name, Mark Steele is displayed in the upper-right corner. Else,
you need to refresh the page to get the correct user name.
On the Chat page, in the message box, type This message is from Mark Steele, and then
14.
click Send.
On the taskbar, point to the Internet Explorer icon, and then click the Chat window for
David Johnson.
15.
Note: The second message is displayed successfully.
On the Chat page, in the message box, type This is the third test message, and then click
16.
Send.
On the taskbar, point to the Internet Explorer icon, and then click the Chat window for
Mark Steele.
17.
Note: The third message is displayed successfully.
18. Close all the Internet Explorer windows.
19.
button.
Results: After completing this exercise, you will be able to confirm that all the functionalities
that you built in the Photo Sharing application run correctly in the Windows Azure deployment.

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About This Course

Module 4, “Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Controllers", explains how to create Controllers in

Module 7, “Structuring ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to structure an

Module 8, “Applying Styles to ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications", explains how to

Course Companion Content on the http://www.microsoft.com/learning/companionmoc

Student Course files on the http://www.microsoft.com/learning/companionmoc Site:

Virtual Machine Environment

Virtual Machine Configuration

Virtual machine Role

Course Hardware Level

MODULE 01: EXPLORING ASP.NET MVC 4

Lesson 2: Overview of ASP.NET 4.5

Lesson 3: Introduction to ASP.NET MVC 4

Lab: Exploring ASP.NET MVC 4

Module Review and Takeaways

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Lesson 1 : Overview of Microsoft Web

o Provide an overview of Microsoft web technologies.

Introduction to Microsoft Web Technologies

However, most websites require complex actions

Overview of ASP.NET 4.5

programming model has a typical structure in the

The ASP.NET API

Additional Reading: For more information about ASP.NET compilation, see:

Client-Side Web Technologies

that runs in the web browser.

AJAX is an abbreviation of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is implemented entirely

Internet Information Server 8.0

Internet Information Server 8.0 Features

Visual Studio Development Server

because these are built into Windows Azure.

You can use Windows Azure to host the following:

Lesson 2: Overview of ASP.NET 4.5

o Describe the Web Pages programming model.

Web Pages Applications

that HTML to the web browser for display.

A Web Pages Code Example

@foreach (var item in offers) {

The Web Pages programming model has the following advantages:

Using a Web Pages site has some disadvantages:

o It provides no control over URLs that appear in the Address bar.

Web Forms Controls

ASP.NET provides a wide variety of highly-

functional controls that you assemble on Web

Web Forms Code Files

Binding Controls to Data

Advantages and Disadvantages of Web Forms

The Web Forms programming model has the following advantages:

Using a Web Forms site has some disadvantages:

MVC is another programming model available in ASP.NET. MVC applications are

You cannot use WebMatrix to create MVC applications.

Advantages and Disadvantages of MVC

The MVC programming model has the following advantages: