Compuware tackles Microsoft source code bugs

DevPartner Studio 9.0 scans Microsoft ASP.NET application source code looking for over 200 potential vulnerabilities or examples of suspicious behaviour, according to Compuware's product manager for DevPartner, Doug Carrier.

By locating security problems at compile time, the product can highlight poor coding to the exact line of code, the firm claims. Catching it early means that IT managers can rectify the problem before it becomes deeply embedded in the code base.

Customisable web-based reports can also be generated for items such as code quality, code review, error detection, performance and code coverage, to give IT managers a clear, easy-to-view snapshot of the stability of the code base.

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ASP.NET Compilation Models

ASP.NET Compilation

In the previous chapter, I covered the basics of ASP.NET code models. In this chapter, we'll discuss the details of how ASP.NET applications are compiled. This information is not vital to your success as an ASP.NET developer, but having an understanding of the architecture of your development environment always makes you a better developer.

ASP.NET is nothing like the legacy ASP with which many developers are familiar. You develop ASP pages by using VBScript or JScript, and they are interpreted, meaning that they are executed just as they are written, directly from the page. ASP.NET is entirely different in that ASP.NET pages are compiled before they are executed.

When you write ASP.NET code, you do so in human-readable text. Before ASP.NET can run your code, it has to convert it into something that the computer can understand and execute. The process of converting code from what a programmer types into what a computer can actually execute is called compilation.

Exactly how compilation takes place in ASP.NET depends on the compilation model that you use. Several different compilation models are available to you in ASP.NET 3.5.

The Web Application Compilation Model

The web application compilation model is the same model provided in ASP.NET 1.0 and 1.1. When you use this model, you use the Build menu in Visual Web Developer to compile your application into a single DLL file that is copied to a bin folder in the root of your application. When the first request comes into your application, the DLL from the bin folder is copied to the Temporary ASP.NET Files folder, where it is then recompiled into code that the operating system can execute in a process known as just-in-time (JIT) compilation. The JIT compilation causes a delay of several seconds on the first request of the application.

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PHP VS ASP.net

Ever since Microsoft has come up with ASP.net, there has been a widespread debate among programmers as to whether it is any better than the existing open source programming language of PHP.

If you were to make a search on the Internet on how loyalists of both PHP and ASP.net are doing almost everything by biting each other's heads off, you will realize how hot this debate actually is. The major contention is that Microsoft products are generally considered to be superior to other products, but then there are programmers that have been using PHP since ages and never once has it let them down. While there is acclaim for ASP.net being more robust and speedier, PHP fans maintain that PHP has much better support and a very easy to understand language.

As the debate between PHP and ASP.net rages on, it is important to make a frank comparison between the two languages, so that other developers who are not so strong in their opinions are not caught in the argument between the two. Here are some of the important points that distinguish the two programming languages from each other:-
PHP is a relatively simpler language to use than ASP.net. Initially, PHP was written in the C programming language to replace a set of scripts in Perl. That is the reason why coding in PHP remains simple even today. Many developers find themselves to be more at ease with the user-friendly nature of PHP when it comes to coding. However, critics also count this advantage of PHP as a disadvantage. Some of them maintain that the language of PHP has not been updated much, and hence it is still quite archaic and even, somewhat cumbersome for coding. ASP.net, which is a relatively new development, has a lot of options when it comes to languages. Here, you can use languages such as C#, J#, C++ and VB.net. Hence, when it comes to sheer choice, ASP.net has better to offer. But PHP is no less, since it can do its task quite well, even with its minimum language tools.

» PHP is has much better support for the database management system, MySQL. In fact, the very popular blogging platform, WordPress uses the formidable combination of PHP coding on MySQL for its content management system, which includes about hundreds of thousands of blog posts every single day. Another very popular and frequently updated service that uses the combination of PHP and MySQL is Wikipedia. ASP.net can also support MySQL, but PHP is unanimously hailed, by the masses and classes alike, for its great support for this database management system.

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Microsoft's SharePoint Products and Technologies to Deliver .NET-Based Enterprise Portal Framework

Microsoft Corp. has announced the product strategy for the next version of SharePoint® Products and Technologies, the company's enterprise portal and collaboration solution. The next version of SharePoint utilizes the application server technologies in Windows® .NET Server to deliver a robust portal and collaboration framework based on Microsoft® .NET. SharePoint Portal Server and SharePoint Team Services will be tightly integrated, providing a unified environment that connects users to information, enterprise applications, and collaborative tools throughout the enterprise.

Since the introduction of SharePoint Products and Technologies one year ago, tens of thousands of SharePoint Team Services Web sites have been deployed in organizations around the world, and SharePoint Portal Server has sold more than 3 million seats.

The next version of SharePoint Portal Server will deliver a highly scalable and customizable portal application with information aggregation, advanced search capabilities, and mainstream enterprise application integration, provided via integration with Microsoft BizTalk® Server. Additional improvements include single sign-on, personalization, and integration with Microsoft Content Management Server, building on the Content Management Server with SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Integration Pack.

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ASP.NET development Benefits

Microsoft ASP.NET is a free technology that allows programmers to create dynamic web applications. The revolutionary technology has been designed to hook up businesses, employees, customers and partners in one loop, through use of web services. It is said to have enough fire power to build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-enhanced solutions with web services.

What is ASP.NET? ASP.NET stands for Active Server Pages .NET and is developed by Microsoft. ASP.NET is used to create web pages and web technologies and is an integral part of Microsoft's .NET framework vision. As a member of the .NET framework, ASP.NET is a very valuable tool for programmers and developers as it allows them to build dynamic, rich web sites and web applications using compiled languages like VB and C#.

ASP.NET helps to bring out the real world web applications in documentation time.
Stretchy Language Options – ASP.NET allows empowering the existing programming language skills. Different classic ASP, which abets barely, interpreted JAVA Script and VB Script at present ASP.NET abets more than twenty five .NET languages which also includes built-in support for C# which is called as C sharp, Visual Basic.NET and JAVA Script and also it does not requires any tool. Thus it gives an extraordinary litheness in the selection of language.

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Migrating from ASP to ASP.Net

ASP was released to work on NT Server 4.0 in 1996 as a scripting language used to deliver dynamic content to web users. The take up of ASP has been significant over the past 6 years with a large proportion of dynamic sites now being written in this way.

ASP is very popular with developers and it has undoubtedly brought many benefits to websites. However, it is now an older technology and is being replaced by ASP.Net. .Net has all the benefits of ASP, together with improved security, scalability, reliability, flexibility and interoperability of applications.

IT Companies developing solutions for business in ASP could reduce their development time and cost significantly by migrating their customers to .NET.

The Benefits for Business

Security: - Software companies who provide their own hosting have an obligation to their clients to provide sufficient security to ensure that the client's data is not compromised. Microsoft have received very little positive media coverage relating to the security of their systems. Sites hosted using ASP have had numerous security alerts over the past 6 years which have been corrected through the use of service packs. The .NET framework provides a new security approach which provides more clear and powerful control over application security. This reduces the risk for companies hosting web sites as they can feel more confident about the risk posed by security attacks and in some cases can protect companies if their terms and conditions do not cover them against the risk of security breaches.

Performance: - IT Hardware is expensive - a factor that has to be considered when hosting an application for a business. The .NET platform utilises the IT hardware more efficiently, thus significantly improving performance. This reduces the cost required to make a large application run acceptably and increases the number of applications that can be simultaneously hosted on a single machine. Read More...

ASP.NET Vs Others

When it comes to Web development these days, you have a lot of options. Many of these methods involve preprocessing—that is, embedding code into HTML pages with special tags that signal to a preprocessor that they contain code, and that it should do something with it. Much like a CGI, this code is then run on the server, and it returns some content, which then assumes part of the shape of the resulting HTML page sent back to the browser. Both the open source scripting language PHP and languages within Microsoft's ASP.NET framework fall into this category; JavaServer Pages (JSP) and Perl/Mason operate this way as well.

What is ASP.NET?
The latest incarnation of ASP, ASP.NET, is not completely backward-compatible with previous versions of ASP, as it is a complete rewrite of the software. Previous ASP technology actually has a lot more in common with PHP than with ASP.NET, which is a complete framework for building Web applications. One of the principal features of this model is the flexibility to choose your programming language. ASP.NET works with scripted languages such as VBScript, JScript, Perlscript, and Python, as well as compiled languages such as VB, C#, C, Cobol, Smalltalk, and Lisp. The new framework uses the common language runtime (CLR); your language source is compiled into Microsoft Intermediate Language code, which the CLR then executes.

The framework also provides for true object-oriented programming (OOP), and true inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation are supported. The .NET class library is organized into inheritable classes based around particular tasks, such as working with XML or image manipulation.

Besides the programming language and the methodology, database access is a significant concern. When you program in ASP.NET, integration with databases can be accomplished through ODBC, which provides a consistent set of calling functions to access your target database.

What is PHP?
PHP is a scripting language based on the model of preprocessing HTML pages. When the PHP preprocessor in your Web server notices a PHP language tag like the following, the PHP engine is invoked to execute that code:

some code here
?>

PHP will be familiar to any programmers who have worked with imperative programming languages; you'll notice syntactical similarities with Perl, C, and Java. Strictly speaking, Java is an imperative programming language, but it also makes use of object-oriented constructs and concepts. PHP borrows from this structure when it is convenient, but it is not a pure OOP language. Read More…

Dot net Framework

1. What is .NET?

.NET - is the Microsoft Web services strategy to connect information, people, systems, and devices through software. Integrated across the Microsoft platform, .NET technology provides the ability to quickly build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-enhanced solutions with Web services. .NET-connected solutions enable businesses to integrate their systems more rapidly and in a more agile manner and help them realize the promise of information anytime, anywhere, on any device. Reference


2. Which versions of .NET have been released so far?

The final version of the .NET 1.0 SDK & runtime were made publically available on 15 - Jan -2002. At the same time, the final version of Visual Studio.NET was made available to MSDN subscribers.

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ASP.NET Blogging Software

Of all of the different kinds of programs on the market today, many people feel that Microsoft’s recently released ASP.NET blogging software is the most advanced. In many ways, this particular program is more adaptable and more versatile than any other blogging software on the market. Although most of the people who favor the program are accomplished coders who are familiar with programming languages like html and C , this new program from Microsoft is much easier to use than a lot of other blog design software that incorporates hands-on coding. One of the things that makes ASP.NET stand apart from its competitors is the fact that it allows designers to use a wide variety of programming languages when they build a blog. This means that a larger number of coders can realize their dreams by programming in the language with which they are most familiar and in which they are most accomplished.

A lot of people have welcomed ASP.NET blogging software with enthusiasm and with open arms. However, that doesn’t mean that the ASP.NET program is right for everybody. If you are not familiar with computer languages like javascript or perl, you may find that the release of ASP.NET does not directly affect you at all. However, if you are an experienced web designer, you are likely to find much to celebrate in this exciting new program. Read More..

7 of my favorite jQuery plugins for use with ASP.NET

One of jQuery’s greatest strengths is its thriving plugin ecosystem. Hundreds of plugins are available at plugins.jquery.com alone, with even more hosted on author sites. If you think of a feature, chances are there’s a jQuery plugin to implement it in just a few lines of code (if that).

Having used jQuery with ASP.NET for over a year now, I’ve discovered that some plugins are more easily combined with ASP.NET than others. In fact, one popular plugin even fails completely when used with ASP.NET AJAX.

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Microsoft's Web Platform finally comes together

There are dozens of little tools and services you need to download from Microsoft in order to actually start developing Web applications on your own. Finally, the company has decided to make them all available through a single form.

For over two years now, one of the most frequent requests heard at Web development conferences -- especially Microsoft's annual MIX in Las Vegas -- is for the company to create an easier, one-stop shop for the distribution of the basic components one needs to start developing Web pages using Microsoft-supported technologies. Late in September, the company took its first steps in that direction by deploying a simple installer that pre-selects the myriad of tools and services necessary for someone to start building ASP.NET, classic Active Server Pages (IIS), or even PHP applications in and for Windows.

In the interest of moving developers forward, the installer only works in Windows Vista, although the items it makes available aren't necessarily restricted to Vista. In BetaNews tests, we were only able to get the installer to work on a physical Vista SP1-based production system, after several failed attempts with a similar virtual machine. Since this is only an installer, we're not certain what true barriers there may be to installing these components other than artificial ones -- certainly PHP pre-dates Vista by several years. Read More..

Web Frameworks, MVC, and ASP.NET

After nearly a year as a community tech preview, Microsoft has released the first true beta of the ASP.NET MVC framework. ASP.NET MVC is a radical departure from the WebForms technology has promoted in the past, and in the opinion of many, a return to mainstream web programming. The MVC pattern provides the cornerstone for web frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and Java's Spring Framework.

MVC web frameworks should not be confused with their namesake, the Model-View-Controller pattern first proposed by Trygve Reenskaug. Under Reenskaug's pattern, the view and controller were tightly bound to one another with a one-to-one mapping between each view and controller. With a MVC web framework, the view and controller are loosely coupled and it is not unheard of for multiple views to be tied to a single controller.

Regardless of which definition of MVC you prefer, the model remains an independent representation of data that has no knowledge of what is using it. This is in contrast to WebForms, where it is common for data to be stored in the UI elements themselves in the form of viewstate. Read More...

A simple introduction to ASP.Net validators

What is a Validator
A validator checks the input of a control to verify that the value falls within criteria you specified.

The validator we added is a range validator. On this validator, we have set the following:
• ControlToValidate the ID of the control you are validating.
• The MininumValue and MaximumValue sets the range you want the input to be in.
• The Type is set to Integer.
• ErrorMessage is the error message to be displayed when validation fails
• Display is set to Dynamic because it will otherwise take up the space of the error message.
• EnableViewState is set to false since there is no reason to store viewstate for an validator.

When you hit submit and you enter a text value or a value that does not fall into 1-10, a red error text appear next to the control.
The problem is when you enter a blank value and hit submit, no error is display even though a blank value is not in the range 1-10.

Handling blank values
One issue to watch out for is that virtually all of the validators will not validate if the value is set to blank. This is why the range validator failed to catch the blank input even though a blank is not in the range of 1-10.

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ASP.NET MVC Web Site Template

The first, and most obvious step, is to install the ASP.NET MVC Beta. Once that’s installed, fire up Visual Studio 2008 and create a new Web Site. Once the project is up and running, add references to the following assemblies:

System.Web.AbstractionsSystem.Web.MvcSystem.Web.Routing
In the default install of the MVC Beta, these assembles are all found in %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft ASP.NET\ASP.NET MVC Beta\Assemblies.

Now it’s time to make modifications to the Web.config to add the HTTP Modules, Handlers, and namespaces for each WebForm/ViewPage. Read More..

DropDownList asp.net Control

Sometimes we need a solution where we have to append certain hardcoded values which are given in the markup and then we have to append some values from the database after these hardcoded values.

These hardcoded value can be a single item saying “Select” or “Remove” or a list of asp list items.

So if we are not following the right steps in the sequence of databinding and clearing items from the dropdownlist control, this control may act a little different as we would have thought and create havoc in our programming life.

Today while building an application i came accross the similar situation where i have two dropdownlists one is “ddlCategories ” where current categories to which a post belongs are coming form the datasource it alos has a listitem value which is hardcoded in the markup saying Remove Existing Categories which have a value of -1 and index value 0.

There is one more list called “ddlAddUserCategories” in which all the categories related to particular user are databound using the datasource.

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Microsoft PDC to feature various technologies

Microsoft bills its upcoming Professional Developers Conference as a gathering of developers and architects and a chance to understand the future of Microsoft's platform. From this backdrop, the Los Angeles conference, which begins on October 26, is set to feature insights on a host of technologies ranging from model-driven software development to cloud computing and the Windows OS.

Highlights include a Community Technology Preview of Microsoft's "Oslo" software modeling platform, as well as sessions on the company's "Dublin" application server extensions for Windows. Microsoft's planned cloud OS, dubbed "Red Dog," also is expected to draw a lot of attention.

In some cases, technologies from different spaces will mesh together at the conference, such as during a session entitled, " 'Dublin' and .Net Services: Extending On-Premise Applications to the Cloud." Read More..

Microsoft dances with open source businesses

Open source businesspeople are frustrated that their business models is not bringing them enormous returns. Microsoft perceives the threat of open source and wants to neutralize it.

If “we’re all mixed source companies” then there is no real difference between Microsoft and, say, Red Hat. Microsoft wants merely to share its profit secrets with anyone who is interested in making money rather than political points.

Thus its well-timed release of Web platform installers which can get open source developers conversant with tools like ASP .Net, Silverlight, and the .Net Framework.

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ASP.NET software blog

Of all the different types of applications on the market today, many people feel that Microsoft recently released ASP.NET blog, the software is the most advanced. In many ways, that individual is more flexible and more versatile than any other blog software on the market. Although most people who are under the programmer, with programming languages such as HTML and C, the new Microsoft program is much easier than using a host of other blogs to software design, Hands - on-programming. One of the things
ASP.NET that are independently of its competitors is that designers can use many Programming languages, if it built a blog. This means that a greater number of programmers in achieving their Wish programming in the language with which they are best and most reached.

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5 Useful Tips for ASP.Net Application

There are so many tasks/operations that are repeatedly done in ASP.Net applications. This article will list some of the useful tasks that we can use in our asp.net application extensively.

1.Get Extension from Path/URL.
2.Clearing input controls at a stretch in ASP.Net.
3.Get Control Name in JavaScript When Using MasterPages.
4.Invoking an Event in ASPX Page from UserControl.
5.Selecting/Highlighting the TextBox Value If Validation Fails.

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7 ways to do Performance Optimization of an ASP.NET 3.5 Web 2.0 portal

Web 2.0 applications are widely developed. These applications often work with third party contents, aggregate them make various use of them and then make something useful and meaningful to the users. For the past few years, developers were also engaged with such endeavors and a lot of their websites have not addressed performance issues, thus resulting in an unpleasant experience to the users.

Performance is a vast area and great results can never be achieved by a silver bullet. This article explores some of the key performance issues that can occur while developing a Web 2.0 portal using server side multitasking and caching. It also demonstrates model driven application development using Windows Work flow Foundation.
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An Introduction to AJAX and Atlas with ASP.NET 2.0

Traditionally, web applications have left a lot to be desired from a user experience standpoint, due primarily to the "request/response" life cycle. Any interaction with a page typically requires a post back to the web server (a "request"), which then performs any server-side tasks needed and returns the updated page's markup (the "response"). Outside of intranet-based applications, such behavior adds a bit of a lag when interacting with a page. One approach to improving the end user's experience is to use AJAX. AJAX is a technique for using JavaScript and the XMLHttpRequest object to make light-weight HTTP requests back to the web server from client-side script. Once a response is received, the web page's layout can be seamlessly refreshed using JavaScript to message the page's Document Object Model (DOM) and CSS settings. AJAX-enabled pages provide a slick, responsive user experience, making web-based applications function more like desktop-based ones.
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GridView DropDownList Update SelectedValue All At Once

1.ASP.Net GridView DropDownList DataSource and DataBinding

2.ASP.Net 2.0 AJAX Update Progress Control

3.Gridview DropDownList SelectedValue in ASP.Net

4.ASP.Net C# GridView FindControl Checkbox

5.ASP.Net GridView Checkbox Javascript Validation

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Are Server Controls Still Useful?

ASP.NET pages are made of code, markup tags, literal text, and server controls. Based on the request, the server controls generate the right markup language. The ASP.NET runtime combines the output of all controls and serves the client a page to display in a browser. The programming richness of ASP.NET springs from the wide library of server controls that covers the basic tasks of HTML interaction -- for example, collecting text through input tags-as well as more advanced functionalities such as calendaring, menus, tree views, and grid-based data display.

When the ASP.NET platform was introduced, server controls looked like the panacea of all evil. They were just perfect for the job making a reasonable tradeoff between performance and productivity. It goes without saying that server controls make it so easy to generate complex markup for pages. All that it requires is a simple step-by-step procedure. You drag one from the toolbox and drop it on the Web Form drawing surface. You select some of its properties and set them declaratively through Visual Studio. You point the browser to the page and see the result.

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Widgets, Gadgets, Search Bars and FUN!

Again its been far too long since I last posted, and the developments have piled up, so today I’m going to be giving you a quick update of the Students Work technical progress and then giving you my thoughts on the ASP.NET framework.

Technical Updates

- Students Work now has two new offices, one located in Rickmansworth, in Buckinghamshire where James and Marco will be based and a brand new office in Leeds city centre, which will be home for Stew and Oliver.

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Encrypt ASP.net Database Password

When connecting the ASP.net with a database. You will need to configure its database connection in the web.config file.

However exposing the sensitiive data like the password and user name in the web config file can bring big damage to your system when it being seen by unauthorized user.

In the ASP.net 2.0 this problem can solve by adding an encryption method. This encryption can be applied by normal without any programming background. To do this you will need the aspnet_regiis.exe a built in framework tool provided by Microsoft.

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Application Software Development

Application software is a subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform. This should be contrasted with system software which is involved in integrating a computer’s various capabilities, but typically does not directly apply them in the performance of tasks that benefit the user. In this context the term application refers to both the application software and its implementation.

There are many subtypes of application software:

Enterprise software addresses the needs of organization processes and data flow, often in a large distributed ecosystem. (Examples include Financial, Customer Relationship Management, and Supply Chain Management). Note that Departmental Software is a sub-type of Enterprise Software with a focus on smaller organizations or groups within a large organization. (Examples include Travel Expense Management, and IT Helpdesk)

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First impressions of ASP.NET's MVC framework

ASP.NET development's presentation layer has traditionally been difficult; simply put, it isn't simple. The event model, for example, can confound even the most experienced developers.

For someone transitioning to ASP.NET from a system such as PHP or HTML, the idea of coding to respond to a button click instead of a form posting can be odd. And, of course, the View State has always had major drawbacks.

To address these issues, Microsoft has been working on an alternative for Web Forms called the MVC framework. On 10 September 2008, I attended a seminar presented by Brian Hitney of Microsoft at the Columbia Enterprise Developers Guild meeting. Brian did a good job explaining what the MVC framework is and why a developer would use it instead of Web Forms.

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Beginning Ajax with ASP.NET

Ajax has the power to revolutionize the way web-based applications are designed. This book provides you with a thorough working knowledge of what Ajax has to offer and how to take full advantage of it in your application development.

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Asp.net Web User Control

If you use classic asp, we create include file in asp. Web user control is a replacement for the include file feature in Asp. Though the model is similar with asp include page, Web User Controls have a lots of new features. You can embed them Asp.Net Web Pages, where they act as unit.

to create Asp.net User Controls is very easy. Open Vusial Studio IDE and then open or create Asp.Net Web Site. Right click on the project ,click add new item and then choose Web User Control select the programming language which you want to use.

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Mono 2.0 Released

It's now loosely compatible with .NET Framework 3.5

The open source Mono project that makes Microsoft's .NET development framework cross-platform - and is meant to entice Windows developers to Linux by making things seem warmly familiar - is now loosely compatible with .NET Framework 3.5.

It lacks Windows Presentation Foundation, Workflow Foundation and Communication Foundation. Read more...

SpreadsheetConverter ASP and ASP.NET Std

Solve your problem using Microsoft Excel, and let SpreadsheetConverter generate an ASP or ASP.NET-page. The ASP-page looks like and calculates like the spreadsheet. No programming required. Easy updating, fix spreadsheet and generate. Supports 190 Excel-functions. Read more...

Murach’s ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming

As its title implies, this book presents all of the best new ASP.NET 3.5 features as it teaches web programming. That includes the ListView and DataPager controls that allow for complex data handling; LINQ data sources for accessing data using C# constructs; new tools for working with cascading style sheets (CSS); and an introduction to ASP.NET AJAX that shows how it can improve the performance of web applications.

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