Programming Scalable Web Applications with .NET and ASP.NET AJAX: Hands-On

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? In this course, you learn how to build scalable Web applications using Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 2.0/3.0/3.5. You learn how to create scalable three-layer Web applications with efficient programmatic access to databases as well as how to develop components and link to scalable databases using ADO.NET. You also learn how to create a more responsive UI using ASP.NET AJAX, WCF Web services and the AJAX toolkit. What are ASP and ASP.NET? ASP (Active Server Pages) is a legacy Web application technology that intermixes interpreted server- and client-side scripting with HTML. ASP.NET is Microsoft's Web application technology, providing fully compiled, event-driven page code that is more cleanly separated from HTML. ASP.NET applications are easier to install-just copy the application-and easier to enhance (it is not necessary to shut down the application to install a new component). They achieve scalability by using .NET components. This course uses ASP.NET 3.5. What is Visual Studio 2008? Visual Studio 2008, which is used in this course, is the principal integrated environment for creating .NET applications. The environment is completely language-neutral, supporting languages from Visual Basic to C++ to JavaScript. You can use Visual Studio 2008 to create client/server and Web applications. Developers can use Visual Studio 2008 to create applications by combining the best of a wide variety of development tools. What are .NET and the .NET Framework? They are the same thing. The .NET Framework is a programming platform that allows you to build Windows and Web applications that run on Microsoft operating systems. The .NET Framework 3.0 added the following technologies to .NET 2.0: Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Cardspace. The .NET Framework 3.5 added Language INtegrated Query (LINQ). This course is compatible with both .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.0, and includes coverage of some specific .NET 3.0 topics, such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and specific .NET 3.5 topics, such as LINQ. For courses that focus on technologies that were new with .NET 3.0, you may be interested in Course 513, Windows® Communication Foundation (WCF): Creating .NET 3.5 Web Services, Course 514, Windows® Workflow Foundation (WF): Hands-On, or Course 975, Windows ® Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight Introduction: Hands-On. For courses that focus on technologies that were new with .NET 3.5, you may be interested in Course 973, Programming LINQ and C# Extended Features: Hands-On or Course 974, Programming LINQ with Visual Basic® Extended Features: Hands-On. Course 976, .NET 3.0/3.5 Architectural Overview: Hands-On, is intended to be an overview of the major technologies of .NET 3.0/3.5 and does not go into depth on any one technology. It does provide a working knowledge of the technologies and an understanding of how they can be integrated to build a system. Each of the technologies is covered in depth by individual Learning Tree courses. What background do I need? .NET programming experience at the level of Course 503, Visual Basic® 2008 Programming: Hands-On or Course 419, C# Programming: Hands-On is assumed. For example, you should be familiar with concepts such as method overloading, inheritance, encapsulation and namespaces. Specifically, you should know how to: Use try-catch-finally error handling Create and inherit classes Write properties and methods You should also have experience with Web application development (e.g. HTML, JavaScript, ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, etc.) as well as experience using the Windows graphical environment. Prior ASP.NET development experience is helpful but is not required. Who will benefit from this course? This course benefits: Programmers who want to add .NET Web development to their skill set Those interested in producing robust, scalable Web applications What is AJAX and how is it covered in this course? Asynchronous JavaScript And XML (AJAX) allows Web pages to update parts of the page with information from the server without a full page refresh. Microsoft's implementation of AJAX includes AJAX extensions and the AJAX toolkit. Approximately 5.0 hours of the course are spent on AJAX and the AJAX toolkit, including converting existing ASP.NET controls to use AJAX behavior, connecting ASP.NET controls to Web services and creating a toolkit control extender. I already know how to use ASP. Will this course be useful for me? Yes. ASP.NET is a more modern, highly developed environment than ASP. While it bears some similarities to ASP, ASP.NET is a very different way to create Web applications. ASP.NET database interfacing and component technologies are radically different from the COM and ADO used in Active Server Pages. I currently use Visual Studio .NET 2003 or Visual Studio 2005 and am upgrading to Visual Studio 2008. Will I benefit from this course? Yes! This course is particularly beneficial to developers who need to refresh their knowledge of Visual Studio and gain the skills to exploit the new features of Visual Studio 2008 and ASP.NET 2.0/3.0/3.5. I use Visual Studio .NET 2003 and ASP.NET 1.1. Will this course be useful for me? You would derive some benefit from this course as many of the basic concepts remain the same. However, many of the features and controls used in the course are specific to later versions of Visual Studio and are not available in Visual Studio .NET 2003. What are ADO.NET and LINQ and how are they covered in this course? ADO.NET is Microsoft's data access technology. ADO.NET provides a richer set of objects for various types of applications in both client/server and multitier environments as well as better platform interoperability and scalable data access from connected and disconnected sources. This course gives a broad introduction to ADO.NET. It covers DataSets and their associated technologies (from sorting and filtering DataViews through working with TableAdapters). It also uses low-level ADO.NET objects - such as Command, Connection and DataReader - to create business objects and to update the database. Transactions and concurrency are also addressed. LINQ, which was new in .NET 3.5, is a general purpose querying framework that provides efficient programmatic querying across diverse data sources. LINQ to SQL (an object relational mapping tool) is covered in the course, and LINQ to Object is used for sorting, filtering and aggregation. When I've finished this course, will I be able to create a complete, dynamic Web site? Yes, absolutely. The course introduces you to the tools and technologies available in ASP.NET so that you can deliver a complete scalable Web application. How is this course different from Course 512? Course 512, Developing ASP.NET Web Applications: Hands-On, is for those new to Web development who need to create client-facing pages with simple back-end functionality. Course 512 provides training in topics unique to creating Web-based user interfaces in ASP.NET 3.5, such as creating a consistent look and feel across all the pages in a site and moving data onto Web pages. While Courses 512 and 506 cover the ASP.NET application development structure, Course 506 emphasizes ASP.NET in the context of scalable Web development and is best suited for those with previous Web development experience. This course focuses on the design, creation and development of robust, n-tier Web applications and addresses topics such as network load balancing, the use of components, distributed state, and implementing WCF Web services. When Course 506 is combined with Course 512, you acquire a complete knowledge of ASP.NET Web application development from the detailed coverage of user interface components in Course 512 through the in-depth coverage of components and scalable database access covered in Course 506. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Architecture of scalable applications 2.0 Building the data layer 5.5 Implementing the business layer 3.0 Creating more responsive ASP.NET pages with AJAX 5.5 Constructing a Web presentation layer 1.0 Implementing Web security 2.0 Optimizing state management 3.5 Building distributed applications 1.5 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. How much of the course is devoted to hands-on exercises? About 45 percent of the course is composed of hands-on exercises, which are presented in both Visual Basic 2008 and C# 3.0. As you go through the course, you build a complete application that uses the features and functions of ASP.NET 3.5. You create pages that use simple Web Forms and Web controls, write components and WCF Web services, and use ADO.NET to query and alter databases. You also build Web pages using AJAX extensions and the AJAX toolkit. At the completion of the course, you are able to develop scalable Web applications using custom components with full-featured database access. Does this course help me prepare for any Microsoft certification exams? Yes. This course, in conjunction with Course 512, Developing ASP.NET Web Applications: Hands-On, helps you prepare for Microsoft Exam 70-562: .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development, which earns credit toward the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Applications certification. Also in conjunction with Course 512, Developing ASP.NET Web Applications: Hands-On, Course 506 helps you prepare for Microsoft Exam 70-564: Designing and Developing ASP.NET Applications using Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, which earns credit toward the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD): ASP.NET Developer 3.5 certification. Due to the difficulty of Microsoft certification exams, those who take Courses 506 and 512 would also need to study before taking these exams. Why should I take this course instead of one offered by Microsoft? Learning Tree is dedicated to helping accelerate the careers of our clients by providing them with world-class technology and management training. Our independence from Microsoft (and any other vendor) allows us to give an unbiased view of what works and what does not. This course is objective in its approach, having been developed independently from Microsoft by industry experts who bring their real-world experience to the classroom. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Other courses that may be of interest include: 502, Programming with .NET: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  503, Visual Basic® 2008 Programming: Hands-On  974, Programming LINQ with Visual Basic® Extended Features: Hands-On  511, .NET Best Practices and Design Patterns: Hands-On  419, C# Programming: Hands-On  973, Programming LINQ and C# Extended Features: Hands-On  508, Building Web Services with .NET 2.0: Hands-On  509, Programming Windows® and Smart Client Applications with .NET: Hands-On  977, Building Web Applications with ASP.NET MVC: Hands-On