Windows Forms

[shapper]

Hello,

I usually develop Asp.Net 2.0 (With VB.NET or C#) web sites with SQL
2005 databases.
A few of my web sites use online CMS with AJAX.

I need to create a Windows Vista compatible application that includes
the features I usually have in my CMS:

1. Send a retrieve content from the web site SQL 2005 database.
All my databases have stored procedures and I would like to use
them.

2. Have a Rich Text Box in my application so that the user can edit
text which would need to be sent as HTML.

3. Send email through the application.

4. Upload files to the server through FTP.

5. Login and Roles using the information stored in Membership SQL 2005
tables of the Asp.Net 2.0 web site.

Basically I need to copy my online CMS features to an Windows Vista
application.

Are all this objectives possible?
Could I get some tips about this?

I am experienced in Asp.Net but not on Windows Forms.
Is this the best group to ask this questions?

Thank You,
Miguel

 

[Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]]

Miguel,

See inline:

I usually develop Asp.Net 2.0 (With VB.NET or C#) web sites with SQL
2005 databases.
A few of my web sites use online CMS with AJAX.

I need to create a Windows Vista compatible application that includes
the features I usually have in my CMS:

1. Send a retrieve content from the web site SQL 2005 database.
All my databases have stored procedures and I would like to use
them.

First off, welcome to the wonderful world of Windows based programming.
You will enjoy the ability to maintain state between operations, I guarantee
it.

Seriously though, to send and retrieve content, you should expose web
services from your web site, and then have a proxy on the client which will
allow you to make the calls (it will provide a strongly-typed class with
methods you can use to make the calls over the web).

In order to make the maintenance easier, you should have the
functionality that you are going to expose through the web services in
separate classes, and then create thin web-service wrappers around the
classes. Then, you can just call have one codebase which is called, whether
it is called directly from the ASP.NET app, or through web services by your
windows app.

2. Have a Rich Text Box in my application so that the user can edit
text which would need to be sent as HTML.

Do not use a Rick Text box then. Use an HTML editor component. You can
set some flags on the WebBrowser control (you might have to do this through
interop) which will allow you to perform HTML editing.

3. Send email through the application.

Look at the System.Net.Mail namespace.

4. Upload files to the server through FTP.

Look at the System.Net namespace (specifically, the FtpWebRequest and
FtpWebResponse classes).

5. Login and Roles using the information stored in Membership SQL 2005
tables of the Asp.Net 2.0 web site.

You are going to have to do some research here to make sure that your
web services will be able to authenticate against this. I don't see why it
can't be done though.

Hope this helps.

 

[shapper]

Miguel,

See inline:




First off, welcome to the wonderful world of Windows based programming.
You will enjoy the ability to maintain state between operations, I guarantee
it.

Seriously though, to send and retrieve content, you should expose web
services from your web site, and then have a proxy on the client which will
allow you to make the calls (it will provide a strongly-typed class with
methods you can use to make the calls over the web).

In order to make the maintenance easier, you should have the
functionality that you are going to expose through the web services in
separate classes, and then create thin web-service wrappers around the
classes. Then, you can just call have one codebase which is called, whether
it is called directly from the ASP.NET app, or through web services by your
windows app.

I have a class library with various class functions which I compile to
a DLL.

I then place this DLL on my web sites BIN folder and access, for
example, the class CreateBlog as follows:

MyDLLNamespace.MyClass.CreateBlog( ... )

So can I create a web service inside my class library?

Or do I need to create a web service project and copy my classes from
my class library to my web service project?

This way I will have two versions: one for my Asp.Net 2.0 web site and
other for web services so I can access the function from a Windows
Application, right?

Do not use a Rick Text box then. Use an HTML editor component. You can
set some flags on the WebBrowser control (you might have to do this through
interop) which will allow you to perform HTML editing.

Can you point me to some Editor?
In my case a simple Rich Text Box would be great but that would work
inside an application on not on a web page.
Why should I use an editor instead? I want to integrate it in my
application.

3. Send email through the application.

Look at the System.Net.Mail namespace.

4. Upload files to the server through FTP.

Look at the System.Net namespace (specifically, the FtpWebRequest and
FtpWebResponse classes).

5. Login and Roles using the information stored in Membership SQL 2005
tables of the Asp.Net 2.0 web site.

You are going to have to do some research here to make sure that your
web services will be able to authenticate against this. I don't see why it
can't be done though.

Hope this helps.

--
- Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]
- (e-mail address removed)

Basically I need to copy my online CMS features to an Windows Vista
application.

Are all this objectives possible?
Could I get some tips about this?

I am experienced in Asp.Net but not on Windows Forms.
Is this the best group to ask this questions?

Thank You,
Miguel

Hi,

I wrote a few more questions inline with your answers.

Thank you,
Miguel