What is ASP.NET?

 ASP.Net is a web development framework developed by Microsoft.

 It's used to create dynamic websites and web apps.
 It is a web framework which is a part of . NET that allows building dynamic web applications.ASP.NET extends
the .NET developer platform with tools and libraries specifically for building web apps.
 It is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker.
 ASP.Net was first released in 2002.

Understanding the .NET Framework

 Powerful platform for creating Windows applications

 .NET is a developer platform made up of tools, programming languages, and libraries for building many different
types of applications.
 Developers can create both web and mobile applications
 Supports multiple languages and libraries
 The .NET Framework is used to create applications for Windows, iOS, Android, and Mac OS.
 Microsoft released its first version of the .NET Framework in 2002.

Concepts:

→ CLR: Common Language Runtime is the virtual machine component of the .NET Framework that manages the
execution of code written in different languages.
→ C#: C# is an object-oriented programming language derived from C and C++ that was developed by Microsoft.
→ .NET Core: .NET Core is a cross-platform, open-source, and modular .NET platform for creating modern web
apps, microservices, libraries, and console applications.
→ Dynamic Websites: Websites with content that is generated in response to user actions.

Object-oriented programming (OOP)

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can
contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or properties), and the code is in
the form of procedures (often known as methods).

 Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming language model organized around objects rather than
actions and data rather than logic.
 In OOP, objects interact with one another to carry out tasks. This contrasts with procedural programming, which
consists of a series of commands and instructions to complete a task.
 OOP uses classes, objects, inheritance, abstraction, polymorphism, and encapsulation to create programs.

An Introduction to Visual Studio

 Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) created by Microsoft

 It offers a complete set of development tools for building applications
 Visual Studio supports many different languages and platforms

Concepts:

→ Integrated Development Environment (IDE): A software application that provides comprehensive facilities to
computer programmers for software development.
→ Development Tools: Software programs used to create, debug, maintain, and document the source code of
applications, websites, and other software.
→ Programming Languages: A set of instructions that can be used to produce different types of output or to control
the operation of a computer or other device.
→ Visual Studio is the most popular IDE for developing in .NET
→ The first version of Visual Studio was released in 1997
→ Visual Studio Code is a lightweight version of Visual Studio designed for web development

Installing Visual Studio Express 2013 for Web

 1. Start by browsing www. Microsoft t. com/ express/ and follow the instructions to download VSEW 2013. You
can install directly by choosing the Download and then the Install Now link or you can download an ISO file
that you can burn on a DVD or mount on Windows as a virtual drive. Make sure you download Visual Studio
Express 2013 for the Web, and not one of the other free Express editions or older versions. If this link is ever
changed or no longer provides direct access to the VSEW download, search the web for “install Visual Studio
Express 2013 for Web” and you’ll be taken to a download page where you can start the installation.
2. When the download completes, start the installer. You should see a screen similar to Figure 1-1.

Check the checkbox for the license terms and privacy policy.

If you’re installing the full version of Visual Studio, click the Next button that appeared when you agreed to the
license terms. You see a screen similar to Figure 1-2. Make sure you select at least the Microsoft Web
Developer Tools option.

3. In both cases, click the Install button to start the installation process.

4. After a while, you should see a message indicating that Visual Studio has been installed successfully. The
installer may need to reboot your machine during or after the installation. Once the installer has finished,
Visual Studio is ready for use.

A TOUR OF THE IDE

Visual Studio is by far the most complete and feature-packed integrated development environment [IDE] for making
ASP.NET web pages. The term "IDE" stands for "Integrated Development Environment." It means that all of the tools
you need to build complex web applications are put together in a single environment. Instead of writing code in a text
editor, compiling code at the command line, writing HTML and CSS in a separate program, and managing your
database in yet another, VS lets you do all of these things and more from the same environment. This makes it easier
to learn new parts of VS because many of the built-in tools work the same way. It also saves time because you don't
have to switch tools all the time.
The Main Development Area

Take a look at Figure 1-9 to learn more about the many tools that come with VS. It shows the same screen you saw
after making your first website in VS, but now the most important parts of the screen are highlighted. If you know how
to use an older version of Visual Studio, you can skip this section and pick up where you left off with the next Try It
Out exercise later in this chapter.

If you have a previous version of Visual Studio installed, your screen may look different because Visual Studio 2013
is able to import settings from older versions.

Choosing Your Development Profile

VSEW is for both people who are new to ASP.NET development and people who have been doing it for a long time.
Because of this, it has different developer profiles, such as "Basic Settings," "Code Only," and "Expert Settings." In
Basic Settings mode, many menu items you don't use often are hidden or put in their own submenu. The Code Only
profile is great for times when you just want to code and don't care about things like Design View or the Toolbox. You
can use all of VSEW's features when you're in Expert Settings mode. Use the Tools > Settings menu to switch
between settings. This book assumes that you will start out in Expert Settings mode. You might not need all the
features you see right away, but by the end of the book, you will have used most of them. Because the location of
menu items changes depending on which profile you choose, I decided to use Expert Settings mode right away to
make it easier to find a specific menu item or feature. In the paid versions of Visual Studio, you don't have this option
because Expert Settings are already turned on.

 The Main Menu

The main menu is at the top of the application, right below the Windows title bar. This menu bar has things like the
File, Edit, and Help menus found in many other Windows programs. It also has menus that are unique to VS, like the
Website and Debug menus. The menu changes based on the task you're working on, so as you move through the
application, you'll see menu items appear and disappear. You can set up both online and offline help using the Help
Set Help Preference menu. Before you can use offline help, you have to install it and be connected to the Internet to
use online help. On the far right, you'll see a link that says "Sign in." This lets you sign in with your Microsoft account
and allow VS settings to be shared between machines.
 The Notification Window

The application's title bar has a small flag icon to the left of the Windows Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons.
When you click on the flag icon, the notification window appears. This is where Visual Studio tells you important
things. It will show things like new documentation content, licenses that have expired, product updates, and more that
can be downloaded. The color of the flag icon in the title bar changes depending on how important the notifications
are. You can also get to the Notifications window from the View menu. If you installed the RTM version of Visual
Studio, you may see a few updates that you can safely install now.

 The Toolbar Area

The toolbar area is right below the menu. It can show different toolbars that give you quick access to VS's most-used
features. In Figure 1-9, only two of the toolbars are turned on, but Visual Studio comes with a lot of other toolbars that
you can use for different tasks. Some toolbars show up automatically when you're working on a task that needs a
certain toolbar, but you can also turn toolbars on and off as you like. To turn on or off a toolbar, right-click an existing
toolbar or the menu bar and choose the toolbar from the menu that appears.

 The Toolbox

The toolbox tab is on the left side of the main screen, near the edge of VS. If you click on the tab, the Toolbox opens
up and shows you what it has. If you click the little pin icon in the upper-right corner of the Toolbox (or any of the
other panels that have this pin icon), it gets pinned to the IDE so it stays open.

Just like the menu bar and toolbars, the Toolbox automatically updates to show content that is relevant to the task
you are working on. When you edit a standard ASPX page, the Toolbox shows you all of the controls you can use on
that page. You can just drag an item from the Toolbox and drop it where you want it to show up on your page. In
Chapter 4, a lot more is said about these controls. Note that there is also a pointer icon in each Toolbox category. But
this isn't controlled by itself. In other Visual Studio designers, like Win Forms, this icon is used to get out of drawing
mode. In ASP.NET, however, it isn't very useful. The Toolbox has several categories that you can expand or collapse
to make it easier to find the tool you need. You can also change the order of the items in the list, add and remove
items from the Toolbox, and even add your own tools to it. We will talk about customizing the IDE later in this chapter.

If the Toolbox isn't showing up on the screen, you can open it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+X or by going to View > Toolbox if
you have Expert Settings selected in the Tools > Settings menu.

 The Solution Explorer

The Solution Explorer is on the right side of the screen. The Solution Explorer is an important window because it
gives you an overview of all the files that make up your website. With Solution Explorer, you can store your files in
separate folders instead of putting them all in one big folder. This makes your site's structure more logical and
organized. You can use Solution Explorer to add new files to your site, move existing files around by dragging and
dropping or cutting and pasting, rename files and delete them from the project, and do other things. A lot of Solution
Explorer's features are hidden in the right-click menu, which changes depending on what you right-click on.

At the top of the Solution Explorer is a small toolbar that gives you quick access to some functions related to your
website. For example, you can quickly refresh the Solution Explorer window, nest related files, or set up your website
by clicking on one of these buttons. Most of these features will be talked about later in the book.

You can get to the Solution Explorer by choosing View > Solution Explorer from the main menu or by pressing
Ctrl+Alt+L.
 The Server Explorer

This window lets you work with your databases and other services. In Figure 1-9, it is hidden behind the Solution
Explorer.
You can get to the Server Explorer by choosing View > Server Explorer or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S.
The chapters about databases go into more depth about the Server Explorer.

 The Team Explorer

This window, hidden behind the Solution Explorer in Figure 1-9, is used to connect to and work with Microsoft's
Application Lifecycle Management tool Team Foundation Server (TFS), which is used for source control, tracking
work items, and more. Check out http://tfs.visualstudio.com for more information and to sign up for a free hosted
account for TFS. Team Explorer and TFS are not talked about in this book.

 The Properties Grid

With the Properties Grid, you can see and change the properties of many things in Visual Studio, such as files in the
Solution Explorer, controls on a web page, the properties of the page itself, and much more. The window is always
updated to show the item that was chosen. By pressing F4, you can quickly open the Properties Grid. You can use
this same keyboard shortcut to force the Properties Grid to show the details of a selected item.

 The Document Window

The Document Window dominates the application. The action is mostly here. The Document Window lets you edit
ASPX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, VB, C#, XML, text, and picture files. The same window lets you manage databases,
generate duplicates of your site, examine its pages in the built-in mini-browser, and more.

By default, the Document Window can host many documents, each with a tab containing the filename at the top.
Each tab's right-click menu has shortcuts for saving, closing, and opening File Explorer's parent folder.

To switch documents, use Ctrl+Tab, click the tab, or click the down arrow in the upper-right corner of the Document
Window, adjacent to the Solution Explorer (Figure 1-9). The down arrow displays a list of open documents for easy
selection.
Ctrl+Tab + Ctrl is another technique to swap documents. The right-hand column of the pop-up window lets you
choose a document. Use the cursor keys to scroll through the open document list. This simplifies file selection.
The dialog box lists all active tool windows. Clicking a window in the list displays it on-screen, moving it if necessary.

Click a file in Solution Explorer to preview it without modifying it. A file in preview mode has its tab docked to the right
of the tab row, unlike open files, which are docked to the left.

Figure 1-9 shows Design, Split, and Source buttons underneath the Document Window. Markup files like ASPX
pages automatically display these buttons. They let you view a page's Design View, Markup View, or both at once.
For now, know that you can move between Markup, Split, and Design View by clicking one of the three buttons.
Chapter 2 explains how this works. Markup View is often called Source View or Code View. This book utilizes Markup
View exclusively to avoid confusion with the Code Behind code editor.

 The Start Page

The Document Window loads the Start Page when VS starts. Start iPage lets you easily develop and open websites
and other projects. The Start Page links to web development news and resources. Click the pin symbol to the left of
your favorite projects in the recent projects list to pin them to the Start Page. Right-click a project to unpin it. View O
Start Page reopens the Start Page.