Beginner's General Question

[Smkmdb1]

Hi everyone,


I'm a student of ASP.net. Being an ex Perl/CGI programmer who made extra cash
making scripts and selling them on the web, I was wondering if one typically
uses this format with ASP.net? Do people typically follow the paradigm of
making your software and selling the actual scripts/software (as was common
with Perl/CGI), or do people typically use this to develop "service" oriented
software, such as a developer hosting a client's shopping cart on the
developer's server (for a monthly fee)? (Instead of, say, selling the client
scripts to install and set up the shopping cart on the client's own server, all
for a one-time charge.)

Hope I made the question clear enough, I know I rambled a bit there. Thanks for
all help!

John

 

[Tommy]

You can certainly write a web site or components using ASP.NET and
sell it as a product. One of the nice thing with ASP.NET is that you
can create web custom controls that compiles into a single DLL file.
You clients can just plug this DLL file into their project, and
they'll be able to use your control right away. Also, they won't see
your source code since it is compiled into the DLL file. The web
custom controls are very similar to ActiveX controls in the Windows
Application world.

Tommy,

 

[Jason \(MFT1\)]

That's a concept i haven't quite grasped. Once the person references the DLL
in their project how do they connect to it?
If the DLL is like for a discussion forum how can it be referenced from an
ASPX page in the using project? Where and how is that done?

 

[Jason \(MFT1\)]

Thanks Kevin but that doesn't answer the questions.
Once the person references the DLL in their project how do they connect to
it?
If the DLL is like for a discussion forum how can it be referenced from an
ASPX page in the using project? Where and how is that done?

We know where it is located...how do you use it once it is there?

 

[Jason \(MFT1\)]

OK then if I reference the DLL by placing it in the folder. Let's say the
dll has a control or page class defined. Then all that is necessary to use
that particular control or page class is to reference it from within a
project page?

If so then what would that reference look like in the page making the
reference? That is the part which is unclear to me. Getting the DLL into the
project is simple. But if the DLL contains pages and controls of it's own
how are they used withion the project. An example might be a Discussion
Forum DLL that was designed and compiled into a DLL. You then reference the
DLL in the project which will use the the Discussion Forum among other
items. If the discussion forum DLL defines a page (let's say the entry page
for the Discussion Forum) how do you go about using that page in the
project? Is it defined in the class browser and you reference it on a blank
page? I must be missing something here because I've used DLL's before. I'm
having difficulty seeing how you can take a complete project ...complile it
and then use it in another project without being able to see the files as
you would if you were not working with a DLL.

 

[S. Justin Gengo]

Jason,

This article might help you out:
Creating Custom ASP.NET Controls in VS.Net by Susan Warren

http://www.dotnet247.com/247reference/guide/81.aspx

It's the second article on the page. Click the globe with the red arrow on
it to download the article / sample code.

Sincerely,

--
S. Justin Gengo, MCP
Web Developer

Free code library at:
www.aboutfortunate.com

"Out of chaos comes order."
Nietzche

 

[Jason \(MFT1\)]

There yah go...that's the piece of the puzzle that was missing! It really is
no different from using any other controls if you assume that the developer
of the compiled DLL created a Custom Control and added the visual elements.

Thanks