VS.NET, ASP.NET - using via Frontpage Ext, now via SHAREPOINT?

[Gerry Hickman]

Hi,

We are currently running VS.NET clients against a Windows 2000 server
which has Frontpage server extensions; this means we can have teams of
developers interacting on web applications from remote locations over
HTTP without firewall issues.

However, Frontpage extensions have now been discontinued and replaced by
Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) on Windows Server 2003. This means
that if we want to be able to work "live" or publish via HTTP we'll need
to use VS.NET with Sharepoint instead.

However, it would seem that Sharepoint would require all ASPX files and
other content to be stored in an SQL server database as opposed to the
FileSystem so the ability to directly open a file over SMB/NetBIOS in
notepad (or whatever) is lost. I'm not sure I like that idea...

Has anyone tried integrating their Visual Studio projects with
Sharepoint? I can't find any reference to this on Microsoft's site;
everything on their site is about using "web parts" with .NET as opposed
to setting up a collaborative developer environment with works at remote
locations.

 

[Mikhail Arkhipov (Microsoft)]

Hi,

We are currently running VS.NET clients against a Windows 2000 server
which has Frontpage server extensions; this means we can have teams of
developers interacting on web applications from remote locations over
HTTP without firewall issues.

However, Frontpage extensions have now been discontinued and replaced by
Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) on Windows Server 2003. This means
that if we want to be able to work "live" or publish via HTTP we'll need
to use VS.NET with Sharepoint instead.

However, it would seem that Sharepoint would require all ASPX files and
other content to be stored in an SQL server database as opposed to the
FileSystem so the ability to directly open a file over SMB/NetBIOS in
notepad (or whatever) is lost. I'm not sure I like that idea...

Has anyone tried integrating their Visual Studio projects with
Sharepoint? I can't find any reference to this on Microsoft's site;
everything on their site is about using "web parts" with .NET as opposed
to setting up a collaborative developer environment with works at remote
locations.

VS 2005 does not target Sharepoint Web sites. The best idea is to use
FrontPage. VS 2005 is compatible with FrontPage, you can freely move files
between applications so you can use VS to debug ASP.NET code and FP to
design the site.

Thanks
Mikhail Arkhipov (Microsoft)
-- This post is provided 'AS IS' with no warranties and confers no rights

 

[Gerry Hickman]

Hi Mikhail,

Thanks for the reply, but I think you misunderstood. I'm not asking how
to design a web page or move a file. I'm talking about enterprise server
infrastructure, and Microsoft's web server extension technologies.

In VS.NET 2003 there's an option for each project to choose between
"Frontpage" and "File Share". Frontpage in this context does not have
anything to do with Frontpage (as used in Office); it means is that you
want to use team collaboration and/or source control with IIS over HTTP.

If you choose "File Share" then you'll only be able to open, build and
debug your VS.NET projects while you're on the LAN, but if you choose
"Frontpage" you can open your VS.NET project from any computer anywhere
in the world even if there's a firewall in the way. This is a very quick
way of allowing external consultants to have their own sub-web on your
server from which they can publish with one button when the project is
ready to go live. It also means they don't need a domain account or
access to network resources via UNC paths.

Now I've explained that, are there any server Admins reading this that
could review the question below and offer any advice?