ASP.Net MVC 3 Razor View Engine

ASP.NET MVC 3 introdues a new view-engine option called “Razor” which enables you to quickly integrate server code into your HTML markup with a minimum of keystrokes. Unlike most template syntaxes, you do not need to interrupt your coding to explicitly denote server blocks within your HTML. This enables a really compact and expressive syntax which is clean, fast and fun to type. Here are the quick view related to Razor view-engine in asp.net MVC 3.0.

File Extension	.cshtml for c# and vbhtml for vb.net
_(underscore)	Files that cannot be shown by direct requests (master pages, partial views etc) have underscore (_) prefix in their names. e.g. _Layout.cshtml
@	start of a server side code block. It doesn’t require you to explicitly close the code-block. (short-hand of <%= %>)
@{ code }	(Multi-line Statements) add multiple lines of server side code by wrapping it within a @{ code } block.
@( )	(Multi-Token Statements) enables a code block to have multiple tokens
@:	to explicitly indicate the start of content in the line
<text>	to render multi-line content blocks
layout page	asp.net master page is recognized in MVC
Layout <file>	layout we want to use within a ASP.NET MVC
@* comment *@	To define server side comment (like <%– –%>) )
@RenderBody	used in layout where we want the views based on this layout to “fill in” specific body content for a requested URL.
@RenderSection	define two sections within our layout that the view templates within our site can optionally choose to fill-in
@section { }	To define section
@model <StrongModelType>	define strongly-typed models
@ViewBag.<myData>	New Dynamic Controller property, It internally stores the property name/value pairs within the ViewData dictionary. It is used to pass Data Between a Controller and a View
@tempdata	To pass State Between Action Methods
Standard HTML Helpers(not a complete list)	* Html.ActionLink() * Html.BeginForm() * Html.CheckBox() * Html.DropDownList() * Html.EndForm() * Html.Hidden() * Html.ListBox() * Html.Password() * Html.RadioButton() * Html.TextArea() * Html.TextBox()
Other Helpers	Chart, Crypto, WebGrid, WebImage, WebMail, etc.

Enjoy ASP.NET MVC !!!

HTML5 Web Development

HTML5 development is an ongoing effort of a consortium – called the W3C Consortium – comprising of many software developers and other interested industry groups to update and revise Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which is the core language at the heart of the World Wide Web. The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) started work on HTML5 in 2004 which is being edited by Ian Hickson of Google, Inc and David Hyatt of Apple. The HTML5 specification standard is in various draft states at at W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which began working with the WHATWG draft of HTML5 in early 2007.



As with almost any processes run by a big committee, or group of committees, HTML5 development is running behind its originally envisioned schedule for completion. While some parts of the HTML5 specification are stable and being implemented in new products, the entire HTML5 project is not expected to be complete until as late as 2022. Having an industry standard agreed upon by all participants is the goal of this complex undertaking. Every participant has their own motives. For example, Apple is looking at a standard that can be seen as a replacement for Adobe’s Flash.



HTML5 development is intended to produce a workable open source platform that can be used in browser applications throughout the internet by multiple vendors so that anyone can contribute to the development of new applications and no single vendor will have control over specific aspects of the internet. HTML5 could potentially make plug-ins like Adobe Flash, JavaFX, and Microsoft Silverlight obsolete, as the new platform is expected to incorporate streaming video capabilities into browser applications without the need of Adobe Flash, JavaFX or Microsoft Silverlight.



Despite the long term development schedule, some aspects of HTML5 are already being implemented in new Browsers. Firefox 3.5, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 all incorporate some features of HTML5. Canvas technology, invented by Apple, is a 2-D browser based graphics feature. Canvas has been included in Opera Software’s new browser. Opera plans to implement HTML5 video capabilities in its browser soon. Apple’s Safari browser supports Canvas and also has some HTML5 video and audio features built into it already.



As an effort to produce a uniform standard for all web browser development, HTML5 has many strengths and weaknesses. The long time required for completion of the project reflects the complexity of the effort. The fact that all of the major players in the internet technology industry are involved in the project is a big plus, but it also causes some potential problems as each player comes with their own agenda.



For example, trying to incorporate video capabilities into browsers without the need for proprietary plug-ins such as Flash or Silverlight threatens Google’s interests in YouTube, which relies on Flash technology, and Microsoft, which has a huge investment in Silverlight. Apple is heavily involved in trying to incorporate HTML5 into many of its mobile browser applications. Its Sproutcore framework is intended to speed the development of applications based entirely upon web standards without the necessity of external plug-ins. As HTML5 continues to evolve, it will simplify development of applications that will be compatible with all web browsers.

What is WPF

Windows Presentation Foundation (or WPF) is a graphical subsystem for rendering user interfaces in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0. Rather than relying on the older GDI subsystem, WPF utilizes DirectX. WPF attempts to provide a consistent programming model for building applications and provides a clear separation between the user interface and the business logic. As such, it bears a close resemblance to similar XML-oriented object models, such as those implemented in XUL and SVG.

WPF employs XAML, a derivative of XML, to define and link various UI elements.[1] WPF applications can be deployed as standalone desktop programs, or hosted as an embedded object in a website. It aims to unify a number of common user interface elements, such as 2D/3D rendering, fixed and adaptive documents, typography, vector graphics, runtime animation, and pre-rendered media. These elements can then be linked and manipulated based on various events, user interactions, and data bindings.

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Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.

These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic -- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service like Amazon Web Services provides virtual server instances with unique IP addresses and blocks of storage on demand. Customers use the provider's application program interface (API) to start, stop, access and configure their virtual servers and storage. In the enterprise, cloud computing allows a company to pay for only as much capacity as is needed, and bring more online as soon as required. Because this pay-for-what-you-use model resembles the way electricity, fuel and water are consumed, it's sometimes referred to as utility computing.

Platform-as-a-service in the cloud is defined as a set of software and product development tools hosted on the provider's infrastructure. Developers create applications on the provider's platform over the Internet. PaaS providers may use APIs, website portals or gateway software installed on the customer's computer. Force.com, (an outgrowth of Salesforce.com) and GoogleApps are examples of PaaS. Developers need to know that currently, there are not standards for interoperability or data portability in the cloud. Some providers will not allow software created by their customers to be moved off the provider's platform.

In the software-as-a-service cloud model, the vendor supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. SaaS is a very broad market. Services can be anything from Web-based email to inventory control and database processing. Because the service provider hosts both the application and the data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere.