Articles : Page 1 of 3
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Using an alternate JSON Serializer in ASP.NET Web API
Mar 1209The new ASP.NET Web API that Microsoft released alongside MVC 4.0 Beta last week is a great framework for building REST and AJAX APIs. I've been working with it for quite a while now and I really like the way it works and the complete set of features it provides 'in the box'. It's about time that Microsoft gets a decent API for building generic HTTP endpoints into the framework. DataContractJsonSerializer sucks As nice as Web API's overall design is one thing still sucks: The built-in JSON S...
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Using the HTML5 <input type="file" multiple="multiple"> Tag in ASP.NET
Mar 1206Per HTML5 spec the <input type="file" /> tag allows for multiple files to be picked from a single File upload button. This is actually a very subtle change that's very useful as it makes it much easier to send multiple files to the server without using complex uploader controls. Please understand though, that even though you can send multiple files using the <input type="file" /> tag, the process of how those files are sent hasn't really changed - there's still no progress information or oth...
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Rebuilding CoasterBuzz, Part I: Evolution, and death to WCF
Feb 1229This is a repost from my personal blog... Last weekend, I showed a very early behind-the-scenes preview of what will eventually be the next version of CoasterBuzz (the fifth major revision in 12 years) to some folks that participated in the PointBuzz off-season tour at Cedar Point. It's very early in the process, but I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the things that have changed over the years. This series of posts probably won't mean much to non-code-monkeys, but it's fun for...
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Scott Hanselman's 2011 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows
Dec 1101Everyone collects utilities, and most folks have a list of a few that they feel are indispensable. Here's mine. Each has a distinct purpose, and I probably touch each at least a few times a week. For me, util means utilitarian and it means don't clutter my tray. If it saves me time, and seamlessly integrates with my life, it's the bomb. Many/most are free some aren't. Those that aren't free are very likely worth your 30-day trial, and perhaps your money. Here are most of the contents of my ...
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Using Ninject with MVVM Light
Nov 1106I recently changed jobs and as a result I find myself trying to draw parallels between the ASP.NET MVC development I used to do and the WPF MVVM projects that I am working on now. After spending a couple of weeks reading about WPF and learning the fundamentals I finally sat down to write my first WPF application. I chose MVVM Light as my framework because I felt it had a short learning curve and it was fairly lightweight when compared to some of the other frameworks that are out there. As a...
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Using the West Wind Web Toolkit to set up AJAX and REST Services
Nov 1103I frequently get questions about which option to use for creating AJAX and REST backends for ASP.NET applications. There are many solutions out there to do this actually, but when I have a choice - not surprisingly - I fall back to my own tools in the West Wind West Wind Web Toolkit. I've talked a bunch about the 'in-the-box' solutions in the past so for a change in this post I'll talk about the tools that I use in my own and customer applications to handle AJAX and REST based access to servic...
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Prevent Forms Authentication Login Page Redirect When You Don’t Want It
Oct 1104Go that way instead - Photo by JacobEnos CC some rights reserved In an ASP.NET web application, it’s very common to write some jQuery code that makes an HTTP request to some URL (a lightweight service) in order to retrieve some data. That URL might be handled by an ASP.NET MVC controller action, a Web API operation, or even an ASP.NET Web Page or Web Form. If it can return curly brackets, it can be respond to a JavaScript request for JSON. One pain point when hosting lightweight HTTP ser...
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RFC: Web Platform Installer (WebPI) with an offline feed mode for bandwidth savings
Sep 1124My wife is in the Kingdom of Swaziland this evening. If she was a developer over there and wanted to use Web Platform Installer to get Visual Studio or some large download she would have to patiently bring the bits down over 3G. If she was very well off, she might have ASDL with a maximum speed of 512kbps down, most likely with a cap. I've talked about limited connectivity in African countries and other nations (*cough* New Zealand *cough*) before on this blog and it's no fun. I've told the w...
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New Ajax Grid Scaffolding NuGet Package for MVC 3
Aug 1118EDITOR’S NOTE: Microsoft has an amazing intern program. For a summer, these bright college students work with a feature crew getting real work done, all the while attending cool events nearly every week that, frankly, make the rest of us jealous! Just look at some of the perks listed in this news article! This summer, the ASP.NET MVC is hosting an intern, Stephen Halter, who while very smart, doesn’t have a blog of his own (booo! hiss!). Being the nice guy that I am (and also being amenable ...
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Adding the New HTML Editor Extender to a Web Forms Application using NuGet
Aug 1117The July 2011 release of the Ajax Control Toolkit includes a new, lightweight, HTML5 compatible HTML Editor extender. In this blog entry, I explain how you can take advantage of NuGet to quickly add the new HTML Editor control extender to a new or existing ASP.NET Web Forms application. Installing the Latest Version of the Ajax Control Toolkit with NuGet NuGet is a package manager. It enables you to quickly install new software directly from within Visual Studio 2010. You can use NuGet to in...
