[PDC Session Notes] ASP.NET 4.0 Roadmap

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Codeplex becomes an important part of the framework release cycle. Formal releases on https://www.asp.net while Codeplex hosts the interim work. Codeplex has source code for bits too.

New bits pushed to https://www.codeplex.com/aspnet today. Each area also has a roadmap for the technology.

Fx 4.0 & VS10

  • VS10 supports multi-targeting (2.0, 3.5, 4.0)
  • Fx 4.0 maintains high compatibility bar with Fx 3.5. Fx 3.5 sites should run fine under Fx 4.0
  • Out of band releases (eg Dynamic Data) roll-up into Fx 4.0

ASP.NET 4.0 Themes

  • Best platform for standards web dev
  • Great LOB platform
  • Support pattern-based dev models (MVC, TDD)
  • Re-invest in core ASP.NET
    • Webforms
    • Core infrastructure
    • MVC
    • Data and Dynamic Data
    • AJAX

Webforms

  • Client IDs (more control)
    • Manage control IDs that affect rendered client ID
    • Remove ID bloat and "mangling"
  • CSS
    • Remove the need for CSS adapters
    • Defer to CSS styles & bypass style properties
    • Support non-table-based HTML rendering
  • URL Routing (enhance)
    • Friendly URLs
    • Config model for URL routing
  • Viewstate (more control)
    • Disable on page & enable on certain controls
    • Disable on control, enable on children
    • GridView / ListView work better without Viewstate
  • ASP.NET Dynamic Data

ASP.NET AJAX

  • Continue ASP.NET AJAX innovation
  • Appeal to JS devs
  • Provide support for the page developer
  • jQuery including Intellisense
  • Templates & Databinding
    • Client-side handling, REST or Web Services
    • Covers page developer and component developer scenarios
  • AJAX Control Toolkit becomes part of ASP.NET (supported)
  • Centralised script libraries and break-up for better performance

Demo of client side data-binding and templates. Similar binding syntax to WPF / Silverlight. Lots of powerful declarative constructs such as commands etc (Bertrand Le Roy)

ASP.NET MVC

  • More tooling support coming - perhaps some scaffolding like capabilities (create pages for you when you point at an object)
  • Async controllers
  • Sub-controllers & views
  • Declarative controls + form validation

MVC demo (Phil Haack)

ASP.NET Dynamic Data

  • Dynamic Data and MVC
    • Scaffolding, templates and data-validation
  • Support for abstract data-layer
  • Allows scaffolding of objects
  • Support for many to many relationships
  • Enhanced filtering
  • Enhanced metadata
    • Control over column ordering and filtering
  • New field templates
  • DataSource controls (Linq, Entity & Custom Object) enhanced with WhereExpression, SearchExpression, RangeExplression making it easy to create custom filtering
  • Dynamic Data over ADO.NET Data Services - just point Dynamic Data at a Data Service and it builds a site
    • New AstoriaDataSource control - actually works with any old ASP.NET

Dynamic data on MVC demo - blog application. (Scott Hunter)

ASP.NET Core

  • ASP.NET cache becomes provider based

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