Dot Net Nuke Overview n Stan Schultes n

Dot. Net. Nuke Overview n Stan Schultes n n n n Enterprise architect / application developer Conference speaker, mentor, trainer Contributing Editor, Visual Studio Magazine Founder -. NET Pub Club (netpubclub. net) Microsoft MVP www. vbnetexpert. com stan@vbnetexpert. com

Presentation Outline n n n n Introduction & History Installation Technical Overview Portal Features & Management Project Organization & Internals Private Assemblies Customizing / Tips & Tricks Project Futures

Web Portal Introduction n What is a Web Portal? n Business Case n Open Source Project n Dot. Net. Nuke and Rainbow Projects n Target Audiences: Web Hosters n Corporate Portal Developers n

Project History & Relatives IBuy. Spy web portal, IBS Workshop n Rainbow (mid-’ 02) & Dot. Net. Nuke (Dec ’ 02) n ASP. NET Starter Kits (www. asp. net): n n n Portal Community Commerce Reports Time Tracker

Installation Requirements Current: v 2. 1. 2 n Requires: n n n n Win 2 K, Win. XP, or Win 2 K 3 IIS installed and operational. NET Framework V 1. 1 Access or SQL Server 2000 / MSDE SMTP configured if you want to use mail VS. NET 2003, or custom build environment (no SDK version available today) DNN is written in VB. NET, but you can write modules (. DLLs) in any. NET language

Demo – DNN Installation n Installation Process: n n n n Unzip the code to a directory, give ASPNET/Network Service account permissions Create a virtual directory [ Create an empty SQL database, set up DB account ] Edit web. config Browse to http: //localhost/vdir Change Host and Admin passwords! Upgrade Process: n n n Back up your current configuration Unzip the new code into the directory structure Browse to the vdir

What’s New in Version 2 n n n n Improved admin user interface Data Provider Model Business Logic Layer Skinning Recycle Bin Scheduler Exception Management Backward compatibility for modules using the old data architecture

Technical Overview n n n n Framework application Modular construction Dynamically loaded user controls Data access layer uses Provider model Business logic layer Online portal configuration by role Multi-portal: parent or child configuration Portals are skinnable

Demo – DNN Features n Portal Management n Tabs & Modules n Roles & Users n Files & File Uploads n Child Portals

Managing Portals n n n n Host and Admin Accounts Hosting Configuration, Modules Multiple Portals, Aliases Forms Authentication vs. Windows Authentication Service Directory: Vendors & Banner Advertising Chargeout process Bulk email (portal users)

Tabs & Modules n Tabs = portal organizational units n Modules = information containers n Module Options n Info access controlled by Roles and Users

Roles & Users n Roles & Users - created by Admin role n Role usage is up to you n User registration: none, private, public, verified n Specify required registration fields: n Admin User Accounts, edit mode

Files and File Uploads n n n n Shared directory per portal (portalsn) File security: there isn’t any by default! Set uploadable file types on Host Settings Set File Upload Roles on Admin File Manager Use the Sync link on File Manager if you manually copy files into directories Decompress Zip files checkbox Host file uploads vs. portal file uploads

DNN in Design Mode n DNN v 2 built with VS. NET 2003 n Change. sln and. webinfo file if not default Dot. Net. Nuke vdir n Release mode vs. Debug mode n All standard modules are integrated in. sln n Build private modules in any language – as separate project.

Project Organization n Directory structure: Admin – user controls for all system pages n Components – business logic layer n Controls – title, header, footer controls n Desktop. Modules – module addins n Portaln – content directories by portal n Providers – data access providers n

Portal Internals n web. config n Global. asax n HTTP Handler and portal aliases n Default. aspx (Desktop. Default redirects) n Everything else is. ascx (user controls) n Controls: Sol. Part menu, Free. Text. Box, Sharp. Zip. Lib

Data Access / Business Logic n Data access based on a Provider model n Databases supported: Access (default), SQL Server 2000/MSDE n (future) my. SQL, Oracle n n Business Logic Layer: Abstracts the data layer from the portal n Custom Business Object (CBO) helper n

Dot. Net. Nuke Architecture

Making the Portal Your Own n Containers n DNN V 2 is now skinnable by portal! n CSS Style sheet n Modify the core code n Integrate custom modules n Build your own private assemblies

Demo - Customization n CSS Style Sheet n Containers n Skinning

Demo – Install a private assy n n n Build the assembly separately Package as. zip with. dnn manifest file Upload to portal from Host account Configure the module Four examples are provided: n n Page Title Survey Users Online Whois

Building a Private Assembly n n n n Find a similar standard module and copy it Database tables & SPs Data component Create user controls for display & editing Style sheet additions Project integration options PA installation files & docs Article in Dec 2003 Visual Studio Magazine

DNN Tips & Tricks n Try to minimize core customization n When upgrading – compare codebases & eliminate obsolete code n Use VSS for code & build control n Interactions between logins w/ multiple instances n Watch forums & bug lists for fixes (see #1 above)

Project Futures n n n n Localization – static / dynamic Site Search Friendly URLs Private Assembly Architecture Windows Authentication / Tabs SSL Enhanced File Management / Security Hierarchical portals Web Farm Support

Questions?

Resources n n n n www. dotnetnuke. com http: //www. fawcette. com/vsm/2003_12/maga zine/columns/gettingstarted/ www. asp. net/forums www. gotdotnet. com/community/workspaces DNN ML: www. cyberhuis. com DNN XXL: arkadic. healthship. com www. asp. net www. rainbowportal. net