I have a situation, where we have a MS SQL Server 2012 database and the client is requesting a number of reports to be generated from this db. The client is also requesting that this data should be seen in his current portal (custom web based using .Net C# and ASP.NET) or a hosted web-application in his IIS.
I was thinking of going for something which lets you create queries on the fly with the least amount of effort and with the possibility to customize them through code (since the requirements always get changed + certain reports are very easy to make). Just to give you an example of what I had in mind is Ubiq (see video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgXrbdnsa9Y )
Kindly can you please give me some examples or solutions that can be used.
There are a lot of reporting solutions out there, i recommend you to try them all and pick the one that better fits your needs, with that in mind, you can start by trying DBxtra, which lets you create queries easily (although not on the fly) and lets you customize them if you need/want to, it also runs on the .NET Framework, so you can easily host it along with your customer's application.
P.S.: I'm a DBxtra evangelist.
Related
Does anybody have experience automating deployments with Kentico? E.g. the difficulty of synchronizing document types, bizforms etc to another server?
I've used the built in content staging module to do this sort of thing. Unfortunately it's not all Unicorns and Rainbows. There were definitely some bugs in the module which essentially serializes the data from one server, and deserializes on the target server.
That was back in version 5.5 or 5.5R2 though, and they released version 6 a few months ago. I would take some time and look at the documentation for it's limitations, and then maybe give it a test before committing to it. It can definitely work for some, but it may not be Content Editor friendly.
Kentico Developer Documentation on Content Staging Module
Another possibility would be to utilize a tool that does database comparisons and syncing. I've used the SQL Examiner Suite before, but I've heard that Red Gate makes good tools too.
SQL Examiner
SQL Data Exminer
Red Gate Tools SQL Compare
While this probably isn't the best method, it can work. If you're not making significant changes on a regular basis this can be good for one off syncs between your local/dev server and production. This probably wouldn't be a good solution for "content staging", but more for changes that occurred due to development oriented tasks.
Another option is to use the Export/Import feature in Kentico: http://devnet.kentico.com/docs/6_0/devguide/index.html?export_and_import_overview.htm.
I haven't automated this process, but you can have a look at the ExportManager class in Kentico's API Reference: http://devnet.kentico.com/Documentation.aspx.
Hope this helps
With Kentico 10 you could use the Continuous Integration Feature. It is now working much better than in Kentico 9.
With the Continuous Integration Feature Database objects could be deployed together with the code files and are serialized automatically into the target database.
If you do not want to use this module, you need to use the Object Export Feature in Kentico (Site => Export site or objects).
In both scenarios you have to know, that content (Pages) are difficult to stage between different servers. Content staging is only usefull if you have a "real" staging server, where contend editors prepare the contet that should be staged to the live server on time.
In case you want to stage from a DEV server to the LIVE server, the pages will be overwritten by the dev version, if the GUID of the page is matching.
If you use Continuous Integration, all pages which are not in the DEV server instance will be deleted!
All other objects (Develop objects like Templates, Web Parts, Page Types, etc.) could be imported without any issues.
I am a c++ developer and need insight with current project...
I have a C# .net application that I want to securely connect to a mysql database
I have a sql database created and have created a "webservice" using php that I supposedly can connect to and through that it will access my sql database
but Need some insight into how to talk to this php code
Also would like to hear thoughts on this metholidgy ... is this best practices for doing this? (most secure, fastest, what about hundreds (thousands?) of users accessing a database will this hold up?)
My end result is to have this run on mobile platforms (android, ios) using Unity3D
I am trying to get the basic running using .net 3.5 c# so I understand it before I have to port it to mobile platform and the .net subset with unity
If someone would help me outside of the scope of answering these questions, I am always willing to pay to get this figured out
A great choice that would be very easy to implement in PHP and C#, as a bridge, would be Web Services built using JSON as the interchange format.
This looks like a good basic introduction for a JSON PHP Web Service.
This is another in C#.
With a neutral interchange format you should be able to connect the two components with ease.
I prefer to use JSON.NET and it works really well with JSON object serialization. Though JSON serialization is built into the core framework now (since .NET 3.5).
+1 on using JSON, but only if actually needed.
You can treat 'talking' to the php code as any other webservice. Create your api on the server side (ie. what the scripts do, what params they need), then forget the implementation when writing the client code.
Think about security. If you'll be exchanging sensitive information, you may want to encrypt it. So... SSL.
Do you have user-specific data? You may want some kind authentication.
One easy solution, if you're an optimist, may be to use a private salt and hash your parameters to make sure requests are coming from code you have distributed. However, this won't stop one user to pose as another.
As for scaling, it all depends on just how many calls you do, how many concurrent users you have etc., only you can estimate this stuff. Getting a cloud account would be good. Set up everything on one box at first. As traffic increases, move the database on a new node, then add a webserver, a master-slave setup, a load balancer..etc.
I think it's a nice approach, just be very careful with authentication and security. Performance shouldn't be an issue as long as you optimize the access to the database (performant queries, caching on the client and the service if necessary).
As for the web service consuming in C#, you should use service references for SOAP web services, or HttpWebRequest for REST web services.
For more information on the subject, this kind of architectures are called Service Oriented Architectures (SOA).
i need to update client on any changes occurred on server.
for that i found 2 approach.
1. using ajax which is also known as reverse ajax for this purpose.
2. using COMET.
but i don't know exact difference in both.
my site contains news content and i want that news to be automatically updates when new news is entered by my CMS application.
i have got hundreds of concurrent users on my web application.
please suggest me which approach should i use to get best solution.
also please provide me good example's like for that so that i can implement it.
NOTE: i am using .net framework 2.0 but if its not possible in 2.0 then can also move to 3.5
Thanks.
First start with YAGNI principle. See if it is ok for your client to update periodically, lets say every min or every 30 seconds. Consider things like how much information users can process in this interval. Also take a look at popular news site and how they implement this feature. In this case you are better off using the pull model where your client updates itself by requesting data from server. Implementing a push model is much more complicated.
Once you are sure that you need the push model, IMO comet is a better option. Coment is designed for this purpose. Dojo Foundation's CometD is a widely used library for this purpose. One good example is the live chess application on chess.com
Also, though I am not 100% sure about this, I believe you will need to use technologies like ASP.NET MVC which will allow you more control on the markup generated by your web app so that you can use these libraries.
I am developing a Client-Server based application in which client application will access server database to store billing information. It will also have report generation facility. Windows Forms is good in document printing & I don't see such facility or controls in WPF. If I am wrong then please correct me.
I want database security, which DB should I use, SQL Server, MySQL or Oracle. I would like to use free DB but security is my priority.
Please suggest how I can implement a Client-Server architecture with multiple clients in C#?
Thank you Geeks!!!
Using WPF will allow you to deliver a more innovative User Experience. There's a decent high level overview of Working with Documents in WPF on MSDN.
Any database should be able to provide decent security. If you're using C#, I would recommend one of the versions of SQL Server (If SQL Server Express works for you...go for it).
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
Regarding 1.
WPF has a handy PrintDialog control with a PrintVisual method on it. This can be used to print any visual elements from a WPF controls hierarchy and may be able to satisfy your printing requirements.
I have developed many applications in WinForms and only a few in WPF, but I would lean very heavily in the WPF direction for any new development. It is very flexible and powerful.
1- WPF is awesome when you want to implement a windows application, and consider the freedom it gives and the separation of concern you can eventually get, I would say 100% go with WPF. There are many ways to control your printing procedure that some have been already explained in above.
2- For database, depending on your load and concurrency, you can choose a different database. Oracle is an awesome one, but probably the most expensive one. So, at the end you need to compare MySQL which is a fantastic db and at the same time free, and SQL server express edition which is a free version of the enterprise/professional version of Microsoft SQL server. Express edition is basically the limited edition of the same database, and if you need o expand your network and support, you might not be able to afford the fees of an enterprise solution. So one idea can be to stick to the best free database from the beginning if you foresee such a demand in the future. The security of these both databases are somehow in the same level, but you need to work on your network/server securities as well, because I found them harder to break.
3-Using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is very simple and easy especially when you want to use something like WPF. You basically create some data contracts and publish them, and that would be your communication end points. You basically call them, and deal with them as they are your local methods. Highly recommended. So what do you mean exactly by multiple clients? Does it mean different types of client (like web-based, mobile apps, etc.)? I also suggest taking a look at RESTful web services as it has the same kind of communication concepts. I just mentioned some names, so you can start reading something about each of them.
1 - Actually, WPF provides better/easier document/control printing that winforms does. Additionally, WPF still provides support for RDLC and other reporting solutions for printing & reporting. Asking if you should use WPF or WinForms is like asking if you should eat lemons or limes for vitamin C. Regardless of which one you use, you'll get where you're trying to go, but the flavor and experience will be wildly different.
2 - The database is not your security. The DB you choose will have little to no impact on your security. Personally, I would look at Active Directory and Domain security, and basically allowing the system to use the user's domain account and domain groups to control authentication and authorization.
3 -There are many possible solutions to a client-server framework, and each one has its own strengths and drawback, and then there's also the possibility of using webforms which you've not even touched upon.
I've started with Flex recently, I've noticed that some plugin for Visual Studio exist, instead of buying a licence for another program (Flex Builder).
I was wondering how I could manage to remotely connect to my database with a Flash/Flex application with the help of C#/Asp.Net.
If I've correctly understood what I've read in the last few days, there is basically no way to 'query' to a database with Flex 3. So I suppose there is another way by using a webservice in C# on the database server that would respond to the Http query from Flex.
Am I right or totally of the track? If you have any other thoughts about this, please share.
I prefer (and recommend) using Webservices for the communication between Flex and C#. It's easy to use, and they both support serialization, so you can easily transfer Strong-Typed Objects. More on Flex and .NET can be found at http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/flex_net.html
Alternatively, you could consider using WebORB. This program functions as a gateway between and Flex, and enables you to use the Flash RemoteObject API for the communication to C#. More on this can be found at http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flextodotnet_remoteobject.html.
You really should consider using FluorineFx.
It takes about 5 minutes to set up an will allow Flex to call your methods like a service. You can then pass classes back and forth from .NET to Flex and back.
It's also the standard form of communication by Adobe, it's free and it's super fast.
Your understanding is correct. Flex is intended for developing client-side applications, and communication with a database is done through a server-side application.
Pretty much the same as building a JavaScript application. Though, Flex has several additional options for communicating with the backend. Webservices are great in a lot of cases, but the other options are worth looking into.
Here's a pretty happening article on the topic, if you haven't already seen it.
http://www.dehats.com/drupal/?q=node/33