# Tuesday, July 20, 2004

web.config made easy

Web.config and App.config have can have many different configuration options but it is difficult to remember what some of the less commonly used options are. This article provides a schema definition for .NET configuration files such as Web.config and App.config. The schema makes Visual Studio .NET help you out by displaying intellisense when working in these files.

[ Get Intellisense for Web.config and App.config in Visual Studio .NET ]

The one caveat of removing the xmlns just before saving is a small price to pay. What I don't understand is if it is this easy, why wouldn't the architects of VS.NET have put this in but with a bit more finesse?

#    Comments [11] |
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 6:15:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Because they are jerks who also like to make re-adding a project a serious pain in the arse!!
Nate
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 6:20:09 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Re-adding?

I don't find that difficult at all.

Perhaps you just haven't tried hacking the solution file, and making sure the .sln file's reference to the web project is mapped in IIS to the folder you want it to be in.

Or is the project in VSS? I think that makes it a bit more complex...
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 6:31:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Well, since you got me started I'll go into detail. The application queries data out of an Access table and generates both a 508 compliant HTML file and a text file.

Initially the setup was as follows:
1.) Solution file on my local machine
2.) Data & business projects on a separate dev server (where I had initially started development but quickly found out that, for some reason, made no sense to develop my display project)
3.) Display project on a third server where all the aspx files and generated .htm and .txt files are created.

I then tried to open Visual Studio one day and got some wack error. In the interest of just getting the dang thing able to load again, I wiped the project file and decided to do create the project again. When I went to do it correctly I had a heck of a time remembering the location of my various projects. Once I had that all figured out and I was starting to re-add the dependencies, I discovered that in my frustration not being able to connect to the dev web servers through a url (as opposed to a mapped path), I had accidentally chosen the option to create a new VB solution when all the code was in C#. Sigh. All in all I wasted a good hour or so this morning.
dotNate
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 8:00:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
1) Why would you put your source files on a separate "dev server"?
2) Data project? I guess with access there's not AppBlock...
3) Third server?

Seems to me all files should be on your local box. Any heaving testing and "Copy Project" to the test server. And your choice of VB instead of C# isn't Studio's fault, eh?

And Access? Sounds horrible.

Good luck!
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 10:25:23 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
1.) My work computer doesn't get backed up so if something happened to my local box, I'd lose all the source code.
2.) The only reason I broke this out was as practice for larger projects where I want to recompile an individual tier and not the entire project.
3.) I never said it was a "good" idea to use a third server. It's just one of those things that happened while I was trying to find a server that would run the code properly. I'm remembering now that the initial dev server had a problem with the Access drivers so all code that actually touched a database looked like I was doing it wrong. THAT was a serious pain. Also, this is my first attempt at something large enough to justify multiple tiers. :)
Nate
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 10:40:23 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
1.)) So I would put the solution in VSS, and put the VSS on the server that gets backed up.
2.]] Tier breaking is good, but a whole separate data tier is not likely needed for most projects (that I can tell)
3.}} Why access? Are you forced to use access?
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:00:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
1.))) No VSS.
2.]]] Meh. Take that up with Alex. He told me that he breaks his tiers into separate projects so that he doesn't have to recompile the whole shebang.
3.}}} Yup. This particular project is limited to Access. Don't get me started.

Now, after I've royally screwed up (and fixed) my first application for work I should have better luck with the spidering scraper janke I'm building for my brother.
Nate
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:23:52 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Well I have to say

1) No VSS does in fact suck...
2) I like lots of tiers, that way I can make modules that plug and unplug (heh, I said plug) easily. I want a forum on a site, I add the forum.data.dll, forum.business.dll, a few pages to my display project, recompile and add the fourm to the list of installed components and whiiipah, it works. I prefer that to also adding CS files to my data tier and recompiling... and I really wish I could just add a forum.display.dll and drop a few ASPX files in and be ready to go, but haven't had time to build that one out yet.
3) Access is the devil

Personally, Nate's issues have more to do with general trial and error useage of learning VS.NET. Soon enough he will learn to love VS.NET and all of its quirks... then Whidbey will be out.... meh.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:31:39 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
VSS Sucks? "Well that proves it"...

Yes it is good to have modular projects. However if the code isn't written for reuse, a separate teir isn't going to help much.

And I want Nate to get started on Access, 'cause that's wack.

And I refuse to belive that VS.NET has quirks.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:51:10 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
The spidering scraper uses a data tier that hits a SQL server database. I only use Access because the client is comfortable with Access and can populate it with the data he needs to have posted to 508 compliant data tables and text files.
Nate
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 9:09:47 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Ha, client..... sucks

And "No VSS, sucks," not "No, VSS Sucks".

I have the mantality for some reason that all code is "reuseable" even though it rarely is. For some reason I make myself believe that if I code it in a seperate tier, even though it has these wild dependancies on other tier's code, that somehow, some day I will make it all completely modular and reuseable, pipe dreams... pipe dreams indeed.


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