ASP.NET Site Maps - sql

Does anyone have experience creating SQL-based ASP.NET site-map providers?
I have the default XML file web.sitemap working properly with my Menu and SiteMapPath controls, but I'll need a way for the users of my site to create and modify pages dynamically.
I need to tie page viewing permissions into the standard ASP.NET membership system as well.

The Jeff Prosise version from MSDN magazine works pretty well, but it has a few flaws:
AddNode freaks out with links to external sites on your menu (www.google.com, etc.)
Here's my fix in BuildSiteMap():
SiteMapNode node = GetSiteMapNodeFromReader(reader);
string url = node.Url;
if (url.Contains(":"))
{
string garbage = Guid.NewGuid().ToString(); // SiteMapNode needs unique URLs
node.Url = "~/dummy_" + garbage + ".aspx";
AddNode(node, _root);
node.Url = url;
}
else
{
AddNode(node, _root);
}
SQLDependency caching is cool, but if you don't want to make a trip to the DB everytime your menu loads (to check to see if the dependency has changed) and your menus don't change very often, then why not use HttpRuntime.Cache instead?
public override SiteMapNode RootNode
{
get
{
SiteMapNode temp = (SiteMapNode)HttpRuntime.Cache["SomeKeyName"];
if (temp == null)
{
temp = BuildSiteMap();
HttpRuntime.Cache.Insert("SomeKeyName", temp, null, DateTime.Now.AddHours(1), Cache.NoSlidingExpiration);
}
return temp;
}
}

Related

Is there a Session-unique identifier that can be used as a cache key name?

I'm porting a legacy ASP.NET WebForms app to Razor. It had stored an object in the Session collection. Session storage is now limited to byte[] or string. One technique is to serialize objects and store as a string, but there are caveats. Another article suggested using one of the alternative caching options, so I'm trying to use MemoryCache.
For this to work as a Session replacement, I need a key name that's unique to the user and their session.
I thought I'd use Session.Id for this, like so:
ObjectCache _cache = System.Runtime.Caching.MemoryCache.Default;
string _keyName = HttpContext.Session.Id + "$searchResults";
//(PROBLEM: Session.Id changes per refresh)
//hit a database for set of un-paged results
List<Foo> results = GetSearchResults(query);
if (results.Count > 0)
{
//add to cache
_cache.Set(_keyName, results, DateTimeOffset.Now.AddMinutes(20));
BindResults();
}
//Called from multiple places, wish to use cached copy of results
private void BindResults()
{
CacheItem cacheItem = _cache.GetCacheItem(_keyName);
if (cacheItem != null) //in cache
{
List<Foo> results = (List<Foo>)cacheItem.Value;
DrawResults(results);
}
}
...but when testing, I see any browser refresh, or page link click, generates a new Session.Id. That's problematic.
Is there another built-in property somewhere I can use to identify the user's session and use for this key name purpose? One that will stay static through browser refreshes and clicks within the web app?
Thanks!
The answer Yiyi You linked to explains it -- the Session.Id won't be static until you first put something into the Session collection. Like so:
HttpContext.Session.Set("Foo", new byte[] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 });
_keyName = HttpContext.Session.Id + "_searchResults";
ASP.NET Core: Session Id Always Changes

Sitecore Glass mapper GetItem<TypeName>(guid) always return null

I saw a related question:
Sitecore Glass Mapper always null
But unfortunately it does not give a solution for my case.
Here goes a code snippet:
var db = Factory.GetDatabase("master");
var context = new SitecoreContext();
// the ID of Needed item
var g = new Guid("{F21C04FE-8826-41AB-9F3C-F7BDF5B35C76}");
// just to test if it's possible to fetch item using db.GetItem
var i = db.GetItem(new ID(g), Language.Current, Sitecore.Data.Version.Latest);
// Grab item
var t = context.GetItem<Article>(g);
In the code above:
i is not null
t is null
Article is the simple class like:
[SitecoreType(TemplateId = "{4C4EC1DA-EB77-4001-A7F9-E4C2F61A9BE9}")]
public class Article
{
[SitecoreField(FieldName = "Title")]
public string Title { get; set; }
}
There are only one language installed in Sitecore - en, it has been specified in the web.config in the items as well.
Also I have added GlassMapperSc.Start(); to Application_Start in the Global.asax.cs and added my assembly to the list of included assemblies via var attributes = new AttributeConfigurationLoader(new[] { "Assembly.Name" }); and I succeeded to find my class in the SitecoreContext mappings.
It does not looks like a language issue, as stated in the link provided in the very beginning. And I'm struggling with it already for a pretty long time, but no luck...
Thank You!
I just noticed that you are using master db for the Sitecore DB and SitecoreContext for Glass.
The SitecoreContext class will use the database that is defined by the Sitecore.Context.Database property at runtime. This probably means that it is using the web database.
Can you check that you have published the item to the web database or instead using:
var context = new SitecoreService("master");

HTTP GET to return custom model with data from external database with Umbraco MVC Surface Controller

I am currently working on an Umbraco MVC 4 project version 6.0.5. The project currently uses Vega.USiteBuilder to build the appropriate document types in the backoffice based on strongly typed classes with mapping attributes. Consequently, all my razor files inherit from UmbracoTemplatePageBase
I am coming across a road block trying to invoke a HTTP GET from a razor file. For example a search form with multiple fields to submit to a controller action method, using a SurfaceController using Html.BeginUmbracoForm.
My Html.BeginUmbracoForm looks like this
#using (Html.BeginUmbracoForm("FindTyres", "TyreSearch"))
{
// Couple of filter fields
}
I basically have a scenario where I will like to retrieve some records from an external database outside of Umbraco (external to Umbraco Database) and return the results in a custom view model back to my Umbraco front end view. Once my controller and action method is setup to inherit from SurfaceController and thereafter compiling it and submitting the search, I get a 404 resource cannot be found where the requested url specified: /umbraco.RenderMVC.
Here is my code snippet:
public ActionResult FindTyres(string maker, string years, string models, string vehicles)
{
var tyreBdl = new Wheels.BDL.TyreBDL();
List<Tyre> tyres = tyreBdl.GetAllTyres();
tyres = tyres.Where(t => string.Equals(t.Maker, maker, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
&& string.Equals(t.Year, years, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
&& string.Equals(t.Model, models, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
&& string.Equals(t.Version, vehicles, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)).ToList();
var tyreSearchViewModel = new TyreSearchViewModel
{
Tyres = tyres
};
ViewBag.TyreSearchViewModel = tyreSearchViewModel;
return CurrentUmbracoPage();
}
I then resort to using standard MVC, Html.BeginForm (the only difference). Repeating the steps above and submitting the search, I get the following YSOD error.
Can only use UmbracoPageResult in the context of an Http POST when
using a SurfaceController form
Below is a snippet of the HTML BeginForm
#using (Html.BeginForm("FindTyres", "TyreSearch"))
{
// Couple of filter fields
}
I feel like I am fighting the Umbraco routes to get my controller to return a custom model back to the razor file. I have googled alot trying to figure out how to do a basic search to return a custom model back to my Umbraco front end view till the extent that I tried to create a custom route but that too did not work for me.
Does my controller need to inherit from a special umbraco controller class to return the custom model back? I will basically like to invoke a HTTP GET request (which is a must) so that my criteria search fields are reflected properly in the query strings of the url. For example upon hitting the search button, I must see the example url in my address browser bar
http://[domainname]/selecttyres.aspx/TyresSearch/FindTyresMake=ASIA&Years=1994&Models=ROCSTA&Vehicles=261
Therefore, I cannot use Surface Controller as that will operate in the context of a HTTP Post.
Are there good resource materials that I can read up more on umbraco controllers, routes and pipeline.
I hope this scenario makes sense to you. If you have any questions, please let me know. I will need to understand this concept to continue on from here with my project and I do have a deadline.
There are a lot of questions about this and the best place to look for an authoritative approach is the Umbraco MVC documentation.
However, yes you will find, if you use Html.BeginUmbracoForm(...) you will be forced into a HttpPost action. With this kind of functionality (a search form), I usually build the form manually with a GET method and have it submit a querystring to a specific node URL.
<form action="#Model.Content.Url"> ... </form>
On that page I include an #Html.Action("SearchResults", "TyresSearch") which itself has a model that maps to the keys in the querystring:
[ChildAction]
public ActionResult(TyreSearchModel model){
// Find results
TyreSearchResultModel results = new Wheels.BDL.TyreBDL().GetAllTyres();
// Filter results based on submitted model
...
// Return results
return results;
}
The results view just need to have a model of TyreSearchResultModel (or whatever you choose).
This approach bypasses the need for Umbraco's Controller implementation and very straightforward.
I have managed to find my solution through route hijacking which enabled me to return a custom view model back to my view and work with HTTP GET. It worked well for me.
Digby, your solution looks plausible but I have not attempted at it. If I do have a widget sitting on my page, I will definitely attempt to use your approach.
Here are the details. I basically override the Umbraco default MVC routing by creating a controller that derived from RenderMvcController. In a nutshell, you implement route hijacking by implementing a controller that derives from RenderMvcController and renaming your controllername after your given documenttype name. Recommend the read right out of the Umbraco reference (http://our.umbraco.org/documentation/Reference/Mvc/custom-controllers) This is also a great article (http://www.ben-morris.com/using-umbraco-6-to-create-an-asp-net-mvc-4-web-applicatio)
Here is my snippet of my code:
public class ProductTyreSelectorController : Umbraco.Web.Mvc.RenderMvcController
{
public override ActionResult Index(RenderModel model)
{
var productTyreSelectorViewModel = new ProductTyreSelectorViewModel(model);
var maker = Request.QueryString["Make"];
var years = Request.QueryString["Years"];
var models = Request.QueryString["Models"];
var autoIdStr = Request.QueryString["Vehicles"];
var width = Request.QueryString["Widths"];
var aspectRatio = Request.QueryString["AspectRatio"];
var rims = Request.QueryString["Rims"];
var tyrePlusBdl = new TPWheelBDL.TyrePlusBDL();
List<Tyre> tyres = tyrePlusBdl.GetAllTyres();
if (Request.QueryString.Count == 0)
{
return CurrentTemplate(productTyreSelectorViewModel);
}
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(maker) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(years) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(models) &&
!string.IsNullOrEmpty(autoIdStr))
{
int autoId;
int.TryParse(autoIdStr, out autoId);
tyres = tyres.Where(t => string.Equals(t.Maker, maker, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
string.Equals(t.Year, years, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
string.Equals(t.Model, models, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
t.AutoID == autoId)
.ToList();
productTyreSelectorViewModel.Tyres = tyres;
}
else if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(width) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(aspectRatio) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(rims))
{
tyres = tyres.Where(t => string.Equals(t.Aspect, aspectRatio, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
string.Equals(t.Rim, rims, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)).ToList();
productTyreSelectorViewModel.Tyres = tyres;
}
var template = ControllerContext.RouteData.Values["action"].ToString();
//return an empty content result if the template doesn't physically
//exist on the file system
if (!EnsurePhsyicalViewExists(template))
{
return Content("Could not find physical view template.");
}
return CurrentTemplate(productTyreSelectorViewModel);
}
}
Note my ProductTyreSelectorViewModel must inherit from RenderModel for this to work and my document type is called ProductTyreSelector. This way when my model is returned with the action result CurrentTemplate, the Umbraco context of the page is retained and my page is rendered appropriately again. This way, all my query strings will show all my search/filter fields which is what I want.
Here is my snippet of the ProductTyreSelectorViewModel class:
public class ProductTyreSelectorViewModel : RenderModel
{
public ProductTyreSelectorViewModel(RenderModel model)
: base(model.Content, model.CurrentCulture)
{
Tyres = new List<Tyre>();
}
public ProductTyreSelectorViewModel(IPublishedContent content, CultureInfo culture)
: base(content, culture)
{
}
public ProductTyreSelectorViewModel(IPublishedContent content)
: base(content)
{
}
public IList<Tyre> Tyres { get; set; }
}
This approach will work well perhaps with one to two HTTP GET forms on a given page. If there are multiple forms within in a page, then a good solution will may be to use ChildAction approach. Something I will experiment with further.
Hope this helps!

Updating complex type with ef code first

I have a complex type called account, which contains a list of licenses.
Licenses in turn contains a list of domains (a domain is a simple id + url string).
In my repository I have this code
public void SaveLicense(int accountId, License item)
{
Account account = GetById(accountId);
if (account == null)
{
return;
}
if (item.Id == 0)
{
account.Licenses.Add(item);
}
else
{
ActiveContext.Entry(item).State = EntityState.Modified;
}
ActiveContext.SaveChanges();
}
When I try to save an updated License (with modified domains) what happens is that strings belonging straight to the license get updated just fine.
However no domains get updated.
I should mention that what I have done is allow the user to add and remove domains in the user interface. Any new domains get id=0 and any deleted domains are simply not in the list.
so what I want is
Any domains that are in the list and database and NOT changed - nothing happens
Any domains that are in the list and database, but changed in the list - database gets updated
Any domains with id=0 should be inserted (added) into database
Any domains NOT in the list but that are in the database should be removed
I have played a bit with it with no success but I have a sneaky suspicion that I am doing something wrong in the bigger picture so I would love tips on if I am misunderstanding something design-wise or simply just missed something.
Unfortunately updating object graphs - entities with other related entities - is a rather difficult task and there is no very sophisticated support from Entity Framework to make it easy.
The problem is that setting the state of an entity to Modified (or generally to any other state) only influences the entity that you pass into DbContext.Entry and only its scalar properties. It has no effect on its navigation properties and related entities.
You must handle this object graph update manually by loading the entity that is currently stored in the database including the related entities and by merging all changes you have done in the UI into that original graph. Your else case could then look like this:
//...
else
{
var licenseInDb = ActiveContext.Licenses.Include(l => l.Domains)
.SingleOrDefault(l => l.Id == item.Id)
if (licenseInDb != null)
{
// Update the license (only its scalar properties)
ActiveContext.Entry(licenseInDb).CurrentValus.SetValues(item);
// Delete domains from DB that have been deleted in UI
foreach (var domainInDb in licenseInDb.Domains.ToList())
if (!item.Domains.Any(d => d.Id == domainInDb.Id))
ActiveContext.Domains.Remove(domainInDb);
foreach (var domain in item.Domains)
{
var domainInDb = licenseInDb.Domains
.SingleOrDefault(d => d.Id == domain.Id);
if (domainInDb != null)
// Update existing domains
ActiveContext.Entry(domainInDb).CurrentValus.SetValues(domain);
else
// Insert new domains
licenseInDb.Domains.Add(domain);
}
}
}
ActiveContext.SaveChanges();
//...
You can also try out this project called "GraphDiff" which intends to do this work in a generic way for arbitrary detached object graphs.
The alternative is to track all changes in some custom fields in the UI layer and then evaluate the tracked state changes when the data get posted back to set the appropriate entity states. Because you are in a web application it basically means that you have to track changes in the browser (most likely requiring some Javascript) while the user changes values, adds new items or deletes items. In my opinion this solution is even more difficult to implement.
This should be enough to do what you are looking to do. Let me know if you have more questions about the code.
public void SaveLicense(License item)
{
if (account == null)
{
context.Licenses.Add(item);
}
else if (item.Id > 0)
{
var currentItem = context.Licenses
.Single(t => t.Id == item.Id);
context.Entry(currentItem ).CurrentValues.SetValues(item);
}
ActiveContext.SaveChanges();
}

Creating an SPListItem in a WCF service deployed to SharePoint

i have the following method in a WCF service, that has been deployed to SharePoint using Shail Malik's guide:
[OperationContract]
public string AddItem(string itemTitle, Guid? idOfListToUse)
{
using (var portal = new SPSite(SPContext.Current.Site.Url, SPContext.Current.Site.SystemAccount.UserToken))
{
using (var web = portal.OpenWeb())
{
Guid listId;
web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
if (idOfListToUse != null && idOfListToUse.Value != new Guid())
{
listId = idOfListToUse.Value;
}
else
{
try
{
listId = new Guid(web.Properties[PropertyBagKeys.TagsList]);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new MyException("No List Id for the tag list (default list) has been found!", ex);
}
}
var list = web.Lists[listId];
string title = "";
SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges(delegate{
var newItem = list.Items.Add();
newItem["Title"] = itemTitle;
newItem.Update();
title = newItem.Title;
});
web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;
return title;
}
}
}
When the method gets called from Javascript (using Rick Strahl's excellent ServiceProxy.js) it fails and it does so on newItem.Update() because of ValidateFormDigest().
Here's the kicker though, when I step through the code it works! No exceptions at all!
Ok, found the answer (there's 2 even :-D)
First, the dirty one:
Set FormDigestValidatedProperty in the context:
HttpContext.Current.Items["FormDigestValidated"] = true;
Second, the slightly less dirty version (basically leaving the way open for XSS attacks, but this is an intranet anyway)
The answer
I don't think you can access 'list' as it was created outside the elevated code block.
http://blogs.pointbridge.com/Blogs/herzog_daniel/Pages/Post.aspx?_ID=8
I'm guessing when you are stepping though the entire process is in admin mode so all are elevated.
Colin, it's a really bad idea to try to access HttpContext (likewise SPContext) inside a WCF service. See here: MSDN: WCF Services and ASP.NET
From the article:
HttpContext: Current is always null
when accessed from within a WCF
service.
It's likely this is the cause of your problem.
EDIT: I notice that you're trying to use SPContext to get the url of the site collection. I didn't find a good solution to this either so I just send the url of the target site collection as a parameter to the service call. Not the most optimal solution but I couldn't think of a better way. Also, if you need to check authentication/identities, etc use ServiceSecurityContext.Current.