1031 pro c 2010 and the NET 4 platform, 5th edition

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Andrew Troelsen
Microsoft MVP, Visual Developer—Visual C#; Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
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Pro C# 2010 and the .NET 4 Platform, Fifth Edition
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Contents at a Glance
Contents................................................................................................................... viii
About the Author..................................................................................................... xxv
About the Technical Reviewer ............................................................................... xxvi
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ xxvii
Introduction ......................................................................................................... xxviii
■ ■ ■ Part 1: Introducing C# and the .NET Platform.................................................1
■ Chapter 1: The Philosophy of .NET..........................................................................3
■ Chapter 2: Building C# Applications .....................................................................41
■ ■ ■ Part 2: Core C# Programming Constructs ....................................................71
■ Chapter 3: Core C# Programming Constructs, Part I ............................................73
■ Chapter 4: Core C# Programming Constructs, Part II.........................................125
■ Chapter 5: Defining Encapsulated Class Types...................................................167
■ Chapter 6: Understanding Inheritance and Polymorphism.................................219
■ Chapter 7: Understanding Structured Exception Handling .................................259
■ Chapter 8: Understanding Object Lifetime ..........................................................289
■ ■ ■ Part 3: Advanced C# Programming Constructs ..........................................319
■ Chapter 9: Working with Interfaces....................................................................321
■ Chapter 10: Understanding Generics ..................................................................361
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■ CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

■ Chapter 11: Delegates, Events, and Lambdas.....................................................397
■ Chapter 12: Advanced C# Language Features ....................................................439
■ Chapter 13: LINQ to Objects................................................................................489
■ ■ ■ Part 4: Programming with .NET Assemblies...............................................523
■ Chapter 14: Configuring .NET Assemblies ..........................................................525
■ Chapter 15: Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming......581
■ Chapter 16: Processes, AppDomains, and Object Contexts................................625
■ Chapter 17: Understanding CIL and the Role of Dynamic Assemblies................653
■ Chapter 18: Dynamic Types and the Dynamic Language Runtime .....................701
■ ■ ■ Part 5: Introducing the .NET Base Class Libraries ......................................725
■ Chapter 19: Multithreaded and Parallel Programming.......................................727
■ Chapter 20: File I/O and Object Serialization......................................................775
■ Chapter 21: ADO.NET Part I: The Connected Layer..............................................825
■ Chapter 22: ADO.NET Part II: The Disconnected Layer........................................885
■ Chapter 23: ADO.NET Part III: The Entity Framework .........................................951
■ Chapter 24: Introducing LINQ to XML .................................................................993
■ Chapter 25: Introducing Windows Communication Foundation .......................1013
■ Chapter 26: Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0 ...........................1077
■ ■ ■ Part 6: Building Desktop User Interfaces with WPF .................................1115
■ Chapter 27: Introducing Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML ...........1117
■ Chapter 28: Programming with WPF Controls ..................................................1179
■ Chapter 29: WPF Graphics Rendering Services ................................................1245
■ Chapter 30: WPF Resources, Animations, and Styles.......................................1285
■ Chapter 31: WPF Control Templates and UserControls.....................................1325
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■ CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

■ ■ ■ Part 7: Building Web Applications with ASP.NET......................................1377
■ Chapter 32: Building ASP.NET Web Pages ........................................................1379
■ Chapter 33: ASP.NET Web Controls, Master Pages and Themes ......................1429
■ Chapter 34: ASP.NET State Management Techniques.......................................1473
■ Appendix A: Programming with Windows Forms .............................................1511
■ Appendix B: Platform-Independent .NET Development with Mono...................1561
■ Index.................................................................................................................1583

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■ CONTENTS

Contents
About the Author..................................................................................................... xxv
About the Technical Reviewer ............................................................................... xxvi
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ xxvii
Introduction ......................................................................................................... xxviii
■ ■ ■ Part 1: Introducing C# and the .NET Platform.................................................1
■ Chapter 1: The Philosophy of .NET..........................................................................3
Understanding the Previous State of Affairs......................................................................3
The .NET Solution ..............................................................................................................6
Introducing the Building Blocks of the .NET Platform (the CLR, CTS, and CLS).................7
Additional .NET-Aware Programming Languages............................................................10
An Overview of .NET Assemblies .....................................................................................12
Understanding the Common Type System.......................................................................19
Understanding the Common Language Specification......................................................23

Understanding the Common Language Runtime .............................................................25
The Assembly/Namespace/Type Distinction ...................................................................27
Exploring an Assembly Using ildasm.exe ........................................................................33
Exploring an Assembly Using Reflector ...........................................................................35
Deploying the .NET Runtime ............................................................................................36

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■ CONTENTS

The Platform-Independent Nature of .NET.......................................................................37
Summary .........................................................................................................................39
■ Chapter 2: Building C# Applications .....................................................................41
The Role of the .NET Framework 4.0 SDK .......................................................................41
Building C# Applications Using csc.exe...........................................................................42
Building .NET Applications Using Notepad++ .................................................................49
Building .NET Applications Using SharpDevelop..............................................................50
Building .NET Applications Using Visual C# 2010 Express ..............................................53
Building .NET Applications Using Visual Studio 2010 ......................................................54
Summary .........................................................................................................................69
■ ■ ■ Part 2: Core C# Programming Constructs ....................................................71
■ Chapter 3: Core C# Programming Constructs, Part I ............................................73
The Anatomy of a Simple C# Program.............................................................................73
An Interesting Aside: Some Additional Members of the System.Environment Class.......79
The System.Console Class...............................................................................................81
System Data Types and C# Shorthand Notation ..............................................................86
Working with String Data.................................................................................................97

Narrowing and Widening Data Type Conversions..........................................................106
Understanding Implicitly Typed Local Variables ............................................................112
C# Iteration Constructs ..................................................................................................117
Decision Constructs and the Relational/Equality Operators ..........................................119
Summary .......................................................................................................................122
■ Chapter 4: Core C# Programming Constructs, Part II.........................................125
Methods and Parameter Modifiers ................................................................................125
Understanding C# Arrays ...............................................................................................137
Understanding the Enum Type.......................................................................................144
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■ CONTENTS

Understanding the Structure Type.................................................................................151
Understanding Value Types and Reference Types.........................................................154
Understanding C# Nullable Types..................................................................................162
Summary .......................................................................................................................165
■ Chapter 5: Defining Encapsulated Class Types...................................................167
Introducing the C# Class Type .......................................................................................167
Understanding Constructors ..........................................................................................170
The Role of the this Keyword.........................................................................................174
Understanding the static Keyword.................................................................................181
Defining the Pillars of OOP.............................................................................................188
C# Access Modifiers ......................................................................................................192
The First Pillar: C#’s Encapsulation Services.................................................................194
Understanding Automatic Properties.............................................................................206
Understanding Object Initializer Syntax.........................................................................210

Working with Constant Field Data .................................................................................214
Understanding Partial Types..........................................................................................217
Summary .......................................................................................................................218
■ Chapter 6: Understanding Inheritance and Polymorphism.................................219
The Basic Mechanics of Inheritance..............................................................................219
Revising Visual Studio Class Diagrams .........................................................................224
The Second Pillar of OOP: The Details of Inheritance ....................................................226
Programming for Containment/Delegation ....................................................................232
The Third Pillar of OOP: C#’s Polymorphic Support .......................................................235
Understanding Base Class/Derived Class Casting Rules ...............................................247
The Master Parent Class: System.Object.......................................................................250
Summary .......................................................................................................................258
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■ CONTENTS

■ Chapter 7: Understanding Structured Exception Handling .................................259
Ode to Errors, Bugs, and Exceptions .............................................................................259
The Role of .NET Exception Handling.............................................................................260
The Simplest Possible Example .....................................................................................263
Configuring the State of an Exception ...........................................................................267
System-Level Exceptions (System.SystemException) ...................................................272
Application-Level Exceptions (System.ApplicationException) .......................................273
Processing Multiple Exceptions .....................................................................................277
Who Is Throwing What? .................................................................................................282
The Result of Unhandled Exceptions .............................................................................283
Debugging Unhandled Exceptions Using Visual Studio .................................................284

A Brief Word Regarding Corrupted State Exceptions (CSE) ...........................................285
Summary .......................................................................................................................287
■ Chapter 8: Understanding Object Lifetime ..........................................................289
Classes, Objects, and References..................................................................................289
The Basics of Object Lifetime ........................................................................................291
The Role of Application Roots ........................................................................................294
Understanding Object Generations ................................................................................296
Concurrent Garbage Collection under .NET 1.0 - 3.5 .....................................................297
Background Garbage Collection under .NET 4.0............................................................297
The System.GC Type ......................................................................................................298
Building Finalizable Objects...........................................................................................302
Building Disposable Objects ..........................................................................................305
Building Finalizable and Disposable Types....................................................................309
Understanding Lazy Object Instantiation .......................................................................313
Summary .......................................................................................................................316
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■ CONTENTS

■ ■ ■ Part 3: Advanced C# Programming Constructs ..........................................319
■ Chapter 9: Working with Interfaces....................................................................321
Understanding Interface Types......................................................................................321
Defining Custom Interfaces ...........................................................................................325
Implementing an Interface.............................................................................................327
Invoking Interface Members at the Object Level ...........................................................329
Interfaces As Parameters ..............................................................................................331
Interfaces As Return Values...........................................................................................333

Arrays of Interface Types...............................................................................................334
Implementing Interfaces Using Visual Studio 2010 .......................................................335
Resolving Name Clashes via Explicit Interface Implementation....................................336
Designing Interface Hierarchies ....................................................................................339
Building Enumerable Types (IEnumerable and IEnumerator) ........................................343
Building Cloneable Objects (ICloneable) ........................................................................349
Building Comparable Objects (IComparable) .................................................................354
Summary .......................................................................................................................359
■ Chapter 10: Understanding Generics ..................................................................361
The Issues with Non-Generic Collections ......................................................................361
The Role of Generic Type Parameters ...........................................................................371
The System.Collections.Generic Namespace ................................................................376
Creating Custom Generic Methods ................................................................................385
Creating Custom Generic Structures and Classes .........................................................388
Constraining Type Parameters ......................................................................................392
Summary .......................................................................................................................395
■ Chapter 11: Delegates, Events, and Lambdas.....................................................397
Understanding the .NET Delegate Type .........................................................................397
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■ CONTENTS

Defining a Delegate Type in C#......................................................................................398
The System.MulticastDelegate and System.Delegate Base Classes .............................400
The Simplest Possible Delegate Example......................................................................402
Sending Object State Notifications using Delegates .....................................................405
Method Group Conversion Syntax..................................................................................411

Understanding Delegate Covariance..............................................................................413
Understanding Generic Delegates .................................................................................415
Understanding C# Events...............................................................................................418
Understanding C# Anonymous Methods........................................................................427
Understanding Lambda Expressions .............................................................................430
Summary .......................................................................................................................437
■ Chapter 12: Advanced C# Language Features ....................................................439
Understanding Indexer Methods....................................................................................439
Understanding Operator Overloading ............................................................................444
Understanding Custom Type Conversions .....................................................................454
Understanding Extension Methods ................................................................................460
Understanding Partial Methods .....................................................................................470
Understanding Anonymous Types .................................................................................473
Working with Pointer Types...........................................................................................479
Summary .......................................................................................................................487
■ Chapter 13: LINQ to Objects................................................................................489
LINQ Specific Programming Constructs.........................................................................489
Understanding the Role of LINQ.....................................................................................493
Applying LINQ Queries to Primitive Arrays.....................................................................496
Returning the Result of a LINQ Query ............................................................................503
Applying LINQ Queries to Collection Objects .................................................................505
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■ CONTENTS

Investigating the C# LINQ Query Operators ...................................................................508
The Internal Representation of LINQ Query Statements ................................................517

Summary .......................................................................................................................522
■ ■ ■ Part 4: Programming with .NET Assemblies...............................................523
■ Chapter 14: Configuring .NET Assemblies ..........................................................525
Defining Custom Namespaces.......................................................................................525
The Role of .NET Assemblies .........................................................................................532
Understanding the Format of a .NET Assembly .............................................................533
Building and Consuming a Single-File Assembly ..........................................................538
Building and Consuming a Multifile Assembly...............................................................550
Understanding Private Assemblies ................................................................................553
Understanding Shared Assemblies................................................................................558
Consuming a Shared Assembly .....................................................................................567
Configuring Shared Assemblies.....................................................................................569
Understanding Publisher Policy Assemblies..................................................................574
Understanding the <codeBase> Element......................................................................576
The System.Configuration Namespace..........................................................................577
Summary .......................................................................................................................579
■ Chapter 15: Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming ...581
The Necessity of Type Metadata....................................................................................581
Understanding Reflection ..............................................................................................586
Building a Custom Metadata Viewer..............................................................................590
Dynamically Loading Assemblies ..................................................................................596
Reflecting on Shared Assemblies ..................................................................................598
Understanding Late Binding ..........................................................................................600
Understanding the Role of .NET Attributes ....................................................................604
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■ CONTENTS

Building Custom Attributes ............................................................................................609
Assembly-Level (and Module-Level) Attributes .............................................................612
Reflecting on Attributes Using Early Binding .................................................................614
Reflecting on Attributes Using Late Binding ..................................................................615
Putting Reflection, Late Binding, and Custom Attributes in Perspective .......................617
Building an Extendable Application ...............................................................................618
Summary .......................................................................................................................624
■ Chapter 16: Processes, AppDomains, and Object Contexts................................625
The Role of a Windows Process.....................................................................................625
Interacting with Processes Under the .NET Platform.....................................................627
Understanding .NET Application Domains .....................................................................637
Interacting with the Default Application Domain ...........................................................640
Creating New Application Domains ...............................................................................643
Understanding Object Context Boundaries ....................................................................648
Summarizing Processes, AppDomains, and Context .....................................................652
Summary .......................................................................................................................652
■ Chapter 17: Understanding CIL and the Role of Dynamic Assemblies................653
Reasons for Learning the Grammar of CIL.....................................................................653
Examining CIL Directives, Attributes, and Opcodes.......................................................654
Pushing and Popping: The Stack-Based Nature of CIL ..................................................656
Understanding Round-Trip Engineering.........................................................................658
Understanding CIL Directives and Attributes .................................................................666
.NET Base Class Library, C#, and CIL Data Type Mappings ...........................................673
Defining Type Members in CIL.......................................................................................674
Examining CIL Opcodes .................................................................................................677
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■ CONTENTS

Building a .NET Assembly with CIL ................................................................................683
Understanding Dynamic Assemblies .............................................................................688
Summary .......................................................................................................................698
■ Chapter 18: Dynamic Types and the Dynamic Language Runtime .....................701
The Role of the C# dynamic Keyword............................................................................701
The Role of the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) .......................................................707
Simplifying Late Bound Calls Using Dynamic Types......................................................710
Simplifying COM Interoperability using Dynamic Data ..................................................714
COM Interop using C# 4.0 Language Features ..............................................................718
Summary .......................................................................................................................723
■ ■ ■ Part 5: Introducing the .NET Base Class Libraries ......................................725
■ Chapter 19: Multithreaded and Parallel Programming.......................................727
The Process/AppDomain/Context/Thread Relationship .................................................727
A Brief Review of the .NET Delegate..............................................................................729
The Asynchronous Nature of Delegates.........................................................................731
Invoking a Method Asynchronously ...............................................................................733
The System.Threading Namespace ...............................................................................739
The System.Threading.Thread Class .............................................................................741
Programmatically Creating Secondary Threads ............................................................744
The Issue of Concurrency ..............................................................................................750
Programming with Timer Callbacks ..............................................................................758
Understanding the CLR ThreadPool ...............................................................................760
Parallel Programming under the .NET Platform.............................................................761
Parallel LINQ Queries (PLINQ) ........................................................................................771
Summary .......................................................................................................................774

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■ CONTENTS

■ Chapter 20: File I/O and Object Serialization......................................................775
Exploring the System.IO Namespace.............................................................................775
The Directory(Info) and File(Info) Types.........................................................................777
Working with the DirectoryInfo Type .............................................................................778
Working with the Directory Type ...................................................................................782
Working with the DriveInfo Class Type ..........................................................................783
Working with the FileInfo Class .....................................................................................785
Working with the File Type ............................................................................................789
The Abstract Stream Class ............................................................................................792
Working with StreamWriters and StreamReaders.........................................................794
Working with StringWriters and StringReaders.............................................................798
Working with BinaryWriters and BinaryReaders............................................................799
Watching Files Programmatically ..................................................................................801
Understanding Object Serialization ...............................................................................804
Configuring Objects for Serialization .............................................................................806
Choosing a Serialization Formatter................................................................................808
Serializing Objects Using the BinaryFormatter ..............................................................811
Serializing Objects Using the SoapFormatter ................................................................813
Serializing Objects Using the XmlSerializer...................................................................814
Serializing Collections of Objects ..................................................................................816
Customizing the Soap/Binary Serialization Process ......................................................818
Summary .......................................................................................................................824
■ Chapter 21: ADO.NET Part I: The Connected Layer..............................................825
A High-Level Definition of ADO.NET...............................................................................825

Understanding ADO.NET Data Providers........................................................................827
Additional ADO.NET Namespaces ..................................................................................831
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■ CONTENTS

The Types of the System.Data Namespace ...................................................................832
Abstracting Data Providers Using Interfaces .................................................................837
Creating the AutoLot Database ......................................................................................840
The ADO.NET Data Provider Factory Model ...................................................................847
Understanding the Connected Layer of ADO.NET ..........................................................853
Working with Data Readers ...........................................................................................859
Building a Reusable Data Access Library ......................................................................861
Creating a Console UI–Based Front End ........................................................................871
Understanding Database Transactions ..........................................................................877
Summary .......................................................................................................................883
■ Chapter 22: ADO.NET Part II: The Disconnected Layer........................................885
Understanding the Disconnected Layer of ADO.NET......................................................885
Understanding the Role of the DataSet..........................................................................886
Working with DataColumns ...........................................................................................889
Working with DataRows.................................................................................................893
Working with DataTables...............................................................................................897
Binding DataTable Objects to Windows Forms GUIs......................................................903
Working with Data Adapters ..........................................................................................913
Adding Disconnection Functionality to AutoLotDAL.dll ..................................................917
Multitabled DataSet Objects and Data Relationships ....................................................921
The Windows Forms Database Designer Tools..............................................................927

Isolating Strongly Typed Database Code into a Class Library........................................938
Programming with LINQ to DataSet ...............................................................................943
Summary .......................................................................................................................949
■ Chapter 23: ADO.NET Part III: The Entity Framework .........................................951
Understanding the Role of Entity Framework ................................................................951
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■ CONTENTS

Building and Analyzing your First EDM ..........................................................................961
Programming Against the Conceptual Model ................................................................973
AutoLotDAL Version 4.0, Now with Entities ...................................................................979
Data Binding Entities to Windows Forms GUIs...............................................................986
Summary .......................................................................................................................991
■ Chapter 24: Introducing LINQ to XML .................................................................993
A Tale of Two XML APIs .................................................................................................993
Members of the System.Xml.Linq Namespace..............................................................997
Working with XElement and XDocument .....................................................................1002
Manipulating an in Memory XML Document................................................................1006
Summary .....................................................................................................................1011
■ Chapter 25: Introducing Windows Communication Foundation .......................1013
A Potpourri of Distributed Computing APIs ..................................................................1013
The Role of WCF...........................................................................................................1019
Investigating the Core WCF Assemblies ......................................................................1022
The Visual Studio WCF Project Templates ...................................................................1023
The Basic Composition of a WCF Application ..............................................................1025
The ABCs of WCF .........................................................................................................1027

Building a WCF Service................................................................................................1032
Hosting the WCF Service .............................................................................................1036
Building the WCF Client Application.............................................................................1046
Simplifying Configuration Settings with WCF 4.0 ........................................................1050
Using the WCF Service Library Project Template ........................................................1057
Hosting the WCF Service within a Windows Service ...................................................1061
Invoking a Service Asynchronously from the Client.....................................................1067
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■ CONTENTS

Designing WCF Data Contracts ....................................................................................1070
Summary .....................................................................................................................1076
■ Chapter 26: Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0 ...........................1077
Defining a Business Process .......................................................................................1078
Building a (Painfully) Simple Workflow........................................................................1079
The WF 4.0 Runtime ....................................................................................................1083
Examining the Workflow 4.0 Activities ........................................................................1088
Building a Flowchart Workflow....................................................................................1093
Isolating Workflows into Dedicated Libraries ..............................................................1103
Consuming the Workflow Library ................................................................................1112
Summary .....................................................................................................................1114
■ ■ ■ Part 6: Building Desktop User Interfaces with WPF .................................1115
■ Chapter 27: Introducing Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML ...........1117
The Motivation Behind WPF.........................................................................................1117
The Various Flavors of WPF .........................................................................................1121
Investigating the WPF Assemblies...............................................................................1126

Building a WPF Application without XAML...................................................................1135
Building a WPF Application using Only XAML ..............................................................1144
Transforming Markup into a .NET Assembly ...............................................................1150
Understanding The Syntax of WPF XAML ....................................................................1154
Building a WPF Application using Code-Behind Files ..................................................1165
Building WPF Applications Using Visual Studio 2010 ..................................................1167
Summary .....................................................................................................................1178
■ Chapter 28: Programming with WPF Controls ..................................................1179
A Survey of the Core WPF Controls..............................................................................1179
Controlling Content Layout Using Panels.....................................................................1184
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■ CONTENTS

Building a Window’s Frame Using Nested Panels .......................................................1195
Understanding WPF Control Commands......................................................................1200
Building a WPF User Interface with Expression Blend.................................................1207
Building the Ink API Tab...............................................................................................1216
Introducing the Documents API ...................................................................................1227
Building the Documents Tab........................................................................................1228
Introducing the WPF Data-Binding Model....................................................................1235
Summary .....................................................................................................................1244
■ Chapter 29: WPF Graphics Rendering Services ................................................1245
Understanding WPF's Graphical Rendering Services ..................................................1245
Rendering Graphical Data Using Shapes .....................................................................1247
WPF Brushes and Pens................................................................................................1257
Applying Graphical Transformations............................................................................1262

Working with Shapes using Expression Blend ............................................................1266
Rendering Graphical Data Using Drawings and Geometries........................................1271
Generating Complex Vector Graphics using Expression Design ..................................1275
Rendering Graphical Data Using the Visual Layer .......................................................1277
Summary .....................................................................................................................1284
■ Chapter 30: WPF Resources, Animations, and Styles.......................................1285
Understanding the WPF Resource System ..................................................................1285
Working with Object (Logical) Resources ....................................................................1292
Understanding WPF’s Animation Services...................................................................1303
Authoring Animations in XAML ....................................................................................1309
Understanding the Role of WPF Styles ........................................................................1312
Generating Styles with Expression Blend ....................................................................1320
Summary .....................................................................................................................1324
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■ Chapter 31: WPF Control Templates and UserControls.....................................1325
Understanding the Role of Dependency Properties .....................................................1325
Building a Custom Dependency Property ....................................................................1331
Understanding Routed Events .....................................................................................1337
Logical Trees, Visual Trees and Default Templates.....................................................1341
Building a Custom Control Template with Visual Studio 2010.....................................1348
Building Custom UserControls with Blend ...................................................................1356
Creating the Jackpot Deluxe WPF Application.............................................................1364
Summary .....................................................................................................................1375
■ ■ ■ Part 7: Building Web Applications with ASP.NET......................................1377

■ Chapter 32: Building ASP.NET Web Pages ........................................................1379
The Role of HTTP .........................................................................................................1379
Understanding Web Applications and Web Servers.....................................................1380
The Role of HTML.........................................................................................................1382
The Role of Client-Side Scripting.................................................................................1388
Posting Back to the Web Server ..................................................................................1390
The Feature Set of the ASP.NET API ............................................................................1391
Building a Single File ASP.NET Web Page ...................................................................1395
Building an ASP.NET Web Page using Code Files........................................................1406
ASP.NET Web Sites and ASP.NET Web Applications....................................................1412
The ASP.NET Web Site Directory Structure .................................................................1413
The Inheritance Chain of the Page Type ......................................................................1416
Interacting with the Incoming HTTP Request ..............................................................1417
Interacting with the Outgoing HTTP Response ............................................................1421
The Life Cycle of an ASP.NET Web Page......................................................................1423
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The Role of the Web.config File ...................................................................................1427
Summary .....................................................................................................................1428
■ Chapter 33: ASP.NET Web Controls, Master Pages and Themes ......................1429
Understanding the Nature of Web Controls .................................................................1429
The Control and WebControl Base Classes..................................................................1432
Major Categories of ASP.NET Web Controls ................................................................1438
Building the ASP.NET Cars Web Site ...........................................................................1441
The Role of the Validation Controls..............................................................................1457

Working with Themes..................................................................................................1465
Summary .....................................................................................................................1471
■ Chapter 34: ASP.NET State Management Techniques.......................................1473
The Issue of State ........................................................................................................1473
ASP.NET State Management Techniques ....................................................................1476
Understanding the Role of ASP.NET View State ..........................................................1476
The Role of the Global.asax File...................................................................................1479
Understanding the Application/Session Distinction.....................................................1483
Working with the Application Cache............................................................................1488
Maintaining Session Data ............................................................................................1493
Understanding Cookies................................................................................................1497
The Role of the <sessionState> Element ....................................................................1500
Understanding the ASP.NET Profile API .......................................................................1502
Summary .....................................................................................................................1509
■ Appendix A: Programming with Windows Forms .............................................1511
The Windows Forms Namespaces...............................................................................1512
Building a Simple Windows Forms Application ...........................................................1513
The Visual Studio Windows Forms Project Template ..................................................1518
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The Anatomy of a Form................................................................................................1525
Responding to Mouse and Keyboard Activity ..............................................................1534
Designing Dialog Boxes ...............................................................................................1538
Rendering Graphical Data Using GDI+ .........................................................................1545
Building a Complete Windows Forms Application .......................................................1551

Summary .....................................................................................................................1560
■ Appendix B: Platform-Independent .NET Development with Mono...................1561
The Platform-Independent Nature of .NET...................................................................1561
Obtaining and Installing Mono .....................................................................................1565
The Mono Development Languages.............................................................................1569
Microsoft-Compatible Mono Development Tools.........................................................1570
Building .NET Applications with Mono .........................................................................1572
Who is Using Mono? ....................................................................................................1581
Suggestions for Further Study.....................................................................................1581
Summary .....................................................................................................................1582

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About the Author
■ Andrew Troelsen fondly recalls his very first computer, an Atari 400 complete with a
tape deck storage device and a black and white TV serving as a monitor (which his
parents permitted him to have in his bedroom - thanks guys!). He also is grateful to the
legacy Compute! magazine, a B.A. degree in mathematical linguistics, and three years of
formal Sanskrit. All of these artifacts have greatly influenced his current career.
Andrew is currently employed with Intertech (www.intertech.com), a .NET and Java
training and consulting center.
He has authored a number of books, including Developer’s Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0 (Wordware
Publishing, 2000), COM and .NET Interoperability (Apress, 2002) and Visual Basic 2008 and the .NET 3.5
Platform: An Advanced Guide (Apress, 2008).

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About the Technical Reviewer
■ Andy Olsen is a freelance consultant and trainer based in the UK. Andy has been
working with .NET since the days of the first beta and is actively involved with the
latest features in the .NET 4.0 platform. Andy lives by the sea in Swansea with his wife,
Jayne, and their children, Emily and Tom. Andy enjoys running along the sea front
(with regular coffee stops along the way), skiing, and following the swans and ospreys.
Andy can be reached at

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