Web Application Project Libraries

New Post: Problems with signed assemblies

grahamdyson — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:54:09 GMT

Hi Graham,

Thanks for the complements about the project, when I originally figured out how to implement this it was such a headache I thought there must be other people out there wanting to do the same. From the activity here on CodePlex, it seems remain forever unknown!

Its going to be problematic to get signing working with WAPL due to using the VS/msbuild built assembly and building its own extra assembly then merging the two. So the VS/msbuild built assembly can't be signed, instead I would have thought that the merged assembly would need to be signed in the post build step (obviously after the merging has taken place!).

Hope that helps,
Graham D

New Post: Problems with signed assemblies

grahamt — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:29:20 GMT

Hi,

First off let me say that I think this is a really efficient solution (once you get your head around it :) ) to getting around embedding asp.net resources into a easily distributable dll. I'm really surprised more people aren't aware of this.

I'm at a position now where I want to place the resulting Dll to the GAC but I have encountered a problem with signing the assembly. On building the project the WAPL tool crashes complaining that one or more assemblies are not signed. Now, inspecting through Reflector the Dlls I see that the temporary dlls (that are to be merged) are in fact not signed. Am I missing something? I'm thinking I may need to sign the assembly post build, before the merging takes place.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Graham

NEW POST: Visual Studio 2008 Support

grahamdyson — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:33:13 GMT

One thing to bare in mind is when using the WAPL Tool with Windows Vista you may need to run Visual Studio as Administrator otherwise you will have problems with access being denied to your own assemblies.

UPDATED WIKI: Home

grahamdyson — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:32:45 GMT

Welcome to the CodePlex project for WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries)

How It Works

Getting Started

This project's aim is to develop additional library functionality for the Web Application Projects (http://msdn.microsoft.com/asp.net/reference/infrastructure/wap/default.aspx) Visual Studio 2005 extension. Allowing ASP.net developers to quickly compile web libraries of UserControls, Pages and MasterPages.

It currently consists of two main parts,

A post-build tool which compiles UserControls, Pages and MasterPages files for a web library project and merges them with the files compiled as standard. Creating a single assembly file of everything that is needed for the web library.

A set of classes which facilitate the serving of Pages and MasterPages from inside these web libraries to client. They have been developed to mirror the impliementation of web resources already found in ASP.net.

User controls can now be added to your pages as if they were custom controls (i.e. not referenced using a filename but with the class name). Currently I haven't found a way of getting them to appear in the tool box (with them being UserControls), but you can add them manually in the HTML.

Due to the nature of ASP.net and the way it compiles the files there are issues with how class names need to be set up.

When using the WAPL Tool with Windows Vista you may need to run Visual Studio as Administrator otherwise you will have problems with access being denied to your own assemblies.

NEW POST: Visual Studio 2008 Support

grahamdyson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:59:39 GMT

Not that I'm aware of, I've used it successfully with Visual Studio 2008, but not on a project which targets .Net 3.5 directly (although I have with them in the same solution).

The only problems I've experienced with the newer technologies has been when using it with other projects using Silverlight 2 as it appears to stop the WAPL console app from working correctly.

NEW POST: Visual Studio 2008 Support

scott2 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:05:56 GMT

Are there any changes in .NET 3.5 or Visual Studio 2008 that break this tool?

NEW POST: User control .ascx not processed?

grahamdyson — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:42:46 GMT

Hi Nick,

I'm glad you're finding it useful. Yes I'd say that's definitely a good clue, the size of the assembly should have increased after using the WAPL tool to compile and merge in your .ascx's.

Would it be possible for me to have a look at source files and I could give you some pointers on whats going wrong?

My e-mail's grahamdyson@hotmail.com.

NEW POST: User control .ascx not processed?

nickdunn — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:28:32 GMT

This feels like the cleanest way yet of including user controls in multiple projects. This is what I'm trying to achieve, but have hit a snag.

A simple Hello World user control is set up, and when included in a page in another project, only Response.Write("Hello World") shows. Any HTML within the .ascx itself doesn't appear. Could it be that the .ascx file isn't being copied across (or something similar?).

My .partial DLL in the bin/Debug is 16kb, yet my DLL in the /wapl/ folder is only 6kb. Could this be a clue?

CREATED ISSUE: Support for Resources

grahamdyson — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:42:47 GMT

There is currently no support for local or global resources when performing the post build step with the WAPL tool.

NEW POST: wapl tool and resource files

berendengelbrecht — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:30:15 GMT

I am having the exact same problem as Feryt, any news? Basically the tool crashes if you try to add any resources (global or local) to the web application library. This is a shame, because other than that it is exactly what we were looking for and it offers functionality that appears to be still sorely missing in Visual Studio 2008. However, to make full use of wapl we do need resources, as we are based in Europe and our applications must be multilingual.

I masked the problem by putting a try catch around the offending line in the foreground application:
{"foreach (String userControlVirtualPath in userControlVirtualPaths)
try
{
clientBuildManager.CompileFile(userControlVirtualPath);
}
catch { }"}

However, other than proving that this is the point where the error is raised, there is no benefit: now if I add resources to my WAPL assembly, the caller just gets missing objects. This shows that the background compilation still crashes and now produces an incomplete assembly.

To reproduce the problem
In the demo solution, rightclick "WAPL Test Library" project, select Add > Add ASP.NET Folder > App_LocalResources
This will make the WAPL tool always crash. Remove the folder and it starts working again. App_GlobalResources does not crash with empty folder, but will crash as well if you add some resources in it. Basically I do not see a method to compile resources into a WAPL assembly.

NEW POST: master page in assembly

rbwilliams — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 03:30:21 GMT

Hi Fritz,
I am trying to do the same exact thing, have a seperate masterpage assembly that contains the masterpage files to be used my reference in other applications. the problem I am having is the actual file does not exist in the virtual path and therefore give me an error because it cannot find the masterpage file. Did you ever get this done and if so can you please let me know how you did it.
Thanks

NEW POST: wapl tool and resource files

Feryt — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:35:51 GMT

Hi.
I have library compile problem.
Whenever i add "App_LocalResources"(empty or with some file) dir to my WAPL project i get compile error from WAPL.EXE tool:

foreach (String userControlVirtualPath in userControlVirtualPaths)
clientBuildManager.CompileFile(userControlVirtualPath); <----- Object reference not set to an instance of an object

----------------
Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.CompileCodeDirectory(VirtualPath virtualDir, CodeDirectoryType dirType, String assemblyName, StringSet excludedSubdirectories)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.EnsureFirstTimeDirectoryInit(VirtualPath virtualDir)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetBuildResultFromCacheInternal(String cacheKey, Boolean keyFromVPP, VirtualPath virtualPath, Int64 hashCode)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultFromCacheInternal(VirtualPath virtualPath)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultInternal(VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultWithNoAssert(HttpContext context, VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVirtualPathObjectFactory(VirtualPath virtualPath, HttpContext context, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean noAssert)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetCompiledType(VirtualPath virtualPath)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetCompiledType(VirtualPath virtualPath, ClientBuildManagerCallback callback)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManagerHost.GetCompiledTypeAndAssemblyName(VirtualPath virtualPath, ClientBuildManagerCallback callback)
at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManagerHost.GetCompiledTypeAndAssemblyName(VirtualPath virtualPath, ClientBuildManagerCallback callback)
at System.Web.Compilation.ClientBuildManager.CompileFile(String virtualPath)
at InSite.WebApplicationProjectUserControlLibraryTool.Program.Main(String[] args) in D:\Coding\My Projects\WAPL\WAPL Tool\Program.cs:line 125

Thnx.
F.

UPDATED WIKI: Microsoft's Web Application Project Option

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:44:41 GMT

When Visual Studio 2005 was released it replaced ASP.net projects with a new Web Sites model. This new conceptual model was designed to simplfy configuration and deployment. Previously a ASP.net site would be compiled into a single assembly before it was used, the new "Web Site" did not do this.

However, because there was no easy way to upgrade to this new model (and many people prefered the project model) Microsoft released the Web Application Project option.

WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) requires this option (hense the name), to install it follow the instructions in How to Install Microsoft's Web Application Project Option.

See Also

http://webproject.scottgu.com/

UPDATED WIKI: Microsoft's Web Application Project Option

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:41:35 GMT

When Visual Studio 2005 was released it replaced ASP.net projects with a new Web Sites model. This new conceptual model was designed to simplfy configuration and deployment. Previously a ASP.net site would be compiled into a single assembly before it was used, the new "Web Site" did not do this.

However, because there was no easy way to upgrade to this new model (and many people prefered the project model) Microsoft released the Web Application Project option.

WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) requires this option (hense the name), to use it follow the instructions in How to Install Microsoft's Web Application Project Option.

See Also

http://webproject.scottgu.com/

UPDATED WIKI: Microsoft's Web Application Project Option

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:39:35 GMT

When Visual Studio 2005 was released it replaced ASP.net projects with a new Web Sites model. This new conceptual model was designed to simplfy configuration and deployment. Previously a ASP.net site would be compiled into a single assembly before it was used, the new "Web Site" did not do this.

However, because there was no easy way to upgrade to this new model (and many people prefered the project model) Microsoft released the Web Application Project option.

WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) requires this option (hense the name), to use it follow the instructions in How to Install Microsoft's Web Application Project Option.

See Also

http://webproject.scottgu.com/

UPDATED WIKI: Web Application Project

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:37:48 GMT

See Microsoft's Web Application Project Option

UPDATED WIKI: WAPL Tool

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:36:15 GMT

The WAPL Tool exists to compile the markup files for UserControls, Pages and Master Pages that are contained in a Web Application Project.

How to use the WAPL Tool

UPDATED WIKI: How It Works

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:30:17 GMT

Web Application Projects

The platform from which this project builds upon is Microsoft's Web Application Project Option for Visual Studio 2005. These projects can contain normal project items aswell as ASP.net items. These are compiled into a single assembly as they were in Visual Studio 2003.

Markup File Compilation and Merging

However, the markup files for UserControls, Pages and Master Pages are not compiled and thus the assembly cannot be distributed on its own as self contained library of the items within it. WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) overcomes this by compiling these extra markup files and merging them with the original assembly compiled by Visual Studio. It does this using a small console application called the WAPL Tool.

UPDATED WIKI: How It Works

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:20:55 GMT

Web Application Projects

The platform from which this project builds upon is Microsoft's Web Application Project Option for Visual Studio 2005. These projects can contain normal project items aswell as ASP.net items. These are compiled into a single assembly as they were in Visual Studio 2003.

Markup File Compilation and Merging (WAPL Tool)

However, the markup files for UserControls, Pages and Master Pages are not compiled and thus the assembly cannot be distributed on its own as self contained library of the items within it. WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) overcomes this by compiling these extra markup files and merging them with the original assembly compiled by Visual Studio. It does this using a small console application called the WAPL Tool.

UPDATED WIKI: How It Works

grahamdyson — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:20:23 GMT

Web Application Projects

The platform from which this project builds upon is Microsoft's Web Application Project Option for Visual Studio 2005. These projects can contain normal project items aswell as ASP.net items. These are compiled into a single assembly as they were in Visual Studio 2003.

Markup File Compilation and Merging (WAPL Tool)

However, the markup files for UserControls, Pages and Master Pages are not compiled and thus the assembly cannot be distributed on its own as self contained library of the items within it. WAPL (Web Application Project Libraries) overcomes this by compiling these extra markup files and merging them with the original assembly compiled by Visual Studio. It does this using a small console application called the WAPL Tool.