ASP.Net Web Form Routing - Routing Problem

I have put together a web application project that made use of ASP.Net web form routing but I had some strange behaviour on a certain route.

The route i had added to the routes tables was:

routes.Add("Admin", new Route
("Admin",
new PageRouteHandler("~/Admin/help.aspx", true)));

This was to point to a the help.aspx page in the admin folder.

The Problem

When i attempted to browse to this route -

domain.com/admin

Symptoms

Rather than the page all i got was a directory listing in the web page.

Workaround

It appears the routing engine doesnt like a route value to have the same name as the folder it is pointing to.

All I had to do was rename the folder (or route value eg. domain.com/admin/help) and it all started working again.

Im not sure if this is a bug or a feature!

Please post a comment if you know what thy happened.

Thanks

Visual Studio 2010 Finally Released

So Visual Studio 2010 has finally been released. I downloaded our MSDN copy yesterday so today I will be installing in the background while i get on with other stuff - it looks a monster install!

Big thumbs up to the change in versions! What used to be multiple versions to purchase (Architect, Tester, Database, Developer) are now wrapped into Ultimate for us Team Edition users!

I'll let you know how I get on with it as I look at all the new goodies.

Just one last thing - I often recommend LearnVisualStudio.net not only as I am a very happy lifetime member and affiliate but because I truly believe you get a lot for your money - especially if you are just starting out - its where I started out and still keep going back for their new videos.

Anyway back to my original point - they have gone away and re-done their entire Visual Studio for Beginners library for Visual Studio 2010. That is 72 new videos! If you are looking to get the complete training package for peanuts then look no further!

5 Visual Studio 2010 New Features You Will Find Handy

Below are five Visual Studio 2010 new features that I feel are excellent additions to the product. On the whole I don't think the release is a massive revamp (apart from the user interface being redeveloped using WPF). It is more an enhancement of what was there before with some nice bells and whistles added in.

1. Multiple Config Files

I think one of the handiest new features is the ability to have multiple configuration files for different deployments! I currently find it a massive pain in the ass to have to maintain or update the config based on the deployment - LIVE and DEV for example. It is so easy to miss something - especially if someone else is performing an update to an unfamiliar or inherited system.

2. Detachable Code Windows

The ability to drag code windows from the main Visual Studio Interface and onto another monitor for example. This means you can work on multiple code windows at once if you have more than one monitor! A great little productivity enhancement.

3. Variable Highlighting

On selecting a variable in your code all other instances of that variable are highlighted. This speeds up finding things and therefore readability.

4. Change Tracking

This is just like in Word when you switch on change tracking / revisions. If you make a change to an area of code you are given the solid line at the edge of the code window. This is very helpful to show you where any modifications have been made to code.

5. Historical Debugging

Historical debugging is a very nice feature! Switching it on will make things slower but if you are looking for a needle in a haystack when searching for a bug - especially if you were debugging events for example then this feature will prove invaluable.

What it basically does is record your execution path and call stack etc and if your program falls over you can simply go back through the recording to show what happened and where. This eliminates having to set breakpoints etc. and re-run the code. Nice!!

I am sure there are a ton more handy little tweaks but these are just 5 I have liked so far.

Visual Studio 2010 Download and Video Training

If you are like me and are itching to get hold of the Visual Studio 2010 download to get up to speed with all the new enhancements then below is the link you can follow to go and get it.

Visual Studio 2010 is still in BETA release so you could see some minor changes in the full release but if you are keen to get ahead of the game it will help you get up to speed before it hits the shelves.

If you are looking for some video training to help you get the most out of Visual Studio then I highly recommend you drop by Learn Visual Studio.Net and take a look through their latest videos covering Visual Studio 2010 and .Net 4.0 (plus about 500 others to go at).

The LVS video training is top notch and if you have an iPhone like myself then you will be pleased to know they have also produced the videos in mp4 format that makes them perfect for small screens. Dead handy for making best use of that time on the bus or train!

Anyway... the download link - As of writing this post here is the latest Visual Studio 2010 Download. As I pointed out this is currently the BETA release.

Visual Studio 2010 Release Date and VS2010 Video Training

Visual Studio 2010 is currently at the Beta Test stage but already the excitement to the release date is growing. The actual official Visual Studio 2010 release date is still to be announced but it is currently expected to ship early in Q1 of 2010.

If you are looking to get ahead of the game and get to grips with some of the new features of Visual Studio 2010, then I highly recommend you head over to LearnVisualStudio.Net. As always, LVS have stayed with the latest cutting edge technologies and have already produced their first series of training materials for Visual Studio 2010 to get its members up to speed quickly.

In the first series there are 6 videos providing around 2 hours of video based training. The topics they cover are:

• Visual Studio 2010 .Net 4.0 Language Enhancements


• Visual Studio 2010 C#4.0 Specific Language Enhancements


• Visual Studio 2010 ASP.Net 4.0 Web Forms Routing


• Visual Studio 2010 ASP.Net AJAX 4.0 Binding


• Visual Studio 2010 ASP.Net AJAX 4.0 Observer

There is plenty there to whet the appetite and more are being produced as we speak. If you are not a member of LVS and would like to know more please ask any questions in the comment box below.

Here is the link for the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta download.

As soon as the official Visual Studio 2010 Release Date is out I will put together a blog post about it.

So what are you looking forward to most in Visual Studio 2010?

Personally, I am very keen to check out the Microsoft Dublin component. If you have read any of my posts on Windows Workflow Foundation you will have seen the hassles I had in hosting the workflows. Well, Dublin is a component of Oslo (Microsofts new modelling framework), and it will be offered as a free tool shipped with VS2010 to enable you to host and monitor Workflows and WCF services.

If Dublin takes away a lot of the pain I went through with hosting Workflows in IIS then I will gladly look at using Workflow Foundation again. Since I first used it I have steered clear. Fingers crossed its all its cracked up to be.