WebForms vs MVCStupid Web Technology Moves Too Damn Fast

*** Web 3.0• I was brought on board 8/2011

• Discussion/architecture continued until 10/2011

• Our platform consists of • Web Forms with Custom Web Parts

• Open Source Grid/Layout/Window plugins

• Challenges we faced• Localization of client side script

• How to take advantage of ***’s awesome biz architecture

• How to support licensing/authentication through a state-full architecture

• How to organize client side code in a meaningful efficient manner

• How to create rich UI widgets in HTML 5 that have “near native” performance

Our Choices• Localization:

• Uses AJAX ScriptManager and embedded JavaScript files in web part assemblies

• Biz Architecture• Created a Service Oriented Architecture on top of the *** biz layer using Windows

Communication Foundation. All client side interactions are handled through AJAX calls to these services.

• Authentication/Licensing• Handled by shuffling a cookie containing “auth” object from web application to client side

JavaScript and back to web service. User is authenticated via cookie through two separate app domains.

• Client Side Code Organization• Each main UI element is encapsulated in it’s own “web part project” in the UI layer under

***.UI.Web.*. Each web part is embedded with it’s own HTML/JavaScript/CSS resources, and injected into the site via the web forms script manager. During injection ScriptManager can handle things like localization.

• UI Widget• Used the open source plugins DataTables, AeroWindow, and jQueryLayout

Our UI Framework Alternatives Were Not Ready…• KendoUI/IgniteUI were both in infancy

• IgniteUI was previously called NetVantage for jQuery

• Neither had a stable grid component that supported the advanced functionality we required.

• These features did not yet exist per the Netvantage jQuery 2011.2 document:• Column resizing/reordering

• Item previewing

• NetVantage’s grid had a list of 27 known bugs, 7 of which had no workaround and were never fixed.

KendoUI

Microsoft Also changed the Web Service game…• At the time, WCF or traditional ASPX web

services were the only way to create RESTful web services

• WCF is a pain in the ass.

• WCF REST is an extra hard pain in the ass.

• WCF REST with both windows authentication and anonymous authentication is the most unbelievably largest pain in the ass imaginable.• Plus it ruined my Disneyworld trip.

• Help was around the corner – Two project promised to simplify RESTful services:• WCF Web API:

• http://wcf.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=WCF%20Web%20API%20is%20now%20ASP.NET%20Web%20API

• WCF REST Starter Kit:

• http://aspnet.codeplex.com/releases/view/24644

WCF

Microsoft Also changed the Web Service game…• Microsoft was very awesome. :-/

• They decided to replace WCF REST API with MVC Web API

• As always – the story is that WCF REST has very viable use cases blah blah blah… *cough* Silverlight *cough*

• Web API was released Aug 2012 – about halfway through our development cycle.

• MVC itself was in Version 3 when we started – Version 4 was released Aug 2012, and Version 5 is currently in preview.

WEB API

WCF

Other technology that has popped up over the last two years

• SignalR/WebSockets

• TypeScript

• SASS/LeSS

• NodeJS

• NuGET

• GitHub

• 5 gazillion JavaScript frameworks

• Native JS Development (Windows 8, Google Apps)

• ShadowDOM

• Web Components/Polymer

• HTTP 2.0

• SPDY (IE11 supports!)

In Use Today Around the Corner

Web Forms vs. MVC

Web Forms

• Great UI encapsulation

• Localization through RESX/ScriptManager

• Poor web development practices• ViewState

• Single Form per Page

• Slows development – very difficult to order JavaScript/CSS/HTML in the most efficient manner.

MVC

• Ex Ruby staff

• UI encapsulated only through JS files – not separate projects

• Localization through JSON

• Thin HTML – no extra hidden elements/ViewState/random Microsoft garbage

• All of the new Visual Studio tooling is being developed with WinForms in mind – i.e. web essentials doesn’t have a way to preview/reference files from an embedded assembly.

In Summation• I’ve developed a healthy hatred for the Microsoft

platform

• I also like some really cool things about the new Microsoft platforms.

• But those really cool things will probably be replaced in a year or two.

• MVC is a very cool way to develop• Except for it abandons the way Microsoft has built web software for over

10 years.

• And it also does not integrated with Microsoft Web products like SharePoint, which will remain web forms based for years to come.

• It is more closely related to every other web platform out there, like PHP, Ruby, Java Server Pages (JSP), etc.

• MVC is a faster, more web oriented, and a less bug prone method of developing.

• I don’t have to spend time digging around in viewstate

• JavaScript isn’t parsed through web handlers

• Web toolsets like Google Chrome are easier to use.

• We are prepared for the transition – MVC was on the radar, and all of our web parts will built with the concept of one day transitions to MVC in mind.

• No server side DOM

• No ViewState

I ran out of time building this PowerPoint – here’s a picture of a kitten petting

a duck