Presentation Layer and application separation

[MG]

A Newbie question perhaps, but here goes:

Is it possible to seaprate the presentatieon layer, i.e., the html, from the
application itself.

For example, our developer has told us that we cannot do immeidate changes
to user interface becasue the presentaion layer is bound up with the rest of
the dll and to eextract that out of the app, would take ages. and so any
changes would be incorproated into the next buiild compilation.

I would like our designers and html template builders to be anble to work on
the live site with out interfering wiht the application and without having
to wait for a weekly Build cycle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

--
--------------------
Michael Guthrie
ArtFusion, Ltd.
www.artfusion.com

[Cor Ligthert]

MG,

Can you make it for us a little bit more clear, are you talking about a web
solution using ASPX or a window solution (something as Words)

Cor

[John Timney \(ASP.NET MVP\)]

It is possible to seperate the presentation and business layer, for asp.net
apps webservices can help you tremendously as can a good design based on
code-behind. Its worth your while reading up on both of these approaches.

You should sack the first designer who works on your live site while its
running live applications. You should only ever deploy tested code, even
html to a live site, never develop on it unless you have no other choice.
Your designer is right to suggest you wait for a build release, however the
complexity and current design of the application may make releases a slow
process so you should evaluate where the delays in testing and release may
come from and work out a plan of action to improve this.

--
Regards

John Timney
ASP.NET MVP
Microsoft Regional Director

"MG" <li***@nospamtr avelplaces.com> wrote in message
news:%2******** ********@TK2MSF TNGP14.phx.gbl. ..

A Newbie question perhaps, but here goes:

Is it possible to seaprate the presentatieon layer, i.e., the html, from the application itself.

For example, our developer has told us that we cannot do immeidate changes
to user interface becasue the presentaion layer is bound up with the rest of the dll and to eextract that out of the app, would take ages. and so any
changes would be incorproated into the next buiild compilation.

I would like our designers and html template builders to be anble to work on the live site with out interfering wiht the application and without having
to wait for a weekly Build cycle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

--
--------------------
Michael Guthrie
ArtFusion, Ltd.
www.artfusion.com

[MG]

Thanks John, for your thoughtful reply.

You are absolutely right about not working directly to the live site, and I
should rephrase that to say, the staging site or development site. We do
have this paradigm in place and nothing goes live with out being tested
thouroghly

I guess what I am really asking is I would like to be able to have HTML
folks be able to work on layout and make changes to that sort of thing
without having to recompile the .Net application. So that our releases are
not so slow. A good example of this is I would like to have responded to the
Tsunami disaster by posting an aid links page and PSA without having to
rebuild the whole application to do it, and because our development is all
rolled up into one big ball, it makes it impossible to do this.

Am I right to assume that I shoudl be able to have HTML layout pages
separate from the application.
The graphics already are, so thats not an issue, and can chage those at
will, but layout is not separate and is defintiely causing much
consternation.

Can you or anyone reading this point me to some diagrams or basic resources
that can show or demonstrate an ASP.NET application with html layout
separate form the dll that has been compiled.

Pardon me if my terminology is not quite right, but I am feeling my way in
this space.

By the way, the app/web site in question is this:
http://www.friendsabroad.com
Much appreciated,

--
--------------------
Michael Guthrie
ArtFusion, Ltd.
www.artfusion.com

"John Timney (ASP.NET MVP)" <ti*****@despam med.com> wrote in message
news:OJ******** ********@TK2MSF TNGP11.phx.gbl. ..

It is possible to seperate the presentation and business layer, for
asp.net
apps webservices can help you tremendously as can a good design based on
code-behind. Its worth your while reading up on both of these approaches.

You should sack the first designer who works on your live site while its
running live applications. You should only ever deploy tested code, even
html to a live site, never develop on it unless you have no other choice.
Your designer is right to suggest you wait for a build release, however
the
complexity and current design of the application may make releases a slow
process so you should evaluate where the delays in testing and release may
come from and work out a plan of action to improve this.

--
Regards

John Timney
ASP.NET MVP
Microsoft Regional Director

"MG" <li***@nospamtr avelplaces.com> wrote in message
news:%2******** ********@TK2MSF TNGP14.phx.gbl. ..

A Newbie question perhaps, but here goes:

Is it possible to seaprate the presentatieon layer, i.e., the html, from

the

application itself.

For example, our developer has told us that we cannot do immeidate
changes
to user interface becasue the presentaion layer is bound up with the rest

of

the dll and to eextract that out of the app, would take ages. and so any
changes would be incorproated into the next buiild compilation.

I would like our designers and html template builders to be anble to work

on

the live site with out interfering wiht the application and without
having
to wait for a weekly Build cycle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

--
--------------------
Michael Guthrie
ArtFusion, Ltd.
www.artfusion.com

[Cor Ligthert]

MG,

Technical there are in my opinion not much problems to achieve at least a
part of what you want.

Seeing that sample page of you, I see a page which has mixed up
Design
JavaScript with even postbacks in it
Code Behind (what is translated on the page as viewstate).

When you look at it, a page that is real a one mans Job in the way it is
made.
(And it looks to be done by somebody who is technical well).

So in my opinion when you want to do what you want you have to divide the
design part and the code part.

The viewstate is no problem, because that is added in the process where the
page is created by the webserver and is not in the designed ASPX directly
beside the ASP controls (it goes too far to tell now what that implements
and can give you than wrong ideas).

The javascript will however break you up in my opinon.
Getting that to the code behind side however will in my opinion help you to
achieve your goal

However just my thought,

Cor