using Backbase forms in ASP.NET

I finally had the opportunity to take the Backbase Community Edition  for a spin - and boy it rocks!  After a couple of hours working with this I finally figured out how to make this AJAX framework to work in an ASP.NET web project.  One of the usual stuff that we do in web applications is form submission.  So it wasnt a surpise to find out that Backbase has its own way of handling forms, which is really incompatible with ASP.NET. Backbase is pure HTML and that could be a curse or a blessing.  To test this facility, I created a new HTML form and wrote the following in the body:

<xmp b:backbase="true">
<form name="form1"
  method="post"
  action="reponse.ashx"
  b:destination="id('destination')"
  b:mode="replace">
  User:<input type="text" name="user" />
  <b:button b:action="submit" b:target="ancestor::form[1]">Send</b:button>
</form>
<div id="destination" />
</xmp>

The object of this exercise was simple. Enter the name of the user on the textbox and upon clicking the submit button, the name of the user should appear in place of <div id="destination"/> tag.  Did it work? Yes it did, even before I could bat an eyelash. 

Published 04-16-2007 7:23 AM by smash
Filed under: , ,

Comments

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Friday, May 04, 2007 6:28 AM

I am attempting to work with Backbase because I really like the cross-browser compatibility without having to worry about it. We are heavy .NET and are disappointed by some of the problems with AJAX and cross-browser. Unfortunately, BB has not been cooperative when it comes to us wanting to use BB and .NET web services (even sending back XML). Have you had any luck with this? Also, in the example, did you mean ashx, aspx, or asmx?

by Ron

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Saturday, May 05, 2007 5:42 PM

response.ashx is an httphandler that simply returns whatever you typed in the textbox. Backbase did all the heavy lifting in placing the string value returned by the httphandler in place of the <div> tag at the bottom.  

I think the primary strength of Backbase is in Single Page Interface (SPI), meaning we just have a single HTML page for our web app and just swap the other pages into that single page.

With the release of Silverlight 1.1 SDK, I'm thinking of using XAML for my views in a Single Page Backbase application.  I think it could work since Silverlight is touted as a browser friendly technology.

by smash

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Saturday, May 05, 2007 5:48 PM

have you tried putting the WebService call inside an HttpHandler?

by smash

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Monday, May 07, 2007 5:39 AM

That is what the architecture would be if I go with Backbase. I looked up ASHX after I posted. I have done a lot of .NET (since 1.0), but have never come across handler files because I have not had a use for them.

Right now, I am balancing out the pro's and con's of using Backbase and ASP.NET Ajax. With BB, I have to deal with XSLT which is not a fun, and I don't get the use of an IDE for dragging and dropping. I do get an SPI, but I can do the same thing with ASP.NET Ajax, using a command pattern; much like BB.

With ASP.NET Ajax, I have to deal with cross-browser support and probably use something like CSS Friendly Adapters. I am just trying to figure out from an architecture point of view, which one will server us best in the long run with good design and low development time.

There are good and bad things for each.

by Ron

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Wednesday, May 09, 2007 10:20 PM

Backbase actually has a .NET edition so you can visually design your Backbase enabled webforms in Visual Studio. The downside is it doesnt come cheap, unlike the Client edition.

You can read a blog post comparing Atlas with Backbase.NET here: www.backbase.com/weblog

by smash

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Friday, May 18, 2007 8:08 AM

I asked them about that edition, and it no longer exists, according to them. I have tried the one for eclipse as well, but that isn't working.

by Ron

# re: using Backbase forms in ASP.NET@ Sunday, May 20, 2007 11:37 PM

Though Silverlight 1.1 is still in alpha I was able to use it to create a SPI web application. An invisible Silverlight control acted as the application controller. The thing is the views (html) are embeddeded on the dll.  The great thing about this is that i  dont have to worry about the user clicking the backbutton since there's no page transition/postback whatsoever.  The downside is  you will not be able to use those ASP.NET controls anymore and will probably write your own Silverlight controls to replace them.  BTW I used Sharpdevelop to write the dll and VWD to write the ASP.NET app.  

by smash