[CLOSED] Trying to get a better overview of the Ext.NET framework

  1. #1

    [CLOSED] Trying to get a better overview of the Ext.NET framework

    Hi, I noticed the Ext.net FAQ has a link to this third party book about Ext.NET framework and development:
    The Packt “Ext.NET Web Application Development” book authored by long time Ext.NET community member Anup Shah (“anup” on the forums) and is available to purchase directly from the Packt website.
    Visit Anup’s personal blog at onenaught.com

    Reading through the table of contents, this looks like exactly the type of information that, as a new Ext.net developer, I've been missing and really need to help me improve at working with Ext.net. Unfortunately, it looks like the book was written for Ext.NET 2.0 back in 2012. I think it'd still provide a good overview, but I'm not sure how accurate and relevant it is in its entirety.

    Is this digital book available through our Ext.net premium license? If not, is there a place online that goes over the following topics in Anup's original book? Thanks
    ----------------------------
    Chapter 1, Getting Started with Ext.NET, provides an overview of what Ext.NET is and how it is related to Ext JS and ASP.NET. In addition, this chapter covers how you can obtain and set up your development environment ready for Ext.NET development.

    Chapter 2, Ext.NET Controls Overview, introduces various types of controls available in Ext.NET. Using the Button control, we introduce many concepts common throughout the Ext.NET control suite. We also look at how client-side and server-side events can be set up. This chapter also introduces other more common components including Panels, Toolbars, Menus, Windows, and Tooltips. We also get a glimpse of some of the complex UIs that are possible by reusing these components.

    Chapter 3, Layout with Ext.NET, covers the numerous layout options available in Ext.NET to help you organize your web applications. Topics covered include the Viewport, and specific layouts such as Border, Accordion, Fit, HBox, VBox, and more.

    Chapter 4, AJAX with Ext.NET, looks at the powerful AJAX options Ext.NET supports. We cover the powerful DirectEvents and DirectMethods features, as well as AJAX options specific to certain controls. This is a powerful chapter that lays the foundation for slick and usable applications that are responsive to user interactions.

    Chapter 5, Working with Data, looks at the powerful data handling techniques available in Ext.NET. We cover XTemplates, which allows you to define HTML templates to bind data to, and we explain the Stores, Models, and Proxies architecture that allows for powerful data-binding reuse across many Ext.NET components. The ComboBox and DataView are introduced as examples of controls that reuse this architecture.

    Chapter 6, Introducing GridPanels, covers the popular and highly sophisticated GridPanel control. It is another control that reuses the Stores, Models, and Proxies architecture, but is given its own chapter. We look at various features of the GridPanel such as paging, filtering, sorting, grouping, column summaries, row expanding, and selection models. We also look at how grid editing can be enabled, including in-line grid editing at the row or cell level. As large as this chapter is, there are many other GridPanel capabilities that we have not been able to fit into this book, so many links to further examples and resources are also provided.

    Chapter 7, Forms and Validation, looks at the numerous form controls available in Ext. NET, how to lay them out, and how to enable client and remote validation. We also look at how custom validators can be created. Lastly, we also see how Ext.NET’s data-binding capabilities can also be reused with forms.

    Chapter 8, Trees and Tabs with Ext.NET, introduces the popular TreePanel and TabPanel controls. Due to limited space in the book, we cannot cover all the sophisticated possibilities that these controls offer, but we do provide an overview of how tree nodes can be loaded asynchronously and how to reuse the Store, Models, and Proxies architecture to bind data to trees. We also look at various ways TabPanels can be configured, including how to load content on-demand using various AJAX techniques supported by Ext.NET.

    Chapter 9, Extending Ext.NET Controls – Custom Controls and Plugins, is perhaps the most powerful chapter in this book. It shows you how to extend Ext.NET controls in a variety of ways to support both ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC Razor templates, enabling you to create highly reusable components. Most of the chapter looks at how controls can be extended, but we also look at how you can use the available plugin mechanisms to reuse functionality across different types of components.

    Chapter 10, Troubleshooting and Debugging, looks at how to debug your Ext.NET applications. In particular, we look at how to enable debug versions of Ext.NET and Ext JS JavaScript and what tools to use for cross-browser troubleshooting. This chapter also provides important tips on how to request help in the Ext.NET forums in a way that will increase your chances of receiving a quick response.
    Last edited by fabricio.murta; Oct 19, 2018 at 5:07 PM. Reason: no feedback from the user in 7+ days
  2. #2
    Hello @Caleb!

    The eBook was once available to license+support premium subscription users given some constraints (see the original thread for more info), but unfortunately, the book did not get updates since version 3 was released, so there was not much point in bundling the book anymore.

    Moreover, the licensing scheme changed drastically, with the minimum 5-user license imposed by Sencha back then, and the need we had to reduce the cost to still try to keep both the company alive and Ext.NET affordable.

    I should need to confirm this, but I'm pretty confident we had to let the book go in that process. :(

    The book is still available for purchase from Amazon (both electronic and physical versions). As the producer was a third-party individual, the book was but a product for us, we actually acquired the book with the license to provide customers, so it didn't change much in those terms. As the writer didn't work on sequels for the book, we simply don't have it available to the following versions.

    About the accuracy, I'd say it is pretty good still, but you'll find that the syntax in some things have changed. The "spirit" overall, should be the same, and the book will still help you a lot to understand the concepts of Ext.NET.

    Ext.NET changed more in its basic concepts between v1 and v2 than from v2 to v3 or v3 to v4, or even v2 to v4. As the code matures, less fundamental things tend to change.

    I hope this helps, let me know if still some points of your inquiry are not responded.
    Fabrício Murta
    Developer & Support Expert
  3. #3
    Hi @Caleb.

    I'd also agree with Fabricio that the Ext.NET book is almost all still relevant. For the most part, I'd say all code samples in the book would still work "as is" in Ext.NET 4.x. Of course, we've made some improvements over time and added many new components, but moving from 2.x to 4.x would not involve major changes, so the book still provides a good overview of Ext.NET.

    Almost all the breaking changes we've ever introduced happened in the upgrade from 1.x to 2.x because of major breaking changes that occurred within the underlying Ext JS library.

    Hope this helps.
    Geoffrey McGill
    Founder
  4. #4
    Hello @Caleb!

    Been a while since we replied you here, and still no feedback from you. Do you still need more information on the book, or are the information provided above enough for the time being?

    We may mark this thread as closed if you do not post a follow-up in 7+ days from now, but don't worry, we won't lock up the thread, so you'd be able to post here whenever you feel like it.
    Fabrício Murta
    Developer & Support Expert

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