Fun with ASP.NET MVC 3, MEF and NuGet

OPN07
Fun with ASP.NET MVC 3, MEF and NuGet
Maarten Balliauw
Technical Consultant
RealDolmen
@maartenballiauw

Notes (hidden)
So you have a team of developers… And a nice architecture to build on… How about making that architecture easy for everyone and getting developers up to speed quickly? Learn all about integrating the managed extensibility framework (MEF) and ASP.NET MVC with some NuGet sauce for creating loosely coupled, easy to use architectures that anyone can grasp.
So what’s this talk about?
Show you how you can build an app like Lego
Show you how you can create Lego blocks for your team
This is NOT a “general recommended approach”, just an idea that proved to work at one of our customers.

Who am I?
Maarten Balliauw
Antwerp, Belgium
www.realdolmen.com
Focus on web
ASP.NET, ASP.NET MVC, PHP, Azure, …
MVP ASP.NET
http://blog.maartenballiauw.be
@maartenballiauw
Me, looking intelligent with glasses

Agenda
Technologies & techniques used
ASP.NET MVC 3
Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF)
NuGet
Creating application components
Building an application
Conclusion
Further information
Q&A

ASP.NET MVC 3
All the new stuff:
Razor view engine
Global Action Filters
Unobtrusive Ajax & Client Validation
Better Visual Studio tooling
And a very interesting one for doing Lego development:
Better support for Dependency Injection

var partA =new PartA(new PartB())
Sidenote: Dependency Injection?
I need a “Part B” !
Coming up!
Part A
Me, doing actual software development

Container
Sidenote: Dependency Injection?
I need a “Part B” !
Let me see...
There you go!
Part A
Part B

How does this fit into ASP.NET MVC 3?
ASP.NET MVC 3 uses DependencyResolver
: IDependencyResolver
GetService()
GetServices()
Register it on application start

How does this fit in ASP.NET MVC 3?
ASP.NET MVC will / can query the IDependencyResolver for
Controllers
View engines & view pages
Filters
Model validators
Model metadata
Check Brad Wilson’s blog for examples on all of these
http://bradwilson.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/service-location-pt1-introduction.html
Value providers
Model binders
Controller activator
View page activator

Dependency Injection in ASP.NET MVC 3
demo

Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF)
Cool as ICE: Import, Compose, Export
[Import]Ilogger logger;
MEF catalog
HomeController
[Export(typeof(Ilogger)]
Let me see...
There you go!
ConsoleLogger
MEF container

Options for MEF in ASP.NET MVC 3
Build an IDependencyResolver
based on MEF container
Use MefContrib
has a built-in IDependencyResolver
has a “Convention” model
is available on NuGet
mefcontrib.codeplex.com

A brief NuGet introduction...
Package management system for .NET
Simplifies incorporating 3rd party libraries
Developer focused
Free, open source
Use packages from the official feed
Publish your own packages
Create & use your own feed

Using MefContrib
And finding it. On NuGet.
demo

MefContrib.MVC3
Optional addition for MefContrib
Adds some things to your application:
AppStart code that does the wiring
A CompositionDependencyResolver
Will check all assemblies in /bin
Will export everything : IController by convention

Conventions in MefContrib-MVC3
public class MvcApplicationRegistry : PartRegistry { public MvcApplicationRegistry() {
Scan(x => {
x.Assembly(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());x.Directory(Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "bin"));
});
Part()
.ForTypesAssignableFrom<IController>()
.MakeNonShared()
.ExportTypeAs<IController>()
.ExportType()
.Imports( // ... ); }
}

This all makes me think...
Package company components using NuGet?
Distribute them in a custom feed?
Use ASP.NET MVC 3?
Wire everything with MEF & MefContrib?
Pure application Lego!
Me, actually thinking

Creating application components
Initech Default Theme
demo

What’s next?
Building it
MSBuild (or whatever! Nuget.exe is all that matters)
Hosting it
Create a NuGet server
Or drop everything in a folder
Using it
Reference the feed
Download & install components needed
Assemble using MEF (or another IoC)
Install-Package NuGet.Server

Let’s see if we can build this...
Wiredwith MEF
Packagedas .nupkg

Building an application
TPS ReportsCover Sheet Generator
demo

Conclusion
You can build an app like a Lego set
Requires “bricks” (NuGet packages)
Requires “glue” (MEF / MefContrib / other IoC)
Requires you to think in terms of components
Structure is key!
Not a best-practice architecture
Just something we toyed with on a project
Proved to work (for the customer)

Further information
For time travelers:
FRM06 – Deconstructing Orchard – Bradley Millington – Lagoon L (Tuesday)
FRM13 – Scaffolding – Steve Sanderson – Breakers H (Wednesday)
Upcoming:
FRM09 – NuGetIn Depth – Scott Hanselman & Phil Haack –Lagoon H (now)
On the Internet:
www.nuget.org
mefcontrib.codeplex.com

Thank you for joining & filling out the evals!
Q&A
http://blog.maartenballiauw.be
@maartenballiauw
Me, having a question

OPN07
Fun with ASP.NET MVC 3, MEF and NuGet
Maarten Balliauw
Technical Consultant
RealDolmen
@maartenballiauw

© 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

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Fun with ASP.NET MVC 3, MEF and NuGet

by Maarten Balliauw

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