Building Websites with Microsoft Content Management Server, Packt
Microsoft .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Visual C# (CSharp, C Sharp, C-Sharp) Developer Training, Visual Studio
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C# Online.NET Book Review
Powered by Microsoft .NET–connected technology, Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) 2002 enables companies to build, deploy, and maintain content-rich Web sites. MCMS streamlines the Web publishing process. Thus, Content Management Server empowers business users to manage their own content and reduces the need for costly site maintenance.
I am a big fan of tutorial-type books which develop one more projects over the span of the book; since, I learned Struts that way. Such books provide a jump start to get you up and running quickly with a new piece of software. Afterwards, you can lookup on the Web any special features which were not covered in detail. Such books are short on the theoretical but long on the practical.
This example-filled book is just such a book;it is subtitled practical tutorial guide for C# developers. It develops a complete Website from the ground up thereby covering all the essential steps of MCMS configuration and .NET development. And, the savy authors dot the landscape with useful MCMS tips and tricks.
The book will teach you to install and configure MCMS, use the Publishing API (PAPI), create and debug templates, build navigation controls, set up a channel structure, extend the publishing workflow, understand channel rendering scripts, create custom placeholder controls, set custom placeholder definitions, use forms authentication, and more. And, all the examples are in C#.
Bottom line
Building Websites with Microsoft Content Management Server is a great tutorial guide for C# developers with no prior MCMS experience.
Publisher's description
A fast-paced and practical tutorial guide for C# developers starting out with MCMS 2002
- Learn directly from recognized community experts
- Rapid developer level tutorials build logically through out the book
- Develops a feature rich custom site incrementally
- Tips and Tricks from developer newsgroups and online communities
Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 is a dynamic web publishing system with which you can build websites quickly and cost-efficiently. MCMS provides the administration, authoring, and data management functionality, and you provide the website interface, logic, and workflow. Once your website is up and running, your content contributors can add and edit content on their own, without the need to work with developers or the IT department.
First time developers of Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 face a relatively steep learning curve. Not only are they expected to be conversant in the Microsoft .NET Framework, they are also required to be familiar with the concepts of MCMS 2002.
Many beginners to MCMS start out by looking at the example site that ships with the product; tweaking it, dissecting it and turning it inside out using the obscure code comments as markers. However, when it comes to starting their own website from scratch, many are baffled ? where do they begin?
This book exists to answer that question; teaching the essential concepts of MCMS 2002 in a clear, straightforward and practical manner.
This is a unique resource focused exclusively on the needs of developers using MCMS. It doesn?t waste time and pages on user or administrator level information that is well covered in other documentation. It?s a distillation of practical experience that developers need to get results, fast. The authors carefully structured example project complements and extends the knowledge gained from an initial look at the examples that ship with MCMS.
From the back cover
This book is an end-to-end guide to creating a Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) website. No prior knowledge of MCMS is required - this book takes you from the basics of MCMS, guiding you through everything you need to create a fully-featured, content-rich website.
An example site is developed throughout the book, at every point providing clear and practical demonstrations of the relevant ideas. Once you have mastered the basics, the book leads you onto more advanced and powerful techniques, allowing you to get the most from this awesome system. Years of active participation in MCMS newsgroups and mailing lists mean that the authors' hard-won experience puts them in the ideal position to tell you what you really need to know to master the system. Containing answers to some of the most asked questions in developer newsgroups, this book is a treasure trove of tricks and tips for solving the problems faced by MCMS developers.
What you will learn from this book
- The basic concepts of MCMS
- Preparing, installing and configuring MCMS and its supporting technologies
- Creating an MCMS website from scratch
- Creating and debugging templates files and channel rendering scripts
- Working with dynamic navigation
- Establishing user roles and rights
- Authoring with MCMS and improving the authoring experience
- Understanding and customizing workflow
- Working with the Publishing API
- Site deployment techniques
- Enhancing your site's performance with caching
Who this book is for
This book is written for developers who are part of a dynamic organization that has decided to evaluate or deploy MCMS and require the skills to make it happen.The book presumes a working knowledge of the .NET Framework and familiarity with the C# language, but no prior knowledge of MCMS is required. To use this book, you will need access to Visual Studio. NET 2002 or 2003, SQL Server 2000, and an installation of MCMS 2002.
This book is not aimed at the specific information needs of administrators or users of MCMS.
About the author(s)
Lim Mei Ying is a senior consultant with Avanade and has experience in setting up MCMS systems at the enterprise level. She has spent many hours figuring out the dos and don'ts of the product and enjoys finding new ways to solve MCMS related problems.
She contributes actively to the newsgroup community, and is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. Mei Ying lives on the sunny island of Singapore.
Joel Ward works for Booz Allen Hamilton as a web developer and technical manager. He has a background in design, programming, and architecture, and has worked with MCMS since its first release in October 2001. Joel likes to work on ASP.NET and MCMS projects, and his interest has motivated him to help coordinate a .NET user group at Booz Allen. As a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for 2003 and 2004, Joel is acknowledged by peers and Microsoft for his active participation in the technical communities around the globe. Joel lives in Virginia in the United States.
Stefan Goßner works for Microsoft as an Escalation Engineer in the Developer Support department. He provides customers with technical solutions to problems related to Microsoft Internet Server Products. Stefan has breadth and depth in all areas of MCMS.
His contributions to the newsgroup have helped many people to implement MCMS solutions in corporations around the globe to the point where it has been said that if you don't know Stefan, then you're probably new to MCMS.
Stefan maintains a huge MCMS 2002 FAQ on the Microsoft Website and provides MCMS tips and tricks on his personal blog. He lives in Munich, Germany.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
Introduction
Chapter 1: Overview of Microsoft Content Management Server
Chapter 2: Installing MCMS 2002 for the Developer
Chapter 3: The Database Configuration Application
Chapter 4: The Server Configuration Application
Chapter 5: Setting Up a Website from Scratch
Chapter 6: Creating Templates and Postings
Chapter 7: Working with Placeholders
Chapter 8: Debugging Template Files
Chapter 9: Default Postings and Channel Rendering Scripts
Chapter 10: Understanding the MCMS Publishing Workflow
Chapter 11: Authoring with Microsoft Content Management Server
Chapter 12: The Publishing Application Programming Interface
Chapter 13: Building Navigation Controls
Chapter 14: Customizing Placeholder Controls
Chapter 15: Building Custom Placeholder Definitions and Placeholders
Chapter 16: Extending the Workflow
Chapter 17: Publishing with Authoring Connector
Chapter 18: Implementing Forms Authentication
Chapter 19: Customizing the Web Author Console
Chapter 20: Creating Connected Templates and Pages
Chapter 21: Aggregating Content
Chapter 22: Enhancing Performance with Caching
Chapter 23: Site Deployment
Chapter 24: Hosting Multiple Websites and Adding SSL Security
Appendix A: Upgrading from MCMS 2001 to MCMS 2002
Appendix B: References
