Installing and Configuring the Required Software


In this section, I ll describe where you can find the software you ll need to create Web pages with Web Matrix and ASP.NET, and I ll also explain how to install and configure the software. You probably have some of the necessary components installed already, such as Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The remaining software you ll need, such as Web Matrix and the .NET Framework, is available either from the Web or from the CD included with this book.

Installing Windows

First you ll need to have an appropriate version of Windows installed. If you re already running Windows, you might not want to change that installation. Keeping your existing version of Windows might or might not work depending on what version you have and what you want to do with your Web pages. For example, if you re just going to develop applications and you re not planning on hosting your site on your local computer, you can use Windows XP Home. However, if you want to host a site yourself, you ll need to have Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, or Windows .NET Server 2003 installed.

For security reasons, Microsoft recommends that you use the NTFS filing system rather than the older FAT-based file system. NTFS offers vastly better security by allowing you to grant or deny access to individual files and folders. You can convert from FAT to NTFS using a Windows utility called Convert.exe. Microsoft Knowledge Base articles Q214579 and Q314097 explain how to use this utility to perform the conversion. You can find these two articles at: http://%20support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN- US;Q214579 and http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314097.

Setting Permissions for a Web Site

You ll need certain permissions to be able to develop a Web site. For example, when you develop the application, you as the developer will need rights to write files (Web pages) to directories.

On your local computer, you probably have the permissions for developing and running the Web site application already. If you re using a hosting site, the site typically grants you permissions to write files to a specific folder and its child folders on its server. You re unlikely to run into permissions problems with the comparatively simple applications we ll create in this book. However, be on the lookout for access denied errors. If you get these errors from your hosting site, you ll need to contact the site to get specifics about what you can and can t do on its server.

If you intend to host the site yourself, you need to be even more aware of permissions issues because you re essentially allowing strangers to talk to your computer. As suggested in the sidebar Hosting and Security earlier in this chapter, you need to take some steps to protect your computer. You also need to understand how permissions work when your application actually runs. I ll cover this area as a separate topic in Appendix A.

Installing IIS

If you will be hosting a site yourself, you ll need to have IIS installed and running. As mentioned earlier, IIS is part of Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows .NET Server 2003, but it s not installed automatically in all versions of Windows and therefore might not be installed on your computer. If you won t be hosting a site and don t want IIS running on your computer, you can skip this section.

You ll need your Windows CD to install IIS, so be sure to have that handy before you proceed.

Install IIS

  1. In the Windows Control Panel, choose Add Or Remove Programs.

  2. Choose Add/Remove Windows Components.

  3. In the list of components, find and check Internet Information Services (IIS). If the check box is already checked, IIS is currently installed, and you can skip step 4.

  4. Click Next. Windows prompts you to insert the Windows CD and installs IIS.

Installing Internet Explorer

To work with Web Matrix and ASP.NET, you need to use Internet Explorer version 5.5 or later. As a Windows user, you have Internet Explorer installed already; however, you want to check that you have the right version installed. If your version isn t current enough, install an upgrade. To check the version number of Internet Explorer, open Internet Explorer and from the Help menu, choose About Internet Explorer. The version number is displayed in the About Internet Explorer dialog box. You can get the latest version of Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Web site for free at http:// www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp.

The Internet Explorer site doesn t allow you to install a specific version (for instance, version 5.5); you can install only the most recent version. The most recent version has the latest security patches in it, so it s always a good idea to install the most recent upgrade that you can.

Installing the .NET Framework

To create ASP.NET Web pages with Web Matrix, you need to install the .NET Framework on your computer. The .NET Framework is packaged up in the following three ways:

To develop applications with ASP.NET and Web Matrix, you need only the redistributable version of the .NET Framework. You might choose to install the SDK, however, to have handy the documentation and samples for later perusal.

You can find the .NET Framework on the companion CD and as a download from the Microsoft Web site. Fair warning, though: the .NET Framework is pretty big. The download for the redistributable Framework is 21 MB. For the full SDK, it s a whopping 131 MB.

Important 

If you intend to use IIS now or later, make sure it s installed before you install the .NET Framework. Installing IIS after installing the .NET Framework will prevent your ASP.NET applications from working properly.

Install the .NET Framework from the companion CD

  1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the dotnet_framework folder on the companion CD.

  2. Double-click the installation executable file to launch the .NET Setup Wizard, which will walk you through the rest of the process.

If you download the .NET Framework from the Web, you copy an installation package to your local disk and then run the installation locally.

Install the .NET Framework from the Web

  1. Use your browser to navigate to the site http://asp.net/download.aspx.

  2. Click the link for the version of the .NET Framework that you want (.NET Framework Redistributable or .NET Framework SDK). The link takes you to a download page.

  3. Choose the download you want (probably English Download).

  4. Read the User License and make sure you agree to the terms. Assuming you do, click Yes.

  5. When prompted to open or save the file, choose Save and then specify a local directory. The installation file is copied to your hard disk.

  6. After the download has finished, use Windows Explorer to find the installation file and double-click it to install the .NET Framework. This launches the .NET Setup Wizard, which will walk you through the rest of the installation process.

Installing Web Matrix

Installing Web Matrix is like installing the .NET Framework, only faster because the package is much smaller. As a Web download, Web Matrix is a mere 1.2 MB. You can install Web Matrix from the companion CD or from the Microsoft Web site as described in the previous section about installing the .NET Framework. To install Web Matrix from the companion CD, double-click the file webmatrix.msi in the Web Matrix folder to start the installation process. To install Web Matrix from the Web, navigate to the site http://asp.net/webmatrix/ and click the link on the left that says Download Web Matrix, which will take you to the download page.

Installing MSDE 2000

Finally, you ll need to configure your computer for data access. If you already have SQL Server, or if you ve installed MSDE previously, you can skip this section. (If you re not sure whether you ve installed these applications, you can check your system using Add Or Remove Programs in Control Panel.) If you don t have SQL Server or MSDE installed already, you should install MSDE so you can use it for local development. You can install MSDE from the companion CD or from the Web. The Web download for MSDE is 30 MB. When installed, MSDE requires an additional 52 MB.

Installing MSDE requires several distinct processes: copying the MSDE installation package, unpacking the MSDE installer, and installing MSDE. The installation time is a little longer than for the .NET Framework or Web Matrix. Be sure to follow these instructions carefully, or your installation will not work properly.

Copy the MSDE installation package from the companion CD

  1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the MSDE folder on the companion CD.

  2. Copy the file msde.msi to a folder on your hard disk. The location can be a temporary one, but be sure it has at least 30 MB free space.

Copy the MSDE installation package from the Web

  1. Use your browser to navigate to the site http://asp.net/webmatrix/download.aspx.

  2. Under Step 3, Install Free Optional Components, click Download MSDE to go to the MSDE download page.

  3. Click the link Download MSDE Now! When you re prompted to open the file or save it to your computer, click Save and save the file msde.msi to a folder on your hard disk. The location can be a temporary one, but be sure it has at least 30 MB of free space.

After you ve copied the installation package, you need to unpack the installer itself.

Unpack the MSDE Installer

  1. When the download finishes, create a new folder for MSDE, such as c:\msde.

    The location is not critical; just be sure to find a location in which you have at least 52 MB of space (and hopefully more, so you can store data).

  2. Navigate to the folder in which you downloaded msde.msi, and double-click the file. When you re prompted, indicate the folder that you created in step 1.

Now, finally, you can install MSDE.

Install MSDE

  1. In the folder where you unpacked the MSDE installed (c:\msde), double- click setup.exe.

    The installation process runs, and MSDE is installed on your computer.

  2. Restart your computer.

    MSDE runs as a service, meaning it starts when you start up Windows and runs in the background, listening for database commands.

Note 

You don t actually need to restart the computer right now because you won t be working with data for a few chapters. But you ll need to restart before you can access MSDE.

When you ve restarted your computer, MSDE will be running. You ll see its icon in the notification area of the Windows taskbar, close to the clock. The green arrow tells you that MSDE is running.




Microsoft ASP. NET Web Matrix Starter Kit
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Matrix Starter Kit (Bpg-Other)
ISBN: 0735618569
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 169
Authors: Mike Pope
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