Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 2006 A comparison of web development technologies: WebObjects vs. ASP.NET Adnan Al-Ghourabi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Al-Ghourabi, Adnan, "A comparison of web development technologies: WebObjects vs. ASP.NET" (2006). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Master's Project is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Department of Computer Science Master of Science Project Report A Comparison of Web Development Technologies: WebObjects vs. ASP.NET Adnan Al-Ghourabi [email protected] November 2, 2005 Committee Members Chair: Dr. Axel Schreiner Reader: Dr. James Heliotis Observer: Dr. Leon Reznik TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 4 1. Project Background..................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Web Portals........................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Existing Solution................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Project Goal........................................................................................................... 6 2. System Analysis.......................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Content Viewing ................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Portal Administration ............................................................................................ 7 2.2.1 Content Editing............................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Security Management ..................................................................................... 7 3. Overview of Technologies........................................................................................... 9 3.1 WebObjects........................................................................................................... 9 3.1.1 Frameworks.................................................................................................... 9 3.1.2 Development Tools......................................................................................... 9 3.1.3 Deployment Tools ........................................................................................ 10 3.1.4 WebObjects Architecture.............................................................................. 10 3.2 ASP.NET ............................................................................................................ 16 3.2.1 ASP.NET 2.0 Beta........................................................................................ 17 3.2.2 ADO.NET .................................................................................................... 17 4. Design Overview....................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Existing Solution: IBuySpy Portal ....................................................................... 19 4.1.1 Database Design/Setup ................................................................................. 20 4.1.2 Connecting to the Database........................................................................... 20 4.1.3 Logical Layers.............................................................................................. 20 4.2 WOIBuySpy........................................................................................................ 21 4.2.1 Database Design/Setup ................................................................................. 21 4.2.2 Connecting to the Database........................................................................... 21 4.3 Logical Layers Setup........................................................................................... 22 4.3.1 Data Access Layer ........................................................................................ 22 4.3.2 Business Layer: Generating Enterprise Objects............................................. 23 4.3.3 Presentation Layer ........................................................................................ 23 5. WOIBuySpy Implementation Specification............................................................... 25 5.1 Content Viewing Components ............................................................................. 25 5.1.1 Main............................................................................................................. 25 5.1.2 WOTab......................................................................................................... 27 5.1.3 WOAnnouncement ....................................................................................... 27 5.1.4 WODiscussion.............................................................................................. 28 5.1.5 WOLogin...................................................................................................... 29 5.1.6 WOUserRegistration..................................................................................... 30 5.2 Portal Administration Components...................................................................... 31 5.2.1 WOEditAnnouncement................................................................................. 32 5.2.2 WOAdminTabs............................................................................................. 33 5.2.3 WOAdminEditTabs ...................................................................................... 34 6. Technology Comparison ........................................................................................... 36 6.1 Request Life Cycle .............................................................................................. 36 2 6.1.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 36 6.1.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 36 6.2 Data Persistence .................................................................................................. 37 6.2.1 Session ......................................................................................................... 37 6.2.2 Caching ........................................................................................................ 40 6.2.3 ViewState ..................................................................................................... 41 6.3 Frameworks and Platforms .................................................................................. 42 6.3.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 42 6.3.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 42 6.4 Security............................................................................................................... 43 6.4.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 43 6.4.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 44 6.5 Application Logical Layers.................................................................................. 44 6.5.1 Data Access Layer ........................................................................................ 44 6.5.2 Business Layer.............................................................................................. 47 6.5.3 Presentation Layer ........................................................................................ 47 6.6 Reusable Components ......................................................................................... 48 6.6.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 48 6.6.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 49 6.7 Events and Actions.............................................................................................. 50 6.7.1 Events/Actions Handling .............................................................................. 50 6.8 Validation............................................................................................................ 54 6.8.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 54 6.8.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 54 6.9 Tools ................................................................................................................... 54 6.9.1 ASP.NET (1.1 and 2.0 beta).......................................................................... 54 6.9.2 WebObjects .................................................................................................. 55 6.10 Productivity and Code Reduction....................................................................... 55 6.11 Deployment......................................................................................................