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New Message on MumbaiUserGroup
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From: Swapnil_B1
Message 1 in Discussion
Site Map Providers
Site map providers provide the interface between ASP.NET's data-driven
site-navigation features and site map data sources. The two most common reasons
for writing a custom site map provider are:
You wish to store site maps in a data source that is not supported by the
site map providers included with the .NET Framework, such as a Microsoft SQL
Server database.
You wish to store site map data in an XML file whose schema differs from that
of the one used by System.Web.XmlSiteMapProvider.
The fundamental job of a site map provider is to read site map data from a data
source and build an upside-down tree of SiteMapNode objects (Figure 10), and to
provide methods for retrieving nodes from the site map. Each SiteMapNode in the
tree represents one node in the site map. SiteMapNode properties such as Title,
Url, ParentNode, and ChildNodes define the characteristics of each node and
allow the tree to be navigated up, down, and sideways. A single site map can be
managed by one or several providers. Site map providers can form a tree of
their own, linked together by their ParentProvider properties, with each
provider in the tree claiming responsibility for a subset of the site map. A
SiteMapNode's Provider property identifies the provider that "owns" that node.
Site Navigation in ASP.NET 1.x
ASP.Net Version 1.x did not provide any built-in site navigation support;
therefore, most developers implemented their own site navigation functionality.
In creating their own site navigation functionality, developers were faced with
two challenges:
1. Decide how to serialize the site's structure information into a site
map, and
2. Implement the navigation user interface elements.
Site Navigation in ASP.NET 2.0
Implementing site navigation in ASP.NET 2.0 is a breeze, thanks to the building
site navigation features. Internally, ASP.NET offers a programmatic API that
enables the site map to be queried. ASP.NET does not require a particular
format for specifying the site map, although it does provide a default choice
that uses an XML-formatted file. The details on how the site map is seralized
can be customized because the site navigation feature of ASP.NET 2.0 uses the
provider model.
Site Map Controls
In addition to providing a customizable means to specify site structure,
ASP.NET 2.0 ships with a number of navigation Web controls that make displaying
the site map as easy as dragging and dropping a control onto your ASP.NET page:
SiteMapPath - displays a breadcrumb, showing the end user where he is
relative to the site's structure. For example, when visiting the Novels section
on Amazon.com, a breadcrumb would display something like: Home > Books >
Novels. TreeView - displays the site's structure in a collapsible tree.
Menu - displays the site's structure using a menu.
When displaying site navigation, both the TreeView and Menu controls use the
SiteMapDataSource control to read the contents of the site map.
Since the site navigation piece is implemented using the provider model, the
controls are oblivious to the inner details on how the site map is serialized.
That is, regardless of whether you use the default site map or roll your own
custom site map logic, the navigation controls can be used to work against your
site map of choice.
Defining the Site Map
The hierarchy of SiteMapNodes objects is how the site map is represented in
memory when its examined through ASP.NET 2.0's site navigation API. This site
map, however, must be physically serialized in some manner, such as an XML file
or in a database table. By default, ASP.NET 2.0 provides a default
implementation of serializing the site map using an XML formatted file. To use
this technique, you'll need to create an XML file in your web application's
root directory named Web.Sitemap that has the following structure:<?xml
version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?><siteMap
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AspNet/SiteMap-File-1.0";> <siteMapNode
attributes> <siteMapNode attributes> <siteMapNode attributes> ...
</siteMapNode> <siteMapNode attributes /> .. <siteMapNode attributes
/> </siteMapNode></siteMap>
Displaying the Site Map Using the Navigation Web Controls
Now that we have a site map defined, we're ready to display the site map's data
through an ASP.NET page. As aforementioned, there are three built-in navigation
Web controls: the SiteMapPath, the TreeView, and the Menu. Using these controls
is simple - just drag them onto the ASP.NET page and configure the properties
to adjust the control's appearance to fit your site's look and feel. To add
the SiteMapPath to the main pane, I simply dragged and dropped the SiteMapPath
control from the Toolbox onto the master page. When adding a TreeView control
(or Menu) you need to first add a SiteMapDataSource control to the page; next,
add the TreeView (or Menu) and set its DataSourceId property to the ID of the
SiteMapDataSource control (this can be done through the TreeView's smart tag).
The SiteMapDataSource control queries the site map through the site navigation
API and provides the complete site map structure to the TreeView (or Menu)
controls.
While we've covered the basics of the site map, we've still yet to explore more
advanced functionality. For example, using ASP.NET 2.0's roles feature, you can
limit the site's sections so that the sections displayed in the navigation
controls are dependent upon the visiting user's role and the roles defined for
the section in the site map file. Additionally, the site map includes
properties to support localization, making it easy to have section titles and
descriptions unique for each language supported by your site.
Swapnil (Swaps)
http://swapsnet.spaces.live.com/
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