Michael Knopf

turning concepts into working products...

Connecting the Dots: how to build a real-world Silverlight app
Author: Michael Knopf
Published: Saturday, March 26, 2011


Update: I've re-uploaded the .ZIP file of the source code, this should fix the issues with it being corrupted (the download hangs at about 5.8 mb), contact me if you have any issues getting the code.

How To Configure the Sample Code:

Install The Database: in the root of the ZIP file you will see a file named Database.bak, this is a full backup of the database. Restore this file to your database server (create a new database called Demo, then right click --> tasks --> restore --> select "from device" --> navigate to this .bak file and select "OK"). Please Note: this database was created using MS SQL Server 2008 R2, you must have that version (or newer) in order to restore the .bak file. If you do not have this version and cannot get it than look at the Design view of the DataModel --> DataModel.edmx file and create a database that matches the schema defined there.



Update the Connection Strings: you need to change the connection strings in three (3) places, all will have the exact same connection string:

  1. Services --> WebServices --> Web.config file
  2. Tests --> BusinessLogicTests --> App.config file
  3. DataModel --> DataModel --> Web.config file

 


Learning all the ins-and-outs of how to set up your Silverlight project so that you can actually solve a real-world business problem just isn't easy. This post is all about connecting the dots between your business, data, web services, website, and Silverlight app so that they can all communicate the way they need to.

 

ASP.NET Authentication and Silverlight:

Often the question of how to implement Forms Authentication (a.k.a. ASP.NET Forms Auth) comes up since many sites that are available on the net use this authentication mechanism. You can find the MSDN article which outlines how to implement ASP.NET Forms Authentication in Silverlight. In addition an excellent article entitled Securing your WCF service with a custom username / password authentication mechanism written by Alex van Beek is available by clicking here.

More to come, I promise...


What Others Are Saying:
Posted on 12/19/2011 1:33:24 AM by Geoff Thomas
Thanks Michael. I've spent so much time trying to get something to work to give me the confidence to proceed. You've done it! Look forward to further tutorials.