CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#asp.netweb-servicesdesign-patterns
Legend
Legend

Reputation: 116780

What design pattern should I follow for my web app?

I have an ASP.NET application that provides both front-end services (visualizations) and back-end services (data transformations and outputting some data from back-end SQL databases). I would like the following:

Extensible Back-end Enable someone else to upload a "plugin" to enable additional REST API to be added

Extensible Front-end: I have the front-end currently with a top URL bar like this:

Category-1   Category-2   Category-3
--App11      ---App21     ---App31
--App12

I am looking for something like this: Assuming that my app has a simple admin panel, when someone uploads a compatible "module" with a manifest file, the app should add that into the main application and add a link to one of the categories based on what the plugin manifest says. Optionally, add a description of this plugin to the main application web page.

Specifically, I am looking for suggestions on the following:

I have seen this in Joomla, a content management system but am not sure what is the design paradigm to be followed to enable this. I did a dumb thing and designed my currently (huge) application as separate aspx files linked from a main app. I don't mind rewriting parts of it but without a major rewrite, is it possible to achieve what I desire? Any suggestions on how to achieve this?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 381

Answers (1)

Akos Lukacs
Akos Lukacs

Reputation: 2047

A basic solution:

Pretty close to bare-metal, but for back-end, you can create a dll, that contains the logic, and an HttpModule that registers new GenericHandlers to handle requests. Either use web.config to register plugin modules, or use Microsoft.Web.Infrastructure.DynamicModuleHelper to register your http modules at runtime just by copying into your bin without modifying web.config.

PortableAreas:

MVCContrib has a feature called "PortableAreas" that can be used to package UI and backend code into a dll like a plugin. MVC controllers can easily return HTML content for UI, and JSON or XML, to act like a REST web service. Also MVCContrib defines a "Bus" that can be used by plugins to communicate with the host app. Like "Hey, add a new link to categoryXY that points to me!".

Take a look at these blog posts about portable areas: asp net mvc portable areas via mvccontrib (talks about MVC2, but works in MVC3 as well). The latest version can be downloaded via nuget: MvcContrib.Mvc3-ci.

ASP.NET MVC is just "ASP.NET"

Therefore webforms and MVC can live in the same application. Take a look at this article about "consuming a portable area with a web forms application". Basically it's just adding MVC related dlls and configuration to your existing application, and setting up communication.

Or really take a look at a real CMS,

maybe using one that has a working, documented plugin system is the real solution. Depends on what percent of the features would be part of the "core app", and what percent would be developed as plugins and your needs.

Upvotes: 3

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