Advice on vb/asp?
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I have an existing vb.net application that runs on a local machine in our company. Currently, you must be at that machine in order to control it. I would like to add the ability to control some simple features from a browser on other machines on our intranet. However, I do NOT want to have to rewrite the application as an asp app or have it run on a web server. I also CANNOT break out the internal classes of this application into dlls. Is it possible to *add* asp-type capabilities to this existing vb.net app? Any examples of a simple vb.net app doing so are appreciated.
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I have an existing vb.net application that runs on a local machine in our company. Currently, you must be at that machine in order to control it. I would like to add the ability to control some simple features from a browser on other machines on our intranet. However, I do NOT want to have to rewrite the application as an asp app or have it run on a web server. I also CANNOT break out the internal classes of this application into dlls. Is it possible to *add* asp-type capabilities to this existing vb.net app? Any examples of a simple vb.net app doing so are appreciated.
smarr wrote:
I would like to add the ability to control some simple features from a browser on other machines on our intranet. However, I do NOT want to have to rewrite the application as an asp app or have it run on a web server. I also CANNOT break out the internal classes of this application into dlls.
So are you saying that you want to create a web app that doesn't run on a web server ? Your other alternative is to write a web server. That is a/ a lot of work and b/ meaning you'll still be running on a web server.
smarr wrote:
Is it possible to *add* asp-type capabilities to this existing vb.net app?
The way to do this is to reuse your business logic, and write an ASP.NET presentation layer. You'll need to 'break' internal classes into a new project, if you can't put them in a dll, you'll need to just copy them. The resultant app will, by definition, need to be on a web server. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++
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smarr wrote:
I would like to add the ability to control some simple features from a browser on other machines on our intranet. However, I do NOT want to have to rewrite the application as an asp app or have it run on a web server. I also CANNOT break out the internal classes of this application into dlls.
So are you saying that you want to create a web app that doesn't run on a web server ? Your other alternative is to write a web server. That is a/ a lot of work and b/ meaning you'll still be running on a web server.
smarr wrote:
Is it possible to *add* asp-type capabilities to this existing vb.net app?
The way to do this is to reuse your business logic, and write an ASP.NET presentation layer. You'll need to 'break' internal classes into a new project, if you can't put them in a dll, you'll need to just copy them. The resultant app will, by definition, need to be on a web server. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++
I believe I understand what you are saying--that adding asp capabilities to an existing vb.net app is not trivial (or possible?) and the "guts" of the app will need to be moved into an asp.net application. Correct? I can live with a web server, and could probably incorporate one into the machine which is running this app. However, the application is far too complex to be easily ported to an asp application (or any other type, for that matter). The core logic is deeply ingrained into the application and could not be moved (easily) into a dll.
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I believe I understand what you are saying--that adding asp capabilities to an existing vb.net app is not trivial (or possible?) and the "guts" of the app will need to be moved into an asp.net application. Correct? I can live with a web server, and could probably incorporate one into the machine which is running this app. However, the application is far too complex to be easily ported to an asp application (or any other type, for that matter). The core logic is deeply ingrained into the application and could not be moved (easily) into a dll.
smarr wrote:
that adding asp capabilities to an existing vb.net app is not trivial (or possible?) and the "guts" of the app will need to be moved into an asp.net application. Correct?
Mostly. It is in fact possible to add a web app to your existing project, but you'd have two vbproj files, and I think it's too messy to do it that way
smarr wrote:
The core logic is deeply ingrained into the application and could not be moved (easily) into a dll.
I guess that makes this a lesson in application design :-) Any half decent app should be written so that the business logic is easily divorced from the presentation layer. Too late for that now. If you can't seperate the two, then I guess your best bet is to build a web app and then add all the code you need from your application, so that you can access the business logic from the web pages. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++