Title: Getting started with ASP.NET MVC and LINQ
Slug: getting-started-with-asp-net-mvc-and-linq
Date: 2008-10-12 07:36:00
Author: Kartones
Lang: en
Tags: Development, ASP.NET, LINQ, .NET
Description: Getting started with ASP.NET MVC and LINQ.

<p align="justify">I wanted to wait until I had a more finished version of the website, but I must express my satisfaction of how good ASP.NET MVC and LINQ are to speed up web development.</p> <p align="justify">I'm building a website for my new project, <b>The Dark Portal</b>. The Dark Portal aims to be a small gaming hub, with few game servers and a community around them. Everything for free, of course (maintained by advertisement and maybe donations or something similar).</p> <p align="justify">Right now, the ecosystem consists of the following:</p> <ul> <li> <div align="justify">A Wiki: Built with <a href="http://www.screwturn.eu/">ScrewTurn Wiki</a>, that allows to work only with local files (no DB needed) and it's simple to use but full of features (and extensible). <br>I strongly think wikis are one of the best methods to build lore and knowledge around everything, from software to a videogame. Also, allows players to help adding content.</div></li> <li> <div align="justify">A Forum: Built with <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/">PHPBB 3.x</a>. I don't like PHP but I have to admit that in forum applications it has no competence.<br>Forums are needed always, both to have bi-direcctional communication with the player base and to allow the community to grow and meet other people with similar interests out of the game itself.</div></li> <li> <div align="justify">A Blog: Created in my blogging community <a href="https://kartones.net/">Kartones.Net</a> ;) No need to describe what a blog is :)<br>Used to centralize game servers' news in just one place, and allow RSS syndication of the news *.</div></li> <li> <div align="justify">A Website: Still in "alpha" (a lot of content missing), also serves me as a sandbox for learning <a href="http://www.asp.net/mvc/">ASP.NET MVC</a> and <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb308959.aspx">LINQ</a> (<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb308960.aspx">LINQToXML</a> actually, as I don't plan in the near future to place a DB for the website). <br>The website will serve as a frontend for all the other places, and as a general overview of what is all about.</div></li></ul> <p align="justify">Things like <s>the UO server status page</s> (which takes an XML as a Model and ends rendering it) have been made with few lines of coding, and I've spent more time learning basics of LINQ or Model-Controler-View data handling and passing than actually coding.</p> <p align="justify">I have a lot to learn, like how to build User Control-like MVC views (to refactorize and reduce code), but that's the best part, learning new stuff!</p> <p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"><b>Update</b>: The Dark Portal project has been suspended because it didn't reached the "critical mass" of players so there was no point on spending time on it. I hope to somehow revive it in the future (probably with other games) but in the meanwhile I can concentrate on other projects I have in mind.<br></p><p align="justify"> </p>