So I have been using several applications lately that use the Web Application Projects method lately and I have also created some. One in particular is driving me crazy because the source code is not on the server and I cannot fix the problem unless I find the source code and can compile it. Well I found a new version and cannot compile it. Where is the old version? I wish I just had the source on the server so that I could make a simple modification without having to try to find and recompile the entire project and upload it again.
The next thing that pops up in my head is when I used to use Visual Studio 2003 and I would be replacing the DLL on the server and the site would go down for that 20 - 30 seconds or how ever long it takes to upload the new DLL. Sometimes I would have to check that the file made it up there at all. Sometimes this can cause permission issues, sometimes if the upload does not complete and you do not realize it then your site is down. Imagine your entire site goes down all night because you did not check to make sure the DLL uploaded completely. Anyway this does not happen that often, but does at the wrong times it seems.
So far it seems as though WAP might be a bad idea anyway to do this, but it does have it's added benefits. It is nice to have one library to push up to the server that is compiled and locked down. This works great for applications that you do not want to have someone else, especially on a multi-hosted server that you do not own, look at or steal your source code. Also it is great when trying to make a quick upgrade from 1.1 to 2.0.
Here is some great information from ScottGu's blog about when it is good to use the WAP method. If you are upgrading from VS 2003 and have not realized the benefits of the default asp.net 2.0 model or want to upgrade from .NET 1.1 without too much work, then you will be more comfortable with the WAP method. You will also own that code and will have to figure out where the specific bugs exist. I have been in similar situations where I wish the old code I wrote 3-4 years ago was a little bit more dynamic like asp.net 2.0 and PHP. That way anyone who needs to edit that code in the future can do it from whatever environment they are best suited with and the source code is on the server. The dynamic compilation method allows you to edit files on the server to fix problems if it comes to needing to do that. In an ideal world you would never want to do that, but we don't live in an ideal world. This has been the way it is for fixing poorly written PHP and Perl applications on Linux for years.
At the end of the day, make sure that when you leave that project, that it is easy for the next guy to pick up where you left off. If that is well documented processes, then good for you. If you don't have time to do it, then please leave the source on the server where they can modify it when something needs to change.
Remember Me
a@href@title, b, blockquote@cite, i, strong, u
Powered by: newtelligence dasBlog 1.9.6264.0
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.
E-mail