Building a mobile application for dot netnuke

BUILDING A MOBILE APPLICATION
FOR DOTNETNUKE
Bruce Chapman
Director, iFinity Software
7th November 2012

DotNetNuke Corp. Confidential © 2012 All rights reserved.

PRESENTATION AGENDA
• Brief Introduction to Mobile Applications + DotNetNuke
• Demonstrate how to build a Mobile Application that uses Service
Layer of DotNetNuke to interact
» Understanding the Service Layer
» Authentication of Dnn Users
» Building Service Endpoints
• Example Application : “Dnn Dash” – allows access to the
Dashboard of a DotNetNuke site
» Building Mobile Application

2012 2

MOBILE APPLICATIONS
• Purpose built (device specific) Mobile Applications are a superior
way to deliver a mobile experience
• Html 5 can provide a rich experience, but cannot match purpose
built at this point
• The theme of Mobile App vs Mobile Site is currently a hot topic
of debate

2012 3

HTML 5 VS NATIVE APPS

Html 5 Native App

• Write once – run anywhere • App per platform
Conclusion
• Server-side code easily • May require lengthy
•Choose according to requirements
changed release process
• Sandboxed, •Services layer may be largely the same in either
no access to • Full access to device
features case features – camera, GPS
• No App Store Presence • In-device discovery +
purchase
• Speed dependent on
connection • Faster + more stable
• Direct monetization more • Monetization by app or in-
difficult app purchase easy
DotNetNuke Corp. Confidential © 2011 All rights reserved. 4

MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND DOTNETNUKE
• DotNetNuke 6.2 introduced the Services Layer, which
exposes key DNN API features
• DotNetNuke 7.0 redefines the Services Layer, which is
built on top of the WebAPI services
• DNN Services layer is easily extended for module
specific purposes
• An entire new field of DotNetNuke application
development has been created

2012 5

MOBILE APPLICATION TYPES
• Corporate development : customising apps for in-house
use on mobile + tablet platforms
• Commercial development : new applications that
provider web + mobile experience
• Open Source development : providing applications +
back end processes

2012 6

A NATURAL FIT : MOBILE + CLOUD

2012 7

BUILDING A DOTNETNUKE MOBILE APPLICATION

2012 8

UNDERSTANDING THE SERVICE LAYER
• 6.2 – Used the MVC Service Layer
• 7.0 – Uses the Web API for the Services Layer
• Two aspects to layer:
» Built-in DNN API
» Extension for Third-party modules
• Provides authentication based on DotNetNuke user accounts and
profiles
• Provides simple pattern to design service endpoints
• Flexibility in format (Json/Xml/others)

2012 9

EXTENDING THE SERVICE LAYER
• 2 Basic Components to API Extensions
1. Controller
• Definition of Methods and layer on top of business logic
• Inherits from DnnController

2. RouteMapper
• Defines what Urls map to which Controller methods
• Inherits from IServiceRouteMapper

2012 10

EXAMPLE SERVICE LAYER CALL

• Url to call:
http://example.com/DesktopModules/DnnDash/API/Dash/Ping


DECONSTRUCTING SERVICES LAYER URL

http://example.com/DesktopModules/DnnDash/API/Dash/Ping
• http://example.com => domain name
• /DesktopModules => fixed part of Url, denotes module Url
• /DnnDash => specifies module
• /API => fixed, denotes services layer
• /Dash => specifies controller [ DashController ]
• /Ping => method name [ Public string Ping() ]

• NOTE: /DesktopModules/DnnDash doesn’t
necessarily have to exist

2012 12

ROUTEMAPPER REGISTERS URL ROUTES

• MapRoute configures what Urls will work:
 “DnnDash”  /DesktopModules/DnnDash
 “{controller}/{action}”  Class/Method
• /API/Dash/Ping  DashController.Ping()

• No other configuration required

SERVICES LAYER DEMONSTRATION


SERVICES AUTHENTICATION
• Authentication:
» Identifying & Authorising User accounts
» Preventing Unauthorised Access
» Avoiding opening exploitable holes
» Providing ‘context’ for current user within service calls
• Web-browser based services call use cookie-based
authentication (ie AJAX calls)
• Mobile devices use digest authentication to provide
authentication
» Username/password pair provided with each call

2012 15

SERVICES AUTHENTICATION CONT.
• Services methods access level can be marked with:
» AllowAnonymous – no authentication
» RequiresHost – if true, must be SuperUser
» StaticRoles – named DotNetNuke roles
• All ‘regular’ DNN objects are available in context for service calls:
» Portal Settings (current portal, alias, settings)
» UserInfo (authenticated user)

2012 16

TIPS FOR WRITING SERVICES
• Use RESTful method / parameter naming principles
• Stick to common return format in project (Json/Xml/String –
whatever)
• Plan for infrequent service calls in Application Design
• Be frugal with data going backwards and forwards – this may
require custom serializing of objects

2012 17

INSTALLING SERVICES WITH YOUR MODULE

• A service-only module only has an Assembly
• Install with ordinary Module install package
• DotNetNuke manifest file used to specify
configuration and safe uninstall


WRITING A MOBILE APPLICATION - EXAMPLE
• ‘DnnDash’ application on Windows Phone
• Reads installed DotNetNuke dashboard components for display
on mobile devices
• Uses DnnDash services layer to send back Xml of dashboard
information
• Host-level access required to run
• DnnDash module/phone app available from dnndash.com
• http://dnndashservice.codeplex.com/ for source code

2012 19

ACCESSING SERVICES FROM WINDOWS PHONE
• Uses System.Net.HttpWebRequest
» Asynchronous method
» Check Http status code to monitor correct authentication (401 returned
when not authenticated)
• Each call from the device provides user authentication
username/password pair
• Uses Xml from Service call to create UI

2012 20

DNN DASH PHONE APP DEMO
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rm.dnndash
&feature=search_result
• Search ‘DnnDash’ on the Google store

• Windows Phone 7 version still in Approval, but should be on the
Windows Store soon

• Connect to dnndash.com
• U : mobiledemo / P : dnn2012

2012 21

DNN DASH PHONE APP DEMO

2012 22

ANDROID VERSION SCREENSHOTS


AUTHENTICATING PHONE USER

• Username/Password supplied with
each call
• Defaults to Digest Authentication –
Username/password not plaintext


REQUESTING DATA FROM SERVICE
• Mobile requests data using Asynchronous Web Request.
• Response body is read from Response.GetResponseStream()
• Once response is received, conversion to the response format
• Example uses both Xml and Json responses

2012 25

POSTING DATA TO A SERVICE
• Posting is much the same as retrieving data
• Post generally means changing server state
• Posts should be idempotent
• Failure should allow for re-submit without losing client state

2012 26

CONSIDERATIONS FOR MOBILE APP DESIGN
• Store-posted apps can have lead-times for changes in design
• DotNetNuke modules can be changed + patched immediately
• Therefore, introduce flexibility into design that is data-driven,
side-stepping requirements to re-release mobile clients

2012 27

CONCLUSIONS
• Mobile Internet usage will soon overtake fixed line internet, if it
hasn’t already
• Hardware sales growth in mobile devices outstrips desktop
computing
• DotNetNuke provides a perfect bridge between mobile devices
and your data, especially if you want to put it in the cloud
• Building modules for the services layer is simple and fast
• Mobile Apps are the next big thing in DotNetNuke

2012 28

QUESTIONS
• Dnn Dash application source code available from
http://dnndashservice.codeplex.com/
» Dnn Service Layer
» Dnn Dash Desktop App
» Dnn Dash Windows Phone App
» Android Phone App

• Slides available at http://www.slideshare.net/brchapman

• Follow me on twitter : @brucerchapman

2012 29

Building a mobile application for dot netnuke

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