DNN Europe module template for client programming

This year on the DNN Europe meeting in Banyoles, Spain, myself and some guys from the german section talked about the new client site programming paradigm and that it would be nice to have a module template specifically for this approach. And so I build a template that creates a module which has all the features that are needed to build a modern DNN module including DAL2 and using client site technics like jquery and Knockout.

Prerequistes + Installation of template

1. Installation of http://msbuildtasks.tigris.org/files/documents/3383/28296/MSBuild.Community.Tasks.msi. This is an open source project for MSBuild tasks

2. Installation of DNNtc MSBuild for DotNetNuke module development (http://dnntcmsbuild.codeplex.com)

3. Copy ZIP-File in the following folder: C:\Users%USERNAME%\Documents\Visual Studio 2012\Templates\ProjectTemplates\Visual C#\Web

Create project

1. Create a new project and select the new template. Project target should be in DesktopModules of a DNN Installation with version >= 7.0.1. Doublecheck that "create directory for solution" is unchecked.

2. After creation open folder "Installation" and copy the code of "01.00.00.SqlDataProvider" to the clipboard

3. In Browser (DNN started and logged in as host user) under "Host - SQL" paste the code in the script-field and check "Run as script". Execute this.

4. In VS project in "Models\Generated" select the file "Database.tt" and click "save": The (depending) file "Database.cs" is generated again and should contain now the code for the poco of the underlying table.

5. Compile solution in "Release"-Mode (Install package and manifest .dnn5-File will be created)

6. Copy .dnn5-File from "Installation" folder in Windows-Explorer temporarily one level up (to main project level).

7. In DNN "Host-Extensions" -> select "Create new Module" -> "From Manifest", then select module folder + check "Add Test page", confirm.

Sample project

This template includes a sample project with all the code which is needed to do CRUD operations on a sample table with grid view and paging. So it is a good starting point to begin developing with DNN and Knockout and helps understanding the main concepts.

You can download it here: Module Template