Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 4 - Dino Esposito [23]
The Copy Web Site Function of Visual Studio 2010
Visual Studio 2010 offers XCopy capabilities only for Web site projects through the Copy Web Site function on the Website menu. The typical user interface is shown in Figure 2-8.
Figure 2-8. The Copy Web Site function of Visual Studio 2010.
Visual Studio offers you two list boxes representing the source and remote Web sites. All you do is copy files from the source to the target and synchronize content if needed.
This approach works very well if you just want to have the source on the server machine in a native format that can be edited live to apply updates and fixes. In a WSP, Visual Studio does not really compile your source code and doesn’t deploy assemblies. It is limited to validating the correctness of the code by running the ASP.NET compiler in the background and spotting possible failures.
The actual compilation occurs only when the page is requested by some end users. This ensures that any applied change is promptly detected without the need of an extra step of compilation and deployment.
Note
As mentioned, the Copy Web Site function is enabled only for Web site projects. There are no technical reasons, however, that prevent the feature from also being implemented for Web application projects. It was merely a matter of opportunity and a design choice. The assumption is that if you opt for a WAP, you primarily intend to deploy compiled assemblies and markup files. This means that editing a code-behind class on the fly and live on the production server (for example, to apply a sensitive update) is not a priority of yours. Therefore, you are probably more interested in an automated deployment experience.
Copying Files
The Copy Web Site function allows you to sync up your project files directly with the target directory on the IIS machine (as illustrated in Figure 2-8) or in other ways. For example, you can connect to the IIS Web site via FTP or via FrontPage extensions.
Beyond the Copy Web Site facility of Visual Studio, to copy files to a target site you can use any of the following: FTP transfer, any server management tools providing forms of smart replication on a remote site, or an MSI installer application.
Each option has pros and cons, and the best fit can be found only after you know exactly the runtime host scenario and if the purpose of the application is clearly delineated. Be aware that if you’re going to deploy the application on an ISP host, you might be forced to play by the rules (read, “use the tools”) that your host has set. If you’re going to deliver a front end for an existing system to a variety of servers, you might find it easier to create a setup project. On the other hand, FTP is great for general maintenance and for applying quick fixes. Ad hoc tools, on the other hand, can give you automatic sync-up features. Guess what? Choosing the right technique is strictly application-specific and is ultimately left to you.
FTP gives you a lot of freedom, and it lets you modify and replace individual files. It doesn’t represent a solution that is automatic, however—whatever you need to do must be accomplished manually. Assuming that you have gained full access to the remote site, using FTP is not much different than using Windows Explorer in the local network. I believe that with the Copy Web Site functionality the need for raw FTP access is going to lessen. If nothing else, the new Copy Web Site function operates as an integrated FTP-like tool to access remote locations.
The new copy function also provides synchronization capabilities too. It is not like the set of features that a specifically designed server