Professional Sitecore Development

Professional Sitecore Development offers comprehensive information for programmers learning the CMS and experienced Sitecore developers alike. This guidance can help your organization minimize implementation cost and time to web, increasing revenue while decreasing IT costs. With this book, you will learn how to implement solutions with Sitecore, how the Sitecore architecture enhances the ASP.NET development process, how to use Sitecore’s extensive Application Programming Interfaces, and how to deploy the website. Professional Sitecore Development provides coverage on a range of topics including: • Installing and configuring Sitecore • Implementing an information architecture and transforming content into web pages • Using the Sitecore security infrastructure, managing errors, and testing automatically • Managing Sitecore projects, optimizing performance, and scaling Sitecore solutions • Tips, tricks, and best practices for working with the CMS • Extending Sitecore and integrating external systems, including coverage of configuration, events, pipelines, and Sitecore’s user interface technology If you're looking for a solution for web content management, then Sitecore is your answer and this book will get you started using this valuable software today.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION xxix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCING THE SITECORE ASP.NET CMS 1 Understanding Web Content Management Systems 2 Introducing Sitecore 3 Logging In 4 Embedded Applications 10 Working with Sitecore 12 Sitecore Company History 13 Sitecore ASP.NET CMS Version History 13 Sitecore Components 14 Sitecore Databases 14 Hosting IIS Websites 15 IIS Application Pool 16 Document Root Subdirectory 16 Data Subdirectory 16 Sitecore Visual Studio Project 17 Sitecore Rocks 17 Take Home Points 17 CHAPTER 2: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE 19 Introducing Information Architecture 20 Sitecore Items 22 Item Languages, Versions, and Revisions 23 Item Properties 26 Item Structure 28 Definition Items 29 Insert Options 30 Sorting Items 31 Managing ItemURLs 33 How Sitecore Generates URLs 34 How Sitecore Resolves URLs 35 Removing /sitecore/content from URLs 36 Clone Items 36 Alias Items 38 Wildcard Items 39 Sitecore Data Templates 39 Data Template Sections 41 Data Template Fields 42 Data Template Field Types and Categories 42 Data Template Field Properties 46 Standard Values 49 Data Template Inheritance 53 The Standard Template 53 Data Validation 55 Managing Multilingual Solutions 56 Language and Culture 57 Determining the Context Language 58 Falling Back to an Alternate Language 59 Managing Media 60 Sitecore Media Folders 61 Media URLs 61 Configuring the Media Library 64 Media Upload Watcher 65 WebDAV 66 Media Types 66 Configuring MIME Types 68 Media Path Provider 68 Caching Media 69 Sharing Content 69 Importing Content 70 Take Home Points 71 CHAPTER 3: THE LAYOUT ENGINE AND DATA ACCESS APIS 73 The ASP.NET Page Lifecycle 74 The Sitecore Context 77 Layout Details and Layout Deltas 78 Presentation Components 78 Devices 78 Layouts 79 Placeholders and Placeholder Settings 80 Presentation Controls (Renderings) 81 Sublayouts 81 XSL Renderings 82 Method Renderings 82 URL Renderings 82 Web Controls 83 Rendering Parameters and Rendering Parameters Templates 84 Presentation Control Defi nition Item Properties 88 Choosing Presentation Technology 90 Presentation Component Data Sources 90 Conditional Rendering and Personalization 91 The FieldRenderer Web Control and the renderField Pipeline 98 The Page Mode 98 Fundamental Sitecore APIs 99 Sitecore.Confi guration.Factory 99 Sitecore.Data.Database 100 Sitecore.Data.Items.Item 101 Sitecore.Data.Fields.Field and Related Classes 103 Sitecore.Data.ID 104 Sitecore.Data.Items.EditContext, BeginEdit(), and EndEdit() 104 Sitecore.Data.Items.CustomItem 105 Sitecore ID Constants 106 Sitecore Data Access Techniques 107 Direct Item API Access 107 Sitecore Query Access 108 Sitecore Fast Query Access 108 Lucene Search Index Access 109 Internal Links Database Access 113 Recursion 116 Sitecore Web Services 118 Syndicate Content with Sitecore 118 Public RSS Feeds 118 Client RSS Feeds 120 Layout Engine Best Practices 120 Take Home Points 121 CHAPTER 4: SITECORE SECURITY 123 Access Rights 124 Inheriting Access Rights 127 Evaluating Access Rights 127 Setting Access Rights 130 Interpreting Access Rights with the Access Viewer 131 Securing Data Template Fields 133 Applying Access Rights with APIs 137 Security Accounts and Domains 140 Users 140 User Profiles 143 Anonymous Users 145 Context User 146 Roles 146 Everyone Roles 150 Nested Roles 151 Sitecore Client Roles 152 Security Domains 152 Preventing Sitecore from Applying Security 153 Impersonating a Sitecore User 153 Disabling Sitecore Security 154 Requiring Authentication for a Managed Website 154 Integrating and Extending Sitecore Security 155 Confi guring ASP.NET Membership, Profi le, and Role Providers 156 Building Virtual Users 156 Employing Federated Authentication 157 Switching Providers 157 Take Home Points 159 CHAPTER 5: ERROR MANAGEMENT 161 Exception Levels 163 Designing an Error Helper Class 163 Implementing Your Own Exception Classes 167 Trapping Exceptions with try...catch...finally Blocks 168 Handing Errors in Presentation Controls 169 Handing Syntax and Runtime Errors in XSL Renderings 169 Handling Exceptions in Sublayouts 174 Handling Exceptions in Web Controls 180 Hiding Presentation Control Errors 184 Handling Exceptions at the Page Level 185 Handling Exceptions at the Application Level 186 Error Management Pages 187 ASP.NET Error Management Pages 187 IIS Error Management Pages 189 HTTP 404 Not Found 189 System Outages 196 Take Home Points 196 CHAPTER 6: OPTIMIZING, SCALING, AND TROUBLESHOOTING 197 Optimizing Sitecore Performance 198 Leveraging Sitecore Caching 198 Utility Caches 199 Database Caches 199 Site Media Caches 204 Site Output Caches 205 Tuning Cache Sizes 211 Disabling Cache Size Limits 214 Bringing the Most Bits Together 214 Scaling Your Solution 216 Scaling Infrastructure 217 Load Balancing 218 Balancing Content Management 218 Balancing Content Delivery 220 Scaling Publishing 220 Scaling the Database Layer 221 Virtualizing Sitecore 222 Edge Caching and Content Delivery Networks 222 Architecting High Availability 223 Planning Hardware Capacity 224 Troubleshooting Your Solution 225 The Sitecore Log Files 225 Rendering Statistics 227 Tracking Performance Thresholds 229 Debugging in a Browser 229 Debugging with Microsoft Visual Studio 233 Spelunking Sitecore 234 The Web.Config File 234 Web.Config Include Files 235 The /configuration/sitecore Section 236 Reflecting on Sitecore 238 Reviewing Stack Traces 242 Browsing Sitecore Databases 242 Take Home Points 243 CHAPTER 7: EXTENDING AND INTEGRATING SITECORE 245 Determining Types with the Confi guration Factory 247 Extending Sitecore Classes with Extension Methods 249 Leveraging the Sitecore User Interface Framework 250 Introducing Sitecore Commands 250 Extending Ribbons 251 Adding Entries to Item Context Menus 259 Using Content Editor Warnings 260 Overriding Sitecore User Interface Applications 262 Engaging the Rules Engine 266 Validating Data 270 Validating Fields 271 Validating Items 274 Scheduling Sitecore Processes 277 Defining Agents in the Web.config File 278 Registering Tasks in a Sitecore Database 280 Integrating from the Back End 282 Initializing with Hooks 282 Handling Events 282 Processing Pipelines 287 Handing the httpRequestBegin Pipeline 289 Processing the renderField Pipeline 293 Intercepting the renderLayout Pipeline 296 DMS Pipelines 298 Hook, Pipeline Processor, Event Handler, or Rule? 299 Extending the Sitecore Page Editor 299 Take Home Points 306 CHAPTER 8: AUTOMATED TESTING 307 Understanding Automated Testing 308 Complexities of Testing Against Sitecore 309 Testing Techniques for Sitecore 310 The Test Project 311 Creating the Test Project 311 Running the Tests 315 Testing with the HTTP Protocol 317 Implementing Tests over HTTP 318 Limitations of Testing over HTTP 322 Testing Using a Web Browser Driver 322 Implementing Testing with a Web Browser Driver 323 Limitations of the Web Browser Driver Technique 325 Testing with an Embedded Test Runner 325 Implementing an Embedded Test Runner 326 Deploying the Embedded Test Runner 333 Instantiating Controls to Test 334 Implementing Tests that Instantiate Controls 334 Limitations of Testing by Instantiating Controls 335 Invoking the Sitecore API Directly 336 Using Sitecore APIs without an HTTP Context 338 Considering Calling Sitecore APIs Without an HTTP Context 338 Limitations of using Sitecore API outside an HttpContext 342 Working with Test Data 342 Location of Test Data 343 Creating Test Data through HTTP 344 Creating Test Data through the API 347 Creating Test Data from XML 348 Take Home Points 351 CHAPTER 9: MANAGING IMPLEMENTATIONS 353 Approaching Sitecore Projects 354 Prototyping with Sitecore and RAD 354 Prototyping with Traditional RAD 355 Prototyping with Sitecore RAD 355 Facilitating Object-Oriented Coding Techniques 358 Integrating Front-End Markup 359 Integrating Custom Business Logic/Objects 359 Publishing with Sitecore 360 Publishing Modes 362 Republishing 362 Incremental Publishing 362 Smart Publishing 362 Publishing Restrictions 363 Publishing Targets 364 Publishing to Preproduction Sitecore Environments 365 Publishing Media 366 Scheduling Publication 366 The publishItem Pipeline 367 Workflow 367 The Sitecore Workbox 367 Locking and Workflow 368 Workflows 369 Workflow States 369 Initial Workflow State 369 Final Workflow States 370 Workflow Commands 370 Workflow Actions 370 Managing Sitecore Deployments 372 Sitecore Item Serialization 372 Creating a Deployment 373 Deploying to the QA Environment 373 Deploying Additional Changes 374 Deploying to the Production Environments 374 Upgrading Sitecore 374 Team Development for Sitecore 375 Managing Multiple Sites with Sitecore 375 Take Home Points 379 CHAPTER 10: ON BEYOND CMS 381 The Digital Marketing System 382 Engagement Analytics 385 Engagement Automation 387 Testing and Optimization 387 Visitor Profiling 388 Real-Time Personalization 389 Universal Profile Management 390 Campaign Management 390 Dynamic Segmentation 391 Web Forms for Marketers 392 Email Campaign Manager 392 Standalone Sitecore Products 393 Sitecore Intranet Portal 393 Sitecore Foundry 394 Sitecore App Center 394 Optional Modules 395 Active Directory 395 Adaptive Print Studio 395 Calendar 396 dtSearch 396 E-Commerce Modules 397 SharePoint Integration Framework 397 Sitecore Search Engine Optimization Toolkit 397 Sitecore Azure 398 Take Home Points 399 CHAPTER 11: SITECORE BEST PRACTICES, TIPS, AND TRICKS 401 Sitecore Best Practices 402 Managing Sitecore Implementations 403 Estimating Hardware Requirements 404 Administering Sitecore Solutions 405 Architecting Data Infrastructure 406 Designing Data Templates 408 Applying Standard Values 411 Configuring Insert Options 411 Managing Multiple Sites 411 Working with Multiple Languages 411 Storing Relational Data 413 Coding Presentation Infrastructure 414 Automating Publishing Workflow 417 Securing Sitecore Solutions 418 Using the Media Library 420 Maximizing Solution Performance 423 Sitecore Tips and Tricks 424 Optimizing Sitecore Usability 424 Logging In to a Sitecore User Interface 425 Limiting User Interfaces 425 Optimizing the Sitecore Desktop Experience 427 Ctrl+Right-Click 429 Optimizing the Content Editor 430 Maximizing Content Editor Performance 433 Content Editor Keyboard Shortcuts 433 Investigating and Copying Raw Field Values 434 Copying and Moving Items with the Clipboard 435 Sitecore Keyboard Shortcuts 435 Optimizing the Rich Text Editor 437 Rich Text Editor Profi les 438 Rich Text Editor Keyboard Shortcuts 438 Ad Hoc Reports 439 Overlay Icons 439 Showing the Developer Tab 441 Working with the Sitecore Debugger 441 Take Home Points 441 APPENDIX A: RESOURCES FOR SITECORE DEVELOPERS 443 Accessing Sitecore Resources 443 Sitecore Training 444 Sitecore Partners 444 Becoming a Sitecore Partner 444 Benefi ting from Your Sitecore Partnership 444 Sitecore Portal 445 Registering for a Sitecore Account 445 Signing Up for E-Mail Alerts 445 Resetting Your Sitecore Password 445 Sitecore Developer Network 446 Sitecore Documentation 446 Using the Sitecore Developer Network Forums 447 Accessing the Sitecore Shared Source Library 447 Sitecore Blogs 447 Sitecore Demo Sites 447 Virtual and Local Sitecore User Groups 448 The Sitecore Support Portal 448 Sitecore Symposium 449 Sitecore Success Services 449 APPENDIX B: INSTALLING SITECORE 451 Preparing to Install Sitecore 451 Choosing an Installation Strategy 452 Installing Microsoft SQL Server 454 Confi guring an Existing SQL Server Instance 458 Installing Sitecore with the Setup Program 459 Performing a Complete Installation 461 Performing a Database Only Installation 464 Performing a Client Only Installation 465 Installing Sitecore from a Zip or Other Archive 466 Archiving a Sitecore Solution 467 Creating and Confi guring a New Installation 469 Creating a Visual Studio Project 484 Take Home Points 491 INDEX 493

About the Author :
John West is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in his eighth year working at Sitecore. With more than 25 years of experience designing and developing software solutions using Microsoft tools and technologies, John West is one of the most experienced Sitecore engineers in the world. John West is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in his eighth year working at Sitecore. With more than 25 years of experience designing and developing software solutions using Microsoft tools and technologies, John West is one of the most experienced Sitecore engineers in the world.