Chapter 8 Slides

Chapter 8
How to work with state,

cookies, and URL
encoding
© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Murach's ASP.NET 4.6 with C# 2015 C8, Slide 1
Objectives
Applied
1. Given the specifications for an application that requires the use of
state, cookies, or URL encoding, develop the application.
Knowledge
1. Describe the use of view state.
2. Describe the way that session state works, with the focus on the
session state object and the session ID.
3. Describe the events that are typically used to trigger the event
handlers that retrieve and save session state items.
4. Describe the use of the Cookieless attribute for the session state
element in the Web.config file.
5. Describe the use of application state and caching.
6. Distinguish between an application state object and a cache object.

Objectives (cont.)
7. Explain how the Global.asax file for an application is used with
application state.
8. Describe the use of cookies, including session cookies and persistent
cookies.
9. Describe the use of URL encoding.

View state concepts
 View state provides for retaining the values of page and control
properties that change from one execution of a page to another.
 Before ASP.NET sends a page back to the client, it determines
what changes the program has made to the properties of the page
and its controls.
 These changes are encoded in a string that’s assigned to the value
of a hidden input field named _VIEWSTATE.
 When the page is posted back to the server, the _VIEWSTATE
field is sent back to the server along with the HTTP request. Then,
ASP.NET retrieves the property values from the _VIEWSTATE
field and uses them to restore the page and control properties.
 ASP.NET also uses view state to save the values of the page
properties it uses, such as IsPostBack.

View state concepts (cont.)
 View state is not used to restore data entered by a user into a text
box or any other input control unless the control responds to
change events.
 If view state is enabled for a data-bound control, the control will
not be bound again when the page is reposted. Instead, the
control’s values will be restored from view state.

Two cases when you may want
to disable view state
 When restoring the control properties for a page affects the way
you want the form to work, you may want to disable view state for
one or more controls.
 When the size of the view state field gets so large that it affects
performance, you may want to disable view state for one or more
controls or for an entire page.

How to disable view state
For a control
 Set the control’s EnableViewState property to False.
For an entire page
 Set the EnableViewState property of the Page directive to
False.
For an entire application
 Set the EnableViewState attribute of the pages element in the
system.web element of the Web.config file to False.

How to enable view state for selected controls
 Set the EnableViewState property of the page and the controls
whose view state you want to enable to True.
 Set the ViewStateMode property of the Page directive to
Disabled.
 Set the ViewStateMode property of the selected controls to
Enabled.

How to determine the size of view state
for a page
 Enable the page’s trace feature by setting the Trace attribute of the
Page directive to True as described in chapter 5.
 Scroll down to the Control Tree section of the trace output to see
the number of bytes of view state used by the page and its
controls.

Common indexer of the StateBag class
[name]
Common properties of the StateBag class

Count
Keys
Values
Common methods of the StateBag class

Add(name, value)
Clear()
Remove(name)

A statement that adds or updates
a view state item
ViewState.Add("TimeStamp", DateTime.Now);
Another way to add or update a view state item

ViewState["TimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now;

A statement that retrieves the value
of a view state item
DateTime timeStamp = (DateTime) ViewState["TimeStamp"];
A statement that removes an item from view state

ViewState.Remove("TimeStamp");

Common indexer of the HttpSessionState class
[name]
Common properties of the HttpSessionState class

SessionID
Count
Common methods of the HttpSessionState class

Add(name, value)
Clear()
Remove(name)

A statement that adds or updates
a session state item
Session["Email"] = email;
A statement that retrieves the value

of a session state item
string email = Session["Email"].ToString();
A statement that removes an item

from session state
Session.Remove("Email");
A statement that retrieves a session state item

from a non-page class
string email =
HttpContext.Current.Session["Email"].ToString();

The page events that can be used
to get and save session state data
Event Handler name
Load Page_Load
PreRender Page_PreRender

A Load event handler that gets
the session state object named cart
private CartItemList cart;
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cart = CartItemList.GetCart();
if (!IsPostBack) DisplayCart();
}

A Click event handler
that updates the cart object
protected void btnRemove_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
if (cart.Count > 0)
{
if (lstCart.SelectedIndex > -1)
{
cart.RemoveAt(lstCart.SelectedIndex);
DisplayCart();
}
else
{
lblMessage.Text =
"Please select the item you want to remove.";
}
}
}

A PreRender event handler
that updates a value in the cart object
protected void Page_PreRender(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cart["Count"] = sessionCount;
}

Four modes for storing session state data
 In-process
 State Server
 SQL Server
 Custom

Two options for tracking session IDs
 Cookie-based
 Cookieless

Attributes of the session state element
in the Web.config file
Mode
Cookieless
Timeout
StateConnectionString
SqlConnectionString
AllowCustomSqlDatabase

A sessionState element in the Web.config file
that uses in-process mode
<system.web>
<sessionState mode="InProc"
cookieless="AutoDetect"
timeout="30" />
</system.web>

Application concepts
 An ASP.NET application is the collection of pages, code, and
other files within a single directory on a web server.
 An application begins when the first user requests a page that’s a
part of the application. Then, ASP.NET initializes the application
before it processes the request for the page.
 As part of its initialization, ASP.NET creates
an application object from the HttpApplication class
an application state object from the HttpApplicationState class
a cache object from the Cache class.
 These objects exist for the duration of the application, and items
stored in application state or cache are available to all users of the
application.
 Once an application has started, it doesn’t normally end until the
web server is shut down.

Cache concepts
 Items stored in the cache object don’t necessarily stay in server
memory until the application ends.
 They can be set with an expiration date, and they can be
scavenged by the server to recover memory when memory is low.
 The cache object is typically used to store data that changes
infrequently, such as a list of states or countries.

Application state concepts
 Items stored in the application state object stay in server memory
until they are specifically removed, or until the application ends.
 Application state is most appropriate for storing small items of
data that change as an application executes.
 To make sure the application object is not accessed by more than
one user at a time, it should be locked while updating and
unlocked when the update is completed.

Common indexer of the HttpApplicationState
and Cache classes
[name]
Common property of the HttpApplicationState

and Cache classes
Count
Common methods of the HttpApplicationState

and Cache classes
Add(name, value)
Clear()
Remove(name)

The Insert method of the Cache class
Insert(name, value, dependency,
absolute, sliding)

Common methods
of the HttpApplicationState class
Clear()
Lock()
Unlock()

Two statements that add items
to application state and cache
Application.Add("ClickCount", 0);
Cache.Add("states", states);
Two statements that retrieve an item

from application state and cache
int applicationCount =
Convert.ToInt32(Application["ClickCount"]);
List<string> states = (List<string>)Cache["states"];

Two statements that retrieve an item
from a non-page class
int applicationCount =
Convert.ToInt32(HttpContext.Current.Application[
"ClickCount"]);
List<string> states =
(List<string>)HttpContext.Current.Cache["states"];

A statement that adds an item to cache
with an absolute expiration time
Cache.Insert("states", states, null,
DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(20),
System.Web.Caching.Cache.NoSlidingExpiration);

Four common application events
Application_Start
Application_End
Session_Start
Session_End

A Global.asax file that creates an object
in application state
public class Global : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
protected void Application_Start(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
// Code that runs on application startup
Application.Add("HitCount",
HalloweenDB.GetHitCount());
}
protected void Application_End(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
// Code that runs on application shutdown
HalloweenDB.UpdateHitCount(
Application["HitCount"]);
}

A Global.asax file (cont.)
protected void Session_Start(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
// Code that runs when a new session is started
Application.Lock();
int hitCount =
Convert.ToInt32(
Application["HitCount"]) + 1;
Application["HitCount"] = hitCount;
Application.UnLock();
}
}

Examples of cookies
ASP.NET_SessionId=jsswpu5530hcyx2w3jfa5u55
Email=grace@yahoo.com
user_ID=4993

Two ways to create a cookie
New HttpCookie(name)
New HttpCookie(name, value)
Common properties of the HttpCookie class

Expires
Name
Secure
Value

Code that creates a session cookie
HttpCookie nameCookie
= new HttpCookie("UserName", userName);
Code that creates a persistent cookie

HttpCookie nameCookie = new HttpCookie("UserName");
nameCookie.Value = userName;
nameCookie.Expires = DateTime.Now.AddYears(1);

The HttpCookieCollection class
Indexer
[name]
Common property
Count
Common methods
Add(cookie)
Clear()
Remove(name)

A method that creates a new cookie
and adds it to the HttpResponse object
private void AddCookie()
{
HttpCookie nameCookie =
new HttpCookie("UserName", txtUserName.Text);
nameCookie.Expires = DateTime.Now.AddYears(1);
Response.Cookies.Add(nameCookie);
}

A method that retrieves the value of a cookie
from the HttpRequest object
{
if (!IsPostBack)
if (!(Request.Cookies["UserName"] == null))
lblUserName.Text = "Welcome back, " +
Request.Cookies["UserName"].Value + ".";
}

A method that deletes a persistent cookie
private void DeleteCookie()
{
HttpCookie nameCookie = new HttpCookie("UserName");
nameCookie.Expires = DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(-1);
Response.Cookies.Add(nameCookie);
}

An IE dialog box with disabled cookies

How to enable or disable cookies
for Internet Explorer
1. Click the Tools icon to the right of the address bar, then select
Internet Options.
2. Select the Privacy tab, then use the slider control in the Settings
group to set the security level to accept or block cookies.
3. To enable or disable persistent cookies and session cookies
separately, click the Advanced button and select from the
advanced privacy settings.

for Google Chrome
1. Click the menu icon to the right of the address bar, and then
select Settings.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Show
Advanced Settings link.
3. Click the Content Settings button in the Privacy group, then
select the Block Sites From Setting Any Data button.

for Mozilla Firefox
1. Click the menu icon to the right of the address bar, and then
select Options.
2. Click the Privacy icon. Then, select the Use Custom Settings for
History option from the Firefox Will drop-down list.
3. Check or uncheck the Accept Cookies From Sites option, and
select an item from the Keep Until drop-down list.

Two URLs with query strings
~/Order.aspx?cat=costumes
~/Order.aspx?cat=props&prod=rat01

A hyperlink with a URL
that includes a query string
<asp:HyperLink ID="HyperLink1" runat="server"
NavigateUrl=
"~/Product.aspx?cat=fx&prod=fog01">Fog machine
</asp:HyperLink>
An anchor element with a URL

that includes a query string
<a href="product.aspx?cat=fx&prod=fog01">Fog machine</a>

Statements that retrieve the values
of the query string attributes
string categoryID = Request.QueryString["cat"];
string productID = Request.QueryString["prod"];

Code that uses a URL with a query string
in a Redirect method
Response.Redirect("~/Order.aspx?cat=" + categoryID);

An SEO-friendly URL
~/Order.aspx/props/rat01

An Order page that uses a cookie
and application state

The CheckOut page

The aspx code for the welcome message
and the footer on the Order page
<main>
...
<div class="col-sm-12">
<asp:Label ID="lblWelcome" runat="server"
CssClass="text-capitalize text-info">
</asp:Label>
</div>
...
</main>
<footer class="text-center">Cache Timestamp:
<asp:Label ID="lblCacheTimestamp" runat="server">
</asp:Label>
<br />
Number of Page Hits:
<asp:Label ID="lblPageHits" runat="server">
</asp:Label>
</footer>

The critical C# code for the Order page
...
using System.Web.Caching;

{
// bind drop-down list and update page hit count
// on first load
if (!IsPostBack)
{
ddlProducts.DataBind();
Application.Lock();
int hitCount = Convert.ToInt32(
Application["HitCount"]);
hitCount++;
Application["HitCount"] = hitCount;
Application.UnLock();
lblPageHits.Text = hitCount.ToString();
}
// get and show product data on every load
...

The critical C# code for the Order page (cont.)
// get firstname from cookie and set welcome message
// if it exists
HttpCookie firstName = Request.Cookies["FirstName"];
if (firstName != null)
lblWelcome.Text = "<h4>welcome back, " +
firstName.Value + "!</h4>";
// get timestamp from cache, then display it

// or set timestamp in cache to now plus 10,
// then display
object cacheTimestamp = Cache.Get("Timestamp");
if (cacheTimestamp == null)
{
cacheTimestamp = DateTime.Now;
Cache.Insert("Timestamp", cacheTimestamp, null,
DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(10),
Cache.NoSlidingExpiration);
}
lblCacheTimestamp.Text = cacheTimestamp.ToString();
}

The critical C# code for the Check Out page
protected void btnContinue_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
if (IsValid)
{
DateTime expiry = DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(5);
SetCookie("FirstName", txtFirstName.Text,
expiry);
SetCookie("LastName", txtLastName.Text, expiry);
}
Response.Redirect("~/Order.aspx");
}
private void SetCookie(string name, string value,

DateTime expiry)
{
HttpCookie cookie = new HttpCookie(name, value);
cookie.Expires = expiry;
Response.Cookies.Add(cookie);
}

Extra 8-1 Use session state
to store reservation data

Extra 8-2 Use cookies to store user information


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Chapter 8

How to work with state,

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Common properties of the StateBag class

Common methods of the StateBag class

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Another way to add or update a view state item

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

A statement that removes an item from view state

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Common properties of the HttpSessionState class

Common methods of the HttpSessionState class

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

A statement that retrieves the value

A statement that removes an item

A statement that retrieves a session state item

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Common property of the HttpApplicationState

Common methods of the HttpApplicationState

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Two statements that retrieve an item

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Common properties of the HttpCookie class

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

Code that creates a persistent cookie

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.

© 2016, Mike Murach & Associates, Inc.