Hi!

Good table maintenance WEB interface consists of 3 related pages:

Search, search results and data entry form with links to maintenance of child/linked records.
Search is just a few search fields, search button, New Search button (just clears search fields by Java Script), Cancel button to return to previous page, New record button.

Search results page displaye 10-30 records per page with navigation buttons, selection of page, and links to delete record, copy record or edit record. There should be new record button, new search button. Search criteria is displayed. It is preferrable to have sorting bu clicking on column header. You can also add your own links to certain pages, for example, for quick looking into child records without opening data entry form.

Data entry form is opened when you add new record or edit existing record.

Child records work by similar way. You can represent them as immediate search result of child records by using creteria "parent_ID={ID of parent record}". So there are only 2 pages for child records.

Sometimes there are many-to-many links between records - I usually have separate page for this with 2 list boxes and buttons to move values from available list into selected list.

There are other kinds of editing, for example, grid-like forms (just like VFP grid :-)

Take a closer look to the UT interface for wishes list and similar things - good example of search/search results form using a single page (though only one search field is used).

All above is might be complex to implement, when making it generic. I made something similar just in APS once upon a time, as it was very ugly. In .NET it might be better, but I do not think it would be less complex to implement.

Currently I develop everything manually without much use of framework or extra classes - I do not tustthem much, because usually find one or more obstacles/problems :-)

I doubt you would find ANY framework wich would satisfy most needs. For example, I do not like .NET built in classes - they generate VERY poor DHTML code for client side, specially for browsers other than IE. Maybe somebody created such for .NET, but I doubt it is true - VFP frameworks have much older evolution than .NET, but yet could not satisfy all needs. Ithink any framework classes for .NET are also not good enough because too young.

BTW, .NET framework contains a lot of examples/tutoriales. Did you take a look to them?

I cand demo you a few WEB interfaces in my ASP or Java Script (not .NET) applications, just send me email if you need this.


>Hi everybody,
>
>I'm only starting to work with ASP.NET, so please bear with me. I have a design question. I have two related tables (PurchaseOrders and Customers in SQL Server) and I need to create a simple application, which would allow me to do basic opeations with these tables.
>
>My first question is: Is where any framework around? Should my form start with DataGrid with edit button incorporated? I've downloaded some sample from Cathy and it was this kind of interface. Is it that everyone agrees on?
>
>My other question is: if it's one record per page interface, is there Next, Previous, etc. buttons available?
>
>Thanks in advance.