ASP.NET question regarding updating server side data from a non-browser client

[mAdD INDIAN]

I was wondering if there was a way to update data (say XML data or database records) on a ASP.net server running VB.net from a client program without using a browser.

I've been reading up on ASP.NET and all examples/tutorials I can find involve text fields and buttons on a website that a human has to interact with.

I'm looking for a way to do it with a client program where all I have to do is click OK and it will update records on a webserver by reading data from a local file.

Thanks.

 

[MrChad]

Web services are your friend.

If you build your application properly, you should be able to expose your data controller calls in a web service. That way, you can interact with your data from any client (ASP.NET page, VB.NET form application, etc.).

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Web services are your friend.

If you build your application properly, you should be able to expose your data controller calls in a web service. That way, you can interact with your data from any client (ASP.NET page, VB.NET form application, etc.).

well thats the thing. I'm not sure how to implement web services in a VB.net program. I can figure out how to use it on the server-side, but not from a client that might run on a PDA or something.

 

[oog]

I wasn't sure I understood your last post -- you don't know how to invoke a web service from your client? You need to write an app to do it. Most development tools that allow you to create things to call a web service have a way of creating a proxy to the web service -- a local class that you can instantiate and invoke, which will in turn make the call on the web service. The tool that comes with .NET is called wsdl.exe.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: oog
I wasn't sure I understood your last post -- you don't know how to invoke a web service from your client? You need to write an app to do it. Most development tools that allow you to create things to call a web service have a way of creating a proxy to the web service -- a local class that you can instantiate and invoke, which will in turn make the call on the web service. The tool that comes with .NET is called wsdl.exe.

ok thanks.

so what class do I need to do that?? Do they start with WebService?? If so I can search for it.

Ok what I meant in my last post is:

Assume I'm running a program [VB.NET-based] on a PDA. Say that program's function is to send/retrieve data from a web server on the 'net. Now that program just has a text field and a button. I put in the address of hte webserver and press 'SEND' and it will dnload the data from the webserver and store it in a file locally.

So as you can see I don't have a browser with webforms. So how would I connect to a web server with a web-browser? What functions do I need?

 

[oog]

The first thing you would do is create a class that serves as a proxy to the web service. This class can be autogenerated with a tool like wsdl.exe, or you can create a web reference in your project in Visual Studio .NET, and it will generate the proxy class for you.

Once you have this class, then you need to invoke the methods on it from your PDA program when you click the button. The methods will return the data from the web service, and you do whatever you want with it. The PDA program does not need to run in a web browser, and it does not need to use webforms.

 

[MrChad]

I highly recommend O'Reilly's Programming .NET Web Services as a good starting point.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Thank you for your help. I shall research on this particular topic.