Normalizing and Denormalizing Data


After designing a database, it is important to ensure that the data in the table is consistent and relevant. Normalization is a process of reducing the redundancy of data in a relational database. The reversal of normalization to improve performance due to some factors is called Denormalization.



Redundancy means repetition of data. Redundancy increases the time involved in adding, updating, and deleting data. It also increases the utilization of disk space and hence, disk I/O increases.


HTML 5.0 - The most powerful yet!


HMTL 5 is the latest version. HyperText Markup Language, commonly referred to as HTML, is the standard markup language used to create static web pages. It is written in the form of HTML elements consisting of tags enclosed in angle brackets (like ).








Below is the syntax for HTML 5.0:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html> 
   <head>
      <title>Page Title</title> 
      <meta charset="UTF-8">
   </head> 
   <body> 
      <h1>This is a Heading</h1> 
      <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
   </body>
</html>


The first "working draft" of HTML5 came out in January of 2008 and it already has surprisingly broad browser support. However HTML5 is not yet fully implemented and won't be for some years yet. There are any number of planning committees that have plans to make it a "Recommendation", but such plans are still in the planning phase.

Two groups, the W3C and the WHATWG, are in charge of developing HTML5. Why two groups? "The WHATWG was formed in response to the slow development of web standards monitored by the W3C." wikipedia – In other words they got in a fight and parted ways.

Fundamental changes are coming with the development of APIs that will run in HTML5 – exciting and powerful new tools that will take the internet places we can't begin to imagine. Also new elements such as the <header>, <nav> and <article> have been introduced which will help search engines analyze web pages better.

HTML5 is not just the future of web design, it's the present.

Quick look at "New Features of ASP.NET MVC 4.0 Framework"



The ASP.NET MVC framework provides the following features:

  • Separation of application tasks (input logic, business logic, and UI logic), testability, and test-driven development (TDD). All core contracts in the MVC framework are interface-based and can be tested by using mock objects, which are simulated objects that imitate the behavior of actual objects in the application. You can unit-test the application without having to run the controllers in an ASP.NET process, which makes unit testing fast and flexible. You can use any unit-testing framework that is compatible with the .NET Framework.

  • An extensible and pluggable framework. The components of the ASP.NET MVC framework are designed so that they can be easily replaced or customized. You can plug in your own view engine, URL routing policy, action-method parameter serialization, and other components. The ASP.NET MVC framework also supports the use of Dependency Injection (DI) and Inversion of Control (IOC) container models. DI enables you to inject objects into a class, instead of relying on the class to create the object itself. IOC specifies that if an object requires another object, the first objects should get the second object from an outside source such as a configuration file. This makes testing easier.

  • Extensive support for ASP.NET routing, which is a powerful URL-mapping component that lets you build applications that have comprehensible and searchable URLs. URLs do not have to include file-name extensions, and are designed to support URL naming patterns that work well for search engine optimization (SEO) and representational state transfer (REST) addressing.

  • Support for using the markup in existing ASP.NET page (.aspx files), user control (.ascx files), and master page (.master files) markup files as view templates. You can use existing ASP.NET features with the ASP.NET MVC framework, such as nested master pages, in-line expressions (<%= %>), declarative server controls, templates, data-binding, localization, and so on.

  • Support for existing ASP.NET features. ASP.NET MVC lets you use features such as forms authentication and Windows authentication, URL authorization, membership and roles, output and data caching, session and profile state management, health monitoring, the configuration system, and the provider architecture.
Source: MSDN

In simple words "Introduction to ASP.NET MVC"


The Model View Controller (MVC) architectural pattern separates an application into three main components: Model, View, and Controller.

ASP.NET MVC Pattern

The ASP.NET MVC framework provides an alternative to the ASP.NET Web Forms pattern for creating Web applications. The ASP.NET MVC framework is a lightweight, highly testable presentation framework that (as with Web Forms-based applications) is integrated with existing ASP.NET features, such as master pages and membership-based authentication. The MVC framework is defined in the System.Web.Mvc assembly.

MVC is a standard design pattern that many developers are familiar with. Some types of Web applications will benefit from the MVC framework. Others will continue to use the traditional ASP.NET application pattern that is based on Web Forms and postbacks. Other types of Web applications will combine the two approaches; neither approach excludes the other.

The MVC framework includes the following components:

·    Models: Model objects are the parts of the application that implement the logic for the application's data domain. Often, model objects retrieve and store model state in a database. For example, a Product object might retrieve information from a database, operate on it, and then write updated information back to a Products table in a SQL Server database.

In small applications, the model is often a conceptual separation instead of a physical one. For example, if the application only reads a dataset and sends it to the view, the application does not have a physical model layer and associated classes. In that case, the dataset takes on the role of a model object.

·     Views: Views are the components that display the application's user interface (UI). Typically, this UI is created from the model data. An example would be an edit view of a Products table that displays text boxes, drop-down lists, and check boxes based on the current state of a Product object.

·    Controllers: Controllers are the components that handle user interaction, work with the model, and ultimately select a view to render that displays UI. In an MVC application, the view only displays information; the controller handles and responds to user input and interaction. For example, the controller handles query-string values, and passes these values to the model, which in turn might use these values to query the database.

The MVC pattern helps you create applications that separate the different aspects of the application (input logic, business logic, and UI logic), while providing a loose coupling between these elements. The pattern specifies where each kind of logic should be located in the application. The UI logic belongs in the view. Input logic belongs in the controller. Business logic belongs in the model. This separation helps you manage complexity when you build an application, because it enables you to focus on one aspect of the implementation at a time. For example, you can focus on the view without depending on the business logic.

The loose coupling between the three main components of an MVC application also promotes parallel development. For example, one developer can work on the view, a second developer can work on the controller logic, and a third developer can focus on the business logic in the model.

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