Infragistics has been a major ASP.NET controls developer company since long time [since 2000].
At some day to fulfill my client's needs, I faced a situation, to be aware of the hurdles or challenges for upgrading ASP.NET solutions having Infragistics references i.e. ASP.NET applications having Infragistics controls implemented.
Below are some of the key points which could be helpful to developers facing similar needs.
Classic controls: Prior to 2011 v2 release, classsic controls were in picture. Due to growing expectations of web-kit modern browsers, the classic controls were discontinued. Then 2 differnt platforms were implemented.
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jQuery framework/IgniteUI, for client side[HTML5, Javscript] based UI development. These are complete new set of controls and based on client side based designing architecture.
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Aikido framework, for ASP.NET server side code based controls. We are upgrading to these and we have to replace the old controls with the new ones, and wire up the client and server events and functionality accordingly. Below are the control replacements:
| Classic ASP.NET Control |
New Aikido-Based Controls/Replacement |
| WebGrid |
WebDataGrid , WebHierarchicalDataGrid |
| WebCombo |
WebDropDown |
| WebDateChooser |
WebDatePicker |
| WebListBar |
WebExplorerBar |
| WebCalendar |
WebMonthCalendar |
| WebToolbar |
WebDataMenu |
| UltraWebTab |
WebTab |
| WebTextEdit |
WebTextEditor |
| WebMaskEdit |
WebMaskEditor |
| WebNumericEdit |
WebNumericEditor |
| WebDateTimeEdit |
WebDateTimeEditor |
| WebPercentEdit |
WebPercentEditor |
| WebCurrencyEdit |
WebCurrencyEditor |
| WebMenu |
WebDataMenu |
| WebTree |
WebDataTree |
| WARP Panel |
MS Update Panel |
| WebPanel |
WebExplorerBar |
| WebNavBar |
Custom Pager Templates with Aikido Grids |
| WebWeekView |
Old UI, No longer supported in MS Outlook |
| WebGridExcelExporter |
WebExcelExporter |
| WebGridDocumentExporter |
WebDocumentExporter |
Version Upgrade Utility:
If Infragistics version is equal to or greater than v11.1, version utility tool v11.1 is used else, version utility tool for that version(version X) contained within the Infragistics install setup package is used.
Upgrade checklist/flow
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Install the target version of infragistics in the computer.
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Convert the solution in the target visual studio[if needed].
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Convert the dot net version for the solution [if needed].
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Check out files from source control and mark all files as NOT-Read-only.
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Initiate the utility.
The Utility will modify only the necessary files to upgrade a solution. Only the following files within a solution are modified:
Project file
.aspx
.ascx
web.config
.master
.skin
.xaml
.licx
.cs & .vb
.resx
.datasource
In case of unsuccessful upgrade, upgrade log files needs to be checked and actions to be taken accordingly.
References :