Introducing WebMatrix

by Marc 8. July 2010 13:01

 

Over the past week or so, Scottgu has been gradually unveiling a new set of building blocks for a simpler to use, simpler to get started web stack, and finally we have WebMatrix.

 

ASP.NET is powerful and capable – of that we can be assured – but it’s also complex unless (yeah... and sometimes if) you’re a professional developer. WebMatrix looks to do a couple of things. Firstly, it’s lowering the barrier to entry if you’re starting out with development, or perhaps if you tweaking pre-built templates for sites (like using Wordpress, or Umbraco). Secondly, when you’re done with your tweaking, making those sites easy to deploy.

 

There are a few parts to this effort and Scottgu has them covered with some jumbo-sized posts:
  • IIS Express – this is the web server bit: “IIS Express will work with VS 2010 and Visual Web Developer 2010 Express, will run on Windows XP and higher systems, does not require an administrator account, and does not require any code changes to use.  You will be able to take advantage of it with all types of ASP.NET applications, and it enables you to develop using a full IIS 7.x feature-set.”
  • SQL Server Compact Edition 4 – this is the database bit: “SQL CE is a free, embedded, database engine that enables easy database storage... works with existing data APIs, doesn’t require a database installation and can work in shared web hosting scenarios.”
  • Razor View Engine/Syntax – this is the programming bit: “Design goals... easy to learn, works in any text editor, has Intellisense assistance”.
  • WebMatrix – this is the tool: “a new lightweight web development tool that also integrates the above technologies, and makes it even easier for people to get started with web development using ASP.NET.  This tool is free, provides core coding and database support, integrates with an open source web application gallery, and includes support to easily publish/deploy sites and applications to web hosting providers.”
That means you’ve got a one-stop simple but fairly powerful way to work with your favourite web applications, or build your own sites. Also, none of this stuff is different from core ASP.NET development, so if you’re aspiring to develop with the more complex tools and technologies this a useful toe in the water. Scott Hanselman positions this as only he can.

 

WebMatrix will also work with PHP and MySQL and will help you install these platforms if your chosen web application requires them.

 

If you like a bit of web hacking, or you run a personal blog our group website or you want to take a closer look at web development then I reckon this is really useful tool to evaluate.

 

ScottHa also listed a bunch of links to help get you going, and I’ve repro’d them here:

 

  • Channel 9 Video: WebMatrix with Scott Hunter and Simon Calvert
  • Learn by Doing - WebMatrix walkthroughs

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