Current Multi-blog enabling LINQ to SQL BlogEngine.NET Provider.

I have been asked for this code so that we can share the multi-blog solution that has been working for me for almost a year now.  This is the time to check it out and help make it work for yourself and others.  I’m going to continue to “dog food” this here.  Current version of BlogEngine.NET supported by this provider, as of this post, is 1.6.0.3.  Although I need to update my own site(s) from 1.6.0.1.

How will I update?

Mine is easy.  Drop in the new DLLs.

If I do a code “diff” and find the Web code to have changed recently (which I’m sure it did) I will copy those specific files to the Web folder.

How do you update from a clean BlogEngine.NET 1.6.0.3 code base?

1. You should download the latest BE.NET code from codeplex and create a folder for the solution. 
2. Extract the code from the zip into your solution folder. (…and follow the directions for setting up a stand-alone SQL Server Blog)
3. Copy and unzip the
   BlogEngine.Linq2SQL.zip
               folder into the solution folder with the Core and Web projects.
4. Add an existing Project to the solution, select the BlogEngine.Linq2Sql project.
5. Verify the References (to project “BlogEngine.Core”)
6. Add a reference to “BlogEngine.Linq2SQL” from the “BlogEngine.NET” Web site.
7. Change Target Framework on BlogEngine.NET Web site to “.NET Framework 3.5”
8. Execute the SQL build script “Linq2SqlUpdate.sql” to add schema to support Multi-Blogs.
   • Make sure to run against the Database you created in Step 2.
9. Assuming you are using the correct connection string, modify the Web.Config
   • blogProvider, membership, roleManager
   • See: Web.Config.xml

More...

BlogEngine.NET Core Version 1.5.1.31 is running on this server as of this Post.

ref: (Waiting for a Minor Release of BlogEngine.NET with MultiBlog)

 

I based my implementation on SqlBlogProvider, but since it was out of synch with BlogEngine.NET I had a dilemma.  My biggest complaint about BlogEngine.NET if I had any at all was the fact that sometimes changes come at a snails pace.  This is not to say that you can’t find a new build three every other day, but that the major enhancements I want don’t always take, or in the case of MultiBlogs, the most popular enhancement to date, is completely ignored.  Once Jacob Proffitt created a solution, I figured it would be rolled into BlogEngine.NET.

OK, so I was Way off on this one. So here’s a strategy:

• Get the latest BlogEngine.NET code and use it as a baseline. (1.5.1.31)
• Get the latest SqlBlogProvider code and ditto. (27978)
• Make sure to upgrade Everything to .NET 3.5
• Modify the SQL Database Schema to include Blog and Host tables, and BlogDataStoreSettings
• and add BlogId columns where necessary.
• Recreate the DBML for the new schema.
• remove references to multiblog="true" because they don’t matter anymore.
• Simplify and verify.

OK, done!!!  Now what?

I have a set of Blogs running an older version of everything and now I have a new schema.  Also, I have new capabilities and only a SQL script to modify or add new blogs.  It is simple but always required modifications before running.

• Windows Form, new simple DBML for required tables…because the Provider model is too complex,
• and Done.

Oh, and I needed a migration tool and some more fun with Linq to SQL, so I created a one-off migration tool with a useless UI that couple be done from a command line, but I thought I might need more.

And, it’s running now!!!

BlogEngine.NET code is now at version 1.5.1.39 (change set 31351)

Now I have to isolate changes, bug fixes, enhancements I want and implement…but this is the exact scenario I want to avoid.

• Do I create a Branch that uses most of BlogEngine.NET?
• Should I start over?

I think the best option is to start a new core based on current or future technology and leave behind what can be upgraded.  Linq, Entity Framework, WCF, Silverlight 4, .NET 4.0 can be used much more.  MVC can become a solid base for the UI, maybe. This is not a hard nut to crack, and get’s easier with time and new technology.  The hardest part about using BlogEngine.NET today is that it takes longer to fix than to build again from scratch.

It’s time for a new architecture.  I’m glad I didn’t create one myself a few years ago when BlogEngine.NET was introduced, but I will be happy when I can safely deploy a new version based on those principles.

Pipedream: Multiple Blogs

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed but the NUMBER ONE requested feature of BlogEngine.NET (That’s #1 by a landslide) is to support Multiple Blogs per installation.  I have been struggling with this concept and while searching for and designing a workaround using BlogEngine.NET and the Provider model using SQL Server only, I came across SqlBlogProvider that also uses Linq to SQL.  This model supports Multiple Blogs in a single SQL Server Database in a single Application folder.  It now also supports multiple hosts or domains per blog if required.  So the only dilemma I’m struggling with today is where to go from here.

Current Conundrum:

Now that the SqlBlogProvider supports what I need, although there are a few items I’ve extended I’m still having problems syncing between the “current” or “newest” code base(s) of BlogEngine.NET and the SqlBlogProvider.  They don’t jive, nor should they.  However, I want it all, and I want it now…Yeah, I know it sounds like a song.  The strategy I would have employed was to Add a blog table, and then the host table to support another level of hierarchy, then add a BlogId to each necessary table.  However, in order to create the least possible interference with the Core, the SqlBlogProvider author added separate tables (Junction tables) and a separate Provider project.

Status:

I’ve made the changes to the latest BlogEngine source I had from a few days ago (1.5.1.31) and SqlBlogProvider (1.5 Change Set 27978) but haven’t finished the work I wanted yet.  My plan is to finish some bug fix work across both projects which may be done as far as my issues are concerned.  Now I’m adding a GUI for setting up new Blogs (via Linq and the new provider I chipped out of SqlBlogProvider).  Then I’ll dog-food it for a while and see where it leads me.  I may learn enough from this to start fresh and rebuild the core in my own way but I’m willing to share the results if someone asks.

You’ll know it’s in use when the BlogEngine.NET version at the bottom of this blog changes from 1.5.1.22 to 1.5.1.31 or above.

This is what you see when attempting to rate a new post. Click on a Star to rate the post.  Notice the infinitesimally small rating that is generally added when creating a first post.  This may be something I did myself while trying to “fix” the Add a new Blog script.

These are the symptoms I could find so far, but I cannot isolate the DateTime property that is causing the Exception.More...

From: TVUG President, Griff Townsend:

Sorry for the delay in getting this out: things always seem to get hectic around the time to put announcements out, and this month was no exception. With that said, I've spoken with this month's presenter (in the mirror), and he is ready to go.
Using the Entity Framework in .Net 3.5 SP1

Speaker: Griffith Townsend, MCP.Net, MCSE
When: Tuesday September 8th, 2008 - 6:30-9PM
Where: VersaTrans Solutions, Latham, NY

When developing multi-tiered applications, it’s not uncommon that to encounter code and architectural “noise” where a developer is forced to shift languages between the business logic layer and the data layer. The preference of many developers is the use of tools (typically Object Relational Mapping solutions) to abstract the database-specific aspects of the data layer into objects usable by the upper layers by object-oriented programming languages. More...