Charity Starter Kit - App_Data

Hi,

I'm trying to understand what folder structure I should be using for my SiteFinity project. I have been working from one of your video tutorials - http://tv.telerik.com/watch/sitefinity/givecamp-designing-your-sitefinity-project. Folder structure in that tutorial differs from the charity starter kit that I have downloaded. Sitefinity folder along with website templates is stored in App_Data folder which is meant to be used for database related files. Because of this, when it comes to adding a new item to one of the App_Data sub-folders, Visual Studio 2010 displays only 4 templates: SQL Server Database, Text File, XML File and XML schema, which is what it was designed for according to MSDN article - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ex526337.aspx Is there a reason why you chose App_Data instead of adding a subfolder into the root of the site?

Thank you

Hello Viktor,

Thank you for using our services. The reason why we decided to implement that specific folder structure is the future planned functionality that will allow users to install templates straight from the Marketplace. However, you can also place the templates in standard App_Master and App_Themes folders in the root of the project. Please do not hesitate to get back to us if you have some additional questions, or need any additional information.

Kind regards,
Jen Peleva
the Telerik team

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. Is there anything that can be done to visual studio settings to fix this problem? I like the proposed folder structure, however, it's time consuming to create required items in the root of the site and then move them to the correct directory under App_Data.

Is there any other benefits of storing classes and pages in App_Data? For example, when storing files in App_Code, classes that reside in App_Code get compiled on initial request and then re-compiled if changes are detected later. Quote from MSDN: "ASP.NET compiles the code in the App_Code folder on the initial request to your application. Items in this folder are then recompiled when any changes are detected."

Thank you

By default Sitefinity 4 is a web application project, and as such doesn't use the App_Code folder for dynamic compilation.

I believe the only reason the App_Data is used in these examples is because it's more secure, since that's the only folder that will need write access by the website.

Personally, however, I still use the App_Master and App_Theme folders, it's just simpler for me as that's the way I've always done it.