I started using VB.NET to write that JSON/FTP/site editor program. I found a free ready made library to work with the JSON data. It’s from Newtonsoft Really easy to use. They don’t have much documentation, but just looking through the library with IntelliSense in the VB IDE is more than enough to understand how to use it. With around 6 lines of code I can flip data between CLR objects and JSON. Very nice!

I used VB.NET 2003 version about a year ago for the final group project in the last computer class I had. It didn’t seem as easy to use as the 2005 express version I am using now. It’s probably because that was my first foray into using .NET… anyways.

A a quick term list:
CLR = common language runtime
JSON = JavaScript object notation
IDE = integrated development environment
FTP = file transfer protocol
VB = Visual Basic programming language (.NET version)
IntelliSense = One of the ways Microsoft makes coding easier in the IDE.

I guess you could call this part three of the “ajax, json, html, css, easy to update non-server-scripted website series!” This time I will get into my design plans for the client application. It has not been created yet, so there will be some guess work here. Writing this will also help me figure out what exactly I am trying to accomplish here.

Now that the website is:
A simple xhtml page that uses javascript to fetch json text files. That means all of the content is now separate from the main structure of the site.

Next up is deciding on how to make the client application. I have decided to use Visual C# or VB.net 2005 Express Edition. It’s completely free, yeah I was surprised when I found that out… Anyways, A few weeks ago I created an application (which I will post about here in the future) with that development environment and enjoyed using it a lot.

The program may have features like:
- add/update/delete the main page links
- add/update/delete content pages
- modify existing content pages
- upload changes by way of FTP
- Possibly keeps track of what needs to be added/deleted and performs the necessary FTP commands when updating the server. For example, deleting a jpg image when none of the pages use it.
- have a easy to use interface

Underlying functionality:
be able to parse json files
be able to write json files
be able to add/update/delete files from a server

The great thing about newer programming languages like C# and VB.net is that there is probably a lot of that functionality already built into the language or easily accessible.

References:
JSON Website
JSON and Visual Studio 2005
Visual C# 2005 Express Edition