The DX Airways project and source code

“DX Airways” is a case-study to demonstrate step-by-step usage of both Windows and ASP.NET controls in the Developer Express suite.

The application will manage functions for a fictional airline and consist of both a Windows and ASP.NET client. It will also include an unmanned client application that will be used to run background tasks.

The Windows "Admin" application will be used to enter and maintain crew information, enter and maintain flights, and enter and maintain aircraft. It will also be used to monitor airline maintenance schedules as well as crew member flight and vacation schedules.

The ASP.NET application will be public-facing and be used by both customers and crew members. Customers will use the site to request and book flights as well as check their account and itineraries. Crew members will use the site to check their flight and vacation schedule as well as request vacation time.

The unmanned application will run as a console app for simplicity purpose but would sit as a Windows Service application in a real-world scenario. Its function is to monitor flights and determine if aircraft are to be taken out of service for maintenance and/or put back into service. This application will also serve as service host for all service access by the two user interface applications.

The latest DX Airways source tree can be downloaded from Code Central: DX Airways Source Code

The solution has been developed in C# using Visual Studio 2008. A SQL Server Express Database populated with some sample data has been included in the source tree as well.

To install, compile and run the source code, download the files from CodeCentral and attach the included SQL Server database file (DXAirways.mdf) to an existing Database installation.

If the application encounters problems connecting to the database, make sure that the default connection strings found in the DXAirways.Admin\App.config and DXAirways.PublicWeb\Web.config files are correct and apply to your current configuration. Should that not be the case, modify the connection strings accordingly to point to the correct database.

When testing the public-facing website of DX Airways, you may explore the implemented front-end features either by creating a new account in the local customers database or by using the existing test account.

The following credentials can be used to login to the DX Airways website:

E-mail: dxadmin@dxairways.com
Password: dotnet

The DX Airways project is also introduced as a video tutorial series. For more architectural information as well as step-by-step tutorials on how to implement this project, please refer to the training videos published on the DevExpress Channel.