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dotnetnukedotnetnuke-moduledotnetnuke-7

Process for developing DNN skins or modules without uploading after every single change

While our team is starting work on our first DNN 7 sites, we're running into a small impediment. It would seem that the development cycle for a skin or module is that for every single little change you make, you need to create a new package and upload it to DNN. Our engineers are worried that they'll get caught in a loop of:

  1. Tweak CSS
  2. Create zip for skin
  3. Upload zip to DNN
  4. Go to step 1 until skin is complete

Consider this to also be a metaphor for module development. Is there a better process to develop modules and skins? Should we create the initial skin package, tweak the installed version, and then update the original files?

Edit: It's our intention to keep the installable skin and module files under source control in TFS, and deploying packages as changes are made.

Solution

  • If you're developing those skins locally, running at a URL like http://dnndev.me/ you can make all the changes you want, without having to package/install the skins.

    That is also the recommended approach for doing module development.

    Here's a tutorial on setting up your local development environment:

    http://www.christoc.com/Tutorials/All-Tutorials/aid/1

    If you aren't doing local development, than you have to go through the hoops for packaging/deploying or uploading to the webserver via FTP/file system.