Sneak Peek: Enhanced ASP.NET Themes DLL Performance

Another performance enhancement in the DXperience 2009 volume 3 release is the use of the ASPxThemes DLL. Using our custom HTTP handler [1] module, the ASPxThemes DLL will now compress the CSS files along with the scripts and callbacks.

Typically, the ASP.NET theme files are stored in your project’s App_Themes folder. With the DXperience 2009 volume 2 release, you have the advantage of using our ASPxThemes DLL [2] which packs the images and CSS files into one DLL.

Using the ASPxThemes DLL in the DXperience 2009 volume 3 release results in reduced web server traffic because:

1. Shorter resource URLs:
   • ASPxThemes DLL - '/grid93/DXR.axd?r=1_16' – (22 Characters)
   • App_Themes Folder - 'App_Themes/MyBlackGlass/Web/sprite.png'  - (38 Characters)
2. The ASPxThemes DLL will now compress the CSS files (v9.3) along with scripts and callbacks (v9.2):

Recommendation

We’re recommending that you use the ASPxThemes DLL. By default, the pre-packaged themes we provide will already be included in the ASPxThemes DLL. However, if you use custom ASP.NET Themes then put them in the ‘custom theme assembly’ before publishing your web site. And here’s how to do it:

S132599 - Provide a way to use custom ASP.NET Theme with New HTTP Handler for Resources

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References:

[1] ASP.NET Performance Improvements in DevExpress 2009 volume 2 by Mehul Harry

[2] Custom ASP.NET Themes And The New ASP.NET Themes DLL by Mehul Harry

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