At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Describe the role that Commerce Server plays in developing a B2C Web site for the Microsoft .NET platform.
• Configure the Commerce Server development environment.
• Build and import catalogs.
• Create Web pages that display and search catalog data.
• Use user and group profiles to identify and authenticate users.
• Create a basic shopping basket.
• Create a shopping basket that uses pipelines, transactions, and object pooling.
• Develop both scripted and compiled pipeline components.
• Create advertisement, or ad, and discount campaign items.
• Implement a marketing campaign.
• Package a Commerce Server Web site for deployment.

Before attending this course, students must be able to:

• Understand the basic principles of event-driven programming.
• Use the ASP object model to create a Web site that includes Application-level variables and a global.asa file.
• Create a simple Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) page that includes tables and frames.
• Add server-side scripting to a Web page by using VBScript.
• Use Microsoft ActiveX^® Data Objects (ADO) to read and write information to a database. (This is a recommended prerequisite, but not required.)

Module 1: Overview of Business-to-Consumer Web Sites

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Introduction to B2C Web Development
• Features of Commerce Server 2000
• Introduction to the Lab Scenario

After completing this module, you will be able to describe the role that Commerce Server plays in developing a B2C Web site for the Microsoft .NET platform.

This includes:

• Describing the characteristics of a B2C Web site.
• Listing the main features of Commerce Server that support the development of a B2C Web site.
• Describing a Solution Site and its practical implications.
• Explaining how Commerce Server interacts with the Microsoft Windows Server System.
• Understanding the overall structure of the lab scenario.

Module 2: Introduction to Developing with Commerce Server 2000

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Identifying Prerequisite Software
• Installing Commerce Server 2000
• Using Commerce Server 2000 Solution Sites
• Programming Overview

After completing this module, you will be able to configure the Commerce Server development environment.

This includes:

• Identifying and configuring the software that is needed to develop a Commerce Server Web site.
• Installing Commerce Server.
• Unpackaging the Blank Solution Site.
• Defining what the general-purpose programming objects are.
• Describing the typical uses for dictionaries in Commerce Server and the kinds of information that are stored in them.

Module 3: Building and Importing Catalogs

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Understanding Commerce Server 2000 Catalogs
• Creating a Catalog Schema
• Creating a New Catalog
• Importing Existing Catalogs
• Creating Catalog Sets and Custom Catalogs

After completing this module, you will be able to build and import catalogs. This includes:

• Explaining how Commerce Server uses catalogs.
• Building a catalog schema.
• Using Commerce Server Business Desk to build catalogs.
• Importing catalog files.
• Creating catalog sets and custom catalogs.

Module 4: Displaying and Searching Catalog Data

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Displaying Catalog Data
• Creating a Catalog Search Page
• Using an LRU Cache

After completing this module, you will be able to create Web pages that display and search catalog data. This includes:

• Using Commerce Server objects to build a Web page that displays catalog data.
• Using Commerce Server objects to build a search-enabled Web page that will search catalog data.
• Use an Least Recently Used (LRU) cache to optimize catalog searches.

Module 5: Identifying and Authenticating Users

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Overview of Identifying, Authenticating, and Profiling Users
• Identifying Anonymous Users
• Identifying and Authenticating Registered Users
• Registering Users

After completing this module, you will be able to use user and group profiles to identify and authenticate users. This includes:

• Explaining why you would want to identify and authenticate Web site users.
• Building an anonymous identification system by using AuthFilter and MSCSProfile cookies.
• Building a Registered user authentication system by using AuthFilter and MSCSAuth cookies.
• Building user profile definitions for Anonymous and Registered users.
• Link catalog sets to Anonymous and Registered user profiles.

Module 6: Creating a Shopping Basket

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Introduction to Shopping Baskets
• Building a Shopping Basket

After completing this module, you will be able to create a basic shopping basket. This includes:

• Describing the objects that are used to define and display a shopping basket in Commerce Server and the role that these objects play in implementing the basic features of a shopping basket.
• Implementing a simple shopping basket by adding and removing items that are selected by the shopper and displaying the basket.

Module 7: Using a Pipeline

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Overview of Commerce Server Pipelines
• Building a New Pipeline
• Working with the Order Processing Pipelines
• Running an Order Processing Pipeline

After completing this module, you will be able to create a shopping basket that uses pipelines, transactions, and object pooling. This includes:

• Defining the four types of pipelines in Commerce Server and explaining which of these pipeline types support transactions and object pooling.
• Using the Pipeline Editor to create a pipeline configuration file (pcf) that defines the stages and components of a pipeline.
• Defining the purpose, stages, and components of each of the Order Processing pipelines in Commerce Server.
• Running a pipeline by using the RunPipe method of the OrderGroup object.

Module 8: Creating Pipeline Components

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Creating a Scriptor Pipeline Component
• Creating a Compiled Pipeline Component
• Registering a Compiled Pipeline Component

After completing this module, you will be able to develop both scripted and compiled pipeline components. This includes:

• Adding a Scriptor pipeline component to a pipeline and customizing it by creating VBScript code.
• Using Visual Basic to create a compiled pipeline component.
• Registering a compiled pipeline component.

Module 9: Creating Campaigns with Business Desk

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Introducing Commerce Server 2000 Campaigns
• Targeting Campaign Items
• Creating an Ad Campaign
• Creating a Discount Campaign
• Creating a Direct Mail Campaign

After completing this module, you will be able to create advertisement and discount campaign items. This includes:

• Providing examples of different types of campaigns.
• Creating a target group by using Business Desk.
• Creating an ad campaign by using Business Desk.
• Create a discount campaign.
• Create a direct mail campaign item by using Business Desk.

Module 10: Implementing Campaigns

The following topics are covered in this module:

• Using the Content Selection Pipeline
• Enabling Pages for Advertisements
• Enabling Discounts on a Web Site

After completing this module, you will be able to implement a marketing campaign. This includes:

• Creating a Content Selection pipeline (CSP).
• Enabling Web pages to display ads from the CSP.
• Running a discount campaign.

Module 11: Packaging a Commerce Server 2000 Web Site

The following topics are covered in this module:

• What is Contained in a Package?
• Packaging a Web Site
• Security Concerns

After completing this module, you will be able to package a Commerce Server Web site for deployment. This includes:

• Defining the contents and settings that are contained in a site package.
• Packaging a typical Web site.
• Understanding the security issues that are associated with the packaging and unpackaging of a Web site.