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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – Native Certificate Management

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One of the strengths of WebExpress has always been its ability to operate efficiently across a wide range of environments, from small Raspberry Pi installations to larger server deployments. HTTPS support based on Kestrel has been part of the framework for years, and certificates can already be configured directly on endpoints using PFX files. This simple and reliable approach has served WebExpress well, particularly in lightweight and self hosted environments. As the platform continues to evolve, certificate management is becoming increasingly important. Today, HTTPS endpoints are directly coupled to certificate files defined in configuration. While this works perfectly for smaller deployments, it limits future scenarios such as automated certificate management, centralized certificate stores, cloud integrations, and dynamic multi domain hosting. To address these challenges, WebExpress is introducing a native certificate management infrastructure. The objective is to treat X.509 ce...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – Removal of Bootstrap and Popper.js

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The release of WebExpress 2.0.0-alpha initiates a radical architectural shift that finally casts off the legacy burdens of past years. The declared goal of this transformation is a drastic reduction in external dependencies, a noticeable performance optimization, and a consistent alignment with modern, native web standards. To achieve this milestone, both Bootstrap and Popper.js are being completely removed from the framework. What seems like a major cut at first glance actually frees WebExpress from unused CSS and external JavaScript dependencies that have simply become redundant in today's browser landscape thanks to modern standards. However, this deep restructuring brings significant technical challenges, particularly affecting the migration of familiar interactive components. One of the biggest undertakings is the complete transition of modals to the native HTML5 dialog element. Previously, dialog windows had to be painstakingly controlled via nested div structures, Aria attri...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – 8,000 Unit Tests and a Little More

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In the current development cycle of WebExpress 2.0.0-alpha, the framework has reached an important milestone in terms of quality assurance and stability. The current stage of development now includes more than 8,000 automated unit tests that continuously safeguard and validate a large portion of the framework's architecture. This testing foundation is complemented by extensive JavaScript and Node.js tests that cover client side components, integrations, and build processes. The large number of tests is not the primary goal itself, but rather the result of a consistently pursued commitment to quality. Every new feature, enhancement, and bug fix is accompanied by automated tests from the very beginning. This allows defects to be detected early, long before they can reach production environments. At the same time, it creates a reliable safety net for the ongoing evolution of the framework. The importance of automated testing has increased significantly throughout the development of We...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – The End of config.xml

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In modern software development with .NET the way we configure applications has changed fundamentally. While XML-based configuration files like a config.xml were the undisputed standard in the classic framework era the stage today belongs to cross-platform and cloud-native approaches. For a lightweight web server framework like WebExpress the switch to the modern appsettings.json offers an excellent opportunity to further increase performance while drastically simplifying handling for developers. The theoretical basis for this change is founded on the modern .NET Configuration Provider model which no longer views settings as rigid documents but as a flexible key-value store that can be dynamically fed from a wide variety of sources. The greatest advantage of this JSON-based configuration lies in its native and seamless integration into modern container environments like Docker. When WebExpress runs in a Docker container developers often need to control individual parameters such as port...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – From Sketch to Framework

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The way the framework is developed has changed fundamentally and now follows the philosophy of "from sketch to framework". While the focus was previously on manual programming, implementation is now handled entirely by Claude Code. The emphasis has shifted toward the conceptual design of ideas, where a simple mental or visual sketch serves as the direct starting point for new, production-ready components. The subsequent implementation, design, documentation, and creation of tutorial pages are fully automated from this initial concept. Compared to the traditional approach, this process is faster, more precise, more uniform, and more consistent. The human role has evolved into that of a system architect who defines requirements, provides the initial sketch, and steers the architectural direction. As a current use case, a static control ( ControlFormItemInputDnf ) for WebUI and a dynamic REST control ( ControlDataFormItemInputDnf ) for the WebApp are being implemented. This mirr...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – Custom SVG Icons

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The transition from Font Awesome to a fully custom SVG icon system represents a significant technological advancement in the evolution of WebExpress. Font based icons were functional but inherently limited because they remained bound to properties such as font size and color. This was sufficient for simple symbols yet restrictive for complex interfaces. By adopting SVG icons these limitations disappear entirely because SVGs exist as independent DOM elements that can be manipulated through the full range of CSS and JavaScript. This unlocks design capabilities that are practically unattainable with font icons. Path structures can be controlled with precision gradients can be defined natively and animations using stroke dasharray or stroke offset enable subtle micro interactions that make interfaces clearer and more expressive. The move to SVG also eliminates the licensing dependency that comes with third party icon fonts. Font Awesome is a powerful library but it introduces an external l...
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WebExpress 2.0.0‑alpha – Development Progress

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The development of WebExpress version 2.0.0‑alpha marks an important step toward a more modern and cohesive framework architecture. As work continues across the three core modules WebUI, WebApp and WebCore, the halfway point of the alpha phase already shows how the system is evolving into a more flexible and efficient foundation for future applications. Many planned improvements have been implemented, while others are actively being refined, creating a clear picture of a release that significantly expands the capabilities of the framework. A central focus of the current development cycle is the introduction of new controls and the modernization of the user interface layer. These additions make interactions more dynamic and allow for more precise data binding and a clearer separation between presentation and logic. The UI benefits from new form components, configurable tables and enhanced list elements, all of which contribute to more adaptable and scalable interfaces. The rendering pi...
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