I need to be able to call methods on a controller class from one of our company's modules from a Windows Application.  Apparently the activator cannot read the appropriate string that generates the fully qualified type for the SQLDataProvider from the app.config.  The module works fine from within the web portal.

Has anyone here been successful calling into the DotNetNuke controller classes from outside of the DNN web project (from within a windows form application)?  Any insight into what you did to make it work would be useful.  I am using DNN 4.3.4 and 2.0 Framework.  Here is details of the error and a snapshot of my app.config from the Windows Application:

Outer exception: "The type initializer for 'AGS.Modules.CoreServices.DataProvider' threw an exception."

Inner exception: Value cannot be null.  Parameter name: type

Stack Trace:

   at System.Activator.CreateInstance(Type type, Boolean nonPublic)
   at System.Activator.CreateInstance(Type type)
   at DotNetNuke.Framework.Reflection.CreateObject(String TypeName, String CacheKey, Boolean UseCache)
   at DotNetNuke.Framework.Reflection.CreateObject(String ObjectProviderType, String ObjectProviderName, String ObjectNamespace, String ObjectAssemblyName, Boolean UseCache)
   at DotNetNuke.Framework.Reflection.CreateObject(String ObjectProviderType, String ObjectNamespace, String ObjectAssemblyName)
   at AGS.Modules.CoreServices.DataProvider.CreateProvider()
   at AGS.Modules.CoreServices.DataProvider..cctor()

Here is a look at the app.config:

<configuration>

<!-- register local configuration handlers -->

<configSections>

<sectionGroup name="dotnetnuke">

<!-- the requirePermission attribute will cause a syntax warning - please ignore - it is required for Medium Trust support-->

<section name="data" requirePermission="false" type="DotNetNuke.Framework.Providers.ProviderConfigurationHandler, DotNetNuke" />

<section name="caching" requirePermission="false" type="DotNetNuke.Framework.Providers.ProviderConfigurationHandler, DotNetNuke" />

</sectionGroup>

</configSections>

<connectionStrings>

<add name="SiteSqlServer" connectionString="Server=**;Database=**;uid=**;pwd=**;" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />

</connectionStrings>

<dotnetnuke>

<data defaultProvider="SqlDataProvider">

<providers>

<clear />

<add name="SqlDataProvider" type="DotNetNuke.Data.SqlDataProvider, DotNetNuke.SqlDataProvider" connectionStringName="SiteSqlServer" upgradeConnectionString="" providerPath="" objectQualifier="" databaseOwner="dbo" />

</providers>

</data>

<caching defaultProvider="FileBasedCachingProvider">

<providers>

<clear />

<add name="FileBasedCachingProvider" type="DotNetNuke.Services.Cache.FileBasedCachingProvider.FBCachingProvider, DotNetNuke.Caching.FileBasedCachingProvider" providerPath="~\Providers\CachingProviders\FileBasedCachingProvider\" />

<add name="BroadcastPollingCachingProvider" type="DotNetNuke.Services.Cache.BroadcastPollingCachingProvider.BPCachingProvider, DotNetNuke.Caching.BroadcastPollingCachingProvider" providerPath="~\Providers\CachingProviders\BroadcastPollingCachingProvider\" />

</providers>

</caching>

</dotnetnuke>

</configuration>

I have spent some time dwelling on this and believe there is an underlying issue with the implementation of DNN's provider model if the various controller objects are tightly coupled to classes/configuration sections that are specific to a web project.  It seems to me that any controller-level class should be able to be instantiated from any other type of project (windows form, windows service) as long as the appropriate data provider configuration groups are specified in the app.config.

If anyone has been successful doing this, please post here because I imagine that this is something that many people may need to know (now or sometime on another project).

Another approach (which has worked well for me) is to create a web service to do what you want.  I install the web service (that is, the asmx files and the dll) as a module inside DNN, (along with a "dummy" ascx file so DNN doesn't go crazy if you try to add it to a page!).  The web service code runs "inside" dotnetnuke, so you don't have any of the problems noted above.

Edit:  Forgot to add "and call it from your WinForms application!"