Skip to main content

Solution structure

The Damsy ERP codebase is a Visual Studio solution with four projects. Each project has a clear responsibility, and dependencies flow in one direction: the UI references everything; the DAL never references the UI.

Purpose​

Understanding project boundaries tells you where to add code — a new payroll screen belongs in DamsyERP.UI/Areas/Payroll, its data calls in DAL, and its transfer objects in BO.

Solution file​

Open DamsyERP.sln at the repository root. Set DamsyERP.UI as the startup project before running or debugging.

Projects at a glance​

ProjectNamespaceResponsibility
DamsyERP.UIDamsyERP.UIWeb application — controllers, Areas, views, static assets, report viewers, routing
DALDALData access layer — ADO.NET calls to stored procedures via BaseHelper
BOBOBusiness objects / DTOs — BO.Payroll, BO.Employee, BO.User, etc.
UTILITIESUTILITIESShared helpers — cryptography, constants, cross-cutting utilities

Dependency diagram​

Rule of thumb: If you need SQL access, add or extend a class in DAL. If you need a shape for form data or SP results, add a class in BO. If both UI and DAL need it (hashing, formatting), put it in UTILITIES.

DamsyERP.UI​

The web project contains everything user-facing.

Root controllers​

LocationExamples
Controllers/LoginController, DashboardController, EmployeeMController, ManageErrorController

Root controllers handle authentication, the module launcher dashboard, shared employee master screens, and global error pages.

MVC Areas​

Each module is an Area under Areas/:

Areas/
├── Payroll/
├── Registration/
├── Bills/
├── Stock/
├── Sales/
├── ESS/
├── ContractedRates/
├── Operation/
├── AttendancePunching/
├── Adminisration/          ← intentional spelling
├── ManagmentDashBoard/     ← intentional spelling
└── VerificationAndApproval/

Each Area includes:

  • Controllers/ — module-specific actions
  • Views/ — Razor templates and _Layout*.cshtml
  • Optional .aspx Crystal report viewer pages

App_Start​

RouteConfig.cs, BundleConfig.cs, FilterConfig.cs, and AreaRegistration classes wire routing and static asset bundling at application start.

Static assets​

app-assets/ holds shared CSS (shell-modern.css, sidebar-unified.css) and module-specific styles (payroll-modern.css, etc.).

DAL​

The data access project contains one or more *_DAL classes per domain (e.g., Login_DAL, PayRollDashBoard_DAL). Methods build SqlParameter arrays and delegate to BaseHelper:

// Pattern used throughout DAL classes
var dt = baseHelper.GetDataTable("dbo.GetLoginUser", parameters);

BaseHelper.ResolveConnectionString() reads MyConnectionString from Web.config (see Connection strings).

BO​

Plain C# classes representing entities and form payloads. Controllers populate BO objects from request data and session; DAL methods accept BO instances as inputs to stored procedure parameters.

The BO.User object is especially important — it carries module boolean flags (Payroll, Billing, ZSTOCK, …) deserialized into session as dtVerifyUser after login.

UTILITIES​

Shared code with no database dependency:

  • HashCryptography — password encryption before SP comparison
  • Constants and formatting helpers referenced by both UI and DAL

How a feature flows across projects​

Developer notes​

  • Do not add UI references from DAL or BO — keep dependency direction clean.
  • DAL classes often define a private struct Procedure with SP name constants — search for an existing DAL in the same domain before creating a new one.
  • Report .rpt files live inside the UI project near their Area report viewers.
  • Web.config lives only in DamsyERP.UI — connection strings and appSettings are not duplicated in other projects.
tip

When debugging a module action, set breakpoints in this order: Area controller → DAL method → BaseHelper → SQL Profiler on the stored procedure name from the DAL struct.

Common mistakes​

MistakeFix
Adding business logic only in the controllerMove persistence to DAL; keep controller thin
Creating duplicate DTOs in UI projectUse or extend BO classes
Referencing System.Web from DALKeep DAL web-agnostic except where legacy code already does
Renaming Area foldersBreaks routes — see Features for correct spellings

Next steps​

With the solution map in hand, proceed to Requirements and Installation to open and run the solution locally.