Microsoft Pakistan Community Blog

Port Existing PhoneGap apps to Windows Phone 8 Competition

2013-05-20T21:59:20Z

I’m happy to announce that Port Existing PhoneGap apps to Windows Phone 8 Competition is open for developers from Pakistan

Take your existing PhoneGap (Apache Cordova) application published in any store and port it to Windows Phone 8. The store includes but not limited to,

- Apple iTunes

- Google Play

- Blackberry World

- Bada

- Symbian Palm OS

- Take any of their existing PhoneGap apps, published in any store, and port it to Windows Phone 8

Contest Dates

The challenge starts today, May 20, 2013. You have through June 30, 2013, to submit your app for this porting challenge. Winners will be announced July 19, 2013, at the PhoneGap Day event in Portland, Oregon.

Judgment Criterion

The criterion of apps judgment is based on,

Originality
Innovation
Easy to use
Engaging and visually appealing to the user

Prizes

- 17 first prize winners will each receive a Windows Phone 8.

- 3 grand prize winners will each receive a Surface Pro and Windows Phone 8.

Where to begin?

Please visit the official site and view this 5-minute video tutorial. Please also read the complete rules for all the details before you sign up at http://www.phonegapwpchallenge.com/.

What is Visual Studio's 2012 Code Map All About?

2013-05-20T10:18:40Z

What is Code Map?

Back in Nov 2012, in Visual Studio 2012 Update 1 a new feature named Code Map was introduced in Ultimate edition. The feature allowed visualization of relationships in code. Here’s a short video that will help you understand the concept behind Code Map.

Beginning Visual Studio 2012 Update 2, Microsoft has extended Code Map with debugging support allowing us to visualize code relationship as you step through the code in debugging session. Consider the Windows Phone code below where on a button click event a call is made to a web service to request population for Pakistan. Once the result is obtained a confirmation message is shown to the user. However during testing we identified that the confirmation message is shown before the response is actually retrieved so we’ll debug the code with Code Map to evaluate the issue.

Code Map: How To?

To explore Code Map debugging feature, set the breakpoint on Button click handler and as soon as the breakpoint is hit, bring forth the code map window by either of following,

- By selecting Code Map button from toolbar

- Choosing Show Call Stack on Code Map from Debug menu

- Pressing Ctrl + Shift + `

You’ll see something like this,

The red border around node denotes which nodes are in the active context of debugging. How about step into our first method? Pressing F11 will take you inside the method DataRetrieved() and Code Map will reflect your debugging state by creating a new node for corresponding method. Notice that node for DataRetrieved() is in focus as identified by yellow marker. This way you can keep track of your call stack and easily track the relationship of methods.

Just to gain insight into power of Code Map, if you click on Summary (TextBlock) inside the method and select ‘Find All References on Code Map’ the Code Map window will reflect the references of the field. This is also handy and in my humble suggestion more insightful when you need to identify which methods in your code play with a particular field and can help in intricate debugging scenarios.

If you continue debugging through the method and reach back to Button click handler’s next method in line RequestPopulation() you’ll notice that if you skip this method by pressing F10 (don’t stop into) CodeMap doesn’t reflect this method. This ensures that Code Map is not cluttered and only presents what you are interested in evaluating.

Let’s step into the last method in this call ShowConfirmationMesssage() and you’ll notice that while node for this method gets active, the node for DataRequest() method also changes color to gray yielding that this method is no more in active context of debugging.

Lastly if we step through this method, reach back to Button 1 click handler and continue debugging through F10, we’ll notice that we step into DownloadStringCompleted event which was an asynchronous call made from RequestPopulation() method. Notice that the Code Map shows this as a branch from External Code node since that call was taken over by Windows Phone core class libraries (System.Net.WebClient class).

Mouse over the node wc_DownloadStringcompleted() event and you’ll see the relevant code signature in tooltip.

Code Map Reviewing Features

We finally see the issue with code. The call to web service is asynchronous and thus the code doesn’t wait for the response and shows the confirmation message prior. This identification must be shared with our developer. Code Map is particularly useful for review purposes. Right click on the wc_DownloadStringCompleted event and select add comment.

After adding comment you can simply go the top and select share method of your choice.

You’ll also find other useful features like ‘Flag for Follow Up’ which highlights the node with colors of your choice and is easy if you identify a section of code that requires your attention but is secondary during this debugging session.

Pointers Review

Finally for reader’s ease, here’s a quick review of pointers that you see analogous to nodes in Code Map,

Xbox - A New Generation Revealed

2013-05-18T21:11:11Z

On Tuesday, May 21, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment as Xbox is revealed; a New Generation of Xbox. You can watch it live on May 21 (Tuesday), 10pm Pakistan Standard Time
on Xbox Live or Xbox.com.

Stream Url: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hub/reveal

Windows Store Registration :: Companies and Developers

2013-05-16T13:07:06Z

Step1: Navigate to the URL : https://appdev.microsoft.com/StorePortals/en-us

Step2: A verification code will be sent to you on your cell Phone, Please keep your cell phone handy.

Step3: After the verification code, select Individual or
company.

For an individual: 4500PKR

For Company : 9000PKR

Hope this helps

Windows Azure Marketplace is available in 49 additional countries including Pakistan

2013-05-16T07:54:56Z

Dear Windows Azure Marketplace user,

Great news! We are now available in 49 additional countries.

Customers from following countries can now purchase and consume qualified Marketplace offers:

Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Already registered in a different market?

You can migrate your account to your native market by few simple steps:

· Go to https://datamarket.azure.com/account
· Cancel your existing application or data subscriptions
· Click “Edit” on “Account Information” page
· Select region associated with your Microsoft Account
· Click “Save”
· Subscribe to all your favorite offers again

Windows Azure Marketplace content spotlight: Don’t miss out an opportunity to earn some money with D&B Developer Challenge!

Join the D&B Developer Challenge and win $1000 for a good idea or $10,000 for a great application. Get your data on the Windows Azure Marketplace. Learn more here

Check out new Windows Azure Marketplace content: https://datamarket.azure.com/.

Windows Azure Marketplace feature spotlight: Never run out of transactions again

Afraid of running out of transactions? Let Windows Azure Marketplace refill your subscription for you! Read more about Auto-Refill here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff717656.aspx

Please visit our forum for any questions or feedback: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-us/DataMarket/threads

"Windows 8.1", Public preview coming on June 26

2013-05-14T16:15:11Z

Windows Keeps Getting Better & Better. "Windows 8.1", Public preview will be available on June 26

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/14/windows-keeps-getting-better.aspx

Microsoft BizSpark Program

2013-05-09T08:57:00Z

Innovation and entrepreneurship is the backbone of the IT software industry. Microsoft Innovation Center - Karachi is organizing an event to launch 4th BizSpark program.

BizSpark is a program which is specifically designed to help high-potential startups connect with latest technological trends in the world. As part of this program, Microsoft will not only give access to licensed software, training and visibility, but also enables startup companies to transform their initial business idea into a software product.

The three year program gives startups;

Software:

Current, full featured Microsoft development tools, platform technologies and server products to build software applications. BizSpark startups also get Windows Azure benefits enabling startups to quickly build, deploy & manage web applications.

Support:

Startup become part of the BizSpark ecosystem and get access to investors, advisors and valuable offer to help run their business, find talent & obtain financing. Startup also get access to technical, product & business training & support.

Visibility:

Bizspark startup have the opportunity to achieve marketing visibility to help promote their businesses.

Qualification criteria:

To qualify, a startup must be

Developing software
Privately held and generating less than $1M revenue per year.
less than 5 years old.

What's next?

Interested startups are advised to email Muhammad Umer ( v-muumer@microsoft.com ) with their company details & technologies they are currently working on to have a one on one session with them for further discussions.

PhoneGap to WP8 Porting Challenge

2013-05-08T05:02:00Z

We’re going to launch a “PhoneGap to WP8 Porting Challenge” here: http://www.phonegapwpchallenge.com/ worldwide.

The challenge will open for registration May 20, 2013 at the latest and site will be updated to provide details & context.

This challenge is targeting PhoneGap developers who have already published apps like the one listed here http://phonegap.com/app/.

Stay tuned!

Windows 8 at 6 Months

2013-05-07T09:04:00Z

Here is a nice Q&A with Microsoft CMO & CFO Tami Reller,

Highlights:

- 100M Windows 8 Licence have been sold in 6 months!

- First Official Windows Blue mention! Windows Blue is a codename for an update that will be available later this year

- Number of apps in the Windows Store has increased 6x since launch.

- 250M people are using SkyDrive.

- 400M active Outlook users.

- Outlook-Skype integration

Full article: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/06/windows-8-at-6-months-q-amp-a-with-tami-reller.aspx

SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines, Best Practices for GA

2013-05-07T07:24:33Z

Windows Azure Infrastructure Services status become General Availability on 16th April, 2013. You can read more about the concept in this blog entry.

In this post we'll share with you some resources for deploying SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

With GA announcement now you have the option to use pre-installed Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 images with SQL Server 2012 SP1 (Web, Standard and Enterprise Editions) for pay-per-hour model.

In this model, SQL Server license price is included in the price. For more details in this model go to pricing page and select SQL Server. More SQL Server editions and Windows Server 2012 images will be coming soon as well.

You can also use your existing SQL Server licenses in Windows Azure Virtual Machines. Please check Windows Azure Licensing FAQ document for detailed answers to the questions below :

How do I license SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines?
When using my license mobility benefit to run SQL Server, how large of a compute instance can I run on Windows Azure with a single SQL Server license?

After talking about the pre-installed images, pricing and licensing you’ll most probably need technical documentation as well.

There is an updated technical deck for Windows Azure Infrastructure GA that you can start for all your SQL Server integrations in Windows Azure: SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines

You can read lots of technical documents on installation, migration, performance, connectivity, security & high availability stuff.

You can also read SQL Server blog post for best practices and scenarios of deploying SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

You can start your 90 days Windows Azure Free Trial and check the features and capabilities of SQL Server in Windows Azure by yourself.