Gold Coast : ADO.NET

Entity Framework 4.0 Sneak Previews

marcsc — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:17:11 GMT

If you haven’t been keeping up on the ADO.NET team blog, but you want to get up to speed with what’s coming in the next release of the Entity Framework (.NET 4.0), then now is the time to start monitoring their blog. Since 5/11, they’ve cranked out seven posts on new features. I like what they are doing. The post on 5/11 gives you a high level update. Then, they have followed it up with “Sneak Previews” of specific improvements. Definitely worth the time to read through these posts!

DevDinnerOnDemand: Overview of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

marcsc — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:31:44 GMT

With the .NET Framework 3.5 (the version native to Visual Studio 2008) coming up on its first anniversary, Microsoft is poised to release the first update to the framework in the form of Service Pack (SP1). This Service Pack is unlike your standard Service Pack, in that it will introduce new features/capabilities to the .NET Framework. Some of these features where originally planned to be in the initial release of the framework and others are features/capabilities added to enhance or further secure the core .NET Framework. The August Developer Dinner is going to focus on some of the new features as well as a few of the new enhancements, to give you an introduction of the improved capabilities of the Microsoft Developer Platform.

What you will learn:

This evenings presentation will be a running stream of demonstration focusing on new features and functionality coming in the new Service Pack for several of the key areas of .NET Development today, including Web Development (ASP.NET), Database Development (ADO.NET), Web Services/SOA (Windows Communication Foundation) and User Experience (Windows Presentation Foundation).

You will see demonstrations that will include:

Making data access easier with the ADO.NET Entity Framework.
Exposing your data access layer using ADO.NET Data Services
Building “Data Entry” Web-based applications faster than ever using ASP.NET Dynamic Data.
Making AJAX Applications faster with script combining and easier with built in support for handling browser history (i.e. back/forward buttons).
How to achieve up to 40% faster startup performance for your WPF applications and further improve the startup experience using a splash screen.
Reducing the time it takes to deploy your WPF applications using the New .NET Framework Client Profile.
Build services faster using enhancements in WCF.

View Recording:

http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/keydet/US-Public-Sector-Developer-Dinner-for-Partners-NET-Framework-35-SP1/

The follow up post for this developer dinner is http://blogs.msdn.com/devkeydet/archive/2008/08/21/follow-up-developer-dinner-on-net-framework-3-5-sp1.aspx.

Preventing SQL Injection with the Entity Framework and Data Services

marcsc — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:14:15 GMT

Yesterday, at the Developer Dinner, I answered a bunch of questions around SQL Injection in the various usage scenarios of the ADO.NET Entity Framework & ADO.NET Data Services. For the most part, my responses were correct. However, the last question asked was specific to Entity SQL queries. I misspoke. This post is to clear things up.

Because Entity SQL is string based, it is susceptible to SQL Injection. From Security Considerations (Entity Framework):

"Entity SQL injection attacks:

SQL injection attacks can be performed in Entity SQL by supplying malicious input to values that are used in a query predicate and in parameter names. To avoid the risk of SQL injection, you should never combine user input with Entity SQL command text.

Entity SQL queries accept parameters everywhere that literals are accepted. You should use parameterized queries instead of injecting literals from an external agent directly into the query."

Therefore, if you decide to execute queries using Entity SQL, then will want to review How to: Execute a Parameterized Query (Entity Framework). I will be sure to update my Entity SQL demos to use parameterized queries.

The good news is that if you are using LINQ to Entities, then you are covered:

"LINQ to Entities injection attacks:

Although query composition is possible in LINQ to Entities, it is performed through the object model API. Unlike Entity SQL queries, LINQ to Entities queries are not composed by using string manipulation or concatenation, and they are not susceptible to traditional SQL injection attacks. "

If I remember correctly, the originating question starting the series of SQL Injection questions was about introducing SQL Injection into an ADO.NET Data Services query. ADO.NET Data Services queries go through a translation layer from the http request to the actual query execution. Although this translation is not exactly the same, it is conceptually similar to what happens when you create LINQ to Entities queries in code. Because of this translation layer you get the same protection from SQL Injection.

FOLLOW UP: Developer Dinner on .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

marcsc — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:20:50 GMT

Thanks to everyone who attended! You can download the deck and links to the code here:

Normally, I make my actual demo code available for download. However, this time around, my demo code was based on the .NET 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit. I blogged about it here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/devkeydet/archive/2008/08/18/free-training-on-net-framework-3-5-sp1-and-asp-net-mvc.aspx

The kit has everything I showed in my demos and more! I also promised to link to a bunch of good content out there on the various topics.

General

MSDN -> Data Platform Development

“How Do I?” Videos — Data Platform Development

ADO.NET Entity Framework

MSDN Library -> ADO.NET Entity Framework

ADO.NET Team Blog

Entity Framework Design Blog

Sample provider for Oracle

Third Party Provider Support for the Entity Framework RTM

Updated Entity Framework Samples for RTM

ADO.NET Data Services

MSDN Library -> ADO.NET Data Services Framework

MSDN -> ADO.NET Data Services

ADO.NET Data Services Team Blog

http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/UK/ Has a bunch of GREAT screencasts from Mike Taulty.

ASP.NET Dynamic Data

MSDN Library -> ASP.NET Dynamic Data

http://www.asp.net/DynamicData/

David Ebbo's blog (Dynamic Data and other ASP.NET topics)

WPF

http://windowsclient.net/wpf/default.aspx

What's New in .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (for WPF)

WPF DataGrid CTP Preview (Video)

cheat-sheet to some of the WPF 3.5 SP1 features..

WPF Control Toolkit (DataGrid CTP)

WCF

New WCF Features in 3.5 SP1

WCF Tools in VS2008 SP1: Introducing the new features and enhancements

Technorati Tags: .net framework,ado.net,linq,asp.net,ajax,visual studio,wcf,wpf

Free training on .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and ASP.NET MVC

marcsc — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:23:45 GMT

Looking for free introductory training on the .NET 3.5 SP1 & ASP.NET MVC? Head over to Jonathan Carter's blog to get all the details on the .NET 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit RTM. What will you find? Information and links to download a kit that has presentations, demos, and labs covering what's new in ASP.NET AJAX, ASP.NET Routing, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Dynamic Data, ADO.NET Data Services, ADO.NET Entity Framework, WCF, and Visual Studio 2008 SP1. If you've seen any of my 3.5 SP1 or my older "ASP.NET Futures" presentations, then you are already familiar with some of the content in the kit. I used an early release of the kit as the foundation for some of my demos. The kit has come a long way since I used it. I skimmed through everything last week. There is lots of good content in here!

Technorati Tags: asp.net,ajax,mvc,ado.net,wcf,visual studio

FOLLOW UP: Public Sector Developer Conference (Nashville, TN)

marcsc — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:39:52 GMT

Thanks to everyone who attended. Sorry about the overflow into the hallways. There was much less dropoff between registration and attendance than we normally see. Some of the content isn't published yet. Once it is, we'll make sure to update this post with the appropriate links.

Building Rich Internet Applications Using Microsoft Silverlight 2

Building WPF Applications in Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Blend - deck, code

Data Access with Language Integrated Query

Overview of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 & ASP.NET MVC - deck, code

We also mentioned some downloadable tools that folks were interested in using. Here are the ones I remember:

Visual LINQ (to SQL) Query Builder

LINQPad

If I forgot one, please let me know by posting a comment and I will update the post. Thanks!

-Marc

FOLLOW UP: Public Sector Developer Conference (Downers Grove, IL)

marcsc — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:52:03 GMT

Thanks to everyone who attended! Here are the links to the decks and code for the sessions. I don't have the content from the LINQ & VSTO sessions yet, but will update this post when I get them. However, I did promise to have a post up this morning.

How Visual Studio Team System 2008 will benefit your organization? - deck

Language Integrated Query (LINQ)

Overview of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 & ASP.NET MVC - deck, resources, code (links to a post explaining how to get the code I based me demos on)

Office Development with VSTO and Office Open XML Format

If you are interested in other content, I have a list of recorded webcasts in My Recorded Webcasts list. There is a session similar to Joel's LINQ session that covers LINQ to SQL in a little more detail as well as other topics which might interest you. You might want to check out My Screencasts as well.

Technorati Tags: .net framework,visual studio,ado.net,linq,asp.net,mvc,wcf,wpf,vsto

Free training on .NET 3.5 SP1

marcsc — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:04:01 GMT

I just came across this update to the .NET 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit from Jonathan Carter. If you've seen my ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview webcast and are looking for the code, then you will want to download the kit. I used the kit as the starting point for my demos. I do a few things differently here and there, but most of it is because I didn't have time to show everything in 90 minutes. As far as I can tell, everything that was in the extensions preview is in 3.5 SP1 except ASP.NET MVC which will be shipped separately. The training kit offers a great way to get your hands dirty with the new stuff in 3.5 SP1. Go get it! Oh yea, I have also updated the deck from my webcast to reflect the changes. I have also added a couple slides about what's new in WPF & WCF. You can download my new 3.5 SP1 deck here.

Technorati Tags: .net framework,ado.net,linq,asp.net,mvc,wcf,wpf

WPF for Line of Business applications

marcsc — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:52:44 GMT

I'm a big believer that WPF is a great UI technology for LOB applications. Yes, there are some shortcomings in the designer experience if you compare the WPF designer to the Windows Forms designer in Visual Studio 2008. Yes, WPF is missing some controls that people expect like a DataGrid and DatePicker, but there are solutions. For example:

Xceed has a free DataGrid for WPF. There is even a live demo that is a WPF XBAP application
Kevin's WPF Bag-o-Tricks has a DatePicker and a slew of other helpful controls
There are a number of third party controls you can find in the Control Gallery over at http://windowsclient.net.
Scott Guthrie announced the .NET 3.5 Client Product Roadmap in February. Among other things, he mentions that "Later this year we are also planning to release a number of new controls for WPF. Included in the list we are working on are DataGrid, Ribbon, and Calendar/DatePicker controls."

I've updated my WPF Resources list with these links and more.

Personally, I think the benefits of the WPF programming model outweigh the shortcomings of the WPF designer in Visual Studio 2008. Some of the customers I have worked with have told me that once they get over the initial "shock" around the designer (compared to Windows Forms) and the lack of certain controls, they quickly find that they are more productive overall because they are using WPF. This will get better as the Cider team continues to improve the WPF Designer in Visual Studio. Remember that the Windows Forms designer has been around since the release of .NET 1.0! They've had a little more time to get all those feature in:).

One of the things I have been chatting about with some of my teammates is that there aren't enough good samples demonstrating the use of WPF for LOB apps. I've been doing some research to see what's out there. One example is the WPF sample that ships with the CSLA framework from Rockford Lhotka. I used CSLA back in the days of my life as a VB6 developer. Over the years, Rocky has evolved his framework as the .NET Framework has evolved. CSLA is primarily a Business Object framework, but it ships with example user interfaces (including Windows Forms, ASP.NET, and now WPF). The latest version has a WPF sample LOB app. I also came across Karl Shifflet. Karl's blog has a ton of great info in it about WPF LOB apps including an 11 part series he's started on the topic:

WPF Business Application Series Part 1 of n - Application Structure, Skinning & Custom ToolBar Button Control

WPF Business Application Series Part 2 - Form Notification Control That Binds To IDataErrorInfo.Error Property

WPF Business Application Series Part 3 of n - Business Object Declarative Programming; How To Implement Object Validation & Logging

I've yet to see a sample app that does everything Karl is planning on doing plus show online/offline capability using:

Client Application Services for Authentication / Authorization (which supports offline scenarios)
Data Access via a local SQL Compact Edition database using LINQ to SQL or LINQ to Entities
ADO.NET Sync Services communicating across the wire using WCF to synchronizes with the server database
- Caches lookup data and a necessary subset of the server database relative to the user in the local SQLCE database
- Allows the user to continue working offline, syncing/reconciling changes when they reconnect

I have a bunch of samples that show many of these scenarios, but I have yet to come across a complete solution bringing all of this together in a single app. Have you seen such an example? Are you aware of any other work like Karl & Rocky's for building LOB WPF apps? Please let me know in the comments section. Thanks!

Technorati Tags: wpf,.net framework,ado.net,linq

WEBCAST FOLLOW UP: Overview of the Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview

marcsc — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:04:05 GMT

Thanks to everyone who attended! Sorry about the demo hiccups / going over. As I mentioned in the beginning, I had a hard time trying to get everything I wanted to cover into 90 minutes. As you can see, there's quite a bit in the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions. Normally, I make all of my code demos available for download. However, I used a newer build for my demos that's not publicly available. Once we release the new bits, I will make my code available. For now, you can download my ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions deck here.

UPDATE: I just created a list of links on my Windows Live Space called ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions. This list has links to all the relevant landing pages & forums for the various technologies covered today. Newer versions of MVC, Dynamic Data, and the Silverlight Controls have been released since the December 2007 release of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extension Preview. Make sure you read the release notes of each newer package to understand how to get the newer bits working on top of the December 2007 preview. The ADO.NET Entity Framework and ADO.NET Data Services in the December 2007 release of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extension Preview are the latest releases as of today (04/30/2008). Stay tuned for a newer release that will reflect the updates you saw today.

Technorati Tags: .net framework,asp.net,ajax,ado.net,linq,silverlight,wcf

WEBCAST: Overview of the Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview

marcsc — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:36:31 GMT

The ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview is a new release that provides new functionality being added to ASP.NET 3.5 and ADO.NET in 2008. This release delivers a set of new features that target:

Enabling High Productivity Data Scenarios - including MVC, Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and Dynamic Data
Supporting Test Driven Development - including a powerful and extensible MVC framework
Creating the best server for Rich Clients - including Ajax history support and Silverlight controls for ASP.NET

We will take a lap around all the great capabilities packed into this upcoming release including ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Dynamic Data, ASP.NET AJAX, ADO.NET Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services, and Silverlight Controls for ASP.NET.

When

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

2:00P-3:30P EST (11:00A-12:30P PST)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032373610&Culture=en-US

Technorati Tags: asp.net,ajax,ado.net,silverlight,linq,wcf,.net framework

WEBCAST FOLLOW UP: Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.NET

marcsc — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:03:00 GMT

UPDATE: I have added a recording link for this webcast to My Recorded Webcasts list.

Thanks to everyone who attended. Sorry about the Live Meeting slide animation issue. Hopefully the webcast was still valuable even with the difficulties. Here are the links to the deck & demo code:

Deck

Sync Services 101 / Going N Tier Demo (first two demos)

Filtering Data

Applying Additional Server Logic

Conflict Resolution (from synguru.com)

Server Database

The conflict handling demo is a direct link to the demo from http://syncguru.com. Remember there are some great advanced samples and demos there as well. There is also some good information about the next version too.

Lastly, I didn't really call this out in the webcast, but Sync Services is a piece a much larger puzzle called the Microsoft Sync Framework. You can learn more about the future of sync at http://www.syncguru.com/projects/SyncServicesDemoConflictHandling.aspx.

Technorati Tags: .net framework,ado.net,visual studio,sql server

DC Launch Follow Up

marcsc — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:10:42 GMT

Thanks to everyone who stuck around for my "Defy Occasionally-Connected Challenges With Smart Client Applications" session at the DC Launch. The deck and demo files are available here:

Deck

Workflow Services Demo

Sync Services for ADO.NET Demo

Server Database

The demos require Visual Studio 2008 and depend on a SQL Server 2005 database. I made the database available for download as well. You'll have to attach it to your SQL/SQL Express instance and make sure the connection strings in the project are correct. You'll notice that I didn't include a download for the WPF demo. That's because the UI in the Sync demo is the exact same UI from the WPF demo.

I mentioned recorded/upcoming webcasts a few times during the presentation. You can find a list of all my recorded webcasts at http://devkeydet.com. Here are the recorded webcasts related to the topics I covered:

Introduction to Windows Communication Foundation ***

Introduction to Windows Workflow Foundation ***

Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation ***

Smart Clients: What's New in Visual Studio 2008?

Introduction to LINQ + LINQ to SQL

What's New in the WCF and WF in Visual Studio 2008 & the .NET Framework 3.5

Building Workflow Services (WF+WCF) with Visual Studio 2008

Building WPF Applications in Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Blend

*** These webcasts are fairly old. They are based on .NET 3.0 / VS 2005. The core concepts obviously apply, but the developer experience for all of these technologies has greatly improved in Visual Studio 2008.

I also mentioned my webcast on Thursday. I'll be presenting a deeper dive into the Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.NET. Details are here.

Technorati Tags: visual studio,windows presentation foundation,wpf,windows communication foundation,wcf,windows workflow foundation,wf,ado.net

WEBCAST: Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.NET

marcsc — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:34:16 GMT

Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.NET makes building applications for occasionally connected environments a logical extension of building applications where you can count on a consistent network. Rather than simply replicating a database and its schema, the Synchronization Services application programming interface (API) provides a set of components to synchronize data between data services and a local store. Applications are increasingly used on mobile clients, such as laptops and devices, that do not have a consistent or reliable network connection to a central server. It is crucial for these applications to work against a local copy of data on the client. Equally important is the need to synchronize the local copy of the data with a central server when a network connection is available. The Synchronization Services API, which is modeled after the ADO.NET data access APIs, gives you an intuitive way to synchronize data. Join us for this session as we introduce Synchronization Services and how you can build applications that use the services.

When

Thursday, March 27, 2008

2:30P-4:00P EST (11:30A-1:00P PST)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032369780&Culture=en-US

Technorati Tags: .net framework,visual studio,ado.net,sql server