Jim O'Neil's Blog : Northeast Roadshow

Bring a Friend, Get a Book

joneil — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

As you know, Chris and I are in the middle of our Fall/Winter 2009 Northeast Roadshow, with four more stops scheduled for early December:

Now there’s even more incentive to attend! In addition to the WIN7 code referenced in my previous blog post, we’re incorporating a “Bring a friend, get a book” promotion for the rest of our venues (our colleagues down the East coast are doing the same, by the way). Here’s how to take advantage of the offer:

Follow the registration link above for the desired venue
For the referral code, enter the name of the friend you’re bringing along, OR if you’ve already registered, have your friend enter your name when she or he registers (see below).
When you check-in at the event, we’ll hand each of you a copy of Laurence Moroney’s Introducing Microsoft Silverlight 3.

Obligatory Fine Print:

Government employees are not eligible for promotion
Both parties must be present to win
If onsite supply runs out, books will be mailed to recipients

Northeast Roadshow: 3 Down, 4 to Go

joneil — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:52:58 GMT

Thanks to the folks in Burlington, Vermont, and Troy and Rochester, New York, for coming to the latest edition of the Northeast Roadshow last week. Given the timing (PDC this week and the Thanksgiving holiday next week), Chris and I are on a short break before we resume the series on December 3rd. There’s still room at all the remaining venues, AND we’ve got a special deal for you:

If you’re among the first seven at each venue to register with the code WIN7, we’ll hand you a copy of the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536) Microsoft .NET Framework Application Development Foundation, Second edition at the event!

Given what I heard just today -- and PDC hasn’t officially started yet -- we’ll have a lot to talk about at the upcoming venues (I’m already contemplating a few updates to my presentations and demos!). You can get the full agenda here, but the topics we’ll be discussing include

WCF
Model-View-ViewModel with Silverlight and Expression Blend
Avenues to get technical help on Microsoft technologies
LINQ fundamentals
ASP.NET Web Forms and Ajax

East Coast Roadshow Series

joneil — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:33:24 GMT

Thanks to my New York Metro colleague, Peter Laudati, for pulling all of these events together in one place. While Chris and I are rather partial to the Northeast Roadshow :), we realize a number of you prefer the warmer climes this time of year, and so we wanted you to be aware of all great work being done up and down the East coast.

Across the board, this is a pretty amazing opportunity for deep technical content -and, of course, unique brands of humor courtesy of your local developer evangelist(a)s. For the price of FREE, it’s definitely a few of your hours of your day well spent.

Note, PDC is happening in the middle of our series (say hi to Chris and me if you’re coming to LA), so we are primed for last minute updates at our December talks as well!

Psst… register with the code WIN7 and you may receive one of seven free copies of the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework Application Development Foundation.

	MSDN Northeast Roadshow: ”Don’t Fear the Coder” Piloted by Chris Bowen & Jim O’Neil Cities & Dates: 11/10/2009 – Burlington, VT 11/12/2009 – Troy, NY 11/13/2009 – Rochester, NY 12/3/2009 – Farmington, CT 12/8/2009 – Waltham, MA 12/9/2009 – Providence, RI 12/15/2009 – Augusta, ME
	MSDN Metro Roadshow Piloted by Peter Laudati & Asli Bilgin Cities & Dates: 11/12/2009 – Parsippany, NJ 12/10/2009 – East Windsor, NJ 12/15/2009 – New York, NY
	MSDN Mid-Atlantic Roadshow Piloted by G. Andrew Duthie, Dani Diaz, and Dave Isbitski Cities & Dates: 11/12/2009 – Pittsburgh, Pa 12/1/2009 – Harrisburg, Pa 12/3/2009 – Reston, Va 12/8/2009 – Roanoke, Va 12/10/2009 – Malvern, Pa
	MSDN Southern Fried Roadshow Piloted by Brian Hitney & Glen Gordon Cities & Dates: 11/4/2009 – Greensboro, NC 11/5/2009 – Raleigh, NC 11/6/2009 – Columbia, SC 12/8/2009 – Atlanta, GA 12/9/2009 – Montgomery, AL
	MSDN Tiki Hut Roadshow Piloted by Joe Healy & Russ Fustino Cities & Dates: 11/30/2009 – Tampa, FL 12/2/2009 – Fort Lauderdale, FL 12/14/2009 – Orlando, FL

Fall Roadshow followup

joneil — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:43:00 GMT

With the Windows 7 launch event in Boston, the Windows 7 Incubation Week, and Code Camp this past weekend, I’ve fallen woefully behind in my follow-up post to the last Northeast Roadshow… so behind in fact, that we’ve already announced the next series (see Chris’ blog).

Screencasts are still in the works, but my finalized presentation materials and sample code are available at the Roadshow’s Code Gallery site (check that site for screencasts in the next week or two):

7-Up (grade) Your Applications

.NET Chips – Tidbits from the CLR and C#

Following are the questions I jotted down to answer while on the road. If I missed something, send me a note, and I’ll amend this post.

For Taskbar thumbnail buttons, can you expose different buttons on individual previews?

Simple answer, yes. The buttons in my code sample are added via the following call to the Windows API Code Pack:

TaskbarManager.Instance.ThumbnailToolbars.AddButtons(childForm.Handle, btnSetBackground);

You can see the correlation there between childForm.Handle (the child/tab window for which the preview is being rendered) and the button (btnSetBackground). So, based on some property of the individual childForm, perhaps the type of data or file it’s presenting, you could provide different sets of thumbnail buttons.

Windows API Code Pack Licensing

Not a question per se, but i discovered that the Windows API Code Pack is governed by a license different from MS-PL, which is the Microsoft ‘open-source’ equivalent license. Be sure you check out the implications of using this code as part of your own projects.

Will managed wrappers for new Windows 7 features be part of the .NET Framework 4.0 (or beyond)?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a definitive answer on this one. There’s no implication, one way or the other, about the inclusion of OS-specific capabilities in upcoming .NET Framework releases. That said, .NET 4.0 does include modifications to WPF. Specifically the UIElement and UIElement3D classes are being enhanced with events like TouchDown, TouchEnter, etc. to support multi-touch capabilities.

Is there a way to programmatically determine what items are currently in a Jumplist?

Nope. Presuming you build the Jumplist from scratch on your own, you can keep track of most of what’s in it, but there’s still the issue that you can’t introspect the Pinned section or how many documents (and which) appear in the Frequent or Recent documents section.

The Ribbon and touch capabilities are not wrapped by the Windows API Code Pack, will they be?

They are on a list of features being considered for an upcoming release, but there’s no firm schedule for delivery at this point.

Are there syntax analysis tools to detect boxing conditions?

I HAVE NOT TRIED THE FOLLOWING, SO THIS INFORMATION SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS ENDORSEMENTS

Back in 2004, in Three Vital FX Rules John Robbins talked about FxCop and configuring custom rules, including one for boxing/unboxing. I suspect that same logic could be applied in a custom rule to FxCop today.

There is a commercial tool, Total .NET Analyzer, which purports to detect boxing scenarios as well as other performance-related constructs like use of string concatenation versus StringBuilder. Unfortunately, it appears that the last version shipped by FMS is for Visual Studio 2003.

Parasoft’s .NET Quality Solution also includes static analysis tools, but I cannot confirm from the product description that boxing is specifically detected. The analysis rules, are however, configurable.

If you’re using another tool or have other ways you’re handling static code analysis, please share it via a comment below.

Can I use CLR Profiler to analyze ASP.NET applications?

Well, this amounted to a d’oh moment. One look at the menu for CLR Profiler (left) answers the question.

To do so, CLR Profiler shuts down IIS, adds a few registry entries, restarts IIS and then prompts you to load the ASP.NET application of interest.

Troy TechNet and Northeast Roadshow Advisory

joneil — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:08:00 GMT

If you’re planning to join my colleagues, Dan Stolts and Chris Bowen, and myself for one or both of our back-to-back events at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this Tuesday (Sept. 22), here’s a few important notes about the venue that aren’t immediately obvious.

The University address is 110 8th Street, Troy, New York; however, that is a mailing address and not a valid physical address. There is no building at that location!

Additionally, the reference in the on-line registration pages to the “Golisano College” is incorrect. This is a different venue (in Rochester!); I just noticed the error and hope to have it rectified shortly.
The events are taking place in the auditorium within the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, which is physically on 15th street directly across from the Alumni Sports & Rec Center. The auditorium is on the ground level at the end of the building farthest from 15th street. [map below]
There is a visitor parking lot across 15th street from the event venue [see map below]. Note that this is a metered lot ($0.25 per 15 minutes), but that parking passes for a fee of $5 $7 are available from the Public Safety and Parking Access Office, which is directly next to the visitor lot on 15th Street. Please be sure you check in with the Parking Office before proceeding to a visitor lot.

If you’ve registered for both events (TechNet Unleashed and the Northeast MSDN Roadshow), please note there will be a one-hour break for you to grab lunch on campus or at a nearby eatery. Lunch is not provided as part of the events, but there will be a continental breakfast for the morning event and afternoon snacks at the Northeast Roadshow.
If you haven’t registered for the events – why not??! There’s still space available at both; you can view the program and register at the links below:

TechNet Unleashed – Game On Tour!: 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon

Northeast Roadshow – Food for Thoughts Tour: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

See You at the Roadshow?

joneil — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:31:08 GMT

Here’s a quick reminder that the Northeast Roadshow kicks off its Fall 2009 run tomorrow in Manchester, New Hampshire. There’s still space available at all the venues, so register today, and we’ll see you soon!

City	Date	Event	Registration Link
Manchester NH	Sep. 10	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Rochester NY	Sep. 18	10 a.m – 3:30 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Troy NY	Sep. 22	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Waltham MA	Sep. 23	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Augusta ME	Sep. 24	1 - 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Cambridge MA	Sep. 28	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Farmington CT	Sep. 29	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow

Beantown .NET Northeast MSDN Roadshow

joneil — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:42:00 GMT

The Beantown.NET User Group and the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (aka NERD) are teaming up to bring you a special community edition of the Northeast Roadshow featuring your favorite Developer Evangelists, Chris Bowen and myself.

Here’s the details:

When:	Monday, Sept. 28th 1 – 6 p.m.
Where:	Microsoft NERD (Horace Mann Room) 1 Memorial Drive Cambridge MA
How:	Register here!

It’s the same great content, as you can see below, just a different host and registration process.

12:30 - Doors open for registration

1:00 - Essential Patterns, Practically Served

Design patterns, they’re important but often presented with unappetizing formality, like getting only the oat bits from a box of marshmallow cereal. We’ll sample a small set of key patterns, but also show you how free frameworks and tools (such as Enterprise Library, Prism, Unity, Velocity, and others) put each of those patterns directly into practice – so you can too. You’ll leave with a mind full of practical technology and a healthy understanding of how to turn underlying patterns into recipes for success.

2:15 - 7-Up(grade) Your Applications

Refresh your existing applications by pouring in some the new features of Windows 7 via the managed-code Windows API Code Pack. We’ll quench your thirst for how to incorporate the Taskbar, jumplists, and Libraries by taking the cap off an existing Windows Forms application and adding new capabilities, all the while retaining compatibility for your XP and Vista users. We’ll have you bubbling with excitement, able to give your applications that extra pop.

3:30 - Silverlight Snacks that Satisfy

There’s a generous amount of delicious ingredients in Silverlight 3 and we’re going to focus deeply on some of the most enriching. We’re going beyond the standard fare in this code-heavy session to create an application that leverages the new out-of-browser and offline execution features, local and remote connections, local data storage, and more. You’ll see that Silverlight 3 applications can be fortified with features so they can go well beyond being eye candy.

4:45 - Chips off the .NET Block

As seasoned developers, we know there’s a mix of options on the trail to implementing requirements. From staples like value types vs. reference types, interfaces vs. classes, Strings vs. StringBuilder, to other more exotic ingredients you may have yet tried, this session will dip into ways to leverage .NET, offering a taste of the impact they have on code execution, performance, and extensibility.

5:50 – “Check Please!”

We’ll box any leftovers, collect your comment cards, and distribute an array of giveaways.

6:00 – Impromptu Geek Gathering at nearby watering hole

Northeast Roadshow and More!

joneil — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:05:00 GMT

Get those calendars out! Chris and I will be hitting the road again this September bringing you the latest and greatest developer topics from Microsoft. It’s the Northeast Roadshow: Food for Thoughts Tour, the same brand you know and love with a few twists…

We’re visiting more venues (seven in all), including a return to Albany/Troy, NY and new stops in Manchester, NH and Warwick, RI.
For four stops we’re piggybacking off of the TechNet Unleashed: Game On Tour, meaning great IT Pro content in the morning (courtesy of your IT Professional Evangelist, Dan Stolts) , followed by the developer content that is the Northeast Roadshow!

Note, TechNet Unleashed and the Northeast Roadshow are two distinct events, so if you want to attend both, be sure to sign up for each event separately. The dates, venues, and registration links are right below, followed by the Northeast Roadshow agenda and then the TechNet Unleashed agenda.

City	Date	Event	Registration Link
Manchester NH	Sep. 10	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Rochester NY	Sep. 18	10 a.m – 3:30 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Troy NY	Sep. 22	8:30 a.m. – noon	TechNet Unleashed
Troy NY	Sep. 22	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Waltham MA	Sep. 23	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Augusta ME	Sep. 24	8:30 a.m. – noon	TechNet Unleashed
Augusta ME	Sep. 24	1 - 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
Farmington CT	Sep. 29	8:30 a.m. – noon	TechNet Unleashed
Farmington CT	Sep. 29	1 – 6 p.m.	Northeast Roadshow
~~Warwick RI~~	~~Oct. 6~~	~~8:30 a.m. - noon~~	~~TechNet Unleashed~~
~~Warwick RI~~	~~Oct. 6~~	~~1 – 6 p.m.~~	~~Northeast Roadshow~~

[Updated 8/1: Due to venue logistics, we’re unable to visit Warwick on this edition of the Roadshow, but we’re hoping to add it to next quarter’s series.]

Northeast Roadshow: Food for Thoughts Tour

After a long summer, you’re probably hungry for more tools and techniques to feed your development efforts. Touring the northeast this fall for the tenth Roadshow, road and code warriors Jim O’Neil and Chris Bowen have cooked up a select menu of sessions that are sure to please the heartiest of appetites. From current tools and technologies to practical insights, there is plenty to digest!

Reservations are required, so register today for a seating at these free and relaxed technology events.

You’ll see how Chris and Jim handle the heat of the demo kitchen, dish out knowledge, and pepper guests with half-baked humor, all the while being grilled by audience questions.

The Agenda – A Four Course Meal for the Mind

(Rochester attendees, note that program starts at 10 a.m.)

1:00 PM – Essential Patterns, Practically Served

Design patterns, they’re important but often presented with unappetizing formality, like getting only the oat bits from a box of marshmallow cereal. We’ll sample a small set of key patterns, but also show you how free frameworks and tools (such as Enterprise Library, Prism, Unity, Velocity, and others) put each of those patterns directly into practice – so you can too. You’ll leave with a mind full of practical technology and a healthy understanding of how to turn underlying patterns into recipes for success.

2:15 PM – 7-Up(grade) Your Applications

Refresh your existing applications by pouring in some the new features of Windows 7 via the managed-code Windows API Code Pack. We’ll quench your thirst for how to incorporate the Taskbar, jumplists, and Libraries by taking the cap off an existing Windows Forms application and adding new capabilities, all the while retaining compatibility for your XP and Vista users. We’ll have you bubbling with excitement, able to give your applications that extra pop.

3:30 PM – Silverlight Snacks that Satisfy

There’s a generous amount of delicious ingredients in Silverlight 3 and we’re going to focus deeply on some of the most enriching. We’re going beyond the standard fare in this code-heavy session to create an application that leverages the new out-of-browser and offline execution features, local and remote connections, local data storage, and more. You’ll see that Silverlight 3 applications can be fortified with features so they can go well beyond being eye candy.

4:45 PM – Chips off the .NET Block

As seasoned developers, we know there’s a mix of options on the trail to implementing requirements. From staples like value types vs. reference types, interfaces vs. classes, Strings vs. StringBuilder, to other more exotic ingredients you may have yet tried, this session will dip into ways to leverage .NET, offering a taste of the impact they have on code execution, performance, and extensibility.

5:50 PM – “Check Please!” – We’ll box any leftovers, collect your comment cards, and distribute an array of giveaways.

TechNet Unleashed: Game On Tour!

After a long summer, you’re probably ready to get your game on with some tools and techniques to speed up your IT strategy. Touring this fall, the East Region TechNet team of John Baker, Dan Stolts, Blain Barton and Yung Chou are bringing you a game plan of sessions that are sure to spike your productivity. From current tools and technologies to practical insights, there will be plenty of action for everyone!

Reservations are required, so register today for a seat at this free and fun technology event.

1st Down: Migrating Windows XP to Windows 7: Get it Done with the Microsoft Deployment Tools
You've gotten the handoff on upgrading your desktops from Windows XP™ to Windows 7™ and you know there isn't a direct upgrade path, so what’s the best strategy? This session will give you the answers and tools that will make your migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 an easy touchdown. First we’ll discuss standalone migrations using standard methodologies. Then we’ll explore large scale migrations with the Microsoft Deployment Tool Kit 2010 technologies, covering the "Lite-Touch” Installation (LTI) method leveraging User State Hard-Link Migration which will minimize network traffic and get the migration done in a timelier manner. What tools will we use? The User State Migration Tool (USMT) in the Automated Installation Toolkit (AIK) has everything you need to kick off the migration and deploy Windows 7 without a single fumble.

2nd Down: DirectAccess™ With Windows 7: No More VPN!!
Looking for ways to save some money and enable better employee productivity on the road? Tired of being unable to VPN from certain remote locations? Then DirectAccess is the solution you’re looking for! What is DirectAccess? DirectAccess provides secure, seamless, always-on networking and represents a fundamental shift in the way network boundaries are defined and how access is managed. It provides a consistent experience regardless of location, device, or network topology. It “just works” and accommodates today’s flexible “offices” and requirements for remote connectivity. Not only does it give an “always on the corporate network” experience for end users, but it also provides administrators the ability to manage remote machines through the DirectAccess connection. That's right, if it’s connected to the Internet, it’s connected to the corporate network… SECURELY, and therefore the manageability of remote resources is greatly improved. This session will explain in detail what DirectAccess is and will demonstrate how to configure both the client and server components of DirectAccess.

3rd Down: Optimizing Your Environment with Remote Desktop Services™ and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
You’ve been successfully using Terminal Services for some time now and have enjoyed the ability to centrally manage your remote desktop environment. But there have been challenges in Terminal Services. Interference issues such as printer drivers, applications that take resources away from other users, and users wanting to remote to a desktop instead of the server. Windows Server 2008 R2 represents a paradigm shift in remote connectivity. Come and see how the next generation of terminal services, now called Remote Desktop Services (RDS), can take you to the next level. RDS has been expanded to include Hyper-V integration for deploying virtual machine-based desktops in addition to the standard session-based remote connectivity. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is an emerging desktop optimization vehicle and delivery architecture to centralize the storage, execution, and management of desktops in a data center. In this session we will examine the architecture, essential services, and user experience of RDS and VDI while walking through deployment scenarios based on business requirements.

4th Down: Score!
We’ll call it a day, collect your surveys, and you just might score one of the day’s giveaways.

Summer 2009 Roadshow Screencasts

joneil — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:15:06 GMT

I just posted the last of four screencasts covering the sessions I presented at the Summer 2009 Northeast Roadshow:

Windows 7: A “Dev” Story (a three-parter)
Data Quest: Pinning Down Approaches to Data Access

You can also find screencasts from past Roadshows at our Channel 9 site, and you can get slides and code samples from our presentations on our Code Gallery site.

P.S., look for an announcement about our Fall series any day now!

2009 Summer Northeast Roadshow

joneil — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:04:51 GMT

Chris, Bob, and I are hitting the road again in June to bring the developer and architect community another all-day, free event – this time covering topics including Windows 7, ASP.NET MVC, WPF, Silverlight, and more.

We’ll be visiting five locations across the region; just click the site link below to register.

Wednesday, June 10	Williston, Vermont
Friday, June 12	Rochester, New York
Tuesday, June 16	Waltham, Massachusetts
Thursday, June 18	Augusta, Maine
Wednesday, June 24	Farmington, Connecticut

The Agenda – Jim, Bob, and Chris in “Client Side Story”:
Tales of Browser, OS, and Application Technologies

8:00 – Bypass the ticket booth, grab a coffee and a seat (but of course you’ll only need the edge…)

8:30 – Windows 7: A “Dev Story”
“Windows 7 means never having to say you’re sorry…” There’s a lot to love in Windows 7, and in this session we’ll take a look at the foundation of any enduring relationship – compatibility. As you move on from your days with Vista, you may be surprised at how comfortable Windows 7 is; you don’t have to completely reinvent yourself (or your applications) just to get along. Of course, the newest OS on the block also brings with it the allure and excitement of new features – multi-touch, jump lists, and the scenic ribbon – and who doesn’t want to show that off! Leave your tissues at home, we promise a happy ending to this one.

9:50 – “Desperately Seeking Silverlight” – Developing with Silverlight, Today and Tomorrow
Searching the newspapers for something new to spice up the day-to-day life of your applications? Silverlight is that cool jacket your applications can wear to attract a new world of interest. In this session, we’ll take a brief look at what you can accomplish in today’s world with Silverlight 2 development using .NET and XAML for a great client experience. Then, it’s time for a sneak preview of the coming attractions of Silverlight 3, including out-of-browser support, new graphics to video options, productivity and performance improvements. We’ll also take a look at the very cool features coming in Expression Blend 3. Answer your customers’ want ads with Silverlight, and get ready for a mob of new followers!

11:10 – “Data Quest” – Pinning Down Approaches to Data Access
Your applications are growing up, and it’s time to graduate from DataReaders and DataSets. Want to get your applications in shape, but wrestling with the concepts of multiple data access options like ADO.NET, LINQ to SQL, and Entity Framework? This match session will pull you back from the lunatic fringe by going to the mat with these data technologies and helping focus a vision for your application’s data requirements

12:00 – “Nightmare on IE Street” – Adding IE8 Web Slices and Accelerators to Your Web Site
The reality is that supporting multiple browsers can be a nightmare. In this session, we will review how to handle browser compatibility and how to take advantage of IE8 Web Slices and Accelerators. A Web Slice enables users to subscribe to content directly within a Web page, without requiring a separate RSS feed file. Accelerators are contextual menu options that can quickly access applications or Web services from any Web page. Not all slicing needs to be the stuff of terror, and understanding IE8 will make your web pages a dream for your users, while striking fear into your competition.

1:00 – “20,000 Leagues under the MVC” – Diving into ASP.NET MVC
Setting sail on the web can be an uncertain proposition. Tales of peril abound of sites that have sunk and never been seen since. ASP.NET with WebForms has always been a trusty vessel, worthy of the voyage, but a new design has just left dry dock. Now officially released, ASP.NET MVC 1.0 is a new option for creating web applications that makes it easy to have fine-grained control over how pages in your web application are generated, encourages separation of concerns, and fosters testability. In this session, we’ll focus on learning to build a new site with ASP.NET MVC, while sharing advice to help you decide when to choose MVC or WebForms. MVC’s fine-grained control and implementation flexibility can be keys to navigating what can be a turbulent sea of changing requirements and market demands. Captain a site with ASP.NET MVC, and you may find that it’s not monsters under the surface, but hidden treasure instead.

2:10 – “The Coding of WPF 1 2 3” – Ribbons, Grids, Threads, and More
When the stakes are high, you don’t need to be held hostage by the old ways of doing things. Jump on the WPF train and break free of those UI bonds. In this code-heavy session, we will demonstrate the power of WPF with the new Office/Windows 7 Ribbon Control, the new WPF Grid Control, and how to leverage background threads to make your user interface scream. When having the richest client experience is a non-negotiable requirement, you can be the hero, saving the day with WPF.

3:30 – Wrap-up, giveaways, and the mad dash for the exits!

Roadshow Hits the Bigtime on Channel 9!

joneil — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:08:56 GMT

Chris, Bob, and I are thrilled to see our name in lights – well, almost – as we launch the Northeast Roadshow (and more!) presence on Channel 9. Here you’ll find a landing page with our aggregated blogs, screen casts covering Roadshow topics, and pointers to our Roadshow slides and demos hosted on Code Gallery.

We’re busy working on additional screen casts from the spring Roadshow AND we’ll be announcing our next series very soon, so stay tuned to Channel 9 and/or our blogs for more details!

Lastly, just wanted to thank our colleague Brian Johnson in the Sunshine State for helping us navigate the (air)waves of Channel 9 and Code Gallery to get everything in place!

Roadshow Recap (Including Some Answers!)

joneil — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:34:46 GMT

On Monday, Chris, Bob, and I wrapped up the latest edition of the Northeast Roadshow in Waltham. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve crisscrossed the region a couple of times (ok, not exactly like the map below, but you get the idea). In total, we visited five cities and had a chance to speak to over 500 of you in the process. As always, it was great fun for us, and we’re thrilled to see so many of you taking a day out of your busy schedules to join us.

If you misplaced the URL for the slides and demos, grab them here. We hope to provide a few screen casts as well over the coming weeks, and I’ll let you know when those are available.

During my sessions on SQL Server for Developers and .NET Debugging Tips and Tricks, I accumulated a number of questions across the venues and promised to follow up on them; so here goes. If I missed something, please let me know!

What’s the upper limit on error numbers in SQL Server?
How do CLR constructs show up in the query plan?
Can I use F# in SQL Server 2008?
I tried to use the Step Into Specific… debugging option, but it’s not there!
Are there improvements planned for LINQ debugging support?
When I execute code from the Watch Window, breakpoints are not triggered, but when I execute from the Immediate Window, they are. What’s up with that?
What is the scope of variable references created in the Immediate Window?
Can I override the setting Step Over Properties and Operators on an ad hoc basis?

What’s the upper limit on error numbers in SQL Server?

As you probably guessed, since the datatype of the error column in sys.sysmessages is int, the maximum value of an error number is 2,147,483,647 (2^31 – 1). The stored procedure sp_addmessage can be used to add custom messages (with numbers 50001 and greater) to your server.

How do CLR constructs show up in the query plan?

They’ll appear just as other T-SQL constructs appear; the .NET types can be indexed just like native types, so the query plans will reflect their use. Likewise, stored procedures, aggregates, and other modules you may build in C# and Visual Basic will appear in the plan.

In terms of additional monitoring, this article on MSDN is a great resource. Of course, since these constructs are executing in the CLR, you may wonder whether you can use something like the CLR Profiler to get even more information. From some quick analysis, it seems to work; CLR Profiler will enable you to profile both an application and a service. Note though, that CLR Profiler is fairly invasive, so you may want to optimize your CLR objects outside of SQL Server. Lastly, I did run across a blog posting that provides some insight on using a third party product, AQtime, to help profile CLR assemblies hosted by SQL Server. [N.B., this is not an endorsement of that product or any other].

Can I use F# in SQL Server 2008?

Well, my initial answer was sure, it’s all CLR under the covers. Visual Studio 2008 does provide templates for C# and Visual Basic database projects, but those are more for convenience than required. As this article documents, you can register your assembly and CLR methods via T-SQL or SQL Management Studio.

But it’s a bit trickier than that. I gave it a shot using Lewis Bruck’s blog post as a starting point. First of all, you need to register the core F# assembly with SQL Server; I used the following T-SQL within SQL Server Management Studio.
alter database AdventureWorks2008 set trustworthy on
go
create assembly fslib from
    'C:\Program Files (x86)\FSharp-1.9.6.2\bin\Fsharp.core.dll' 
   with permission_set = unsafe
go
Note that the assembly is marked unsafe. This is a requirement since F#’s core library implementation makes use of static fields that have not been marked as read-only, something not allowed at the safe level.

So, then I coded my simplistic F# procedure in a new F# library project. The procedure accepts a string argument and returns “Hello, <string>” via the SqlContext (a construct used in CLR objects hosted in SQL Server to communicate back to the client).

In this case, I gave my code file the name Sqlclr.fs, which is important since I use it to register the assembly via T-SQL below. Here, I did not declare it as unsafe, since my simple implementation doesn’t ‘break any rules’; your mileage may vary depending on the IL constructs that get generated from your F# implementation.
create assembly fsharp from 'c:\MyFSharpLib.dll'
go

I then followed this up with a T-SQL declaration of the procedure. [The C# and Visual Basic database projects would automatically do this, and also register the assembly for you by essentially issuing the same statements under the covers.]
create procedure sayHello (@name nvarchar(max))
    as external name fsharp.Sqlclr.sayHello
go

Note the external name is composed of the

assembly name I created in the previous step,

module (the name I gave my F# file), and

the method implementing my procedure

Now, I can execute the procedure, and get the expected output (Hello, Jim):
exec sayHello 'Jim'
go

This obviously just scratches the surface, and questions remain on whether all constructs you might use in C# and Visual Basic are supported. Since one of the sweet spots for F# is easier development of parallelizable constructs, I’m curious to as to how (or even if) SQL Server will negotiate the parallel extensions to .NET.

I tried to use the Step Into Specific… debugging option, but it’s not there!

Thanks to Sean for pointing out a need for clarification on my debugging session. We covered a lot of options in the debugger, but not all options are currently available in all environments, and I wasn’t as explicit as I could have been in that regard. Here’s an attempt to rectify that.

The Step Into Specific… option was introduced with Visual Studio 2008 SP1, so you need the service pack to see it.

The Object Id capability, in which you can create a reference (like 1#) to an object that does not go out of scope, is available only for C#.

In C#, I can create a new object in the Immediate Window (see below) and get a reference to $x that I can use elsewhere in the debugger; however, in Visual Basic you cannot create explicit variable declarations in the Immediate Window. You can create implicit variables; however, you won’t get a reference (the “$x”) that you can use in the Watch Window.

Are there improvements planned for LINQ debugging support?

There are some limitations in what you can do when debugging LINQ statements. For instance, you can’t step into predicate code and for the most part you can’t use Edit and Continue (although Visual Basic is a little more lenient on this that C#).

A few improvements in the debugging experience, somewhat related to LINQ, were included in Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and are documented here. I’m not sure what the future, namely Visual Studio 2010, holds.

When I execute code from the Watch Window, breakpoints are not triggered, but when I execute from the Immediate Window, they are. What’s up with that?

I took this one to the guru, John Robbins. The reason goes back to when Visual Basic was brought into Visual Studio 2002. Visual Basic folks were quite used to using the Immediate Window as a debugging tool, breakpoint triggering and all, and were pretty dismayed to have that functionality not get carried along. The Visual Studio team added the breakpoint capability back into the Immediate Window with Visual Studio 2003, and considered doing the same thing in the Watch Window, but that would have unexpectedly changed the experience for folks used to breakpoints not triggering when executing code there. So, what we have is essentially a compromise, and you can get either behavior regardless of your language (Visual Basic or C#)

What is the scope of variable references created in the Immediate Window?

As noted in item 4 above, you can create variable references in C# within the Immediate Window. Those variables will appear in the Locals window (with the $ preface), but they never go out of scope.

Can I override the setting Step Over Properties and Operators on an ad hoc basis?

The behavior to step over properties and operators defaults to ‘on ‘ with Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and can be modified in Tools>Options>Debugging>General, but it’s either always on or always off. If you have the default set and find you’d like to step into a property setting or reference on occasion, use the Step Into Specific… mechanism (which was also introduced with Visual Studio 2008 SP1).

Hartford Roadshow Attendees Take Note

joneil — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:16:08 GMT

Chris, Bob and I just got back from the first two stops on our Northeast Roadshow series (thanks to all that turned out in Burlington, VT and Rochester, NY!). We’ll be on the road again soon, this time in Hartford on Wednesday, March 18th at a new venue – the Wallace Stevens Theater at The Hartford on 690 Asylum Avenue. In fact, we just closed registration having reached a limit of 200, which is more than twice what we could accommodate at the Microsoft Office in Farmington! Thank you Connecticut!

Now for the heads up. As you might expect, downtown parking can be tricky. There are a limited number of spots at Visitors Lot 4 at The Hartford, so they may not be able to accommodate everyone. If you typically commute downtown for work, we’d recommend you follow your normal routine and walk or catch the bus to The Hartford. Alternatively, you can try parking at the Spruce Street lot near Union Station, which is about a 1/2 mile from the Hartford. There is a $12 charge for parking there, however.

The sessions will be held in the Wallace Stevens Theater, which is inside the Tower Building (a short downhill walk from Lot 4). You will need to first check in with security directly inside, who should have a badge prepared with your name on it. The Theater is just to the left of the security desk.

Our program starts at 8:30, so please leave a little extra time for parking and check-in. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Here’s a set of maps to provide a bit more guidance. The first is one of The Hartford campus, with Lot 4 and the Tower Building highlighted, and the second shows the location of the Spruce Street parking lot.

Northeast Roadshow Update

joneil — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:13:08 GMT

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately we need to cancel the Albany venue on the upcoming Northeast Roadshow series. For those of you that signed up, we will be providing our materials on-line and preparing screencasts as well post-show. I realize that’s a small consolation, and I’ll miss catching up with the folks there, but this is one of those developments that has come down from ‘on high.’ Of course, we welcome you to join us in Burlington or Rochester… not exactly around the corner, but hey “Road Trip!”

There’s spots at all of the remaining shows open, here’s the schedule and links to registration. Hope to see you on the road.

Burlington, VT	KnowledgeWave 30 Community Drive Suite 5 South Burlington, VT	Tue., March 10	register now!
Rochester, NY	Rochester Institute of Technology Golisano Auditorium Rochester, NY	Thur., March 12	register now!
Hartford, CT	The Hartford Wallace Stevens Theater 690 Asylum Avenue Hartford, CT	Wed., March 18	register now!
Augusta, ME	Central Maine Commerce Center Florian Hall 45 Commerce Drive Augusta, ME	Thur., March 19	register now!
Waltham, MA	Microsoft Office 201 Jones Road Suite 600 Waltham, MA	Mon., March 23	register now!

Northeast Roadshow – March Madness Edition

joneil — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:53:00 GMT

~~Updated 12 noon, Feb. 16th – Albany venue added!!!~~

Updated 10 a.m., Mar 6th – Albany venue cancelled :(

It's that time again, we're packing up the Griswold-mobile, stocking up on jerky, and refreshing our Starbucks cards for another swing through the Northeast District.

The Northeast Roadshow is an all-day, free event focusing on delivering information you can use as a .NET developer and providing insights on where Microsoft is heading with technologies like cloud computing.

I’m also happy to announce the “Return of Bob.” Yes, the team is back together: Chris Bowen, Bob Familiar, and I will be taking our unique blend of technical content and wit back on the road beginning on March 10th.

The Where: Roadshow Venues

Burlington, VT	KnowledgeWave 30 Community Drive Suite 5 South Burlington, VT	Tue., March 10	register now!
~~Albany, NY~~	Autotask 26 Tech Valley Drive East Greenbush, NY	~~Wed., March 11~~	~~register now!~~
Rochester, NY	Rochester Institute of Technology Golisano Auditorium Rochester, NY	Thur., March 12	register now!
Hartford, CT	The Hartford Wallace Stevens Theater 690 Asylum Avenue Hartford, CT	Wed., March 18	register now!
Augusta, ME	Central Maine Commerce Center Florian Hall 45 Commerce Drive Augusta, ME	Thur., March 19	register now!
Waltham, MA	Microsoft Office 201 Jones Road Suite 600 Waltham, MA	Mon., March 23	register now!

N.B., our Burlington and Hartford sites have changed for this tour.

The What: Roadshow Agenda

8:00 AM – Registration

8:30 AM – "Top Dev": Effective .NET Developer Practices

Aiming to be the top gun that your colleagues turn to when things get intense? Of course you are, but it's not always easy locking onto the practices and tools that can help. We'll zero in on the essential maneuvers: ways to write effective .NET code, analysis and measurement tools, the latest tech from the Patterns & Practices group, testing, Visual Studio techniques, and more. Of course, we don't have a cool 80's soundtrack or motorcycles and jets to ride around the room, but we think helping you avoid the danger zone where other projects crash and burn is a decent substitute.

9:50 AM – Head in the Cloud, Feet on the Ground: An Introduction to Windows Azure

Don't get the blues wondering what cloud computing has to offer, join us as we look toward Windows Azure, Microsoft’s operating system for the cloud, providing a set of core capabilities for hosting scalable web applications and services. The Azure Services Platform builds on that, offering SQL and .NET Services to cloud applications. This session will introduce the concepts of cloud computing and Windows Azure, but keep things grounded by demonstrating porting applications that leverage ASP.NET, WCF, and SQL Server to the Azure environment. By the end of this session, your understanding of cloud computing will soar to new heights!

11:10 AM – Top Things Developers Should Know About SQL Server

Data is every developer's friend. The kind of friend that follows everywhere we go, tells embarrassing jokes, knocks on our door late and stays overnight, eating everything in the kitchen. Okay, so sometimes data can be unruly and we just can't delete it, but SQL Server is here to help. In this turbo session, we'll run through the key things developers should know about programming with SQL Server to not only keep data in line, but to get it off the couch and put it to work.

12:00 PM – "Workin' 9 to (12 then 1 to) 5" - A Lunchtime Look at XNA Development

We've got a day full of proper corporate day job type content, so we'll take a break from all of that at lunchtime to talk about games - your games. XNA is a free game development platform based on .NET that helps to make developing 2D and 3D games for Windows, XBOX 360, and the Zune easy. We'll introduce XNA, show you around the XNA world, then create a simple 2D game from scratch to give you a feel for the mechanics of XNA. So grab some food and join us to learn how you can put those same C# skills that pay the bills by day to creating your own games by night (or lunch.)

1:00 PM – Understanding the Buzz Around F#

You're comfortable with your .NET language of choice, but there's been quite a bit of buzz about the new F# language, and we'll explain why. F# is a typed functional programming language for the Microsoft .NET Framework that also features Visual Studio integration. It can make challenging tasks easier by combining functional programming with imperative and dynamic concepts along with the runtime, libraries, tools, and object model of .NET. We’ll also see how F# can tame the complexity of parallel and asynchronous I/O programming. Come and see what this new "first class" .NET language (available as a CTP now and to ship as part of Visual Studio 2010) can offer your development projects, and join in the buzz.

2:00 PM – At Your Break(ing) Point?: .NET Debugging Techniques

Are F5 and F9 the extent of your debugging repertoire? Not any longer! We’ll get your bug squashing chops in shape with this practical look at documented (and undocumented) features of the Visual Studio Debugger. So you don’t write buggy code? We’ll show you how to debug ours by incorporating the .NET Reference source in your projects. And we’ll cap it off with a teaser of some ultra-cool debugging features coming in Visual Studio 2010. If we’ve done our job, you’ll leave this session *wanting* to write bad code just to try this stuff out!

3:30 PM– Wrapup, Giveaways, and Bon Voyage!