John R. Durant's WebLog

Blog of "The" Office Developer

New Microsoft Office Development Material

Well, I am at home convalescing, but my team carries on in my absence. Here are some goodies we published today:

Overview of Office 2003 Developer Tools and Programs

One of two articles, this one gives you a good intro to some of the tools for Office development, particularly with Information Bridge Framework, Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System, and the Access Developer Extensions. It's all good, and it was written by my good friend here at Microsoft, Joe Andreshak.

Another one, and this one is not for the beginner really, is: Isolating Office Extensions with the COM Shim Wizard. Anyone who says Office development is for "fake" developers has probably never done a real solution of any importance. If you want to fully geek out, you can in the world of Office dev, as this article shows. It was also written by three truly smart people. Andrew Whitechapel knows more about COM/.NET interop than just about anyone. He plays it like Jimmy Page plays a Les Paul. If Andrew is Jimmy, then Misha is Eric Clapton, and Siew Moi is PJ Harvey. Wow, I took that metaphor entirely too far, I think. Blah.

 Rock Thought for the day:  I have not yet heard Vertigo, the new song by U2. I'm eager. But, I listened to the songs off, "The Morisson Hotel" album. There corny ones like, Peace Frog. But, the Jim-inspired tunes are just awesome bar-band blues rock. It's great stuff. I almost forgot how rough I feel. As Jimmy Morisson sang, "I've been down so ...long, that it looks like up to me."

Rock on.

Published Tuesday, September 28, 2004 9:11 PM by johnrdurant

Comments

 

steve said:

http://www.u2valencia.com/MOS/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=2

You should be able to find Vertigo here. Get well soon!
September 28, 2004 3:35 PM
 

Josh Holmes said:

I was in a VB6 shop for a number of years and was looked down apon by a number of C++ developers because of it. My image as a developer was tainted by all of the "fake" developers as you refer to them.

I started thinking about it and I realized that there are two classifications of programmers - especially with VB6, Office, ASP and so on.
1: There are those that throw a data control on a form and point it at an Access database that's got one table in it and say - I've developed a product. NO - You are a user of a technology - that's it.
2: There are those that really understand the technologies underneath and chose a given technology because it either makes them more productive or it satisfies a client's needs. These are real developers.

In C style speak: User != Developer
In VB style speak: Not User = Developer
September 28, 2004 3:55 PM
 

Sam_Kita said:

Hi, my name is Sam Kitabata.
I think this is a first time to make a comment on your blog.
Thank you for giving us nice information as ususal.
Well, with curiosity I read these documents cause you said “If you want to fully geek out…..”
Yes, surely these informations are useful and I should read more about "Isolating Office Extensions with the COM Shim Wizard".
I just attended Microsoft TechED 2004 in Yokohama, was held at Japan couple weeks ago and I especially focused on the class which discussed about Office development stuff like customize "Research" or "Smart Document" functions. Sadly regarding Office system, very few classes were held but I heard, in the States, you had many, right?
We, attendee, can download PPT files so I've checked these now.
Anyways, as one of the member of INETA-Japan, I'm very interested in your informations and keep on checking your blog!
Thanks!!
September 28, 2004 9:08 PM
 

Misha said:

I thought shims are not THAT geeky :) Indeed, it was quite hard to create those shims mainly due to the absense of any assistance such as VS project template. Andrew did phenomenal job streamlining the process: first build your managed add-in or smart tag while your office security settings are lowered, then use the shim wizard and few clicks later you have fully functional shim and your solution is ready to be deployed in the "wild".
September 28, 2004 10:57 PM
 

John R. Durant said:

Sam, I'm glad you are on board with Office Development. There were in fact more Office-oriented tracks for the US TechEd. They were scaled down for the other international versions. I should have come to Japan. You would have loved the demos I prepared. We'll do lunch if I make it there.
September 30, 2004 9:03 AM
 

John R. Durant said:

Misha, you are right that the shim itself and using it is not a mystery. However, what strikes me is the complexity of the many issues that undergird it and that were the impetus for it. They have to do with memory management, references, and other things at a level that many traditional VBA developers will find new and interesting.

You're cool.
September 30, 2004 9:06 AM
 

John R. Durant said:

Steve, I think your classification of Office devs is pretty spot on. thanks for adding some humor, too! I needed a chuckle.
September 30, 2004 9:07 AM
 

D. Clarke said:

Thank you all for sharing. I guess I've been a "user of technology" for a while now. Hopefully the new technology and your stamp of approval on the shim will give us VBA people some cred.
September 30, 2004 2:52 PM
 

skunk said:

jimmy page better known for playing a les paul
October 10, 2004 9:38 AM
 

John R. Durant said:

True enough. I was in hurry. My apologies, as I am embarassed to have botched one of the most critical facts to any rock historian and guitarist! Big thanks Skunk for setting me straight. I updated the post.

Cool.
October 21, 2004 9:40 AM
 

John R Durant s WebLog New Microsoft Office Development Material | Hair Growth Products said:

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