J.net : Whidbey & Yukon

ASP.NET 2.0's Best Kept Secret?

JSawyer — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:43:00 GMT

I don't know ... maybe it is. What am I talking about? The Health Monitoring features of ASP.NET 2.0. It's one of the new services APIs that have been added into the ASP.NET runtime -- like membership, profiles, roles, etc -- and it's just there waiting to be used and/or extended.
I stumbled over it while publishing a site that a couple of the other DE's and myself are using ... and then getting emails about "the site had an error". Now, of course, ALL of these guys have done development in the real world and KNOW that you need to give detailed error info if you have any expectation of gettting the developer to fix it ... but that was all I got. So ... I wanted some more info, and to be more proactive about it.
So ... I started looking into ASP.NET 2.0's Health Monitoring. Now, I've haven't seen a whole lot of buzz or hubbub around Health Monitoring ... I guess it's just not as sexy as Membership or Role Management ... but since when did anyone do a site that didn't need some sort of tracking for exceptions? Health Monitoring does that. It tracks all kinds of event right out of the box -- errors, failures, authentication, authorization, viewstate failure -- and can be extended with your own events. To consume these events, you use an event provider. Again, out of the box there is most of what you need -- EventLog, SQL, WMI, Mail, Trace -- but you can extend this as well.
So ... when this was all said and done, I added some stuff to my config file and presto! I started getting emails for every failure. Now, I don't know about y'all, but that's one of the things that seems to need to be done on every site. And I always hated writing it ... or re-writing it ... or grabbing from code that I already wrote to put it in. Now, I just copy/past the config file.
Want more info? Check out http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178703.aspx.

VS 2005 Beta 2 + SQL Server April CTP = .NET Goodness!

JSawyer — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 03:54:00 GMT

Just in case you hadn't heard, VS 2005 Beta 2 is now LIVE! It became available late Friday for MSDN Subscribers to download. (If you aren't an MSDN Subscriber ... WHY NOT???) The SQL Server 2005 April CTP is also live on MSDN Subscribers download and synch'd with the VS 2005 Beta 2 build.

I downloaded it myself on Saturday morning ... this seems to have been a good time to do it as my download speed was between 100 KB/s and an amazing 290 KB/s! And with my brand-spanking-new Plextor DVD burner (http://www.plextor.com/english/products/716SA.htm), I burned myself a DVD in about 6 minutes. The SQL Server 2005 CTP DVD takes about 1:30. SWEET!

Of course, I've also installed it. DUH! The VS install was smooth and sweet ... I've installed it on 2 physical boxes and a VPC as well. No problems at all. (Don't ask about uninstall ... I haven't done that yet and don't plan to do it anytime soon.) And yes, before you ask, all the cool toyz with VSTS are in there. However, when installing the April SQL Server 2005 CTP after the VS install, there are no SQL Server tools. Now, I don't know about you, but I like to play with the big boy's toyz, so that was a bummer.

I did, however, find a workaround if you have the same install order that I had. It seems that the installation of the SQL Server Express tools by the default VS 2005 installation is what caused the SQL Server installer to refuse to install the workstation components ... it says that they are already installed. So, without further ado, here's what you do if you installed VS 2005 Beta 2 before the SQL Server April CTP.

Go to Add/Remove Programs.
Find Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tools Express Edition CTP in the list.
Remove. Yes. Remove that puppy. That's the problem.
Go to your SQL Server 2005 CTP DVD (or ISO or whatever).
Find SQLRun_Tools.msi (in the Setup folder).
Double-click and install all of the Client Components.
Enjoy all the big-boy toyz that come with SQL Server 2005!

Now, you might be tempted (as I was) to skip the first 3 steps and go right to the tools msi. It won't work. It will, instead, complain that it doesn't support upgrades. I do hope that this is resolved by RTM time (SQL Server team ... are you listening??). I'm also guessing that if you install the SQL Server April CTP first, you won't have this issue, though I've not done this yet.

So ... there it is. Happy installing!

InstallFest Frequently Asked Questions

JSawyer — Sat, 07 Aug 2004 02:12:00 GMT

We heard a lot of questions over and over and over again at the Houston .NET User Group InstallFest. To try and save time, energy and my voice, I’m going to post some of the most common ones here, as well as links to more information.

Can I install this with previous version of Visual Studio?
Yes, you can.

Will it interfere with previous versions of Visual Studio?
From what I have seen, no. I’ve installed it on several machine images with various combinations of Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio .NET 2002, and Visual Studio .NET 2003 without significant issues. Keep in mind, however, that I’ve not extensively tested these configurations, but everything seems to work just fine. It may be worthwhile, however, to review the known issues for more information.

What are these “Express” Editions?
The Express Editions are part of the Visual Studio family and are lightweight, easy-to-use tools geared towards hobbyists, enthusiasts and students that want to build .NET applications. The various Express products support web development, Windows Forms development, class libraries and console applications. The provide full access to the .NET Framework 2.0 and many of the features of the Visual Studio Professional, such as the debugger, many of the editing tools, Intellisense and more. Because the Express products are part of the Visual Studio family, projects created with the Express editions will be compatible with other editions of Visual Studio. You can get more information from our FAQ.

But I’m a professional developer. Why would I be interested in these Express editions?
When Visual Studio 2005 releases, you may be interested in purchasing either Visual Studio 2005 Professional or one of the Team System products. However, Visual Studio 2005 (and the .NET Framework 2.0) are both still in early beta. The Express editions give you the opportunity to create great .NET 2.0 applications in a low-impact way. In fact, you may even find that the Express products fit what you need to do …
Not to mention, we are running a contest specifically to showcase the great applications that you can create with Visual Studio Express. The prize? An XBox and a copy of Halo2 … which promises to be even better than the original! Want more info? Check out the Summer of Express contest on Channel9. And the judges? These are the geeks behind the tools!!!

Why the Express versions for the InstallFest?
Because we don't want to be installing all night! ;-) We really want to get you playing with the tools and doing Hands-On Labs before the night is out. The Express versions are lightweight and install pretty quickly. Visual Studio takes a while, especially if you install all the documentation.

What’s on the CD? Can’t I download this?
The CD has the Visual Studio Express version that you select (VB, C#, J#, C++ and Web Developer), the documentation and SQL Server 2005 Express. Yes, you can download it, but it’s faster to install from the CD and cooler to do it with a bunch of your favorite geeks!

Why do you have that disclaimer on the invitation email?
The disclaimer notes that this is beta software. You’re a developer, right? You know what beta means … that stuff will break. Yes, the VS team has done a great job to bring us a stable beta, but it still early in the development cycle and Visual Studio is a complex product. There will be bugs. Stuff may blow up. You might have to reformat your machine. It is not supported by our Product Support Services (PSS). I, personally, have not had any of these issues (yet). Your mileage may vary. Please keep that in mind. You also do not have a license to deploy this into a production environment.
Microsoft is committed to providing developers with early releases of Visual Studio so you can plan your development as far in advance as possible … and get an idea of where the development platform is going. And I, personally, want to get this into the hands of as many developers in the Gulf Coast community as I can. But we do ask that you understand that this is Beta and that we’re still working on it. We also value your feedback from using these early versions … that feedback helps us deliver an awesome product that makes your development tasks easier.

GNONUG August Meeting with Joe Healy

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:34:00 GMT

My counterpart DE from Tampa Bay, Joe Healy, will be present Untangling the Knot: VS.NET 2005 Beta 1 (Whidbey) Exploring VS.NET 2005 and the .NET Framework 2.0 Enhancements at the Greater New Orleans .NET User Group (GNONUG) on August 9. Joe's quite a character, so this should be an interesting meeting. If you're in the New Orleans area, make sure to come out and hang with the user group. And ask Joe about “half-kilt stuck pigs” if you get the chance! :-)

Where: McCann Electronics
100 Division Street
Metarie, LA

When: Monday, August 9, 2004
6:15 PM

For directions or more information about GNONUG, check out their website at www.gnonug.org.

HAL-PC C# SIG August Meeting and VS.NET 2003 Raffle!

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:23:00 GMT

I will be presenting an Introduction to ASP.NET 2.0 at HAL-PC's C# SIG August meeting on August 11 at 7:00 PM. On threat of lynching, I will make sure that all demos are in C# and that there is no VB to be found anywhere in the building! :-)

Where: HAL-PC
4543 Post Oak Place Drive, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77027-3103

When: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
7:00 PM

HAL-PC will also be raffling off 2 copies of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect at this meeting (note: this is not a “demo” or limited version ... it's the whole kit-n-kaboodle!) Raffle tickets are only $1.00 and all proceeds will go to support the user group.

You can find more info about HAL-PC at their web site: www.hal-pc.org. The site for the C# SIG is http://www.hal-pc.org/~odiswooten/csharp/

Hope to see you there!!

HDNUG Whidbey InstallFest

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 16:32:00 GMT

The Houston .NET User Group will be hosting a Whidbey InstallFest as a special event on Tuesday, August 3rd at the Houston Microsoft Office (where HDNUG usually meets). We will be installing the Express versions of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 on HDNUG member's laptops to play with as well as showcasing new features and helping with any issues (like the install issues that I had!) And, maybe (just maybe), we'll hook up some XBox'en an play some Halo!

Details:
Where: Houston Microsoft Office
           2000 W Sam Houston Pkwy South
           Suite 350
           Houston, TX 77042

When: Tuesday, August 3, 2004
6:00 PM until ...

I'm hoping to have duplicated CDs in time for the event (they are on order), but this may turn out to be a BurnFest as well ... as we burn, burn, burn CDs with the bits to install.

Disclaimer:
We will be installing Beta versions of software! While the product teams have done a great job, there is still a lot of work to be done. Keep that in mind when installing this software ... as it may require a complete reformat of your system to get it off. In other words, don't do this on a critical production machine!!!

Installing the Express Versions

JSawyer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 16:21:00 GMT

Well, this didn't happen when I first installed the Express Editions (Web Developer Express and SQL Server Express), but when building my demo image for the Express products using the bits downloaded from MSDN Subscriber Downloads, I ran into the same Framework versioning issue that I had when installing SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 and Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1. (See previous post for details!).

One big snag: the download for SQL Server Express doesn't have the framework with it! A quick fix was to use the version of the framework that's on the SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 CD ... but that's not a good solution for everyone. So, after a little looking, I found the download for the .NET Framework v 2.0 redist that should work with SQL Server Express. You can get it from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=B7ADC595-717C-4EF7-817B-BDEFD6947019&displaylang=en.

Yukon Beta 2

JSawyer — Wed, 28 Jul 2004 01:01:00 GMT

It's out! :D

I'm installing it now. Playing with SQL Server 2005 Express edition is nice, but it doesn't have all of the cool new tools that are in Big Daddy Yukon, like Reporting Services, Notification Services and DTS. And it doesn't have the administration tools (yet). And besides, let's face it ... it's a power trip to have all the bestest toyz.

The setup procedure is quite nice. Everything in one step ... no more separate installs for SQL Server, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Notification Services. OK, I understand Reporting Services and Notification Services, but Analysis?

A note: If you are installing Yukon B2 and Whidbey B1 on the same box, install Yukon first. If you don't, Yukon complains about incompatible versions of the framework being installed and absolutely refuses to proceed. If you do get yourself into the quandary, there is a way out (or around, at least). You could rebuild your machine from scratch. No, no, just kidding -- that's mean. You really don't want to do that. (Of course, if you were using Virtual PC for your testing, it'd be a piece of cake to do that!) Instead, go to Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the .NET Framework 2.0 that Whidbey (sorry, Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1) installed. Then re-run SQL Server 2005 setup. It will be happy and (so far at least), Whidbey appears to work just fine afterwards.

Whidbey "Express" Editions

JSawyer — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 05:32:00 GMT

If you are reading about this for the first time in my 'blog … well, color me twelve shades of surprised. Just in case you haven't heard, we've released the Express editions if Visual Studio 2005 to the web for any and all to download and play with. You can join the feeding frenzy by pointing your browser to http://msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005 and downloading right from there. You can also get SQL Express 2005 Beta to play with as well, which is the next generation of MSDE, but built on the Yukon engine. And, of course, because it's built on the Yukon engine, you can write your stored procs in any .NET language! (Well, not quite any, but really close. It needs to be verifiable, that's all.) DBA's of the world: BEWARE!!! .NET code slingers are comin' at ya!!!

Anyway, I've been playing with these nifty little toys. They're pretty functional and quite stable (especially compared to some of the recent Tech Previews) … and give you a good idea of what you'll see with Whidbey. Later for now … gotta go play with my new toyz.