Just bought my tickets and booked my hotel to TechEd '08! Can't wait to see everyone in Orlando again this year!!
Here is my schedule:
Tuesday 6/3: 8:30am to 6:00pm - TLC Booth Dev Area
Thursday 6/5: 8:15am to 2:45pm- TLC Booth Dev Area
Friday 6/6: 11:30pm to 2:45pm - TLC Booth Dev Area
4:30pm to 5:45pm - Chalk Talk
My Chalk talk is titled: "Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Building a Great Microsoft Silverlight Application"
- I will demonstrate how to use all the latest set of controls for Silverlight 2 focusing on the ones that are not available to WPF.
- I will give you a set of Tips & Tricks when building Silverlight application with these controls
- Demonstrate step by step on how you can style & retemplate these existing controls
I know it is late in the conference, but come join me and learn how to build a great Silverlight 2 application!
There are a few controls that was shipped in Silverlight 2 Beta 1 that was not available in WPF. Therefore I decided to write a starter guide to help you get started in using the controls. Here are some highlights of the Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Calendar and DatePicker control:
· Supports nullable DateTime
· Supports Silverlight's template model
· Ability to set which Month/Year to display by default
· Ability to select a single date
To get started with the Calendar and DatePicker:
1) Instantiate a Calendar or a DatePicker in XAML & C# (See Figure 1)
//XAML
<Calendar x:Name="cal" />
<DatePicker x:Name="datePicker" />
//C#
Calendar cal = new Calendar();
DatePicker datePicker = new DatePicker();
Figure 1 Preview in VS 2008 Figure 2 After setting display Month and Year
2) Setting which Month/Year to display by default (See Figure 2)
//C#
cal.DisplayDate = new DateTime(2010, 4, 15);
datePicker.DisplayDate = new DateTime(2010, 4, 15);
3) Setting which mode to display by default (See Figure 2)
//C#
cal.DisplayMode = CalendarMode.Year;
4) Setting the default Selected Date
//C#
cal.SelectedDate = new DateTime(2008, 1, 1);
5) Setting the range of dates that the Calendar or DatePicker can display
//C# Displaying only a few days within a month
cal.DisplayDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 4, 9);
cal.DisplayDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 4, 15);
datePicker.DisplayDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 4, 9);
datePicker.DisplayDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 4, 15);
//C# Displaying a few month within a year
cal.DisplayDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 2, 1);
cal.DisplayDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 11, 1);
datePicker.DisplayDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 2, 1);
datePicker.DisplayDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 11, 1);
6) Setting the range of dates that the Calendar or DatePicker can select
//C#
cal.SelectableDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 4, 11);
cal.SelectableDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 4, 13);
datePicker.SelectableDateStart = new DateTime(2008, 4, 11);
datePicker.SelectableDateEnd = new DateTime(2008, 4, 13);
The 2008 MVP Summit started today. I hope everyone has been enjoying the sessions so far! I am really looking forward to chatting with all my MVPs tomorrow. The MVP summit has always been one of my favourite conference, because all the MVPs are under Microsoft NDAs so we get share and get feedback on brand new plans and technologies that are still "Microsoft Confidential". (Another good thing about it is that I get to go home and sleep in my own bed! :) )
This year, I owned coordinating the "CAD and RIA" track, and we have some awesome sessions lined up, and tomorrow is an exciting day for the "CAD & RIA" MVPs.
First off, we have a keynote by ScottGu to kick off the day. Next we have a bunch of sessions that has lots of brand new content. (i.e. this is not a MIX re-run or a TechEd preview) After a long day of sessions, we end the day with the "CAD & RIA" product group dinner.
This year, we're doing a combined dinner with the ASP.NET MVPs and product group members across WPF, Silverlight, Windows Forms and ASP.NET (like Scott Guthrie, Brad Abrams, Pat Helland and myself just to name a few!) will be hanging out with our MVPs to learn about what they've been up to.
For those of you who'd like to chat about Silverlight controls with me, I'll be spending my entire day at MSCC / Hood tomorrow where all the CAD & RIA sessions are being held. I will be there to answer any questions from MVPs and help connect them to the right Microsoft folks (I am the official Product group person assigned to the "CAD & RIA" MVPs on Tuesday, and TedHu will be there on Wednesday.) I am also doing a session with Karen Corby on the Silverlight controls and will share with you our latest plans and what changes you can expect to see in Silverlight RTW!
So if any MVPs out there would like to learn more about our controls, want to give us feedback or just to chat. You know where to find me! :)
Oh and if you are not an MVP and wish you could come to our MVP summit, there is always next year, but first you'll need to be a MVP. For more information, check it out here. MVP is not an easy Microsoft "award" to get, but it is well worth it!
Now that I have recovered from the excitement of Las Vegas, I thought I'll sit down and give a run down to all the great stuff we've done that is the release of Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Controls. There are more to the controls than first meets the eye.
- Controls Runtime
Needless to say, as part of the Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Control release, we shipped some 20+ controls. This includes all the basic controls, like Button, to some higher level controls like the DataGrid.
You can check out all the great controls in action through my control sample right here!
- Controls Source Code & Unit Test
Not only did we ship the controls, we also released all the source code and unit tests that created the controls.
The source code is a great resource for all of you who want to build some of your own controls. It is a great demonstration of the templating and styling model we introduced in Silverlight.
Along with the unit tests we shipped, we also released the Mic
rosoft unit test framework for Silverlight. It is under the namespace of "Microsoft.Silverlight.Testing". Now, not only can you learn to write your own controls with our source, you can also truly embrace test-driven development with our testing framework!
You can download the source code from MSDN Downloads. Shawn Burke also talks more about the source here. Jeff Wilcox talks about the Microsoft.Silverlight.Testing framework in his post "Introducing Microsoft.Silverlight.Testing".
- Controls support in VS 2008
My screenshot on the right says it all! Not only did we ship the control runtime. We also have support in Visual Studio 2008!
You can now drag / drop the controls from your Visual Studio Toolbox onto the XAML editor. (Support for using the Visual Studio Design mode will come later.)
You can download the Mirosoft Silverlight Tools support here.
- Controls support in Microsoft Expression Blend
Microsoft Expression Blend also has support for all the controls. You can also get all the controls from Blend's Asset Library, drag / drop the controls onto the design surface and off you go... designing your Silverlight 2 RIA application!
Now with all these exciting things I just listed, you are probably eager to go download the bits! But wait... there's more!
Our designer Corrina Barber (who brought us all the default skins for the Controls) hasdecided to start blogging! In her very first blog, she posted three... yes 3!!! other templates that you can use (or use as a reference to learn how to create your own templaets.)
Some screen shots here:
Check out her post "Silverlight 2 Control Skin" for more details.
<Editorial Comment>
Pulling all these different pieces together was really quite a feat. This could not be done with out the smart and totally awesome people that live and breath Silverlight in building 42 and building 10!
</Editorial Comment>
There are a lot of blogs out that that tries to explain which is what, and why it is the way it is.
To those of you who just want to know what the results are. I wrote a quick little app to show what happens.
As you can see, DateTime.ToString() formatting is driven purely by CurrentCulture.
You can read more about the reasons and background here:
For other DateTime Format String info, check out my blog post ".NET Format String 102: DateTime Format String".
My sample and its source is now live on http://silverlight.net! It show case a variety of controls we have built for the Silverlight 2 Beta 1. We have quite an good set of controls. It shouldn't surprise my readers to know that we have a DatePicker and a Calendar. :) And yes, I am the PM for those features. So for those of you who are sick of using my Silverlight 1.1 Calendar/DatePicker. Pick up the latest Silverlight 2 Beta 1!
Silverlight Control Demo Sample
Uploaded on March 5
Created by: Kathy Kam
A sample of twenty-four Silverlight 2 controls that can be viewed live together with the source code used to drive the controls.
Check out other samples here:
http://silverlight.net/community/gallerydetail.aspx?cat=5&sort=1#vid1080
Also, as mentioned by ScottGu this morning. You can download the source and unit tests to all the controls here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ea93dd89-3af2-4acb-9cf4-bfe01b3f02d4&displaylang=en
Love to hear what you think! I am excited to see applications people build with these controls. Tell me what you are building!
After moths of hardwork, I am sitting here at MIX '08. I've been here a day and I'm absolutely loving the experience. I love the fact that we are not just presenting an array of technology. We are presenting an experience. The "Web" experience. Every technology in every sessions revolves around the theme.
Anyways, if you are also in town and would like to chat. I will be at the "Sandbox and Open Space" area from 3pm to 6pm today.
I'd love to hear what you are buuilding, what you technologies you are looking forward to, and of course... let me know what you think of the controls we have shipped!!
This morning, my VP ScottGu published a blog about Silverlight 2. I haven't blog much, well one because I am not really allowed to reveal anything interesting and two, I have been totally swamped.
Anyways, from his blog and his demo, you can see a partial list of what controls we'll be delivering at MIX! I am currently working on a demo that is basically a Silverlight Control's version of this page: http://www.asp.net/ajax/ajaxcontroltoolkit/samples/ build entirely in Silverlight.
Rich Controls: Silverlight 2 includes a rich set of built-in controls that developers and designers can use to quickly build applications. This upcoming Beta1 release includes core form controls (TextBox, CheckBox, RadioButton, etc), built-in layout management panels (StackPanel, Grid, Panel, etc), common functionality controls (Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar, DatePicker, etc), and data manipulation controls (DataGrid, ListBox, etc). The built-in controls support a rich control templating model, which enables developers and designers to collaborate together to build highly polished solutions.
After MIX is annouced, I can go indepth into topics like:
- Using Controls
- Templating Controls
- Databinding Controls
...etc.
This is exciting... and I hope to see all of in at MIX!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been pretty busy working on the controls! I want to thank everyone who responded to my previous blog on what controls they want. Here are some of the controls left by my readers:
- DataGrid
- DateTimePicker
- MaskedTextBox
- Databound ListView
- Charting Control
- TreeView
- Layout Controls
- Media Player
- RichTextBox
- FlowDocumentReader
The data left in my blog is very interesting. I'm surprised no one asked for a Button, CheckBox, RadioButton, TextBox..etc. Then again, since we haven't confirmed our initial list of controls. I wonder whether you just expect that to be in the platform.
So.. out of curiosity... I wonder, if you were to list the 10 or 20 controls you expect to be in the platform for the Silverlight v2 release, what would they be? All the controls in WPF? All the controls in Windows Forms? All the controls in ASP.NET?
I have been quiet on my blog since my Tech Ed trips and the Acropolis annoucement. Some of you may wonder what I am working on next. As we start rolling some of the core Acropolis ideas into future frameworks, we need to make sure that the future framework itself is a productive and successful framework.
Today, Scott Guthrie (my VP) annouced the Silverlight 2.0 release. In his annoucement, he mentioned:
"Rich Controls: Silverlight will deliver a rich set of controls that make building Rich Internet Applications much easier. The next Silverlight preview release will add support for core form controls (textbox, checkbox, radiobutton, etc), built-in layout management controls (StackPanel, Grid, etc), common functionality controls (TabControl, Slider, ScrollViewer, ProgressBar, etc) and data manipulation controls (DataGrid, etc)."
If you were familiar with what I was working on in Acropolis, it should come at no surprise that I will be working on the set of Rich Controls for Silverlight now. :) I hope to take the customer feedback we got from Acropolis, along with learnings in the AJAX framework and deliver some awesome controls.
In coming months, I hope to be able to share some of my experience in designing, building and shipping these controls with my loyal readers! I bet some of you can already guess which controls I'll be owning. :)
Out of curiosity... What are the top controls do you want to see in Silverlight?
In my spare time, I wrote a MonthCalendar and DatePicker control for Silverlight. It was just a side project for me to learn Silverlight.
My MonthCalendar and DatePicker can be downloaded here. The sample works with Silverlight 1.1 RC Alpha Refresh (Sept 2007) that can be downloaded here.
Please note that the code snippet is provided under the Microsoft Permissive Liceanse, and I provide it "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.
If you actually use it.. I'll be interested to know where and how! :)
Today, our team gave an update on the "Acropolis" project in the Acropolis team blog here. In response to the "Acropolis" team's plan, Glenn Block, from the Patterns and Practices team, has also posted new plans for the SCSF/CAB here.
I am interested to see what everyone thinks about our new direction. Leave me a comment if you have any feedback.
Hello all,
It's been two months since I last posted. I have been kept pretty busy during this time. I spoke at Tech Ed Australia, Tech Ed NZ, and Tech Ed South East Asia. When I got back, I got piles of email to get back to!
I want to thank everyone who attended my session. It's been a real learning experience for me. Visiting each of the Tech Eds around the world has been most educational, speaking is only half of my duties there. The other half is getting to meet each and everyone of you. I find speaking with my customers one on one during "Ask the Expert" session and individually scheduled meetings were useful. I have taken all your feedback back to Redmond and continue to use it to drive requirements here. Thank you for taking your time to talk to me. I truly enjoyed meeting everyone. It's amazing the energy in technology we have out there! :)
Oh... and here is the deck I used: http://kkam.members.winisp.net/deck/Acropolis_teched07_kam.pptx
Let me know if you have any questions!
Since VS 2008 Beta2 RTWed, I have gotten quite a few customers asking when we'll be refreshing "Acropolis" to work with VS 2008 Beta2. Today, I am VERY happy to annouce that "Acropolis" August CTP (aka VS 2008 Beta2 Refresh) is available! :)
This release is mainly an update so that our customers can continue to evaluate “Acropolis” with the latest VS 2008 Beta. In addition to VS 2008 Beta2 support, we have also added one small feature named “FloatingLayoutPane”. We have gotten feedback from our customers and in our forum that basic functionality like showing a floating window is too hard in the July CTP. Please let us know what you think.
Please note, the Acropolis August CTP depends on VS 2008 Beta2, it will not work with VS 2008 Beta1.
Download the bits:
- Acropolis CTP & Documentation
- Acropolis Samples for August CTP
The links will also be posted on http://windowsclient.net/Acropolis soon.
A special thank to David Poll, Acropolis' PM intern this summer, who help spec and drive Acropolis August CTP. Thanks David!
Is this the Acropolis video week or what? All the videos our team has done with Virtual TechEd, Channel 9 and so forth are all being posted. I swear.. this was totally not planned. I actually have no control over when these videos get posted.
Check it out:
http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=332664
Let me know what you think