I'm in love with SCBAT
I delivered a session at the Christchurch .NET User's group here in sunny Christchurch on Wednesday night... ostensibly the topic was the Composite User Interface Application Block, but in fact I spent most of my time talking about the Smart Client Baseline Architecture Toolkit.
Why? Because CAB is big. I mean, really, really Big. There are lots of moving parts, and it can be a challenge for anyone starting out with CAB to come to grips with the really basic stuff like - how do I structure my projects? What patterns do I use to make sure I can seperate out the UI stuff from logic so I can implement an effective test regime, and how do I make sure I don't fall foul of UI threading issues etc. etc.
The SCBAT uses the VS2005 Guidance Automation Toolkit to add a bunch of wizards and templates to VS2005 for CAB projects. The basic SCBAT smart client template will construct a project for you, into which you can start adding CAB modules via another wizard, while still more wizards allow you to add views and eventing code to your project. Before you know it, you've built the framework for an entire app with very little effort.
There's still no subsitute for spending time with the docs (especially the Hands On Labs for CAB), but if you want to come up to speed with CAB quickly, SCBAT will give you a firm shove in the right direction. Notwithstanding the CAB docs, SCBAT itself is also really well documented, with a couple of excellent reference implementation apps to help build your understanding of CAB as well as the patterns expressed in SCBAT.
SCBAT is still a work in progress, but so far it's looking pretty schmik - and I'm happy to say that I'm definitely a fan!
PS: It was great to present in my home town for a change :) Thanks very much to the CHCH .NET User Group members for coming along to the session, and particular thanks to Peter Jones for organising the meeting (complete with Pizza and Beer)! All the best for CodeCamp NZ this weekend!
