Tom's MSDN Belux Corner : C#

MSDN Ramp Up launched 3 new free web development tracks

tommer — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:19:00 GMT

MSDN Ramp Up is a free online learning program for developers. They’ve just launched three new ASP.NET tracks: “Web Development with ASP.NET”, “Move from ASP to ASP.NET”, and “Move from PHP to ASP.NET”. These tracks, along with the other currently offered ones (eg, Windows Mobile 6, SharePoint for Developers, Visual Studio 2008), teaches the important skills in a guided path, making the learning process easier and more efficient. The easy-to-access content (provided by subject-matter gurus) is specifically tailored for the Ramp Up program, and offered in a variety of forms (article, v-lab, codecast and slidecast). Check them out now at www.MyRampUp.com, and see how Ramp Up can help you become more employable by learning important and marketable skills.

Deferred Loading in LINQ to SQL

tommer — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:48:00 GMT

After the post on LINQ and Architectures, this time co-author Marco Russo of “Programming Microsoft LINQ” shares information on deferred loading in LINQ to SQL.

The deferred loading of data in LINQ to SQL can operates at two granularity levels: the entity and the entity data member.

LINQ to SQL allows the definition of an entity model that maps relational table rows to instances of a .NET class. One interesting feature is the navigation between entities. For example, you might have the following lines of code:

Order_Det order = db.Orders.Single((o) => o.OrderID == 10251);
decimal total = order.Order_Details.Sum(od => od.Quantity * od.UnitPrice);

By default, each of these lines of code produces a different query to SQL Server. The first line looks for the order 10251. The second line get the lines of the order and calculates its total value. I said “by default” because this is a behavior controlled by the DeferredLoadingEnabled property of the DataContext. If you disable this property with the following line of code:

dataContext.DeferredLoadingEnabled = false;

the access to the Order_Details property will result in an empty list.

Probably it is not common disabling DeferredLoadingEnabled setting. More often, you might find useful to load in memory all the lines of an order together with an Order instance. To do that, you can use the LoadOption setting of the DataContext, which has to be set before querying the Orders in the DataContext instance.

DataLoadOptions loadOptions = new DataLoadOptions();
loadOptions.LoadWith<Order>(o => o.Order_Details);
dataContext.LoadOptions = loadOptions;

As I said, another level of deferred loading is the entity data member. If you have a table with a very large column (for example, a VARCHAR(MAX) one), you can avoid to load that property in memory each and every time you build an instance of the containing entity. To get deferred loading on a data member, you need to declare the storage member of Link<T> type, which is a wrapper over the T exposed type of the data member itself. In the following code we can see the Address property of a DelayCustomer class declared in this way.

[Table(Name = "Customers")]
public class DelayCustomer {
     private Link<string> _Address;
     [Column(IsPrimaryKey = true)]
     public string CustomerID;
     [Column]
     public string CompanyName;
     [Column]
     public string Country;
     [Column(Storage = "_Address")]
     public string Address {
          get { return _Address.Value; }
          set { _Address.Value = value; }
     }
}

The Link<T> wrapper produces an access to the SQL Server database whenever that property is accessed for the first time after the container object initialization. The following code will produce a query to SQL Server for each of the row in the foreach loop.

var query =
     from c in Customers
     where c.Country == "Italy"
     select c;

foreach (var row in query) {
     Console.WriteLine(
          "{0} - {1}",
          row.CompanyName,
          row.Address);
}

Deferred loading of entities and properties is useful to consume less memory when not all the related entities and/or not all the entity data members are accessed frequently.

The Programming Microsoft LINQ book describes deferred loading for both entities and data members. The book is for sale at Belgian IT book stores:

Technorati Tags: MSDN Belux,LINQ,architecture,marco russo,MSPress

LINQ to MSI (Windows Installer database)

tommer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:57:00 GMT

Bart De Smet is back with a new sample of a LINQ query provider, this time targeting Windows Installer databases, or more commonly named MSI’s. (If you want to learn more about MSI’s, you can also watch the recording of “Building setup packages with WiX”.)

Technorati Tags: MSDN Belux,LINQ,MSI,query provider,windows installer

Addictive Games in Silverlight 2: Shock and Chip-8 Computer Emulator

tommer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:38:52 GMT

Nikola Mihaylov has an interesting blog on Silverlight, but also maintains a website containing nice stuff: Nokola. Warning: checking out the games on his website, may cause loosing precious time.

Nikola must be a very nice guy, as he is also providing the source code of the games as a download. The first game is "Shock", a variant of the Breakout game (see the image at the right). A second Silverlight application is a Chip-8 Computer Emulator with several 1970's games like Pong, Bomber, Alien, etc... Both are Silverlight 2 applications (currently working on beta 1 of Silverlight 2).

Lastly, he's also publishing links to interesting tutorials about Silverlight on his website.

Don't blame me if your work isn't finished in time. ;-)

Technorati Tags: silverlight,game,nokola,nikola mihaylov

Microsoft releases Source Analysis for C#

tommer — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:19:13 GMT

Last Friday we announced the public release of Microsoft Source Analysis for C#. This tool was originally only used by Microsoft's development teams internally (known as StyleCop) to enfore a common set of best practices for layout, readability, maintainability and documentation of C# source code.

Microsoft Source Analysis for C# is hosted at MSDN Code Gallery, where you can find more useful resources for developers.

PS. Did you know that fellow Belgian Steven Wilssens is one of the program managers behind MSDN Code Gallery?

Technorati Tags: MSDN,code gallery,source analysis,C#,Microsoft,stylecop

Free eLearning on ASP.NET AJAX Extensions

tommer — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:11:02 GMT

For a limited time, Microsoft Learning offers a free subscription to the eLearning clinic "Developing Enhanced Web Experiences with Microsoft® ASP.NET AJAX Extensions". From the website:

In this 2-hour clinic you will learn about the rich functionality that ASP.NET AJAX Extensions provides for building highly responsive and enhanced web applications. In addition to learning about the different server and client components of ASP.NET AJAX, you will also learn how to build new ASP.NET AJAX applications and how to upgrade existing ASP.NET applications to take advantage of ASP.NET AJAX.

This clinic is appropriate for experienced .NET Web Developers and Software Architects who are looking to incorporate ASP.NET AJAX within their existing and future solutions.

Technorati Tags: MSDN Belux,elearning,ASP.NET,AJAX,free,Visual Studio,training,web development

IntoFactories.NET Community Blog on Software Factory Technologies and Tools

tommer — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:02:00 GMT

Wim Vanden Driessche mailed me earlier today about a new community blog called "IntoFactories.NET - A deep dive into Microsoft software factory technologies and tools". It is maintained by some of his team members at Compuware Belgium. Here's what they say about their blog:

Near the end of ‘07, a couple of developers got stung by the software factory bug and wanted to actively participate in the community. So we joined forces with some of our colleagues from Professional Services at Compuware Belgium to start a focus group about Software Factories. We’ve managed to gather an enthusiastic team of people with GAT/GAX, DDD and DSL tools experience.

Technorati Tags: community,software factory,intofactories,compuware,development

Walkthrough of the Web Service Software Factory (Chopsticks video)

tommer — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:13:33 GMT

Kurt Claeys shows you how to use the Web Service Software Factory in Visual Studio during this 9 minute video. No slides, only a running demo. The Web Service Software Factory (also known as the Service Factory) is an integrated collection of tools, patterns, source code and prescriptive guidance. It is designed to help you quickly and consistently construct WCF and ASMX Web services that adhere to well known architecture and design patterns.

Direct link to video: Walkthrough of the Web Service Software Factory

Technorati Tags: MSDN Belux,community,Kurt Claeys,WSSF,software factory,chopsticks

Update on Microsoft Certifications - Free "Second Shot" Offer Extended, And More...

tommer — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:17:12 GMT

In the past months, I've been writing a few posts on Microsoft certifications. Since there is more information available now, it's time to give an update:

Free Second Shot offer has been extended

From the website:

"Due to popular demand, the Second Shot offer has been extended through June 30, 2008! For a limited time, you can take advantage of this free offer—a second shot at any IT professional, developer, or Microsoft Dynamics certification exam. Just register for this offer before your first exam, and you will get two chances to pass."

Several developers (and some their managers ;-) ) have been telling me that they have been taking successful use of the offer. (And of course, almost everybody succeeded at the first shot... <grin> It seems to remain difficult to admit that one failed an exam. But don't worry, you don't have to tell anyone that you used the Second Shot offer...)

Webcasts on certification

Microsoft Learning has been running several webcasts on certification:

If you're interested in knowing more about certifications and the certification exams, you should subscribe to Trika's blog.

.NET Framework 3.5 beta certification exams

Gerry O'Brien announced that .NET Framework 3.5 beta exams have been extended for a short time. Without giving any guarantee that you'll be able to take them, in his blog post Gerry also shares the code that allows you to register for the following beta exams (depending on availability of a seat):

71-502 TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 - Windows Presentation Foundation (Extended through 8 February 2008)
71-503 TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 - Windows Communication Foundation (Extended through 1 February 2008)
71-504 TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Workflow Foundation (Extended through 8 February 2008)

Did you know that Serge Luca, a Belgian MVP, has been helping Microsoft on the Windows Workflow Foundation exam as a subject matter expert?

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,certification,mcp,mcts,mcpd,visual studio,visual studio 2008,vs2008,second shot,gerry o'brien,trika harms zum spreckel,msdn

Join us for the Belgian 2008 Launch and TechDays

tommer — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:32:24 GMT

You might already have heard about our 3 day launch experience:

On March 11 we'll celebrate the launch of Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008. During this day, you'll get to see a keynote from Bill Hilf and an overview of "what" those products can mean to you (in non-fluffy marketing speak that means level 100-200 content).
On March 12 and 13 you'll be able to get deep-dive technical information from industry experts at the TechDays 2008. You will have heard about this conference before under the name "Developer & IT Pro Days". But let's be honest, TechDays is a lot shorted and crisper as a new...

More information is available on our local Heroes Happen Here website.

Practical information:

Location: ICC, Ghent
Registration fee:

Launch on 11 March: free of charge, but registration is required
TechDays on 12-13 March: 289 EUR on or before 31 January, 340 EUR after 31 January (both fees are excl. 21% VAT)

Audience: developers, database administrators, architects, academics, system administrators, network administrators, IT managers

More info will follow later.

Technorati Tags: msdn belux,techdays,2008 launch,visual studio,windows server,sql server,heroes happen here,microsoft

Essential LINQ to Objects Video in 20 Minutes

tommer — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:19:40 GMT

Bart De Smet created a 20 minutes Chopsticks video "Essential LINQ to Objects", where he explains the basics of creating a custom implementation of Standard Query Operators.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,msdn belux,visual studio 2008,LINQ,chopsticks,community

30 Minutes Intro to C# 3.0 Language Enhancements

tommer — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:31:00 GMT

During a 30 minutes Chopsticks video, Bart De Smet guides you through the most important languages enhancements you'll find in Visual Studio 2008.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,msdn belux,visual studio 2008,C#,csharp,community,chopsticks

Free MSPress E-Book on LINQ, ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight

tommer — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:43:24 GMT

It must be holiday season at Microsoft Press too. They have just released an e-book on Visual Studio 2008 technologies and are giving it away for free. The e-book includes excerpts from three recent book releases and provides a wealth of information and insights from top experts:

Introducing Microsoft LINQ by Paolo Pialorsi and Marco Russo by Paolo Pialorsi and Marco Russo
Introducing Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX by Dino Esposito (Solid Quality Learning) by Dino Esposito
Introducing Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 by Laurence Moroney by Laurence Moroney

You can see the first chapter of these books for free. When you register, you'll be able to download a lot more content of those books, packaged as an e-book. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: LINQ,ASP.NET AJAX,ajax,silverlight,ebook,microsoft

Recording of "Introducing Visual Studio 2008: IDE & Language Enhancements" Event

tommer — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:08:37 GMT

Some weeks ago, Peter Himschoot en Nico Jacobs presented "Introducing Visual Studio 2008: IDE & Language Enhancements" at the MSDN Evening. This session was recorded and is now available for replay at MSDN Belux Chopsticks.

Introducing Visual Studio 2008: IDE & Language Enhancements

During this presentation you will get an overview of the language enhancements in Visual Basic 9.0 and Visual C# 3.0, as well as IDE enhancements in this new version of Visual Studio. Topics covered include framework multi-targetting (using Visual Studio 2008 to develop applications running on .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 and/or 3.5), integration of .NET Framework 3.5, LINQ (the Language Integrated Query), anonymous types, the WPF designer, Visual Studio Tools for Office, etc. After this session, you will have a good overview of the new features in Visual Studio 2008 and how developers will benefit from them.

Technorati Tags: visual studio 2008,vs2008,microsoft,msdn belux,chopsticks,webcast

MSDN Evening on 28 November: Introducing Visual Studio 2008 – IDE & Language Enhancements

tommer — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:25:44 GMT

During this MSDN Evening you will get an overview of the language enhancements in Visual Basic 9.0 and Visual C# 3.0, as well as IDE enhancements in Visual Studio 2008. Topics covered include framework multi-targeting (using Visual Studio 2008 to develop applications running on .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 and/or 3.5), integration of .NET Framework 3.5, LINQ (the Language Integrated Query), anonymous types, the WPF designer, Visual Studio Tools for Office, etc. After this session, you will have a good overview of the new features in Visual Studio 2008 and how developers will benefit from them.

Location: Utopolis, Mechelen
Date: 28 November
Session starts at 18:30

This session can be attended free of charge, but registration is required.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, MSDN Belux, Visual Studio 2008, VS2008, .NET