Custom software developer. IT consultant. Geek.
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Next Generation Data Access in ADO.NET vNext
Jun 12, 2006
My second session of Tech Ed is on the advances coming down the pipe for ADO.NET. There’s some neat stuff coming!
Key themes — Data modeling at a conceptual level, better integration with .NET, better integratino with programming languages.
Client views
- View the data how you want the app to see it. This often involves denormalizing the data a bit.
- Implemented on teh client (MapConnection, MapCommand, MapDataReader)
- Can be designed so they are still updatable
- Follows the same pattern as ADO.NET 2.0 — just another povider.
- Behind the scenes turned back into schema of database.
Entity Data Model (EDM): Entity-relationship model, Explicit concdept of More >
Accelerating web application development with the Microsoft Enterprise Library
Jun 12, 2006
This was a great first TechEd session for me. It went into some detail on the application blocks available as part of the Enterprise Library:
- Caching
- Configuration
- Cryptography
- Data Access
- Exception Handling
- Logging & Instrumentation
- Security
One thing that I really like is that the Enterprise Library comes with a configuration tool that will open the web.config file and make all of the appropriate entries.
DATA APPLICATION BLOCK
Uses the connection strings defined in the web.config file (nice to see).General model is to create the database with a factory, create the command object (DbCommand), add parameters, and then execute / fill the dataset.Provides a More >
Tech Ed begins!
Jun 11, 2006
I’m here in Braintree on the way to Tech Ed 2006. If you’re not here with me and my 11,000 closest friends, you can watch tonight’s keynote live at 7PM at:
Keynote
Jun 11, 2006
Great keynote! It’s available online as a webcast, and was broadcast live. They had that girl from 24 there, which was pretty cool, and a cool spoof on the show 24. It was tacky, but funny.
When you were entering the keynote, they had signs up warning about pyrotechnics, bright lights, noises, etc. That got my expectations up a little too much, I think. It was really cool, but no pyrotechnics.
Gigabyte i-RAM boots Windows in a matter of seconds
Jun 5, 2006
During this week’s episode of .NET Rocks, Richard Campbell was talking about the Gigabyte i-RAM and how he can boot Windows XP in a matter of seconds. This piqued my curiosity, so I dug a little deeper and discovered that this is a relly neat solution! Gigagbyte’s product is a PCI card that pulls power off the computer’s bus, but in all other regards works as an SATA drive. The card actually has an SATA connector that you cable to your controller. On the card, there are 4 slots for DIMMs, each capable of holding up to a 1GB chip. So together, More >
Lightbox Javascript
Jun 2, 2006
Every once in a while, you run across a script on the web that just makes you say “WOW!”. Today, I found it at Lokesh Dhakar’s Lightbox JS v2.0 script. I actually ran across this script running on Scott Hanselman’s blog and checked the source to see what he was using (thanks Scott!). The things I really like about this script are (1) how very simple it is to use and (2) how it is nicely backwards-compatible if javascript is broken or if the script just doesn’t work for some reason (in which case your code will just open the window). I More >
New certification to add to the list – Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist
Jun 2, 2006
Back in February, I took Microsoft up on the offer to take a free beta exam of the upgrade test to convert my Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certification to its newer equivalent. Beta exams are really exciting until you realize that you’re not going to get any results for months. It has been quite a white now, so this morning I logged into the Microsoft Certified Professional site to check and, sure enough, the exam is listed in my transcript as “Passed”, giving me two new certifications — Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist for the .NET Framework 2.0 (Web Application and Windows Applications). More >
Ultramon – Indespensible tool for running multiple monitors
May 30, 2006
I’ve recently upgraded my office computer through the addition of an addition display — a 19″ LCD — to compliment my 19″ Trinitron CRT monitor. My video card has both a DVI and VGA output, so I can use both monitors simultaneously to have more working space. I’ve used dual monitors before, but only where the primary monitor was a laptop / tablet, and then I hooked in an external monitor to use as a secondary display. I’ve really been enjoying the added real estate, but one thing really frustrated me — that the secondary display doesn’t get its own More >
Compression in IIS6
May 26, 2006
I ran across a great article today that gives a thorough step-by-step tutorial on how to turn on compression of ASP.NET files in IIS6:Enabling HTTP Compression in IIS 6.0
I was actually really surprised that this was not as simple as clicking a checkbox. The IIS Manager does have a checkbox for enabling compression on application and static files (makes sense), but the problem is that the .ASPX extension is not listed in the IIS Metabase as an application file, so it doesn’t get compressed. So after enabling the checkbox, you have to do a little bit of XML tweaking to More >
Camtasia
May 26, 2006
Camtasia is one of those products that you see a lot of people using, but for some reason takes a long time to justify purchasing. If you don’t know what Camtasia is, it’s a program that lets you create screen recordings, optionally along with voice, and then edit them to create great presentations or training videos. Screencasts can then be published in a number of formats, including Flash. The best part about the software is that it’s just SO easy to use!
Ease of use really is the key here. The software is quick and easy to use, so you can create More >