CODE Magazine News

Publisher's Point: Visual Studio Platform and Extensibility

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: Visual Studio Platform and Extensibility

As a .NET architect and developer I cannot imagine my everyday work without Visual Studio. I was always in a strange excitement when waiting for a new CTP, Beta or RTM of Visual Studio because I always expected some great new features with every release. During the years I have bought a few third-party add-ins and utilities for Visual Studio to make my development tasks easier and even created small add-ins to produce some useful piece of code. I knew that Visual Studio was extensible; I downloaded the SDKs and tried to get familiar with those hundreds of extensibility interfaces. However, due to lack of good documentation I often got frustrated.

Publisher's Point: What's The Resolution?

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: What's The Resolution?

Markus Egger discusses screen resolutions.

Publisher's Point: How Many Threads Do You Need?

Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: How Many Threads Do You Need?

Markus Egger discusses the need to create multi-threaded applications.

Publisher's Point: Beyond the Mists of Avalon

Mon, 6 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: Beyond the Mists of Avalon

Markus Egger discusses tools used to create WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation, formerly "Avalon") interfaces, in particular, WinFX Extensions for Visual Studio as well as the Microsoft Expression product line.

Publisher's Point: LINQ Up!

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: LINQ Up!

At PDC 2005, Microsoft announced a new technology called Language Integrated Query (LINQ), which will be available with Visual Studio “Orcas” (the next version of Visual Studio). A lot of exciting new technologies are announced at every PDC, and as a result, LINQ got some attention, but not nearly as much as I think it deserves. LINQ represents the ability to run queries right inside of Visual Basic, C#, or any other .NET language.

Publisher's Point: C-Sharpest

Sun, 4 Dec 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: C-Sharpest

C# 2.0 just shipped with a number of interesting new features: anonymous methods, nullable objects, iterators, partial classes, generics, and others. But the innovation does not stop there! Microsoft (and Anders Hejlsberg in particular) have already allowed us a sneak peek at some of the new features that will be available in C# 3.0.

Publisher's Point: The Quest for the Killer App

Wed, 7 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: The Quest for the Killer App

Markus Egger discusses the evaluation of new technologies.

Publisher's Point: User Interface Challenges

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: User Interface Challenges

Markus Egger discusses user interface technologies developers should familiarize themselves with.

Publisher's Point: Where's Your Logic?

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: Where's Your Logic?

Markus Egger discusses the role of business logic in modern application architecture.

Publisher's Point: Who's On First?

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Exclusive online-only article!

Publisher's Point E-Column: Who's On First?

Markus Egger discusses the importance of a solid basis of knowledge.

CODE Magazine: 2012 Jan/Feb

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

CODE Magazine, Issue 2012 Jan/Feb is now available!

Contrary to popular opinion, rich application development is not dead. Desktop and rich application development has been around for many years now and we see no end for that style. This issue covers a number of rich application development tools including Silverlight, The Code Framework and Windows 8. Enjoy!

Online Article: Seeking Scale

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Seeking Scale

Jan/Feb 2012 Editorial by Rod Paddock

Online Article: Claims-Based Authentication and the Cloud

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Claims-Based Authentication and the Cloud

I give up! I can’t really explain how the cloud works unless I cover the topic of authentication in the cloud first. If I didn’t tackle this topic first, I could only explain boring unauthenticated applications. The issue is, for all practical purposes the authentication fit for the cloud is claims based. There is no worldwide active directory you can rely on. There is no single aspnetdb.mdf database. What’s more, there are many kinds of authentications already - Facebook, Twitter, Google, OpenID, Windows Live ID, etc.

Online Article: Seven New Features in Silverlight 5 (Plus a 3D Bonus)

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Seven New Features in Silverlight 5 (Plus a 3D Bonus)

The next version of Silverlight should be available by the time you read this article. The Silverlight team has followed a fast pace during the last few years, producing four versions of their framework in only thirty months. Each new version of Silverlight has been full of surprises and useful features. Version 5 is no different. Let’s look as some of the best features available in SL 5

Online Article: Introducing jQuery Mobile

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Introducing jQuery Mobile

The newest member of the jQuery family of projects is jQuery Mobile. A good way to describe what jQuery Mobile is to think of it as jQuery UI for mobile devices. If you have wanted to write mobile-optimized UIs over your applications, jQuery Mobile is a library that you will want to add to your bag of tricks. Like jQuery UI, jQuery Mobile is themeable. This article makes two assumptions. First, you are familiar with jQuery and second, you are familiar with jQuery UI. If you are not familiar with jQuery or jQuery UI, I suggest that you take a moment to familiarize yourself with those libraries. Fortunately, the websites for these projects (jquery.com and jQueryUI.com respectively) are replete with comprehensive documentation and code examples. jQuery Mobile is no different. The official website for jQuery Mobile is jquerymobile.com. As of this writing, jQuery Mobile 1.0 Beta 3 has been released. Its beta status notwithstanding, jQuery Mobile is ready for primetime and has been incorporated into many applications already. In this article, I will cover what you need to get started with some simple examples that illustrate how to create one page and multi-page apps. In addition, I’ll touch upon the theming capabilities in jQuery Mobile.

Online Article: Working with Windows Phone User Interfaces, Part 1

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Working with Windows Phone User Interfaces, Part 1

Developing for Windows Phone is easy if you have been doing any XAML at all. That’s because you use Silverlight for Windows Phone development.

Online Article: CODE Framework: Writing MVVM/MVC WPF Applications

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: CODE Framework: Writing MVVM/MVC WPF Applications

The CODE Framework is an open-source application framework by the makers of CODE Magazine. It is entirely free of charge. It covers a wide range of features that can be applied altogether or individually in an À la carte fashion. All of these features revolve around a single concept: Building advanced business applications in a productive and maintainable fashion while maintaining great application architecture. In this article, we are focusing on a subset of the CODE Framework, specifically the components used to build WPF applications using the MVVM and MVC patterns.

Online Article: The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Miscellaneous SQL Server Tips

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Miscellaneous SQL Server Tips

To use a music analogy, many installments of “The Baker’s Dozen” have been like “concept albums,” where most or all of the tips work towards a big picture. Then there are times where I present a series of random tips that are largely standalone and don’t form a pattern. In this article, I’m going to present 13 random tips for SQL Server and T-SQL programming.

Online Article: Windows Phone 7 Development Using MVVM and Unit Testing

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Windows Phone 7 Development Using MVVM and Unit Testing

As readers of this magazine, you are all experts at certain facets of software development, be it for the desktop, the web, SQL Server and now mobile platforms. Mobile programming was a fairly arcane development arena up until the recent announcement of Windows Phone 7 (WP7). Prior to WP7, you had to become intimately familiar with the myriad platforms and form factors available and write your programs to each of those phones. With the advent of WP7, Microsoft is now controlling the hardware capabilities of the phone making it much easier to develop for these platforms. You can now also leverage existing skills in Silverlight and XNA to write your apps. But the question always remains: how do I get started and what is the best way to write for the new WP7? In a previous article, CODE Magazine Jan/Feb 2011, I showed you what to do to get started; now I want to show you the best way to apply what you have learned in that article. I will use Silverlight, the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern, and Silverlight Unit testing to build a sample app.

Online Article: Managed Coder: On Being a Consultant

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Managed Coder: On Being a Consultant

Jan/Feb 2012 Managed Coder by Ted Neward

CODE Magazine: 2011 Nov/Dec

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

CODE Magazine, Issue 2011 Nov/Dec is now available!

Is your application distributed? Does your application have online and offline capabilities? Is your application ready for the present and future? This issue takes you through a number of technologies that you need to be aware of when building today's applications. This issue demonstrates capabilities of HTML5, JavaScript, Azure and Windows 8.

Online Article: Managed Coder: Thoughts of a //Build/ Gone By

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Managed Coder: Thoughts of a //Build/ Gone By

Nov/Dec 2011 Managed Coder by Ted Neward

Online Article: Developing a Metro Style App with HTML and JavaScript

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Developing a Metro Style App with HTML and JavaScript

Microsoft unveiled the Windows Developer Preview, a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers, at the Microsoft BUILD conference in September 2011. The most compelling new feature for developers and users alike is the new Metro style user interface.

Online Article: Introducing Queues and Topics in Azure Service Bus

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Introducing Queues and Topics in Azure Service Bus

In 2007, Microsoft unveiled a new vision called “Software + Services” that would fundamentally change the way that both Microsoft and their customers build software and have a gradual, yet marked ripple effect throughout the software giant’s entire strategy.

Online Article: Build an HTML5 Offline Application with Application Cache, Web Storage and ASP.NET MVC

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Build an HTML5 Offline Application with Application Cache, Web Storage and ASP.NET MVC

The modern web ecosystem is made up of many different types of scenarios of how users interact with online content. With the increasing popularity of mobile devices along with countless hours at Starbucks and on airplanes, users may often find themselves in a position of wanting to use web content while not being able to enjoy reliable and continual access to the Internet.

Online Article: Spice Up Your Silverlight and WPF Application Images

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Spice Up Your Silverlight and WPF Application Images

Most programmers have a hard time making applications that look interesting and fun. We are great at creating functionality that makes the application do exactly what the user wants, but many applications often look very utilitarian. However, with just a few little XAML tricks, you can make your Silverlight or WPF applications look like an artist had a hand in their creation. In this article I will provide you with a couple of very easy XAML tips that you can use right away to spice up the images in your Silverlight and WPF applications.

Online Article: The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Transact SQL Programming Tips

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Transact SQL Programming Tips

Even with all the new features in the Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence (BI), sometimes the only way to accomplish a task is with good old fashioned T-SQL code. (Fortunately, “code” is the acronym for this great magazine!) In this latest installment of The Baker’s Dozen, I’ll present 13 T-SQL programming tips that could help you accomplish different database tasks.

Online Article: Using the Visual Studio New Project Dialog Box

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Using the Visual Studio New Project Dialog Box

Continuing on our odyssey exploring the features of Visual Studio 2010, we turn our attention to the New Project dialog box. You noticed a difference no doubt, but may not be aware of just how much it has changed. Sit back, relax, open up Visual Studio 2010 and follow along as we dive into the details.

Online Article: On Influence

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: On Influence

CODE Magazine: 2011 Sep/Oct

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

CODE Magazine, Issue 2011 Sep/Oct is now available!

There are 100's of millions of mobile phones in consumers hands today. Each platform (IOS, Android and Windows Phone 7) has its own set of development tools and techniques. In this issue you will learn how to develop native applications for each platform.

Online Article: Not Found in a College Course Curriculum

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Not Found in a College Course Curriculum

Sept/Oct 2011 Editorial by Rod Paddock

Online Article: Post Mortem: Xiine for Android

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Post Mortem: Xiine for Android

Digital content is becoming more popular. E-book readers encourage people that like to read, to read even more because they can take all of their books on one lightweight gadget. Even though I still love hard copies of a book (you don’t need power to read it), I have had very good experiences with several digital readers.

Online Article: Session State in SharePoint 2010

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Session State in SharePoint 2010

The title of this article is a misnomer, but I still picked this title because it is indeed the problem we are trying to solve. The problem is session state, especially in-process session state, is just evil. It makes your application less predictable, less reliable, less scalable, and locks you out of possibilities such as Windows Azure.

Online Article: Building an Android Application to Search Twitter

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Building an Android Application to Search Twitter

From users to developers, mobile applications used to be (not so long ago) uninteresting. Complicated flows, non-intuitive screens and limited features available used to discourage anyone. PDAs had a poor user interface with limited colors (the first ones were only black and white). It was very complicated and boring to write any code for it. Cell phones used to be a device where you could make and receive phone calls. Eventually you could play some games. But you know what? Even the games were boring most of the time!

Online Article: Building CodeTweet for Windows Phone

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Building CodeTweet for Windows Phone

In this article, we take a look at what’s involved with building a simple Twitter Search client for Windows Phone. We will cover what tools you need, where to download them, how to design, build and test the app and finally, how to publish it to the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Online Article: Working with Audio in Windows Phone 7

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Working with Audio in Windows Phone 7

Smart phones are constantly evolving to fit your mobile lifestyle. Most modern phones function as full featured music and video players. Windows Phone 7 follows the path blazed by other smart phones, but adds its own twist. Your musical life on this device revolves around the Music + Videos hub. This article contains details on how to interact with the Music hub from your application.

Online Article: MVP Corner: Leadership Is a Verb, Not a Noun

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: MVP Corner: Leadership Is a Verb, Not a Noun

Recently I accepted a management/leadership position, one where I can be the proverbial “player-coach.” It’s a position I’ve actually been doing for some time, and it’s now official.

Online Article: Managed Coder: Fear and Loathing of the FTC

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Managed Coder: Fear and Loathing of the FTC

On June 27, 2011, USA Today ran an article headlined, “FTC Probe Puts Google On Guard”. In it, Scott Martin, the author, said that “The Federal Trade Commission has formally begun its investigation into Google’s search and advertising businesses, examining whether the company has unfairly used its monopoly. … Legal experts say the FTC inquiry marks a turning point for the company as it will come under heightened regulatory scrutiny.” History does not offer great hope for those companies under that heightened regulatory scrutiny. When IBM faced off against the FTC in the 80s, it marked the beginning of what most analysts considered IBM’s slide into mediocrity, and arguments can easily be made that Microsoft’s day in court against the FTC in the last 90s has led to a similar sort of decline. Given Google’s current status as one of Microsoft’s chief rivals, it would seem that for the Microsoft-allied section of the industry, this would be great news.

Online Article: Building an iOS Application to Search Twitter

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Online Article: Building an iOS Application to Search Twitter

This article will cover building a simple Twitter client that allows users to search for tweets, save those search terms, and recall them at any time. The sample in this article will use Xcode 4 and the iPhone SDK 4.3. All examples are in Objective-C. You can find the code for this article at http://github.com/subdigital/code-mag-twitter-searcher. I encourage you to download the code to help out if you get stuck.