.NET info & FAQs

NET Explorer: It's New Version Time

You can scarcely have missed the fact that Visual Studio .NET 2003 (formerly "Everett") is nearly here. (If you *did* somehow miss this, start at Microsoft's summary page,
 http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/vstudio03/default.asp).  It will ship in April, and the final beta is widely available. So it's probably time to think about what this means to you, the working developer who's already using Visual Studio .NET.

First off, features. Various online sites have mentioned things like C# generics or edit-and-continue debugging in conjunction with this release. These great big announcements are generally the result of confusion; the big features are aimed at the NEXT release, which won't be out until SQL Server Yukon ships in 2004 or thereabouts. VS .NET 2003 is more of a bug-fix release. Here's the quick bullet list of what's

New:

- Version 1.1 of the .NET Framework. This gets you the ASP.NET Mobile Controls (available already as the Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit), the System.Data.Odbc and System.Data.OracleClient ADO.NET namespaces (both already available as downloads), tweaks to security (mostly tighter, though relaxed for Internet applications), and IPV6 support.

• Visual J# .NET is in the box now, instead of a separate download.
•  
• -Remote debugging via pipes (more secure than the existing TCP/IP version).
•  
• The Enterprise Instrumentation Framework, for unified logging of enterprise applications.
•  
• The .NET Compact Framework and various other mobile bits.
•  
• Various usability and GUI tweaks.
• a .NET obfuscator (“dotfuscator”)

The upgrade may be most compelling for people targeting mobile phones, PDAs, and other tiny devices; having all that stuff rolled into the main IDE is pretty useful. If you're doing active development now, you want to evaluate the upgrade carefully: although projects can easily be upgraded from VS .NET 1.0 to VS .NET 2003, there is no supported way to move them back (although there are some hacks floating around on the net).

Both VS .NET and the .NET Framework are designed for side-by-side execution. That is, at least in theory, you can have both versions of each, all on the same machine, and everything will just work. Well, sort of. There are some pitfalls to be aware of. The best coverage I know is from Early & Adopter: http://www.3leaf.com/default/articles/ea/SBS.aspx 

is a must-read if you're contemplating side-by-side deployment.

Bottom line:

- If you're targeting small devices, upgrade

- If you must share work with developers who can't all upgrade, you can't either

- Otherwise, treat this as a really big service pack rather than a version upgrade. If you're comfortable installing SPs on dev products, you should be fine with this one.

And expect the PR machine to start churning out stuff on the REAL upgrade (to the next full version) not too long after they sign off on the final bits of this one.

TEN CODE CONVERSIONS FOR VBA, VISUAL BASIC .NET, AND C#

Side-by-side code comparison gives VBA developers a head start on understanding Visual Basic .NET and C#.

Click to find out more http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnoxpta/html/odc_tencodeconverts.asp 

Just Say No to Flame Wars

As more and more developers move online with more-or-less daily weblogs (see the left column at http://www.larkware.com/  for a *very* incomplete list), the discussions between them are growing in cross-linking and intensity. At the best of times, this results in a community growing and learning from one another. At the worst of times, it results in bickering like the latest round between the Java and .NET camps.

This round was sparked by Carlos Perez and his continuing list of reasons why Java is better than (http://www.freeroller.net/page/ceperez?catname=101+List)

Of course, that provoked some rebuttals from the .NET folks, like Jason Whittington's "25 Pathetic Attempts to Make .NET Look Bad" (http://staff.develop.com/jasonw/weblog/2003/01/11.html#a125). And on it goes.....

Visual Studio 2003 http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/vstudio03/default.asp
 

.NET FAQ http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/library/techart/
faq111700.htm

Advice on preparing your Visual Basic application for .NET http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/library/techart/
vb6tovbdotnet.htm 

Tips for developing secure Microsoft apps http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=7156

Developing Applications for Microsoft Pocket PCs and Smartphones - FAQ http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/support/faq.asp

Optimizing unmanaged .net code  http://www.devx.com/Intel/Article/7025

A round up of the .Net extensions currently on offer  http://www.vsj.co.uk/dotnet/display.asp?id=106

.NET Framework Community website http://www.gotdotnet.com

Free books & MOC Training Modules

5 Free Microsoft books including: 

• A Programmers Guide to Visual Basic.NET’
• Application Architecture for .NET: Designing Applications and Services
• Production Debugging for .NET Framework Applications'
• Development and procedural guidance for project teams building .NET applications with Visual Studio .NET and Visual SourceSafe
• Deploying .NET Applications: Lifecycle Guide

Download and evaluate these 10 sample MOC modules for developers http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/training/samples/developer.asp

Free eBook - The Definitive Guide to Windows Software Deployment http://www.newboundary.com/box/mcp

How to Learn the 10 Most Important Technologies http://www.devx.com/devx/editorial/10432

Certification & training

Test Taking Tricks & Tips http://certcities.com/editorial/Tips/story.asp?EditorialsID=24

Introducing VBTV: The Cure for the Common Webcast - In fact 3 light hearted 'hip' webcasts

Episode 1: Introducing Visual Basic .NET
Episode 2: Building Windows Applications with Visual Basic .NET
Episode 3: Building Web Applications with Visual Basic .NET

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbtv/

.NET & Other technologies

Microsoft offers lots of functionality as free downloads, including the latest SQL Server 2000 XML functionality. http://www.sqlmag.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=27499

Learning for Life - SQL Server administrators and developers can use to improve their knowledge and advance their careers. http://www.sqlmag.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=23090

Microsoft "Access 11" Beta 1 Preview http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnacc11/html/odc_acov.asp

Case studies using Microsoft technologies which can be filtered by software and services, industries, solution, company size, and publication date.  http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies/

M & S claim .NET 400% improvement
One particular case study by Marks & Spencer Plc claims that core coding was decreased from six months to six weeks, an effective improvement of 400 percent in development efficiency. They also expect expect a return on investment (ROI) for the first year of 415 percent and a six-year ROI of 790 percent.  http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies/CaseStudy.asp?CaseStudyID=12376 or download case study from here. (160Kb)

7 Things to Like About Microsoft http://mcpmag.com/columns/article.asp?EditorialsID=506

Independent Reviews

http://www.advisor.com/Articles.nsf/aid/SMITT01 
Article giving opinion on future success of .NET strategy 

 http://www.advisor.com/Articles.nsf/aid/BAROA11
Reviewer blown away by innovation of .NET stating 
“VB will be a first-class language on equal footing with C# in what it can accomplish” ..."Millions of lines of code, written in a new state-of-the-art programming language, C#.

Demonstrations and Code

Free online hosted session to try out Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.

http://msdn.protier.com/admin/skins/vsdemo/freetrial.aspx?source=ADT_general_newsletter

Check out the http://www.IBuySpy.com site, which some Microsoft developers threw together quickly as a fun sample – amazing how quick it can be done!

Microsoft .NET Pet Shop  - New Version 1.5 - compares Java to .NET http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/compare/petshop.aspx

http://www.vscodeswap.net/  A code-sharing tool for Visual Studio .NET developers

Microsoft touts Web service for business travellers http://www.flytecomm.com/