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CodeGuru Newsletter
April 22, 2008
http://www.CodeGuru.com
This newsletter is part of the Developer.com, EarthWeb, and
internet.com networks.
Jupitermedia Corporation
___________________________ Sponsors
________________________________
Business
Objects
IBM
_____________________________________________________________________
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TOPICS:
–> Editorial
–> Recently
Published Books
–> New on
CodeGuru:
==>
Controls
– Handy List Selection Control that We Use Every
Day
==>
Misc.
– Increment File and Product Version Number: Multiple
IDE
==> .NET
Tip
– Sort Your Objects by Implementing the IComparable
Interface
==>
Templates
– Polymorphism and Template-Based Designs
–> Discussion Groups — HOT
Threads
– Where do
you place your Reference and Derefence’s?
(C++)
– Array Usage
(C++)
– Problem with module and
form load slow (VB)
–> Highlighted new articles on Developer.com
1. Working With Design
Patterns: Builder
2. Implementing
AJAX Components in the JWL
Framework
3. Good Java Style,
Revisited
/——————————————————————-
Crystal
Reports Sample Code Search Tool
A new search tool and sample code database
allow you to
publish and share sample code in a single repository as
well
as find the SDK and samples that relate to Crystal Reports(R)
and
other Business Objects products you use.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,362q,ae9d,jorm,i5r0
————————————————————–adv.-/
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Comments
from the
Editor
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I’m back from the Microsoft MVP summit. Last week was a chance to learn great
new things, to give feedback directly to the Visual C++ and other teams at
Microsoft, and to meet with other people from around the globe, including lots
of people from Codeguru. In fact, nine of us went to dinner on Thursday night
and enjoyed some great conversations about all things geeky.
You might expect that I’d have a lot to talk about after being at Microsoft
for a week. Unfortunately, a lot of the conversations were covered with a
non-disclosure agreement, so I can’t talk to you about them. Over the coming
months and year, however, a lot of the information will become public. What I
can say is that the Visual C++ team seems to have a focus and is definitely
moving forward with the language, with MFC, and with making sure it continues to
be the hardcore tool for developers writing native code. I wish to give kudos to
the Visual C++ team for taking the time to share their thoughts and for
listening to our feedback.
Independent of the MVP Summit, one interesting, albeit slightly religious,
conversation has come up that centered on Visual Basic developers. The topic
centers on the presumption of the poor treatment that Visual Basic developers
seem to get. This included lower pay than C# developers, less sample code from
Microsoft, and less support in Microsoft products such as XNA Studio and such.
The question centered on why Visual Basic developers were treated like
second-class citizens.
I found this to be interesting because I disagreed with the premise of the
discussion. I contend that the Visual Basic language should be just a syntax for
writing code. The C# language is an alternate syntax for doing code. The
syntaxes are not that different. If you are using the core .NET Framework to
create applications, a majority of what you are doing is identical except for
those syntax differences. As such, a Visual Basic developer is worth equal to
that of a C# developer, if they are focused on the Framework.
What is interesting, however, is that many Visual Basic .NET developers have
continued to carry forward the Visual Basic 6 legacy features and mind set.
Microsoft has given in and provided support for features that are Visual Basic
specific to help the transition to .NET. If these features are being used (think
Visual Basic namespace), there is a good chance that a Visual Basic program
isn’t completely compatible with a C# program. It also means that the bridge
from Visual Basic to C# is a bit farther that you had thought. If you are using
the Visual Basic classes and objects, you are giving yourself a disadvantage if
you want to move to the upper echelons of .NET developers. Thus, any C# job
should be yours for the taking.
In my town of Indianapolis, there are more than a half dozen companies
looking for .NET developers each month. This is dozens if not a hundred or more
positions that are open. Most say they are looking for C# developers, but nearly
all would likely take a developer who is knowledgeable in the .NET Framework.
So the question remains — is a Visual Basic developer worth less than a C#
developer? My answer is maybe. If a Visual Basic developer is holding onto the
old ideals and features, then yes, they are worth less in most cases. If they
are focused on the .NET Framework and the modern features, the language is just
a syntax and thus they are equal to any other developer using a .NET programming
language including C#.
Of course it goes without saying that a C++ developer is worth more than
either a Visual Basic or a C# developer!
Disagree? Let me know in the feedback forum or feel free to email me!
Until next week…
Brad!
—————————
Bradley L.
Jones
www.CodeGuru.com
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/——————————————————————-
IBM
Webcast. Calling all IBM ClearCase Power Users
– and those that would like to
be. On April 24th, IBM
Rational experts Paul Boustany and Mark
Krasovich
“Talk to You” about becoming a Rational ClearCase
power user.
It’s all about you; get a full hour to ask
your questions and learn tips and
tricks for using
ClearCase in Agile development. Sign up today for
this
limited seat event!
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,chf7,79k8,jorm,i5r0
————————————————————–adv.-/
=========================================================
Recently
Published Books
=========================================================
For those of you keeping up by reading books. The following are just a few of
the new books that have been recently released. If you’ve read any of these,
feel free to write a review to be posted on CodeGuru. See the submission
guidelines at:
https://www.codeguru.com/review-guidelines.php
–> Web 2.0 Heroes: Interviews with 20 Web 2.0
Influencers
By Bradley L. Jones for
Wiley
288 pages for $24.99
(Hardbound)
http://books.internet.com/books/0470241993
I am the author on this, so I’d be
interested in any feedback you might have on the book!
–> From Program to Product
Turning your code into a saleable
product
By Rocky Smolin for
Apress
200 pages for
$29.99
http://books.internet.com/books/1590599713
–> Inside the Index and Search Engines:
Microsoft Office SharePoint
Server 2007
By Patrick Tisseghem and
Lars Fastrup for Microsoft Press
640 pages for
$49.99
http://books.internet.com/books/0735625352
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New
& Updated Articles on
CodeGuru
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Following are short descriptions of new articles on CodeGuru. If you are
interested in submitting your own article for inclusion on the site, then you
will find guidelines located at
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,fka1,909i,jorm,i5r0
This week’s CodeGuru posts:
==> Controls
– Handy List Selection Control that We Use Every
Day
By Nagavardhan Ponnada
A custom control
that is useful for selecting/deselecting a sub set of list items. Also learn how
simple it is to create custom controls using C#.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,3izz,cbj7,jorm,i5r0
==> Misc.
– Increment File and Product Version Number: Multiple
IDE
By Jordan Walters
An add-in to
automatically increment the FileVersion and ProductVersion fields in your
application’s files.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,g9fc,jm13,jorm,i5r0
==> .NET Tip
– Sort Your Objects by Implementing the IComparable
Interface
By Jay Miller
Allow your classes to
easily be sorted they way you would like by implementing the IComparable
interface.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,6a6x,6s08,jorm,i5r0
==> Templates
– Polymorphism and Template-Based
Designs
By Akshay Saidulu
Learn how to use
templates as an alternative design choice for designing polymorphic-based
applications in C++.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,4i48,377r,jorm,i5r0
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Discussion
Groups
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Check out the CodeGuru discussion forums at:
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,bcr8,cx5j,jorm,i5r0
Forums include Visual C++, General C++, Visual Basic, Java, General
Technology, C#, ASP.NET, XML, Help Wanted, and much, much, more!
… HOT THREADS …
Some of the current threads with the most activity are:
==> Where do you place your Reference and Derefence’s?
(C++)
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,hzcx,ao2b,jorm,i5r0
==> Array Usage
(C++)
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,ces,1il3,jorm,i5r0
==> Problem with module and form load slow
(VB)
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,erv2,fvxj,jorm,i5r0
==========================================================
New
Articles on
Developer.com
==========================================================
Below are some of the new articles that have been posted to Developer.com
(http://www.developer.com).
1. Working With Design Patterns:
Builder
By Jeff Langr –
A common theme in
design patterns is organizing things so as to separate high-level policy from
low-level underlying details. The builder pattern does just that, by allowing a
single construction policy to be realized by many different
implementations.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,hfyg,d2de,jorm,i5r0
2. Implementing AJAX Components in the JWL
Framework
By Aleksey Shevchenko –
Learn how
to implement all types of JWL AJAX Components into your projects. (JWL is IBM’s
JavaScript-based Widget Library.)
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,hzau,8wnj,jorm,i5r0
3. Good Java Style, Revisited
By
Rob Lybarger –
Learn the elements of good Java code style and why they
are important.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3xpu,1,d8ah,dgnu,jorm,i5r0
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