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CodeGuru Newsletter
October 25, 2005
http://www.CodeGuru.com
This newsletter is part of the Developer.com, EarthWeb, and internet.com networks.
Jupitermedia Corporation
___________________________ Sponsors ________________________________
Search Engine Strategies Conf. & Expo 12/5-12/8 Chicago
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TOPICS:
–> Editorial – Are You Confused Yet?
–> Recently Published Books
–> New Articles on CodeGuru:
==> Database
– Oracle BPEL Process Manager
==> GDI/GDI+
– Let Your Characters Dance and Wiggle
==> Graphics
– [Updated] CGraph
==> Security
– DOS Info Block: A Definitive Guide
==> Visual Studio 2005
– Introducing Visual Studio 2005 IntelliSense Code Snippets
–> Discussion Groups — HOT Threads
– MFC discontinued; a bit lost!
– atol Conversion…Is this correct?
– Printer DC without printer
–> Highlighted new articles on Developer.com
1. Using Windows Media Player control on Handheld Devices
2. Weaving the Tapestry Framework: Part 1
3. Understanding Axis2 Deployment Architecture
4. Concrete Code for a Quick Configuration
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Comments from the Editor
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Are you confused yet?
In just about two weeks, Microsoft will be launching Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, and BizTalk 2006. Consider a question about this launch. When will these products be released?
Here is a hint that may help confuse you: The launch date is November 7th.
Did you answer November 7th for the release date of the three products? If so, you score a 67% on accuracy. Although Visual Studio and SQL Server’s new editions are expected to be released on the same date as the launch, BizTalk 2006 is not expected until a few months later. It is only being launched, not released. Yes, launching is not the same as releasing. That is a bit confusing, isn’t it!
I had a discussion with a .NET trainer in Indianapolis, Indiana last night about the launch of .NET 2.0. He commented about going to the launch event in Chicago on November 10th. It was interesting to note that this was an official launch event, but that it was three days after the official launch. It was even more interesting to see his reaction when I told him that Indianapolis was having a launch event that would cover the same sessions as the Chicago event, but that it was on December 15th. It raised the question of how long can a company have events and continue to call them launch events! At what point does the product sail and it becomes simply standard training? A launch that spans weeks: That’s a bit confusing, isn’t it!
Let me ask another question. We’ve been talking about Visual Studio 2005 (“Whidbey”) features publicly for about two years. The product hasn’t even released and yet, but Microsoft is already talking about the new features that could be in the following version. They’ve even released code to show how these even newer features should work.
Consider the following list of items related to C#:
[ ] Anonymous Methods
[ ] Anonymous Types
[ ] Expression Trees
[ ] Extension Methods
[ ] Generics
[ ] Iterators
[ ] Lambda Expressions
[ ] LINQ (Using C# code to directly access a database)
[ ] Nullable Types
[ ] Object and Collection Initializers
[ ] Partial Declarations
[ ] Pragma Directives
[ ] Static Classes
All of these topics have been discussed in the past several months on CodeGuru and similar sites. Additionally, Microsoft has associated all of these topics to C#. Most were in demonstrations at the last Professional Developers Conference (PDC) and/or Tech Ed Conference put on by Microsoft.
Which of these technologies are currently parts of a released product?
Which are parts of the Visual Studio 2005 release coming in about two weeks?
Which are most likely not going to be available for another year?
All are being discussed. All are a part of existing articles and blogs on the Web. Some of these features are, however, off limits for production software because they aren’t released yet, and won’t be released as final products within Visual Studio 2005. In other words, even though you can read an article today on LINQ with C#, don’t expect to find that as a part of the released Visual C# 2005 product. It is actually slated to release after that. That’s a bit confusing, isn’t it!
I could go on with other examples of how things are confusing. The topic of the differences between Community Technical Previews (CTPs), Alphas, pre-Betas, Betas, and Release Candidates comes to mind. Continuing with such discussions may, however, just compound the matter of confusion.
With the ease of releasing information and communicating, more information is being released and communicated. The end result is that information overload and information confusion is becoming a reality. No longer can you simply read an article on C# or a technology and assume it is a live, real, usable product. Rather, you need to evaluate what is being said and to what software it applies.
For the average developer, this issue has always existed; however, the level of detail at which information is being provided and the amount of information has grown. Additionally, information is being provided much earlier.
As developers, it is good for us to know what is coming, but it is also good to keep that information separated from what you are doing today. If you don’t, you’re liable to quickly become a bit confused!
One prime example is knowing what is coming in with Visual Studio 2005, and what is not. In the list above, all the items listed were from either the 2005 release or are items indicated for the “Orcas” release. Do you know which go with each version? The answers will be posted with the online version of this newsletter! (answers are on page 2)
Until you see the answer, hopefully you won’t be too confused!
Until next week!
Brad!
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Bradley L. Jones
www.CodeGuru.com
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Recently Published Books
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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
–> Professional .NET 2.0 Generics
By Tod Golding for WROX
400 pages for $39.99
http://books.internet.com/books/0764559885
–> Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Step by Step
By Michael Halvorson for Microsoft Press
540 pages with CD for $39.99
http://books.internet.com/books/0735621314
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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=1,1zfo,1,fka1,909i,jorm,i5r0
This week’s posted CodeGuru articles:
==> Database
– Oracle BPEL Process Manager
By Packt Publishing
Learn how to use manage many Web tasks quickly and efficiently.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,1wwt,jfoz,jorm,i5r0
==> GDI/GDI+
– Let Your Characters Dance and Wiggle
By Sjaak Priester
This versatile class arranges the characters of a text string along any curve.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,8owq,chle,jorm,i5r0
==> Graphics
– [Updated] CGraph
By guestgulkan
Learn about a graph to display xy and stats data.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,b4wu,r06,jorm,i5r0
==> Security
– DOS Info Block: A Definitive Guide
By Najam
Tons of information about DOS registers and their functions.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,ccv0,5kud,jorm,i5r0
==> Visual Studio 2005
– Introducing Visual Studio 2005 IntelliSense Code Snippets
By Patrick Gallucci
Explore the new features of IntelliSense code snippet technology in Visual Studio 2005, and you’ll have a nice library of your own snippets in no time.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,6jqy,e3z2,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=1,1zfo,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:
==> MFC discontinued; a bit lost!
[editor: Excellent thread – no ,MFC is not dying…]
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,a8mw,80us,jorm,i5r0
==> atol Conversion…Is this correct?
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,l54e,1m4,jorm,i5r0
==> Printer DC without printer
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,e1yf,574q,jorm,i5r0
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New Articles on Developer.com
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Below are some of the new articles that have been posted to Developer.com (http://www.developer.com).
1. Using Windows Media Player control on Handheld Devices
By Alex Gusev –
Have you ever wanted to show video clips in your application or maybe play audio files? Learn how to do it easily with Windows Media Player Control!
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,hhri,45qz,jorm,i5r0
2. Weaving the Tapestry Framework: Part 1
By Vlad Kofman –
Walk thought the basic concepts of the Tapestry framework, config files, and setup then create a sample project in an enterprise-scale IDE such as JBuilder.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,dnfz,f0jl,jorm,i5r0
3. Understanding Axis2 Deployment Architecture
By Deepal Jayasinghe –
Discover the new architectural features, enhancements, and industry specification implementations of Axis 2.0 such as AXIOM, Asynchronous Web service, MTOM, MEP support, and archive-based deployment.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,flxf,6eru,jorm,i5r0
4. Concrete Code for a Quick Configuration
By Robert Bogue –
Look further into the concept of configuration-based development. Here you will focus on using patterns for implementing a configuration-based solution.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1zfo,1,f0zm,li5n,jorm,i5r0
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