TechEd Video Interview: Dustin Campbell, Microsoft Visual Basic PM

 

Check out this great Dustin Campbell TechEd video interview. In this video, Dustin and I discuss:

• What a C# MVP does
• How he became the Visual Basic Program Manager at Microsoft
• CodeRush Origins (he was one of the early heroes who created the product!)
• Using Visual Basic XML literals for ASP.NET MVC development
• CodeRush performance in the latest release

Dustin is also very funny. To see what I mean, click the video image above and watch the full Dustin Campbell video interview.

Then drop me a comment here on any of the topics discussed in the video.

For reference, here's the links mentioned in the video:

• ASP.NET MVC View Engine using VB.NET XML Literals by Dmitry Robsman (Haacked Blog)
• CodeRush Xpress 9.1 Beta for C# and Visual Basic Developers
• Dustin Campbell's Blog

Tags: ASP.NET MVC, CodeRush, Interview, TechEd, Video

ASP.NET GridView Multi-Row Edit Code Samples

 

Ever wonder how to edit multiple rows of the DevExpress ASP.NET GridView at the same time?

To help you with the various multi-row edit scenarios, the hard working guys on the ASP.NET team have created these great CodeCentral examples:

• How to implement the multi-row editing feature in the ASPxGridView
• How to implement the multi-edit functionality with the grid that is bound dynamically
• Custom client-side logic implementation in the grid with multi-row editing
• Multi-Row Editing (Advanced sample)

CodeCentral gives you a ton of benefits:

• View source code online
• Run sample online
• Download and open sample project to your local Visual Studio

Check out this CodeCentral introduction video to learn how CodeCentral works. Then download one of the multi-row edit samples above and tell me how much you love CodeCentral.

Tags: ASP.NET GridView, ASPxGridView, Code Central, CodeCentral, DXperience, How-To, screencast, Video

What I like about OpenRasta

 

After having playing with the current bits of OpenRasta (OR) for a while, I  am now able to see great advantages in using this framework over other existing frameworks for building RESTful services such as WCF or the ASP.NET MVC.

Let’s explore some of the good features that make OpenRasta an excellent alternative at the moment of developing RESTful services.

1. Clean separation of resource representation from service implementation

If we take a look at a service implementation in OR, the operations in a handler receive or return a resource, but they never specify the final representation of that resource. Resource representation is a pure responsibility of the encoders configured for service implementation (a handler in OR).

In that way, we have a service implementation completely reusable for different resource representations.

Once we have the service implementation, we only need to configure the encoders for that service, which could be encoders for Xml, Json, Atom or any other representation. You are free to configure all the encoders you want for the same handler.

This is a different story in WCF. First of all, the content type (Xml or Json) has to be specified as part of the operation definition. If we want to support different content types, we need to replicate the same operation only to change the content type. Although this point has been improved considerably in WCF 4.0, some service implementations are still absolutely tied to the resource representation. For example, an operation that returns syndications feeds. In WCF, we have to return a concrete implementation of System.ServiceModel.Syndication.SyndicationFeedFormatter. It is not a simple as return a collection of entities or resources and specify somewhere that we want to represent them as entries in a feed.

This works much better in ADO.NET data services, where you can just return a resource or a collection of resources, and the framework itself will chose the best representation according to what the client initially sent in the “Accept” header. That representation could be Json or Atom, nothing changes in the service implementation (which is also automatically implemented). However, ADO.NET data services provide few extensibility points today for injecting custom code, and that is probably a good reason to move to OpenRasta.

2. URI resolution

In OpenRasta, the URI resolution to a handler is also part of the service configuration. This gives a great flexibility to have many URIs that resolve to the same resource instance.

A typical example is a parent-child relationship, for instance, a customer/orders relationship.

You might want to have different URIs to get access to the orders,

Customer/1/Orders/1 => Give me the order number 1 for the customer with ID 1

Or you might want to access to the order directly

Orders/1 => Give me the order number 1

In OR, you have a single handler implementation for orders (order is the resource in this case), and multiple URIs that resolve to an operation in that particular handler.

This is a problem in WCF because the URI template is tied to the operation definition, if you want to have different URIs for the same resource, you basically have to copy/paste the same operation just to change the URIs.

So, you will have as many operations as URI and content types you want to support in the service.

Tags: .NET, OpenRasta, REST, WCF

Tip for jQuery & handheld device developers

 This week’s usual “Friday short post” about using jQuery in handheld devices. If you are a developer who is using jQuery in applications that were developed for use in environments with small processing power such as handheld devices, mobile phones, PDA’s, etc. you will find this post useful. Anyway, back to the topic. For whatever reasons you chose to use jQuery in your application (I would

Tags: animation, howto, insights, jquery, performance, reference, tip

What is Green IT?

 

Want to know more about Green IT?  Do you want to quickly learn about the three top areas of Green IT - including one area that most Green IT sites never talk about?  Then watch this video...

Tags: Application Packaging, Virtualization

Cyworld plans to adopt OpenSocial

 Annyonghaseyo!

My name is Kyle Kim and I work on the Open Cyworld project at SK Communications in Korea. We are very excited to announce that we plan to adopt OpenSocial for Cyworld, which is the biggest social networking service in Korea with more than 23 million members registered under their real names!

Also known as the first ever SNS with an established business model of selling virtual items with own virtual currency, Dotori (acorns), we are looking for quality applications that will enhance our users’ experience on Cyworld.

We plan to launch a closed beta developer sandbox in July and an open beta service by the end of September (Dotori payment API will be launched later this year). There will also be a conference in July, introducing Open Cyworld project to media, industry as well as developers.

We believe there will be plenty of opportunities for you as a developer:

• The biggest real-name based network in the world
• Payment API with proven virtual currency, Dotori
• Viral distribution system integrated with NateOn, the leading instant messenger in Korea with 27 million registered members

We are at Google I/O this week, and would be happy to meet developers interested in Cyworld!

About SK Communications

SK Communications is an affiliate of SK Group, the 3rd largest corporation in Korea, and a direct subsidiary of SK Telecom, the dominant telecommunications provider in Korea with over 50% of market share.

A leading online service provider, SK Communications offers wide range of services including Cyworld (SNS), NateOn (IM), Nate (Portal), etc.

About Cyworld

Cyworld is the biggest real-name based social networking service in the world. With more than 23 million registered members, Cyworld users consist of 48% of total Korean population and 66% of all internet users in Korea. Main business model is digital item sales, which includes decorations for “Minihompies” and music.

Cyworld earns more than 7 billion KRW per month in revenue from digital item sales; Average revenue per user is about 2,700 KRW per month.

Cyworld Fact Sheet (as of December 2008)

• 23 million registered members
• Among them, 13.6 million members log in on the site more than once per month
• Average number of 1-chon (friends) per member, 47.8
• All Cyworld members are connected to each other by 4.5 degrees of separation
• 6.6 billion photographs uploaded
• 19.6 billion postings
• 12 million postings posted everyday
• 8 million replies posted everyday
• 2,320 stars with Cyworld Minihompies
• 1.7 million members visiting their Minihompies everyday

If you’re interested in writing apps for Cyworld, please contact Dyne, who works for Corporate Development Team (dynelee@skcomms.co.kr)

[Update: Changed link to point to Cyworld Korea, since that's where OpenSocial will be launched.]

Posted by Kyle Kim, Cyworld Team

Tags: Open Social, Social API

XtraCharts 2009 Volume 2: New Charts, Hit-Testing, Web Gardens, And More

 

Check out this list of XtraCharts features and suggestions available for you in the next major release:

• Series View - Add Funnel charts
• Line Series View - Scatter Line (add the capability to draw a line without sorting by point arguments)
• Data Analysis - Linear regression analysis
• Axis - Ability to show scale brakes
• DateTime scale - Provide the capability to automatically set the DateTimeMeasurementUnit and DateTimeGridAlignment for arguments, based on input data
• Chart Title - Support the WordWrap feature if its text is too long (now it is truncated)
• Custom Draw - ability to change the properties for a single AxisLabel
• ObjectHotTracked, ObjectSelected - Ability to determine particular Axis Label and Axis Title items - Hit-testing functionality works on the server and client side.

The DevExpress charts team has been busy.

ASP.NET Or WinForms

Did I mention that all the above features work in both ASP.NET and WinForms? XtraCharts is a unique product because it works in both platforms.

Web Gardens Support

Yes, now the Charts, Gauges, and the ASP.NET binary image control support IIS web gardens.

ASPxBinaryImage, ASPxGauges, XtraCharts - Support Web Gardens

What are web gardens?

A Web garden allows an application to achieve higher scalability because multiple processes are used to process requests on its behalf. Check out this great post for more information.

Web gardens are different from Web farms. A Web garden is configured on a single server by specifying multiple worker processes for an application pool. Web farms use multiple servers for a Web site. (TechNet)

Creating a Web garden for an application pool can also enhance performance:

• Robust processing of requests: When a worker process in an application pool is tied up (for example, when a script engine stops responding), other worker processes can accept and process requests for the application pool.
• Reduced contention for resources

Click the links above to see details on the upcoming features.

Tags: 2009 Roadmap, ASPxEditors, ASPxGauges, Gauges, v2009.2, XtraCharts

Google Feeds API – jQuery plugin

 This jQuery plugin utilizes Google’s Feeds API and builds an abstraction layer that makes Google feed API easier to use for jQuery developers. The advantage of using this lightweight jQuery plugin is that you don’t have to learn and go through new API documentation. Download Google Feed API jQuery plugin – jGFeed. Here is how to use the plugin: $.jGFeed('http://feeds.feedburner.com/

Tags: jquery, json, plugin

The OpenSocial App Directory: All our apps in one place

 Today, social app developers must submit their applications on each of the dozens of OpenSocial containers in order to leverage the full potential of OpenSocial's wide distribution. Likewise, it's difficult for new containers to tap into OpenSocial's large developer base and find great apps for their sites. As a result, it's hard to tell just how many apps are out there and who's using them.

The OpenSocial App Directory is a community-wide effort to create a centralized location for developers and containers to submit, review, and share OpenSocial applications. In the initial release, we've included applications that are live on several popular sites that support OpenSocial, like MySpace, orkut, and hi5. Going forward, we plan to include approved apps from more containers, as well as allow developers to submit their own apps.

Please visit the Directory Info page to learn more about how to be included in the directory.

Posted by Lane LiaBraaten, OpenSocial Team

Tags: Open Social, Social API

Using ASP.NET 3.5’s ListView and DataPager Controls: Deleting Data

 

The previous installments in this article series have demonstrated how to display, group, sort, and page through data using the ListView control. In addition to displaying data, the ListView control also provides support for inserting, updating, and deleting data. If the ListView uses a data source control (such as a SqlDataSource or ObjectDataSource) and that data source control is configured to support insert, updating, or deleting, then implementing such functionality in the ListView does not require writing a single line of code. Rather, adding inserting and updating support entails creating templates that define the inserting and updating user interfaces and Button controls that trigger the actual update or insert. Implementing deleting support requires simply adding a properly configured Delete button to the ItemTemplate.

This installment and the next explore how to perform inserts, updates, and deletes using the ListView control. This installment focuses on deleting and shows how to perform simple, standard deletes as well as more advanced deleting scenarios. The demos explored here (as well as the demos from previous installments) are available for download at the end of the article. Read on to learn more!

(It is assumed that the reader is familiar with how to delete data using a data source control. If this is not the case, please first read Accessing and Updating Data in ASP.NET: Deleting Data.)
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