New MSDN Events

I have found six new MSDN events. Following are the details for the same.

1. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Office Development in Visual Studio: Customizing the User Interface (Level 200)
Date: 17th December 2007
Time: 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)
2. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Office Development in Visual Studio: Integrating Systems Management Server Features in Outlook 2007 (Level 200)
Date: 19th December 2007
Time: 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)
3. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: The Future of Application Lifecycle Management from Microsoft (Level 100)
Date: 08th January 2008
Time: 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)
4. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Extend Your Development Experience with Visual Studio 2008 (Level 100)
Date: 15th January 2008
Time: 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)
5. Live Webcast - MCP Live Meeting: Microsoft Certification for Developers (Session 1)
Date: 23rd January 2008
Time: 09:00 PM - 10:00 PM (Indian Standard Time)
6. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Implementing Visual Studio in Cross-Platform Environments (Level 100)
Date: 24th January 2008
Time: 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)

For more information about the same please check the above showing Google calendar.

MSDN Webcast: Building SharePoint Server 2007 Workflows with Visual Studio 2008

I have attended an amazing webcast showing the power of Visual Studio 2008 & SharePoint Server 2007. This webcast shows how workflows help in SharePoint 2007 & Office 2007 integration.

Following are the topics covered in this webcast

1. A quick workflow background
2. .NET at the Core
3. Windows Workflow Foundation
4. SharePoint Integration

Click here to download the webcast presentation file.

New MSDN Webcast Events

Hi friends I have found six new MSDN events on Microsoft website related to Visual Studio 2008 along with its integration with SharePoint and Microsoft Office. Following are the details for the same.

1. MSDN Webcast: Build an Office Business Application in an Hour (Level 300)
Date: - 21 November 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM Indian Standard Time
2. MSDN Webcast: Building SharePoint Server 2007 Document Workflows with Visual Studio 2008 (Level 300)
Date: - 28 November 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 12:00 PM Indian Standard Time
3. MSDN Webcast: Visual Studio Tools for the Office System 3.0 Architecture (Level 300)
Date: - 29 November 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM Indian Standard Time
4. MSDN Webcast: What's New in Visual Studio 2008: Improving Developer Productivity (Level 200)
Date: - 05 December 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM Indian Standard Time
5. MSDN Webcast: Extend the Office System UI with Visual Studio 2008 (Level 100)
Date: - 06 December 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM Indian Standard Time
6. MSDN Webcast: Using Data in Excel Solutions Built with Visual Studio Tools for the Office System (Level 100)
Date: - 12 December 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM Indian Standard Time

For more information on these events, check the above showing Google calendar.

Enterprise Service Bus Overview

ESB stands for Enterprise Service Bus. There are number of definitions given by different groups on ESB.

1. A web - services capable infrastructure that supports intelligently directed communication and mediated relationships among loosely coupled and decoupled biz components
2. A standard based integration backbone, combining messaging, web services, transformation, and intelligent routing

In recent years the ESB has become a new segment in the EAI market that attempts to address the intersection of web services and traditional message oriented middleware.

The Microsoft ESB guidance provides architectural guidance, patterns and practice and set of BizTalk Server and .NET components to simplify the development of an Enterprise Service Bus on the Microsoft Platform and to allow developers to extend their own messaging and integration solutions.

I have found some good presentations on ESB overview. Click here to download the presentation files and other details on ESB.

Yuvraj's 6,6,6,6,6,6

On Demand WebCast links on BizTalk Server 2006 R2

I have found some of the On demand webcast links on BizTalk R2. Following are the details for the same.

1. BizTalk 2006 R2 Technical Overview

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-01&pw=BTS06R2

2. Building EDI Solutions with BizTalk Server 2006 R2

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-02&pw=BTS06R2

3. Orchestrating the real-time enterprise with the BizTalk RFID platform

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-03&pw=BTS06R2

4. AS2 Adapter & EDI Business value

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-04&pw=BTS06R2

5. Building device providers for the BizTalk RFID platform

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-05&pw=BTS06R2

6. Design and Deploying BizTalk RFID Business Processes

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-06&pw=BTS06R2

7. Using BAM interceptors for WCF and WF

https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=Jumpstart-07&pw=BTS06R2

MSDN Webcast Series on Windows Presentation Foundation

Hi friends, I have found a MSDN webcast series on Windows Presentation Foundation but unfortunately the first six topics we have missed out. This is a 18 Live webcast series, I am publishing the upcoming 12 Live webcast from this series.

Details for the series are as follow

1. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 07 of 18): Deploying XAML-Based Applications (Level 200)
Date: - 17th September 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
2. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 08 of 18): Resource Files (Level 200)
Date: - 24th September 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
3. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 09 of 18): Data Binding (Level 200)
Date: - 01st October 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
4. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 10 of 18): Adding Pizzazz with Style (Level 200)
Date: - 10th October 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
5. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 11 of 18): 2-D Graphics (Level 200)
Date: - 15th October 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
6. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 12 of 18): 3-D Graphics (Level 200)
Date: - 22nd October 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
7. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 13 of 18): Animation (Level 200)
Date: -29th October 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM IST
8. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 14 of 18): Multimedia (Level 200)
Date: - 05th November 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 AM IST
9. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 15 of 18): Compatibility with Win32 (Level 200)
Date: - 12th November 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 AM IST
10. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 16 of 18): Creating Controls (Level 200)
Date: - 19th November 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 AM IST
11. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 17 of 18): Layout with Custom Panels (Level 200)
Date: - 26th November 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM IST
12. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Windows Presentation Foundation Soup to Nuts (Part 18 of 18): Helpful Tools (Level 200)
Date: - 03rd December 2007
Time: - 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM IST

For more details please see the above Google calendar.

Silverlight for Linux (Moonlight)

Currently Microsoft ships Silverlight for Mac and Windows opreating systems but now Microsoft has announced to support Silverlight on Linux. Novell and Microsoft has built a partnership to provide greate Silverlight implementation for linux. Microsoft will deliver Silverligth Media codecs for Linux and Novell will be building a Silverligth runtime called 'Moonlight'.

Read More

New MSDN webcast on SQL Server 2008

Microsoft has launched a Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Data Programmability and SQL Server 2008 (Level 200)

Following are the details for the same
Date: - 31st August 2007
Time: - 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Register me

For more information please check the above Google calander.

SOA Webcast series for Architects

I found a series of webcasts for Architect on SOA on Microsoft website. Following are the details for the same.

1. Real world SOA: Enabling a New Generation of Dynamic Application Through Service-Oriented Architecture.
2. SOA Workshop for Architects: SOA Overview
3. SOA Workshop for Architects: Messaging and Communications
4. SOA Workshop for Architects: Business Process and Workflow
5. SOA Workshop for Architects: Tools and Modeling
6. SOA Workshop for Architects: User Experience
7. SOA Workshop for Architects: Enterprise Service Bus
8. SOA Workshop for Architects: Federated Data
9. SOA Workshop for Architects: Identity and Access
10. SOA Workshop for Architects: Governance and Management
11. SOA Workshop for Architects: Demo Marathon

Click here for more information

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) - on demand Rich media program

I found an on demand rich media program on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

Click here to view the on demand program

SQL Server 2005 Best Practice Collection

I found a great stuff on SQL Server 2005 on one of the blog. Following are the topics covered in this collection

1. XML Best Practices for Microsoft SQL Server 2005
2. Performance Optimizations for the XML Data Type in SQL Server 2005
3. SQL Server 2005 Security Best Practices - Operational and Administrative Tasks
4. SQL Server 2005 Full-Text Queries on Large Catalogs: Lessons Learned
5. Scale-Out Querying with Analysis Services
6. SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Processing Best Practices
7. Predeployment I/O Best Practices
8. Partial Database Availability
9. Comparing Tables Organized with Clustered Indexes versus Heaps
10. SQL Server 2005 Deployment Guidance for Web Hosting Environments
11. Resolving Common Connectivity Issues in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Connectivity Scenarios
12. Implementing Application Failover with Database Mirroring
13. OLAP Design Best Practices for Analysis Services 2005
14. DBCC SHOWCONTIG Improvements and Comparison between SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005
15. TEMPDB Capacity Planning and Concurrency Considerations for Index Create and Rebuild
16. Loading Bulk Data into a Partitioned Table
17. Database Mirroring Best Practices and Performance Considerations
18. SQL Server 2005 Performance Tuning using Waits and Queues
19. Analysis Services 2005 Performance Guide
20. SAP with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Best Practices for High Availability, Performance, and Scalability
21. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tuning Tips for PeopleSoft 8.x
22. Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005

Also, check out some of features available in SQL Server 2005 Best Practices ToolBox:
Scripts and Tools for Performance Tuning and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2005

1. Buffer Cache
2. CPU and Optimization
3. Indexes and Indexing
4. Input Input/Output
5. Performance
6. Query Plan Re-Use
7. Retrieving SQL Text and XML Plans
8. SQLOS: Schedulers, Runnable Queue, Waiter List
9. Tempdb
10. Transactions and Locking
11. Wait Statistics
12. SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer
13. DMV Stats

Read More

Team Foundation Server Development Guide

I find Team Development Server guide on codeplex website. This guide shows you how to make the most of Team Foundation Server. It starts with the end in mind, but shows you how to incrementally adopt TFS for your organization.

Click here to download the guide

New Visual Studio Verson codename 'Rosario'

Microsoft has announced that it will issue this week the first CTP of the "next" version of Visual Studio Team System, which will come after VS2008. That release is codenamed Rosario.

Read More

BizTalk Server 2006 Code Samples

I find a new set of BizTalk 2006 code samples on Microsoft website. Following are the details for the same.

1. BizTalk Server 2006 Code Samples Collection
2. Integrating BizTalk Server 2006 and Windows Workflow Foundation (BizTalk Server Sample)
3. Publishing and Consuming Web Services with SOAP Headers
4. BAM and HAT Correlation
5. Consuming Web Services with Array Parameters
6. Extending the BizTalk Server Administration Console
7. Viewing Failed Tracking Data
8. Inserting XML Nodes from Business Rules
9. Using the Mass Copy Functoid
10. Using Role Links
11. Split File Pipeline
12. Using Enterprise Library 2.0 with BizTalk Server
13. Consuming Web Services
14. Console Adapter
15. Delivery Notification
16. Using Long-Running Transactions in Orchestrations
17. Using the Looping Functoid
18. Mapping to a Repeating Structure
19. Parallel Convoy
20. Policy Chaining
21. Recoverable Interchange Processing Using Pipelines
22. Using the Table Looping Functoid
23. Using the Value Mapping and Value Mapping (Flattening) Functoids
24. Direct Binding to an Orchestration
25. Direct Binding to the MessageBox Database in Orchestrations
26. Using a Custom .NET Type for a Message in Orchestrations
27. Writing Orchestration Information as XML Using the ExplorerOM API
28. Correlating Messages with Orchestration Instances
29. SSO as Configuration Store
30. Atomic Transactions with COM+ Serviced Components in Orchestrations
31. Exception Handling in Orchestrations
32. Implementing Scatter and Gather Pattern
33. Using the SQL Adapter with Atomic Transactions in Orchestrations

Click here for more details and to download the above sample code

MSDN Nuggets on Silverlight

I find six MSDN Nuggets on Silverlight. Following are the details for the same.

Silverlight Streaming
Silverlight Streaming is a hosted service at http://streaming.live.com/ which provides developers and content creators the ability to host Silverlight content on the service and integrate into their websites. More

Silverlight - Linking Silverlight and ASP.NET Projects
With Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 it is possible to develop Silverlight applications as a separate project and embed that project within an ASP.NET site. This gives clean separation between your Silverlight and ASP.NET applications without any complicated deployment. More

Silverlight - Debugging between Mac and Windows
An unusual nugget in that it was recorded on a MacBook Pro. It demonstrates the concept of debugging a Silverlight application running on Safari from a Visual Studio (on Windows) developer machine. This solution runs out of the box with the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008. More

Silverlight - Using Ink
A brief introduction to using an InkPresenter element to receive ink based input from users. First, we introduce the InkPresenter element in XAML and follow-up with the code (C#) to capture and process the input. More

Silverlight - Accessing HTML from managed code
Silverlight enables developers to access the host HTML from managed code. This is an extremely powerful feature which can be used to create seamless experiences between the HTML and Silverlight UI. More

Silverlight 1.1 Programming - Full Screen
In this nugget we show you how to make a Silverlight application break outside the 'chrome' of the browser and take up the complete screen. This is very useful for applications which require more desktop real estate such as video players. More

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 5 of 15): Bindings

I have attended another webcast from WCF series. Following are the details for the same.

Topic Covered
1. What are Bindings
2. Standard Bindings
3. Custom Bindings

Click here to download the presentation file.

New MSDN Webcast on Silverlight

I have found two new MSDN Webcast events on Silverlight. Following are the details for the same.

1. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Silverlight Overview (Level 100)
Date: - 8th August 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM to 11:30 PM

2. Live Webcast - MSDN Webcast: Silverlight 1.0 Overview (Level 100)
Date: - 15th August 2007
Time: - 10:30 PM to 11:30 PM

Check the above google calender for more information.

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 02 of 15): Contracts

I attend the second webcast from the WCF series. Following are the topics covered in the same.

1. Contracts and Metadata
2. Service Contracts
3. Complex type serialization (Serializable types, data contracts, known types, IXMLSerializable

4. Message Contracts

Click here to download the presentation file.

WCF Deep Dive

I have find a great presentation file on WCF used in Deep Dive classes.

Click here to download the presentation file.

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 1 of 15): Overview

I have attened the first MSDN webcast on WCF overview. Following are the topic covered in the same.

1. WCF and SOA
2. Common Deployment Scenarios
3. Clients and Services
4. Metadata and Proxy Generation
5. WCF Features

Click here to download the presentation file.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Webcast Series

Microsoft has launched a 15 webcasts series on WCF from July 2007 to September 2007. It touching on fundamentals and practical approaches for WCF development.

Details for the same are as follow.

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 01 of 15):
Overview
Monday, July 02, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 02 of 15):
Contracts
Monday, July 09, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 03 of 15):
Contract Versioning
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 10:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 04 of 15):
Exceptions and Faults
Friday, July 13, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 05 of 15):
Bindings
Monday, July 23, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 06 of 15):
Hosting
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 07 of 15):
Messaging Patterns
Friday, August 10, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 08 of 15):
Instancing Modes
Monday, August 13, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 09 of 15):
Concurrency, Throughput, and Throttling
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 10:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 10 of 15):
Security Fundamentals
Friday, August 24, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 11 of 15):
Federated Security
Monday, August 27, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 12 of 15):
Reliable Messaging
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 13 of 15):
Transactions
Monday, September 03, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 14 of 15):
Message Queuing
Wednesday, September 05, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

MSDN Webcast: Windows Communication Foundation Top to Bottom (Part 15 of 15):
Extensibility
Friday, September 07, 2007 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time
Register

You can also check the above given google calender for regular updates.

TableAdapter Overview

TableAdapters provide communication between your application and a database. More specifically, a TableAdapter connects to a database, executes queries or stored procedures, and either returns a new data table populated with the returned data or fills an existing DataTable with the returned data. TableAdapters are also used to send updated data from your application back to the database.

TableAdapters are designer-generated components that improve upon the functionality of DataAdapters. TableAdapters are created with the Dataset Designer inside of strongly typed datasets.

Click here to find the complete information about Table Adapter on MSDN website.

Yesterday I have also attended a Microsoft MSDN Webcast on "ADO.NET Step by Step (Part 8 of 16) using Table Adapters".

Following are the topics covers in this webcast

1. Understanding and Creating TableAdapters
2. TableAdapter classes versus TableAdapter Objects
3. Class and Object Configuration
4. TableAdapter Methods

Click here to download the presnetation file for this webcast.

MSDN Webcast in July and August 2007

New MSDN Webcasts details added for the month of July and August 2007. For more information please regulary check the above Google calender.

The Web Service Software Factory Using ASMX

I have attended a MSDN Webcast (Russ and Joe Developer Show with Stan Schultes: The Web Service Software Factory Using ASMX) on using the Web Service Software factory using ASMX.

Following are the topics covered in this webcast

1. What is web service software facotry
2. Why use the web service software factory
3. Understanding the web service software factory Architecture, Layers and Relationships
4. Using Guidance packages
5. Application Development Process
6. Benfits of using web service software factory
7. Tips and Tricks

Click here to download the presentation file for the same. This presentation file contains very good links which helps us to explore different software factory in details.

Processing Interchanges in BizTalk Server 2006

In BizTalk terms, an interchange refers to a message being processed by BizTalk Server. When an interchange contains two or more documents—which is typical when receiving a batch—BizTalk parses the interchange, which results in multiple messages. How these messages are handled depends on the type of interchange processing selected on the pipeline. With BizTalk Server 2006, a developer can select to use standard interchange processing or recoverable interchange processing when developing a custom pipeline.

Standard Interchange

When an interchange arrives at a receive location the configured pipeline will decompose the interchange into one or more messages. Messages are then individually validated by the pipeline but then collected within the EPM (End-point Manager) inside BizTalk. If at any time any message within the collection fails, the entire interchange will be suspended. The suspended message will appear as the complete interchange, not the separate parts.

Recoverable Interchange

When a new interchange arrives, and this option is selected on the active pipeline, it is broken down into individual messages and passed through the pipeline for disassembly and validation. When an interchange with bad documents is processed in recoverable mode, the bad documents will not cause a pipeline failure. Instead, they are marked as “messages to be suspended”. After the individual messages have been processed by the pipeline, the end point manager submits all the messages to the Message Box in a single transaction: good messages go to the work queue and bad messages go to the suspended queue.

Failed Message Routing

When a new receive port is created, a property can be set called "Generate error report for failed message". When this property is checked, failed messages will not be suspended. Instead, they will be sent to the message box, and the following additional properties will be set:
1. ErrorReport.ErrorType
2. ErrorReport.FailureCode
3. ErrorReport.MessageType
4. ReceivePortName
5. SendPortName
6. InboundTransportLocation
7. OutboundTransportLocation

By taking advantage of these additional context properties you can now create end-point filters, on an orchestration or sent port, that subscribe to these failed messages.

Microsoft has written a very good document, explaining processing interchanges in detail with example. Click here to download

BizTalk Server 2006 Developer Guide

I find a developer guide on one of the BizTalk community. This is a 133 page troubleshooting and development guide which covers BizTalk from end to end.

Some of the main topics includes in this guide are:

• Custom codings
• Working and Troubleshooting different Adapters
• BAM
• Common Errors through out BizTalk
• Troubleshooting Web Services
• Much much more.

Click here to download the guide.

Another code name from Microsoft 'Acropolis'

The Microsoft code name “Acropolis” Community Technology Preview 1 is a set of components and tools that make it easier for developers to build and manage modular, business focused, client .NET applications. Acropolis is part of the “.NET Client Futures” wave of releases, our preview of upcoming technologies for Windows client development.

For more information visit the links given below.

Acropolis Overview

Acropolis CTP 1

Introduction to Acropolis Layouts

Download the CTP and documentation file

Want to run your .NET or Java enabled Applications on Linux... See how

Grasshopper 2.0 (a.k.a Mainsoft for Java EE, Developer Edition) introduces support for Microsoft’s Visual Studio® 2005 IDE and the .NET Framework 2.0. You can use Grasshopper 2.0 to test cross-platform development, including debugging, using the latest version of Visual Studio software, C# and Visual Basic 2.0 features, and ASP.NET 2.0 controls. You can also rehost existing ASP.NET applications that use the new 2.0 features on Java-enabled platforms with the Tomcat application server, and run the applications under Linux.

Grasshopper 2.0 fully integrates with Visual Studio 2005 and offers an implementation of new ASP.NET 2.0 features. In this article, we'll see how you can use the Grasshopper 2.0 and ASP.NET 2.0 controls to develop a Web-based accounting application with membership and role-based security and to deploy it on Linux. We will use Master Pages and new controls, including: Login, which is an out-of-the-box authentication feature; Wizard, which is used to split large forms and maintain state consistency; and the powerful GridView, a data control offering GUI-manageable support for paging and sorting.

For more information visit the links given below

Code in .NET 2.0, Build for Java, Run on Linux!

Create your first pure Java ASP.NET application

Port the Personal Web Site Starter Kit to Tomcat

A to Z of Business Rule Engine in BizTalk Server

Business rule engine can be used to dynamically add, edit, and delete business rules that are being applied to the business processes. Most of the time the business process remain the same but business logic changes, for example in a typical Loan processing example interest rate will change every day, discount will change, promotions may be given etc.

Business rules give business users (information workers) to control of business logic with any knowledge of coding and rebuilding the existing process.

I have found one presentation along with a wmv file on Microsoft website which describes a Business Rule Engine in detail. It covers each topic and fact related to Business Rule Engine deeply. This presentation is related to BizTalk Server 2004 but we can relate the same in BizTalk Server 2006.

Following are the topics covered in this presentation

• Introduction to Business Rule Engine
• Developing a business rule
• Invoking rules from orchestration
• Advance Concepts (describing different execution models, design pattern, architecture and scalability)
• Rules and orchestrations

You can view/download both the WMV/PPT files by visiting the given link below.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/838412

Note: If you are trying to view the WMV file online, make sure that you have disabled pop up blocker for this site.

Understanding Application deployment & Up gradation in BizTalk Server 2006

This section will call attention to specific features which have been added or improved in the Application Deployment space which should be especially helpful to those working often with BizTalk Server. It also describes if any BizTalk application need to updated. Perhaps a partner’s schema will change so your schema and map will have to be changed accordingly. Or maybe the business will require a new auditing API to be called during one part of the business process’s execution. And for as good as our BizTalk Server developers are, there are always code defects in application code that will need to be fixed.

Application Concept

In BizTalk application is a logical container for application artifacts, allowing you to bucket related components. By being able to deploy, manage, start/stop, and troubleshoot all at the application level. The application container contains BizTalk Server assemblies which are deployed to it by Visual Studio or users can manually add BizTalk Server assemblies to the application, or move BizTalk Server assemblies from other applications. Likewise, they can also add non-BizTalk Server assemblies to the application. The application may also contain receive ports, receive locations, send ports, property tracking settings, and role links, to name a few. Implicitly, the application also contains all of the bindings that are represented by their current settings. And other BizTalk Server artifacts can also be added to applications, such as BRE (rules) policies and BAM definition files.

For example, a developer can specify an application to deploy to by editing the “Application Name” property of a Microsoft Visual Studio project. By doing so, their artifacts will be deployed to the said application.

For the IT Pro, they can use the Administrative MMC Console to configure and start an entire application.the application concept allows the IT Pro to manage and troubleshoot selectively at the application level.

Deployment and Staging

Deployment is the logistical distribution of application artifacts to ensure all necessary components are available to the systems that require them. Staging, more specifically, refers to the moving of application artifacts from environment to environment, say from development to a test environment, or from staging to production to undergo different levels of testing at each stage.

Up gradation

There are couple of different ways BizTalk server accommodate application upgrades. Following are the details for the same.

1. Simple Upgrade: - This scenario requires no downtime, requires no code changes, and can be performed by an IT Pro or Business Analyst (BA) single-handedly.
2. Patching Scenario: - In this existing application binaries in production must be edited and swapped with updated ones.
3. Side by Side Versioning: - This allows two versions of the same application artifacts to be running side-by-side. The .NET runtime inherently allows for same-named but different versioned assemblies to be deployed and running.


Microsoft has written a very good document describing all the above facts in detail. Click here to download the document.

What’s new in BizTalk Server 2006?

Microsoft has done lots of enhancements in BizTalk Server 2006 comparative to their previous three version of BizTalk 2000, 2002 & 2004.

BizTalk Server 2006 includes new capabilities and engine improvements that allow a developer to create more robust solution for integrated Business Process. It also empowers and enables administrators and business users to more efficiently monitor ongoing business process.

Following are the areas describe some improvements included in BizTalk Server 2006.

1. Setup and Migration
2. Management, Operations and Deployment
3. Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)
4. Developer Tools Enhancements
5. BizTalk Messaging Engine Enhancements

A great article published on Microsoft website briefly describing the above mentions features. Click here to read.

About BizTalk Server 2006

Microsoft BizTalk Server is a server product by Microsoft which is used in for following functions:

1. Business Process Automation
2. Business Process Modeling
3. Business-to-Business communication
4. Enterprise Application Intergarion
5. Message broker

BizTalk server is desgined specially to intergrate systems in loosely coupled way. It provides tools and infrastrucutre companies require to exchange business document among various platforms and operating Systems, regardless of application being used to process the document within or across organizational boundaries.

Most enterprises are looking for BizTalk to solve a particular problem related to having unrelated and disconnected systems exchange data in a standard, consistent, and reliable way. Tools provided in BizTalk allow us to design reliable and robust solutions faster than is often achievable by custom coding a solution from scratch.

MSDN Webcasts in June 2007

New MSDN Webcasts details added for the month of June 2007. For more information please check the above Google calender.

MSDN: Webcast schedule changed

Microsoft has changed the schedule for some of its webcasts. Following details are given below for the same.

1. Live Webcast - Building WPF Applications using “Clder” and Expression Blend
Old Date: - 31st May 2007
New Date: - 28th May 2007
Time: - 02:30 PM to 04:00 PM

2. Live Webcast - Visual Studio “Orcas” Team System Enhancements
Old Date: - 01st June 2007
New Date: - 29th May 2007
Time: - 02:30 PM to 04:00 PM

for more information please see my above showing Google calendar.

MSDN: Webcast Cancelled

Microsoft has cancelled some of its live webcasts. Following details are given below for the same.

1. Live Webcast - A Lap Around Visual Studio “Orcas”
Date: - 28th May 2007
Time: - 02:30 PM to 04:00 PM

2. Live Webcast - What’s New in C# 3.0
Date: - 29th May 2007
Time: - 02:30 PM to 04:00 PM

3. Live Webcast - Language Integrated Natural Query (LINQ) – Accessing Data the Natural Way
Date: - 30th May 2007
Time: - 02:30 PM to 04:00 PM

Develop Next Gen Web Applications Using ASP.NET AJAX

Microsoft has introduced an online virtual class room on ASP.NET AJAX from 4th June 2007 to 8th June 2007 daily at 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM.

Following are the topics covered in this session are.

1. Intoduction to ASP.NET AJAX
2. Microsoft AJAX library
3. ASP.NET AJAX Extension
4. ASP.NET AJAX Extensibility
5. AJAX Control Toolkit

If you can score more than 80% in the evaluation test after each class room you can earn a certificate of participation from Microsoft.

for more information see my above showing Google calendar or you can Click here to registrar yourself for this event

MSDN Event: ASP.NET AJAX Client Libraries: Object-Oriented Development

MSDN Webcast (AJAX Client Libraries: Object-Oriented Development) describes the object oriented concept in Javascript and Ajax.

Follwoing are the topics covered in this webcasts

1. Classes
2. Inheritance
3. Interface implementation
4. Enumeration
5. Namespaces

Click here to downlaod presentation file

Click here to download demo source code

Exception handling in .NET

A very good article describing the concept of exception handling in .net.

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Won a subscription to NetAdvantage for .NET

Hi friends
I have won a subscription to NetAdvantage for .NET.
Thanks to Infragistics company

Announcement Page

About NetAdvantage

NetAdvantage integrates with ASP.NET. We can build AJAX-enabled Web applications quickly and easily, it also providing the functionality and speed comparable to a desktop application.

WCF Security Learning Guide

A collection of security-related content that should be helpful for those of you writing WCF services.

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MSDN Webcast: Visual C# Soup to Nuts Part 21: Visual C# and Game Development

C# can be used to build a variety of software, but one of the most overlooked types of programs is games. In this session, we'll see how XNA Game Studio and Microsoft Visual C# Express allow you to develop stunning 3D games with ease.

Following topics are coverd in this webcast

1. Microsoft XNA Framework
2. Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express
3. Starter Kits
4. Game

Click here to download the presentation file.

Click here to download demo code

Window Workflow Tutorial

There are some good tutorials/walkthroughs on Bart De Smet's blog and a good range of advanced WF topics such as Tracking, Persistence, and External Data Exchange.

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MSDN Webcast: Visual C# Soups to Nuts Part 19: C# and Windows Presentation Foundation

Following are the topics covered in this webcast

1. Microsoft .NET 3.0 Framework
2. Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)
3. Window versus Page
4. Windows Presentaion Foundation Control

Click here to download presentation file for this webcast

Click here to download demo code

MSDN Webcast: New capabilities in Enterprise Library 3.0

Following are the topics covered in this Webcast

1. New Application blocks
2. .NET framework 3.0 integration
3. Configuration improvement
4. Automation

Click here to download presentation file for this webcast

MSDN Webcast: Visual C# Soup to Nuts: Custom Controls

Yesterday, I attend a Microsoft webcast on C# Soup To Nuts: Custom Controls. In this we learned about creating a custom controls on Windows Forms Application.

Following are the topics covered in this webcast

1. Create a control, extend it with Custom functionality
2. About custom brushes
3. Custom size and shapes

Click here to download the demo code file.

Click here to download presentation file for this webcast

Reading and Writing Excel file using OleDBDataProvider in VB.NET

This article helps user to select and insert data in excel using OleDBDataProvider using VB.NET

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Adding and deleting multiple selected rows in a table using JavaScript

This article will help the user in adding rows to a table in ASP.NET and deleting multiple selected rows from the table using JavaScript

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Vertical Label Control in VB.NET

This article describes how to create a custom vertical label user control in VB.NET

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