Awesome HTML5 Tutorial & More!

Due to a Linked In reference, I discovered this wonderful tutorial on HTML5 by Mark Pilgrim. - http://diveintohtml5.org There are several reasons to like this, but most of all, I like the font selections. For old eyes like mine, this makes reading an absolute pleasure. 

Another thing I found is the Video chapter (Chapter 5 – Video in a Flash http://diveintohtml5.org/video.html ) This has a fantastic explanation of how all video on the web works, or should I say, the different “container” formats. 

Finally, and this was the reason for the reference from a friend, if you are an “old” hand in the business, and remember the days of Apple II, you will enjoy the video at the bottom of the video.html file.

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Concerning NoSQL

Last night, at the KC .NET User group meeting, George Westwater gave a terrific presentation on NoSQL. The best way to understand NoSQL is to see George’s explanation—which he says he will and make it available through his blog. But in short, NoSQL databases are ones that do not use relational technology.

George’s point is that non-relational databases have been used for over 50 years in the business, this is true – I have been around awhile. He points out that Wall Street firms have been using non-relational technology ever since they started using computers. IBM still fully supports IMS, now in version 11 (12 is in beta), because these firms are still using this product and will continue to do so for a long time.

Of course, like a lot of computer business technology, there are a lot of new NoSQL products available these days, simply as a reaction to the problems of scaling relational databases for internet use. As a result, it almost looks as though NoSQL is something new. And there are a lot, I mean a L-O-T , of new products out there for this technology. The best resource to cover all of these products is http://nosql-database.org/, which has a huge listing of what is available.

My interest in the subject is primarily due to my interest in Windows Azure and the fact that Windows Azure storage is all non-relational, even the table storage. It is very fascinating and most of all, far cheaper than using SQL Azure for storage in “the cloud”.

If you are interested in learning more feel free to contact me at lkoorhan@centriq.com and for more on Windows Azure, take a look at our MS-50466 class or contact your Centriq Account Executive.

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Recommendation: CODE Magazine

I recently got a renewal to CODE Magazine.  This great magazine has really good articles for developers, and the source code in the magazine is color-coded, just like it is in the Visual Studio editors.  They also have sample code available on their website that you can copy for projects as well.

In the most recent issue, Jan/Feb 2011, they have an interesting article by the publisher of the magazine, Markus Egger. The story covers the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight ListBox. In the article, Markus shows that by using styles and templates you can turn that ListBox into almost any representation of multiple items that you can imagine. It is really fascinating and something I think that every WPF/Silverlight developer should know. In fact, if you are still doing Windows Forms, and really needed convincing that it was time to switch to WPF, this should do it. 

Another recommended article for reference is Getting Started with Windows Phone 7 Development. 

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Need an alternative to ASP .NET Web Forms? Discover MVC!

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern separates an application into three main components: the model, the view, and the controller. The ASP.NET MVC framework provides an alternative to the ASP.NET Web Forms pattern for creating MVC-based Web applications. The ASP.NET MVC framework is a lightweight, highly testable presentation framework that (as with Web Forms-based applications) is integrated with existing ASP.NET features, such as master pages and membership-based authentication.

MVC is a standard design pattern that many developers are familiar with. Some types of Web applications will benefit from the MVC framework. Others will continue to use the traditional ASP.NET application pattern that is based on Web Forms and postbacks. Other types of Web applications will combine the two approaches; neither approach excludes the other. 

To learn more about ASP.NET MVC and more on Web Forms applications using .NET Framework 4 tools and technologies, try the course MS-10264, Developing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. We are offering this course on February 7, 2011. The focus will be on coding activities that enhance the performance and scalability of a Web site application. Students will learn when to apply which technology.For more on ASP.NET MVC, check out Microsoft’s web site www.asp.net/mvc. 

For more on Visual Studio 2010 courses at Centriq Training, check out www.centriq.com.

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Visual Studio Tips [VIDEO]

Instructor Leslie Koorhan gives some litte known tips on using Visual Studio 2010. Check out our Corporate Class Schedule for the next available Visual Studio 2010 class date!  

http://www.centriq.com/CentriqSchedule.aspx

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Free Resources on Visual Studio 2010

Well, Visual Studio 2010 has been out for several months now, and it looks to be a super product. One of the nice things that Microsoft is doing is offering a lot of content for free to help explain and teach the features of VS2010.

For example, you may have heard of ASP.NET MVC (Model-View-Controller), which is a Microsoft template (actually, now MVC2) for developing web applications using what is known as the MVC design pattern. But there are other design patterns for developing applications. Here is a link for using the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern for WPF and Silverlight applications: Problems and Solutions with Model-View-ViewModel.

Another recent discussion had to do with questions on what Microsoft is doing with data.

Anyway, I hope these give you something to think about until the next time. Coming in a couple of weeks, a long overdue course on Programming with C#, using Visual Studio 2010.

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

What is Silverlight? [VIDEO]

Instructor Leslie Koorhan explains Silverlight and what it means to a .NET developer. Check out our Corporate Class Schedule for the next available Silverlight class date!  

http://www.centriq.com/CentriqSchedule.aspx

- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie

Visual Studio 2010: Now Released

Visual Studio 2010 is now out! It’s a very exciting product, with a host of improvements over the 2008 version and a bunch of new features. For example, the standard web template (for either a Web Application or a Web Site) now includes a stylesheet file (CSS), a master page, login page, registration page and about page. That means that before you even add one thing to the project, it is a working web app.

There are a lot of other new features, but one thing that stands out for me, is that much of the Visual Studio interface has been designed using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). For me, it’s exciting because it shows just what you can do using WPF. It also means that we have a lot of extra capability built into VS. For example, you can use zoom features on the designers and editors in VS2010. As an instructor, that’s awesome since many times while teaching I want to make sure students can see what I am doing. This allows me to bring it in closely.

With tons more things to like about Visual Studio 2010, I'll be covering a lot of things about the product in future posts. And don’t forget: Centriq’s first VS2010 offering comes in August when I will be teaching Introduction to Web Development with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010!


- Leslie Koorhan, .NET Expert; MCT, MCSD (.NET), MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD LinkIn with Leslie