MSDN Code Gallery Launches

January 29, 2008

Microsoft has just launched a new community, MSDN Code Gallery, for sharing code samples, snippets and another resources to help other coders.

Somasegar describes it well in his blog:

The MSDN Code Gallery is a portal for snippets, samples and other resources.  In it you can find pages that describe samples and supporting documents including screenshots and design documents.  In addition, you will find hosted conversations about these samples, sample projects or other resources that have been provided to the community.  This destination is open to the entire community to contribute content to.

I like that there is now a central location for samples and resources, but the fact that the samples are in .zip -files is going to be show stopper for those seeking easy reference.

Busy (or lazy) coders these days want to see the samples right-away and projects in .zip -files mean several extra steps:

  1. Download (and confirm all the dialogs)
  2. Unzip all files to a folder
  3. Open project/solution in the Visual Studio (or some other editor)
  4. Locate the interesting part from possibly several files
  5. Adjust the sample to your needs
  6. Close the solution
  7. Delete the folder and the zip files (or let them clutter to your hard disk)

Because of this I don’t see the MSDN Code Gallery as a competition for technology bloggers like me. I prefer posts that go to the subject right away and have samples that can be copy/pasted easily, if they suit your need.

This is supported by the fact that the most popular post in my blog ever is the article about Common Data Patterns with LINQ, which was aimed just to this audience.

I guess Code Gallery will be more like a collaboration place to share some code, videos etc between friends, co-workers and community. It’ll probably be popular for cool tools like these StickyNotes (I’ll try them tomorrow) :)

Code Gallery could also be a good place to host complete demos that are described briefly in blog: "Here it is how it works, get the rest from here." That way the community gets best of the both worlds.

Leave a Comment » | .NET, Community, Reference, Tools | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Expression Blend 2 December Preview now available

December 7, 2007

The latest CTP of the Expression Blend 2 is now available for download.

This version brings Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 RTM -compatibility and makes development of Silverlight 1.1 2.0 applications again possible.

Be sure to download the Alpha Tools for the Visual Studio 2008 (RTM), too.

Here is the readme with known issues.

[Via troubleshoot.wordpress.com, Finnish only]

Leave a Comment » | Blend, Silverlight, Software, Tools, VisualStudio, WPF | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Tools for VS2008 (RTM) available

November 28, 2007

Earlier I posted about the tools for the beta 2 version of the Visual Studio 2008.

Silverlight 1.1. Tools Alpha for the Visual Studio 2008 RTM/final are now available at the Microsoft Downloads.

Source: Scott Guthries post.

1 Comment | Silverlight, Software, Tools, VisualStudio | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Handy Copy Source as HTML -add-in for the Visual Studio 2005 / 2008

November 22, 2007

While checking out some of my I RSS feeds this morning, I found this useful add-in for the Visual Studio: Copy Source as HTML. The post by Guy Burnstein contains links to the original 2005-version and the update he made for the 2008-version of the Visual Studio.

This really helps my blogging as lately I have avoided pasting code samples since formatting is too much trouble.

Granted, there are similar tools already, like the add-in for the Windows Live Writer, but it has never worked well for me as there is no control for font size, indentation etc. In addition, the fixed-layout of this WordPress.com -template isn’t friendly for wide lines.

Here is a capture of the optional dialog that gives great control for the resulting HTML and CSS:

CopyAsHTML

And here is an actual sample from the add-in with above settings:

   25 public string Description
   26 {
   27     get { return _description; }
   28     set { _description = value; }
   29 }

1 Comment | Blogs, Tools, VisualStudio | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions available

November 20, 2007

image At work most are used to develop with the full version of the Visual Studio, but if you don’t have that at home, Express -versions are very good alternatives. It is nice to know about these tools, even if you don’t need them personally.

Be sure to check out Dan Fernandez’s excellent post about his Top 15 -list of new features in the Express editions!

I’m glad there are free alternative versions available for those who can’t or don’t want to buy the commercial versions. They are very powerful feature-wise and there shouldn’t be any excuses why not to start developing on the Microsoft-platform as all the necessary tools are available for everybody :)

One could argue that it has been possible to start Windows/.NET development for free since the .NET 1.0 as all the compilers and the Framework itself have always been free. But to be fair: once you get spoiled by Visual Studio and IntelliSense, Notepad and command-line compiler -combo really doesn’t cut it :P

My only gripe is that there are no integrated unit testing tools (Visual Studio 2008 Professional and up have those, by the way, not just the Team Editions), but you can always download NUnit, xUnit.net or MBunit. Still, I think unit testing tools are these days as important part of the development tools as, say, debugger.

Leave a Comment » | .NET, Express, Tools, VisualStudio | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Visual Studio 2008 RTM and Training Kit

November 19, 2007

Many have already blogged about Visual Studio 2008 RTM and its availability in MSDN Subscriber downloads.

However, perhaps even more interesting news was the availability of the Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 Training Kit that helps you to get up to speed with the new technologies quickly. It has 120MB of material that includes PowerPoints (2007-format), labs, scripted demos with sample code etc. Good for in-house training, user group presentations etc. Definitely worth checking out! :)

I found this information via Guy Burnstein’s blog who has also the list of topics in his post.

You can now download the training kit from the MSDN.

Leave a Comment » | .NET, Tools, Training, VisualStudio | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Windows Live Writer Beta 3 available

September 8, 2007

If you use the excellent Windows Live Writer for blogging, you’ll be glad to know that a new beta version is available for download.

If you haven’t used it, I urge you to try it, as it is really much more comfortable to use than any rich editor of any blogging engine could be.

This is a prime example how desktop applications won’t be left in dust because of web applications replacing them.

This does just the opposite: online editing becomes much easier and more efficient with a rich client that also can be used for offline imageediting.

I like that I can start writing a post in some location (like work) and publish the draft online.

Later I can open the draft from home and finish the article before actually publishing it. Very convenient.

In other news: we have just finished moving and Internet works again so I can continue blogging. Sorry for the long pause since the last post.smile_embaressed

Leave a Comment » | Blogs, Software, Tools | Permalink
Posted by jemm

Scott Hanselman’s Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tools -list updated for 2007

August 24, 2007

Scott has published a list of his favorite tools. Be sure to check it out!

On top of the list is mentioned the Notepad2, which is my favorite Notepad -replacement for the reasons he lists. I also like the color coding for most popular syntaxes.

I don’t use so many other tools right now, but my favorite services and extensions that I use daily are:

  • del.icio.us Complete -extension for the Firefox (for easy management of the bookmarks)
  • Firefox’s Live Bookmarks that point to the rss-feeds of some tags (like News)
  • Gmail
  • Google Reader
  • Google (duh)

    • And of course WordPress.com for hosting this blog ;)

    Sorry, Microsoft, Windows Live -services don’t cut it for me, yet. I like maps.live.com, though.

    What are your favorite tools/extensions/services that you depend on daily? Which ones do you install first when building your development environment after fresh install? Comment here or link from your own blog :)

    Leave a Comment » | .NET, Firefox, Google, Software, Tools | Permalink
    Posted by jemm