Issue: 2005 - May/June

Rod Paddock Editorial Article May/June 2005

Do you want to save keystrokes?Do you want to ease maintenance? Do you want inline information about the code structures that you're working with? How about statement completion? Are you interested in increasing the potential for code reuse? Do you want your applications to run faster and require less memory? Do you prefer to have users find bugs or do you prefer to find them yourself?

Extend your knowledge of inheritance to more easily extend your applications.

SQL Server 2000 is packed full of useful system stored procedures there for its own use that you can use as well.This article will explore a couple dozen of the most useful hidden gems you can use to more easily manage your databases, improve the applications that use the data, and provide new ways to impress potential mates at parties. You'll learn when to use these system stored procedures, explore when to use them, and see lots of code.

If you have been a hardcore VB6 programmer and you've hesitated about switching to Visual Basic .NET, Visual Basic 2005 will change your mind and you'll want to take the leap forward to move to .NET.The common complaint that people who have made this leap already often hear from programmers who are reluctant to move to VB .NET is that it is not VB-like, and moving to .NET means you have to unlearn many of the things you have painstakingly mastered in VB6.

Managing application configuration and meta-data could not get any easier.Every application needs some way to configure itself so that it may interact with a given environment, whether it is customizing the title bar captions for a specific client or setting database connection strings for a development environment. For the simplest of applications, the app.config or machine.config probably meets your needs. For complex applications where security, scalability, and deplo...yment also have to be addressed, you may need something a bit more robust, secure, and scalable. Enter the Configuration Management Application Block.See More

Applications use many forms of configuration data, storing settings that are used in applications, enterprise, client computers, and user settings.The Configuration Management Application Block (CMAB) is typically used for application settings, but it can be enhanced to support more complicated settings as well.

Service-Oriented Architecture, or SOA, is the newest acronym to become a buzzword among developers, IT Managers, and CTOs.It seems that everyone is talking about making an SOA and how much it will improve their operations, yet most people are hard-pressed to define not only what an SOA is, but also to quantify what specific value it might provide to their organizations. Many simply assert that their SOA architecture comprises a group of Web Services through which they ca...n expose business logic over the Internet.See More

In this article, Karl uncovers a bundle of nifty Windows Form tricks.

Learn how to use XP (eXtreme Programming) techniques to improve the way you deliver softwareIn my book, "eXtreme .NET," I introduce a team of developers who are learning how to improve their ability to deliver great software. In this article, you'll follow this team as they learn about a new tool to help them develop software solutions using the .NET Framework. The tool they are going to explore is called Cruise Control and it helps the team continuously integrate their code.

May/June 2005 .NET Rocks Column

Doc Detective - May/June 2005

Ken Getz - May/June 2005 Finalize column

Markus Egger 5 Year Anniversary Editorial May/June 2005

Visual Studio .NET is the new standard for developing .NET applications.Although Visual Studio .NET does a number of things very well to assist in the development process, there are certainly areas that need improvement. One of those areas is dealing with a build process that requires something a little more than just compiling source code.