CMAP Code Camp Spring 2010

Intro to Using jQuery with ASP.NET

Are you using hand coded JavaScript to embellish your ASP.NET sites? Is it a pain? Learn how to take advantage of jQuery in your applications. In this session we will look at some the reasons that JQuery is simpler and cleaner to use than straight JavaScript. Using lots of examples we will show the power of selectors to isolate groups of document elements, and then manipulate those elements with jQuery’s set methods in a browser independent way. We will also look at how to hook up and handle events easily. One of the huge advantages of jQuery is its simple extensibility model that has led to an explosion of plug-ins available. We will look at using a few common plug-ins before creating our own plug-in from scratch.

Introduction to WCF Data Services and OData

Exposing your data to client applications is a common requirement across most applications; however, there are many ways to accomplish this. Each application seems to implement it a different way which leads to inconsistency across your application spectrum. With the release of the .NET Framework 3.5, Microsoft has introduced WCF Data Services (was ADO.NET Data Services) which is a collection of classes and standards to allow you to expose your data consistently and securely to your client applications. We'll focus on WCF Data Services in .NET 4, in which Microsoft has beefed up the offering, and also the data protocol known as OData.

Getting Started with Entity Framework 4

With .Net 3.5 Microsoft release Linq to Sql and with .Net 3.5 SP1 came the Entity Framework, both powerful ORM tools leveraging Linq technology. Entity Framework v1, while usable, was definitely lacking some important features and the Entity Framework team delivered with version 4 coming with Visual Studio 2010. In this session we will look at Entity Framework 4 from the ground level and you will get a solid understanding of it basic principles. We will also go through all of the new features in Entity Framework 4 and see how far it’s come since the initial release. If you’ve never taken a look at Entity Framework, now is the time as version 4 is the real deal.

Real World Entity Framework

Most applications connect to a database at some point and ORM tools, like Entity Framework, can make that process a lot simpler. Whether you have worked with the Entity Framework before, sometimes it takes real world examples to make it all click. In this session we will look at a few real world examples using Entity Framework with technologies like ASP.Net MVC, Silverlight and WCF. We will look at some of the common issues when building applications with any ORM solution and how the new features in Entity Framework 4 help reduce development time and frustration. Most importantly, you will get to see how Entity Framework can be utilized in real applications along with some tips, tricks and gotchas.

Get on the Bus!

Building a Simple Service Bus with MSMQ

This talk will introduce the concept of "messaging" as a means of integrating the various apps in your enterprise. We will then build a simple service bus using MSMQ.

Working with OData Feeds

Using jQuery and jQuery UI

ASP.NET MVC for Beginners

Walk through building a website in MVC 2 and .NET 4.0 from project to production and highlighting the aspects that will make software development easier.

Top 10 Ways MVC 2 Will Boost Your Productivity

MVC 1 was a huge release for ASP.NET developers looking to build applications with a cleaner architectural model and greater testability. With the release of MVC 2, the framework is maturing and enabling better productivity with more maintainable code. This presentation will cover the new features of MVC 2 while showing the top 10 ways MVC 2 enhances productivity and maintainability. This demo-heavy presentation will cover Areas, strongly-typed helpers, templated helpers, validation, and more!

Save those Web Apps

Convert to MV'P'

There is a huge push toward moving your web apps to MVC. MVC has many advantages, testability and seperation of code are two of the major one. Let's see if we can show you how to get the same testability and seperation with losing what you have already done.

Build a Website Using DotNetNuke

DotNetNuke is an open source ASP.NET framework used to build websites and web applications. DotNetNuke is flexible, extensible, and powerful. In this session, Joe will demonstrate the installation and configuration of DotNetNuke and use it to create a simple website. Joe will explore some of the important features of DotNetNuke and explore some of the free modules that are delivered with DotNetNuke. Joe will also demonstrate how to work with DotNetNuke modules, skins, templates and administrative tools.

Getting Started with MVC2 in ASP.NET

MVC has been a big buzzword for ASP.NET developers. We'll explore what it is, what problems it solves, and how to be effective with it. This is for beginners that have had no experience with MVC but have worked with ASP.NET Web Forms.

Technically Speaking

Community Speaker Tips and Tricks

Have you thought about being a technical presenter at user groups and code camps? Are you already speaking and want to improve your skills? In this session we’ll cover tips and tricks I've learned after leading nearly 100 sessions for choosing a topic, preparing your presentation, slide decks, demos, giving a presentation, and more. You will also learn about mistakes I've made and how to avoid them.

I am .NET - and you should be too!

In this session attendees will be provided with an introduction and overview of the amazing Microsoft .NET Platform. From the early history of .NET to its current incarnation in all of its version 4.0 glory! We will cover the .NET vision and how it helps solve many of the complex problems that organizations and individuals face every day. However, this is code camp after all… so there will be a healthy dose of code coupled with the theory and slides.

Intro to Object Oriented Programming in .NET via C#

Time to get your OOP on!

Are you new to programming or an experienced scripter interesting but reluctant in making the jump to Object Oriented Programming? Forget about it! C#.NET is a great place to start. In this fast paced session I will attempt to cover the key concepts and practical code examples that show you why there is no time like the present to take full advantage of OOP in .NET!

Reinventing Error Handling?

Tired of the return-codes vs. exceptions argument? Looking for a more consistent way to represent and handle the errors we care about? My presentation will review error handling, its purpose and history, before delving into a standardized approach which combines the explanatory power of error codes with the immediacy of exceptions. We'll look at a working framework and associated coding practices. We'll also discuss the possibility of enforcing some of these practices via the compiler. Our investigation will continue by applying these ideas to some real-world scenarios such as propagating errors out of the data-access layer. We'll wrapup with a discussion of how vendors might modify their environments to make use of this approach.

Tackling T4

Why write repetative code when you don't have to? This session offers a survey of Text Template Transformation Toolkit (T4), the code generation tool that is freely available in Visual Studio. T4 allows you to use simple ASP.NET-like template syntax to generate application source code, configuration files, stored procedures and more. We will be introducing the T4 template syntax and shows how to create a template for generating CRUD stored procedures and class files so you can stop wasting time on repetative tasks at work and get back to blogging. If you are on a first name basis with Oleg Sych, this probably isn't the session for you.

What's New in C# 4.0

While most of us are still trying to get the most of the Linq paradigm shift in C#3, Microsoft has introduced many new language features to the latest C#4 language. In this session, I will give a overview of new language features in C# 4.0:

• Dynamic binding
• Type variance with generic interfaces and delegates
• Optional parameters
• Named arguments
• COM interoperability improvements

While this talk will touch on some of the points, but this talk will not focus on framework enhancements such as parallel programming.

Regular Expressions

Beginner level course reviewing how to use regular expressions. RegEx syntax and its use in Visual Studios will be explored.

Microsoft Azure: The Essential Setup Guide

Microsoft's Azure cloud-computing platform is live! And the tools are free! However, It's a bit tricky to get all set up properly, and it's even trickier to push code into the cloud and not be charged for it! Join me in this session and learn the proper way to get started and to launch your first Azure app!

Microsoft Azure: Taking Advantage of the Platform

Microsoft Azure consists of several "moving parts" - web roles, worker roles, tables, blobs, queues, service bus, diagnostics... In this session, we'll go over the purpose of each, and then build a demo that shows how this stuff works.

Windows Phone 7 - Developing for the New Platform

Developing software for the new Windows 7 Phone Series. We will discuss the platform, the tools, and associated technology. In this session we will look at how to use the platform API's to build an application. We will look at the acceleromator, locations, voice and mike input. We will touch on the pitfalls and omissions in v1 and how to work around them. We will then take a tour or the concept of watchers & choosers and finally we will build a sample app using silverlight for the phone.

Intro to Windows Phone 7 Game Development

Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 7 is set to take the mobile world by storm this holiday season and you can be a part of it. This session will introduce the tools and technology Microsoft has made available for free to developers to enable them to create the games and apps that will make the Windows Phone 7 experience the one users expect from a next generation mobile device. Some topics covered will be:

• An overview of the Windows Phone 7 interface
• An overview of the tools for developing games and apps for Windows Phone7
• How to create a Windows Phone 7 game in 10 minutes (give or take)
• Cross-platform game development with XNA Game Studio 4.0

Familiarity with C# is recommended.

jQuery From The Ground Up

Web 2.0 has taken over; there is no doubt about it. However, many developers are being left in the dust. Amazing technologies such as jQuery allow developers to easily add flair to their web applications. In this presentation, Kevin Griffin will guide you through the world of jQuery. Starting from the bottom, we will discuss what is possible with jQuery, how do you obtain and setup jQuery in your projects, and then actually putting jQuery to work. This presentation is designed for developers with no experience with jQuery (or Javascript in general). An understanding of HTML and CSS is recommended.

Community Courtyard

A Lap Around MEF

Trying to make your applications more extensible? The Managed Extensibility Framework provides a standard methodology by which a host application can expose itself and consume reusable external extensions. In the past, Dependency Injection frameworks have been utilized to decouple applications, however, depending on your exact needs; MEF might be a better solution for creating applications with a pluggable architecture. In this session, I’ll outline via sample applications how MEF and Dependency Injection frameworks differ in creating extensible applications.

An Introduction to Expression Blend

Microsoft Expression Blend is the premier GUI editor for WPF and Silverlight applications. In this presentation you will receive an introduction to the Blend UI and how to use it to quickly and easily build an applicaiton interface. Topics will include Configuration, Layout Controls, how to leverage Blend with Visual Studio, customization, and more.

Developing Silverlight and WPF Applications Using the Model-View-ViewModel

As WPF emerged, it became obvious that traditional design patterns would not suffice. Therefore, the WPF community has been busy developing its own collection of patterns and practices. In this session, I’ll review best practices for implementing client applications with WPF and Silverlight, including how to use the Model-View-ViewModel pattern. Example applications will be used to demonstrate how best to build WPF and Silverlight applications while adhering to the MVVM pattern.

Data Binding Using Expression Blend

Data Binding is one of the key features of WPF and Silverlight. This presentation demonstrates and explains the Data Binding tools and features of Blend. Includes discussions of Value Converters, MultiBinding, Sample Data and more. With these tools you really can bind anything to anything.

Building the eBay Simple Lister

Extended Version

Come see how eBay is enhancing the listing experience for the occasional sellers with the eBay Simple Lister application. Learn how the application was built from concept to design to code using Sketchflow and Silverlight 4. This session will explain how the development lifecycle used Sketchflow to move from concept to design, refining the overall user workflow before embarking on development. We will also demonstrate how key features in Silverlight 4 such as bar code reading (using webcam capture), out of browser features, REST services, drop targets and image editing were used to create a truly engaging user experience. This is a more extended session as presented @ mix http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/EX55

Introduction to Silverlight

A beginners guide to Silverlight. In this session we will take a short tour through the mechanics of Silverlight and how it differs from Win/WebForms. We will look at layout containers, dependency/attached properties, user controls, and data connections and how to combine them into an application.