Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day: 07/18/2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Would you like some Ultimate [Ranger] Architecture Guidance? There’s a Visual Studio Gallery page for that…

Visual Studio Gallery – RangersArchitectureGuidance

“Practical guidance for Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate, which is focused on modeling tools. This release includes common usage scenarios, hands on labs, and lessons learnt from the community discussions.

The scenarios include understanding and reverse engineering an existing application or starting a new application from scratch. These are both common challenges that any dev lead or architect faces. The intent is to present you with examples that show how these tools can support you in real world scenarios, and to provide you with practical guidance and checklists, instead of an in-depth tour of the product features.

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The Architecture Guidance coolness that I posted about here, is now available in the Visual Studio Gallery here. This makes it drop dead easy to install and begin using this guidance.

I’m coming to believe the killer feature of VS2010 is, not .Net 4, not VB10, Not EF4 or WF4, but its extensibility story (VSIX, Extension Manager, the new WPF based editing environment, the Visual Studio Gallery integration, etc…).

Thursday, July 22, 2010

PowerShell Cookbook (site, not book)–Short, simple yet still sweet…

PowerShell Cookbook

“This is a list of items my colleagues and I have found useful in our work. It's not intended to be encyclopedic, but rather a place to record things a beginner would find useful, especially things that might take a long time to figure out.

This page was started before O'Reilly published Windows PowerShell Cookbook by Lee Holmes. I recommend O'Reilly's book, but this page is unrelated to it.

…

…”

Not a ton of stuff, but it’s so approachable, concise and likely stuff that many people need (i.e. perfect for just-in-time learning), that I wanted to capture it for future reference.

(via SharePoint and related stuff - PowerShell Cookbook)

A Data Dude (err… VS 2010 Database Project) strategy for handling object permissions for Dev/QA/Prod/etc deployment

SSIS Junkie - A strategy for managing security for different environments using the Database Development Tools in Visual Studio 2010

“Of late I have been getting down and dirty with the Database Development tools in Visual Studio 2010. You may know this feature set by one of the plethora of other names it has had over recent years such as:

Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals

DBPro

Datadude

For the rest of this post I’ll stick with the colloquial name that most people seem to recognise – datadude.

Regardless of which moniker you prefer I’m hoping you recognise the feature set that I am referring to here which includes:

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I plan to write a detailed blog post in the coming weeks talking about my overall experiences with datadude but in the meantime I’m writing this blog post to focus on how I have chosen to manage security; by which I mean:

logins

users

role membership

user and role permissions

…

…”

I thought this was an interesting and usable approach for handling permissions for the different deployment environment targets. Also this is a pattern that you might be able to use for other “target” based problems you might have to solve.

OneNote, the Cloud and Training Materials… Using OneNote Web to provide cool training material access (to, in this case, Windows Phone 7 Jump Start materials)…

Windows Phone 7 Jump Start (Born to Learn) - Using OneNote: Best Way To Get Course Materials

“Just a quick update that our class resource page has demo files as well as course materials in PDF format for each session of Windows Phone 7 Jump Start. But we also have all course materials nicely organized in OneNote notebooks for each session. By default, you have "read only" access to these online notebooks. However, anyone participating in Windows Phone 7 Jump Start will get read/write access …

You are also welcome to use the OneNote course materials “offline” (provided you ask for read/write access) if you have OneNote 2010 installed on your computer. For details on how to use OneNote or the OneNote Web App (plus info on how syncing works),…”

… [GD: Click through for all four OneNote session links]

So why use the OneNote Web App version? Two reasons:

It's free and easy to use. We've provided it here for those who might not have the OneNote desktop client.

It's a great way to meet and collaborate with fellow Windows Phone 7 developers. You, and any other WP7 developers asking for read/write access, can leave notes anywhere throughout these notebooks.

…”

Using OneNote: Best Way To Get Course Materials - Session 1

Static training materials and shared slide decks? cough… how 00’s… cough…

This is the future. Google Doc’s, MS Office Web Apps, etc is how Training Materials should be shared. And with the new OneNote Web App, it becomes a shared experience, where the entire class can take part and interactively collaborate during the session. Stop the pen to slide deck print out madness!

“As Administrator” only a CTRL-Shift-Click away (and other keyboard shortcuts you might not know)

Life Hacker - Use Ctrl+Shift+Click to Open Programs as Administrator in Windows 7

“Windows 7: Everybody knows that you can right-click any application to launch it as administrator, but what you might not know is there's an even quicker way you can trigger administrator mode.

The Guiding Tech blog points out that you can simply hold the Ctrl and Shift keys while double-clicking on any shortcut or application to launch it as administrator. We've pointed out this trick before in our power user's guide to the Windows 7 taskbar—since …”

Guiding Tech - 15 Killer Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts That Might Surprise You

“One of my personal favorites among the new features that Windows 7 came with was the introduction of some awesome and long awaited keyboard shortcuts. I personally use them as much as I can to save time, and I recommend the practice of using keyboard shortcuts to others too.

This article talks about 15 really cool keyboards shortcuts that are specific to Windows 7. I can bet that you don’t know all of them. Check them out, some of them will surprise you for sure.

…

…”

So many cool keyboard shortcuts, so little time… :p

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

“Work Without Walls” – Free eBook for management/workers thinking about “Working Remote” (reg-ware)

Kurt Shintaku's Blog - DOWNLOAD: Free eBook “Work Without Walls” for people considering remote work

We’ve made available an 18 page eBook specifically on the topic of Remote Working called “Work Without Walls” by Rieva Lesonsky.

All you need to do, in order to download the eBook, is register for the Microsoft Business Resource Center. See the link below.

…

It’s easy to join the Microsoft Business Resource Center so go and check it out for yourself. Once you join the site you will be able to download the Work Without Walls eBook from Microsoft.

REGISTRATION: Microsoft Business Resource Center
http://www.microsoft.com/business/mycenter/”

Here’s a snap of the PDF;

As you can see, the guide is somewhat “fluffy” (i.e. “Management safe” ;) but even so, there are some good nuggets of information. Things to help you keep from re-inventing the wheel or learning the same lessons many have already learned. Most sides of the equation are addressed, technical, management and worker.

As a part-time remote worker myself, I can tell you that there IS some applicable information, things that I’ve had to learn the hard way…

Feature Builder v1.0 Released (Remember, this is the tool that helps build tools… The Power Tool for Visual Studio Power Tools)

Adventures In SoftwareLand - Feature Builder 1.0 Released!

“Please visit http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/FeatureBuilder for more information and links to the download.

Note: While all the information on Channel9 is valid, there have been many additional features added since the videos were recorded and I will be updating them in the very near future.

Second Note: Will shortly be providing an upgrade tool on CodePlex (in source code form), which will aid authors who built Feature Extensions for the RTM-Preview version to upgrade their Feature Extensions to work with v1.0” [GD: Post leached in full]

Visual Studio Gallery - Feature Builder Power Tool

“Feature Builder is a Power Tool for Visual Studio 2010 which helps you easily create rich Visual Studio extensions.

These extensions may include tools (Visual Studio automation), code (your sample code or binaries you wish to share with others) and a map (a set of steps your users will want to follow to get the best experience with your extension). You can use this power tool to quickly package up sample code with documentation, custom menus, or take the time to create complete automated guidance experiences targeted toward a specific technology. You can share your extension with users by distributing a .vsix file, or posting to the Visual Studio Gallery.

You can create two different kinds of extensions using Feature Builder. A standard Feature Extension can contain tools, code, and a simple map - it will run on the Visual Studio Professional edition and above. A more advanced extension, called an Ultimate Feature Extension, can contain everything a standard feature extension can contain, as well as rich modeling and visualization tools that can take advantage of the modeling platform inside the Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate edition (required). These tools can be used to provide a logical view of your target solution, and to visualize your existing code. This is the preferred type of extension to use if you intend to provide architectural guidance or share specific refactoring or pattern knowledge.

Feature Builder requires Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Edition, and the installation of the Visual Studio SDK to author/build Feature Extensions.

The 1.0 version supports feature extensions running on Visual Studio Professional edition and higher (but still requires the Visual Studio Ultimate edition to author a feature extension).

…”

Extending Visual Studio 2010 is quickly become a new hobby for many, it’s just SO much easier that in previous releases that it’s actually kind of fun! lol From the dev side all the way through deployment and updates, we’re talking a whole new ball game. Spending hours browsing the Visual Studio Gallery web site or via the Visual Studio Extension Manager, the problem will be controlling yourself and NOT installing the tons of very cool things you find… ;)

Clean Coding, The Cheat Sheet. Starts SOLID and gets better from there…

{quicklycode} - Clean Code Cheat Sheet

One sheet, centuries of man-hour learning and experience...

Microsoft Learning Content Development System (LCDS) v2.5 Released (Think x64 & SilverLight 4 Release)

Born To Learn - FREE: Build your own e-learning with LCDS 2.5

“A new version of LCDS, the Microsoft Learning Content Development System, is always great news. This is a very valuable and professional tool for anyone in the Microsoft Learning community who wishes to create high-quality and interactive online courses.

Using LCDS, you can publish e-learning courses by completing the easy-to-use LCDS forms that seamlessly generate highly customized content, including interactive activities, quizzes, games, assessments, animations, demos, and other instructionally engaging elements.

…

Highlights of this release

New v2.5 feature for learners and authors of E-Learning courses and Learning Snacks include:

LCDS authoring is 64 bit–compatible

E-learning created is compatible with Firefox 3.5.9 and Firefox 3.6.3

New Silverlight 4 Media Player for animations that includes closed captioning and full screen option

Enhanced keyboard accessibility for the sort and tile games, adventure interactivity, and Voice of the Expert element

LCDS authoring and e-learning created are completely Microsoft Silverlight 4.0–compatible

Content is now permitted at the Lesson level (previously, the SCO was the Lesson so this was not possible)

Also available on the site are 7 localized LCDS v2.3 versions: Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese Simplified, Russian, Hindi, Polish, Turkish, and Spanish.” [GD: Post Leach level 99.9%]

Anything that could make those mandatory in-house training sessions better is a good thing in my book… Winking smile

Monday, July 19, 2010

Microsoft’s Third “Official” Team Foundation Server Project Template has RTW’ed - Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0

Aaron Bjork - Announcing Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0

“Today we’re releasing the first official version of our latest process template – Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 (formerly known as Team Foundation Server Scrum v1.0 Beta). If you were following the beta, you know that this template was built from the ground up specifically for Scrum teams.

Visit the Visual Studio Gallery to download the template. Below I’ve taken some time to describe what’s changed since the beta and also outlined a few of the key concepts/artifacts in the template.

Q: What’s changed since the beta?

…

Q: Why did Microsoft decide to build a Scrum template? I thought MSF Agile 5.0 was Microsoft’s answer to Scrum?

…

Q: Did Microsoft work with Agile thought leaders when building this template?

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Q: How is the Sprint work item intended to be used?

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Q: What about the Iteration Backlog and Product Planning workbooks from the MSF Agile 5.0 process template?

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Q: Can I move data from an existing project into a new project build from Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0?

…

…”

One of the important things in my mind, is that this is an “official/in-the-box” Scrum TFS Project Template. Also I like the simplistic approach this template takes. If you need “Enterprise” Scrum, check out EMC’s Scrum for Team System v3. If you need something smaller, less complex, then this seems like a good choice…

Sometimes a picture says… Photoshop Design Templates (and other design resources) for Windows Phone 7

istartedsomething - Photoshop your own Windows Phone 7 applications

“It looks like Microsoft is not just making the Windows Phone 7 application development experience easy for developers, but it turns out designers have most of their job cut out for them. If you need to mock up an application UI for Windows Phone 7, it’s now as easy as mashing up some Photoshop files from the “Design Templates for Windows Phone 7″ resource.

Since finding useful information on MSDN is practically a treasure hunt, this 88MB archive is a treasure chest full of PSDs with layer-licking goodness. The gems include a full suite of UI controls as well as other practical UI elements such as the on-screen keyboard, notifications and start menu for easy drag and drop manipulation, if you can find the right layer amongst hundreds that is.

…”

MSDN - Design Resources for Windows Phone

“…

Design Templates for Windows Phone 7

A collection of 28 layered Photoshop template files that can be used to create pixel-perfect application layouts, to help guide UI development, or to pitch an idea. These design templates showcase many controls that are a part of the Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta. They also include examples of controls that are a part of Windows Phone, but are not available as a part of the Windows Phone Developer Tools. These additional templates are included to help designers and developers maintain a consistent look and feel across applications for system controls that developers wish to mimic. Templates in the download: Application Bar & Application Menu, Buttons, Check Box, Context Menu, Date Picker, Dialog Boxes, Edit Control, Hardware, Icons, Keyboard & Input, List Picker, List View, Panorama, Panorama Backgrounds, Picker Box, Pivot, Progress Indicators, Quick Jump Grid, Radio Button, Reminders, Slider, Start & App List, Start Tiles, Status Bar, Theme, Time Picker, Toast Notifications, Toggle Switch …

…”

Here’s a snap of the PDF included in with the PSD’s;

And a quick snap of some of the zip’s contents

While you’re here, and of course you find this interesting, make sure you also check out UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone Design System - Codename Metro

Related Past Post XRef:
Application Bar Icons for your Windows Phone 7 development

The Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools just got better (with yesterday’s update). Now it’s Cool x 2!

The Visual Studio Blog - New Version of the Productivity Power Tools is Available!

“I am pleased to announce that we have an updated version of the Productivity Power Tools. With this release, we've introduced 4 brand new extensions and we've fixed many of the bugs that were reported in the previous version. If you have the Productivity Power Tools installed already, you will get a notification that a new version is available the next time you restart Visual Studio. Otherwise, you can visit our Visual Studio Gallery page here: http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/d0d33361-18e2-46c0-8ff2-4adea1e34fef

Tools Options Support

The number one feature request by far has been the ability to turn off the individual extensions in the Productivity Power Tools. In this release, we’ve added an extension which adds a category to Tools Options which allows you to toggle the extensions on/off and provides a single place to find the options for a particular extension.

…

Solution Navigator

Solution Navigator is a new tool window that acts like an enhanced Solution Explorer. With it, you can:

Expand code files to navigate to its classes, expand classes to navigate to their members, and so on (C# and VB only)

Search your solution, all the way down to class members

Filter your solution or projects to see just opened files, unsaved files, and so on

View related information about classes and members (such as references or callers/callees for C#)

Preview images by hovering over them, or preview rich information by hovering over code items

In other words, it merges functionality from Solution Explorer, Class View, Object Browser, Call Hierarchy, Navigate To, and Find Symbol References all into one tool window!

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Quick Access

Quick Access is a new tool window that allows users to search for and execute common tasks within the Visual Studio IDE. Not sure where a particular menu command is located? Want a quick way to create a new Silverlight project? By using Quick Access, you can efficiently find and execute common VS operations without taking your hands off the keyboard. Quick Access allows users to:

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