Stick a fork in it, Prism 4.0 is done…

.NET Developer Guidance - Prism 4.0 For Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4.0, WPF & Silverlight 4

“…

Prism provides guidance designed to help you more easily design and build rich, flexible, and easy to maintain Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) desktop applications, Silverlight Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and Windows Phone 7 applications. Using design patterns that embody important architectural design principles, such as separation of concerns and loose coupling, Prism helps you to design and build applications using loosely coupled components that can evolve independently but which can be easily and seamlessly integrated into the overall application. Such applications are known as often referred to as composite applications.

Links

[GD: Click through for the links]…

Audience

Prism is intended for software developers building WPF or Silverlight applications that typically feature multiple screens, rich user interaction and data visualization, and that embody significant presentation and business logic. These applications typically interact with a number of back-end systems and services and, using a layered architecture, may be physically deployed across multiple tiers. It is expected that the application will evolve significantly over its lifetime in response to new requirements and business opportunities. In short, these applications are "built to last" and "built for change." Applications that do not demand these characteristics may not benefit from using Prism.

Key Benefits

• Provides guidance and a re-usable library to help you develop flexible, easy to maintain WPF and Silverlight composite applications
• Helps you to understand, implement and use key design patterns, such as MVVM and Dependency Injection
• Supports the development of modular applications, allowing parts of your application to be fully developed and tested by separate teams
• Helps you re-use application code and components across WPF and Silverlight, allowing you to create multi-targeted client experiences
• Allows you to build a designer-friendly, dynamically composed user interface for your application
• Includes reference implementations, quick-starts, hands-on-labs, as well as a comprehensive developers guide to get you up to speed quickly
• Includes full source code to support code re-use or customization or for reference and education

In this Release

…”

Microsoft Downloads - Prism 4.0 - November 2010

“…

File Name: Prismv4.exe
Size: 23.5MB

Quick Details

Version: 4.0
Date Published: 11/11/2010

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Prism provides guidance designed to help you more easily design and build rich, flexible, and easy to maintain Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) desktop applications and Silverlight Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and Windows Phone 7 applications. Using design patterns that embody important architectural design principles, such as separation of concerns and loose coupling, Prism helps you to design and build applications using loosely coupled components that can evolve independently but which can be easily and seamlessly integrated into the overall application. Such applications are known as often referred to as composite applications.

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patterns & practices: Prism  - Prism 4 Documentation (aka “Developer’s Guide to Microsoft Prism”)

“Released: Nov 12 2010'

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Dev status: Stable

Downloads

Prism 4 Documentation (CHM)
application, 15338K, uploaded Fri…

Prism 4 Documentation (PDF)
application, 14408K, uploaded Fri…

…”

I dig that the full source code is included. Love that…

We’re using Prism 4 for the first time at work and so far it seems to be going well (at least Peter has attempted to kill me for suggesting we use it… ;)

Here’s a snap of the free 342 page Dev Guide;

 

Related Past Post XRef:
How about some free MVVM training/hands on/walkthroughs right in the VS box? “In the Box – MVVM Training” from Karl Shifflett (Oh yeah, with some WPF, Test, Moc, and Prism too)

How about some free MVVM training/hands on/walkthroughs right in the VS box? “In the Box – MVVM Training” from Karl Shifflett (Oh yeah, with some WPF, Test, Moc, and Prism too)

Karl on WPF - In the Box – MVVM Training

“…

What is In the Box?

In the Box is a high quality, multi-media training that is consumed within Visual Studio 2010.  Content is navigated and delivered using a next generation computer based training (CBT) experience, the Visual Studio 2010 Feature Extension.

In the Box, is a brand name for a series of CBT Feature Extensions I’ll release that are listed in the Visual Studio 2010 Add New Project dialog; see below image.  This release is MVVM Training, the next will be Prism Training.

In the Box features:

• Visual Studio 2010 Feature Extension
• Content delivered as text, code, images, diagrams, video, or hyperlinks to the Internet
• Hierarchical navigation tool window for content navigation
• Content is viewed inside Visual Studio 2010 tool windows
• No additional downloads or dependencies; all content is in the box.  (except online videos)
• Installed and updated from the Visual Studio Gallery
• Managed (disabled or uninstalled) using Visual Studio Extensions Manager (see bottom of this page)
• Authored using Microsoft Word and the Instant Feature Builder

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This installment of In the Box contains in-depth MVVM Training that includes an eleven assembly example solution with projects targeting developers at different levels of experience

Who is the target audience?

• If you have never used MVVM before, this training is for you. 
• If you have been using MVVM for a while and want to learn more, this training is for you. 
• If you are an expert, you will enjoy the MVVM Technical Description and MVVM Scenarios content.

…

…”

As you seen in a couple recent posts, I really like the idea of training that’s baked into the VS box/IDE/experience. So when I saw this (and that it was built using Instant Feature Builder that I also just blogged about) I had to check it out…

Here are some snaps of it in action.

In Extension Manager, search for “MVVM Training”;

New Project (only available for C#);

Check out the scope of the training. We’re  talking some serious content here…

And yeah, it’s free. Now that’s a deal that is hard to beat…

Awesome.

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Feature Builder power with drag and drop simplicity - Instant Feature Builder v1 (Think “Drag and Drop Map/Code files/Docs/Guidance in and vsix out”)

Feature Builder power with drag and drop simplicity - Instant Feature Builder v1 (Think “Drag and Drop Map/Code files/Docs/Guidance in and vsix out”)

Adventures In SoftwareLand - The Instant Feature Builder v1.0

“I’ve been working on guided developer experiences at Microsoft for the past 6 years.  Beginning with helping Jack Greenfield and Keith Short deliver a full-day tutorial on Software Factories at OOPSLA 2004, cruising through Project Glidepath in 2005 and 2006, Software + Services Blueprints in 2007, Microsoft Blueprints in 2008 and finally the Feature Builder Power Tool for Visual Studio 2010 which shipped this past July, I’ve been trying to find the right combination of power and ease-of-use for both guidance authors and consumers.

A few months ago, as the Feature Builder Power Tool was just about to ship, I had a brainstorm and thought, what if I could build a drag-and-drop authoring experience that ran inside Visual Studio (including Visual Studio Professional) and delivered just the essentials of combining documentation with code and easy-to-use automation (via hyperlinks)…

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Note:  You still need to download and install the Visual Studio SDK to use the Instant Feature Builder.

You can get the binary VSIX either from the Visual Studio Gallery (search for Instant Feature Builder) or get it along with the source at http://InstantFB.codeplex.com

Note:  This is a personal project and not a replacement for the Feature Builder Power Tool.  It does, however, give you 80% of the power of the full Feature Builder with a dramatically easier to use experience. …”

CodePlex - Instant Feature Builder for Visual Studio 2010

“Instant Feature Builder is a personal project I built to see if I could make a drag/drop experience for Visual Studio that built simple (non-modeling/non-menu-exposing) Feature Extensions that would run on VS Pro (and above) and target VS Pro (and above).

If you've ever wanted to package a project/solution/item template with documentation and links to related websites, you've found the right tool: The Instant Feature Builder.
Add document files, text files containing URLs, project/item templates and build... out the other end comes a VSIX that delivers your templates and documents within Visual Studio.

To see a video walkthrough, or learn about the full Feature Builder Power Tool, visit http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/FeatureBuilder

…”

Visual Studio Gallery - Instant Feature Builder

“…

CREATED BY: Michael Lehman (Microsoft)

LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, November 09, 2010

VERSION 1.0

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Feature Extension packages project and/or item templates, a collection of related documents and/or web links, and optionally hyperlinks inside the documents which invoke simple Visual Studio Extensibility.

Notes:

• The Instant Feature Builder requires Visual Studio Professional (or above).
• The Instant Feature Builder does not contain the ability to create menu items, dynamically control the process workflow state, re-use VS extension logic using Commands and ValueProviders nor provide capabilities to interact with modeling tools such as UML and DSL; for that you need to use the full Feature Builder Power Tool.

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…”

This looks like a pretty cool way to build walkthroughs/labs/project+guidance/training/etc based vsix’s…

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Feature Builder v1.0 Released (Remember, this is the tool that helps build tools… The Power Tool for Visual Studio Power Tools)
Feature Builder Power Tool Preview updated for VS2010 RTM – Think “Extension to help build Extensions,” or “Power Tool for Power Tools…”
“Feature Builder Power Tool” Preview Released – A power tool to help you build tools/extensions/etc for Visual Studio 2010, a tool to help build tools…

A simple WPF application building walkthrough/Lab within Visual Studio, just a vsix away

Windows Presentation Foundation User Education > A WPF Lab right in Visual Studio!

“I recently learned about Ron Jacob's Hand on Lab for Windows Workflow Foundation 4 and I liked it so much that I decided to create one for WPF. Check out the WPF Simple Application Walkthough on Visual Studio Gallery! I adapted an existing topic on MSDN to integrate directly with Visual Studio. The lab demonstrates creating a WPF application and doing some simple data binding. Those of you who are familiar with WPF won't learn anything new, but I'm hoping you will check it out anyway, to let us know if you like this method of learning.

A few things to keep in mind: You need Visual Studio Pro, Premium, or Ultimate to install the lab. The lab is presently in C# only. …”

Visual Studio Gallery - WPF Simple Application Walkthrough

“This walkthrough shows how to build a simple Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application with the WPF Designer.

In this walkthrough, you will perform the following tasks:

• Prepare the window for controls.
• Add controls to the form.
• Create the data source.
• Connect to the data source.
• Bind the TreeView to the data source.
• Bind the ListView controls to the data source.

When you are finished, you will have a simple application which lets you browse the “My Documents” file system.

…

Getting Started

1. Download the WPFSimpleAppLab.vsix file.
2. Open the WPFSimpleAppLab.vsix file to install it (Restart Visual Studio if it is running during install)
3. Start Visual Studio
4. Select File / New Project / WPF Labs / WPF Application Walkthrough

…

…”

I like how this is all done right in Visual Studio. I always hate alt-tabbing between a walkthrough instructions and VS…What I also liked was how the links in the guidance actually work, they actually control the IDE, putting you in the right window/view/mode/etc.

Here’s some snaps;

[Humor] Hands “on” Windows Phone 7?

blaugh - BUT WHAT IF YOUR HANDS WERE WINDOWS PHONES?

lol

Windows Phone 7 Dev - Your directions to coolness with the “Educational Roadmap”. [Phase 2:Performance - Part Two Samples now available]

XNA Game Studio Team Blog - New Developer Education for WP7 Games Today on App Hub

“Today, as part of the Create Games for Windows Phone 7 Educational Series on App Hub, we’re proud to announce the launch of nine brand-new educational items to make your Windows Phone 7 games even better.

Check out the Educational Roadmap to download these and other great educational items. Here’s what you’ll find there

…

…”

app hub (create.msdn.com) - education roadmap

“…

These samples require XNA Game Studio 4.0 and the Windows Phone Developer Tools to run. A phone is not required…

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Phase 1:
Platform

Get introduced to Windows Phone 7, and phone game development with XNA Game Studio.

This set of educational content is for all skill levels and phases of development, with a focus on introducing basic game techniques – such as input, graphics, and sound – to developers interested in making games on Windows Phone 7 using XNA Game Studio 4.0

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Phase 2:
Performance

Learn how to get the most out of Windows Phone 7 and XNA Game Studio with optimization tips and tricks.

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Phase 3:
Polish [GD: Coming soon]

Take your game across the finish line with best practices and extras that make the most of Windows Phone 7.

…

…”

Some pretty interesting samples and projects. I’m “how did they do that… [look at the code]… ah… I can do something like…” kind of guy so these kinds of resources simply call out to me. :)

“Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials” Think “Windows Home Server Meets the Home Office/Small Business”

HandyAndy’s SBS-Rocks Blog - Finally we can talk, Storage Server R2 Essentials Announced

“Well it has been the best kept secret at Microsoft for years, but this morning they announced Windows Storage Server R2 Essentials, what is it you ask, think Windows Home Server backup functionality capable of joining a domain and you get the basic idea. …”

The Official SBS Blog - Announcing Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

“Building on the Windows Small Business Server 2011 announcements and adding to that exciting momentum - today on the Storage Server blog, Microsoft announced a new edition targeted at small business, Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is part of the Windows Storage Server family of network attached storage appliances. It shares common features and usability with both Windows Home Server code name “Vail” and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and is optimized for:

• Server and PC backup, including file, folder and image based restore
• Centralized storage for file data and easier sharing
• Console driven administration for easier management
• Access to your data from virtually anywhere through Remote Web Access
• Network health monitoring for both Windows and Mac PC’s
• Active Directory Domain join

With support for up to 25 users, Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is an appliance form-factor with preconfigured hardware and software - vastly simplifying the deployment and management tasks normally associated with a new file server or additional servers for storage. Plus, Active Directory join capability enables Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials to easily integrate into existing infrastructure and networks.

…

…”

Windows Storage Server - Announcing Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials!

“Guten Morgen from Germany! Joel Garcia blogging from TechEd Berlin, where we are announcing and showing off Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, the newest member of the Storage Server product family. The Windows Storage Server Blog lives here.

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is part of the Windows Storage Server family, which is built upon the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system to provide a platform for network attached storage appliances. Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials includes storage technologies enabling you to grow with your storage requirements while providing an easy to use backup and recovery solution. Windows Storage Server Essentials is specifically developed to address the storage needs for small businesses up to 25 users without the need for specialized IT skills. Configuring Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials is easy: remove from box, connect to network, power up and access the device from a browser to configure it. The management dashboard makes it simple to manage, maintain and monitor the health of the Windows Storage Server Essentials device, and client computers.

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials as well as the rest of the Storage Server product family are available through hardware partners.

…

…”

I’ve heard that a number of home Office/Small Businesses use Windows Home Server as a back-up, remote web, file store, etc ,server. Seems Microsoft has heard this need loud and clear and responded with this new product.

Looks interesting… I like the plug and go, consumer simplicity yet targeted at a small businesses (i.e. domain support)…

Capturing data (cough… passwords… cough) on unsecured wireless isn’t hard… (so don’t use them or SSL it baby!)

NirBlog - How to capture data and passwords of unsecured wireless networks with SniffPass and SmartSniff

“A few months ago, I released a new version of both SmartSniff and SniffPass with support for using them with Microsoft Network Monitor 3.x

In the release details, I also specified that 'Wifi Monitor Mode' button was added for using 'Monitor Mode' under Windows Vista/7/2008, but without giving extensive explanation about how to use this feature. So in this blog post, I'll add more details about this 'Wifi Monitor Mode' and how to use it on SmartSniff and SniffPass.

When a wireless network card enters into a 'Monitor Mode', it listens to specific channel that you choose and captures all the packets that are sent by wireless networks on your area in the specific channel that you selected.  If the wireless network that sent the packet is unsecured,   SmartSniff and SniffPass will be able to show you the packets data.

Before I start to explain you how to use this mode, here's the system requirements for using  'Monitor Mode':

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…”

The recent heightened awareness of how unsecure wireless networks are (funny that given the “unsecure” keyword…) with the release of the FireFox FireSheep extension is a good thing, IMHO. Well, let me say I feel the “awareness” is good… Knowledge is power. How many of you were not using the SSL versions of Twitter/Facebook/Gmail/Hotmail/etc/etc before this? And now?

Here’s another, lower level, net-guy/gal, tool that gives you a view into this world…

Note: Please use this information for Good… With great power, … etc, etc

Interview Questions - Google Style

Seattle Interview Coach - 140 Google Interview Questions

Here's a list of 140 Google interview questions. Many of our clients have interviewed and received Google job offers. Contact us for a free 15 minute interview analysis before your Google interview.

Link to Google interview questions for:

• Product Marketing Manager
• Product Manager
• Software Engineer
• Software Engineer in Test
• Quantitative Compensation Analyst
• Engineering Manager
• AdWords Associate

…”

Since I recently blogged about some Microsoft interview questions, seemed only fair to blog about Google’s… :P

(via Silicon Alley Insider - 15 Google Interview Questions That Will Make You Feel Stupid)

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Heard that you get “interesting” questions during an interview at Microsoft? Here’s 80+ to give you a taste of “interesting”…