2008 - July/August
Visual Studio and SQL Server 2008
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Visual Studio and SQL Server 2008
July August 2008 MVP Corner by Kevin S. Goff
I talk with a number of SharePoint customers and developers. Interestingly, some of the experiences are common no matter where you go. What is even more interesting is that every time I mention the same solution, their eyes light up!In this article, I am going to talk about five things from an architect or management point of view that you wish you knew before you started your SharePoint project. In part two of this article I will follow up with five things, targeted specifically for the SharePoint developer.
A major software release either contains a substantial number of enhancements, or a small number of substantial enhancements.The last two releases of SQL Server remind me of the two types of Christmas: SQL 2005 was like receiving a large number of presents, and SQL Server 2008 is like receiving a smaller number of big gifts. Those of you who asked Santa for the ability to INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE in one SQL statement, or to specify multiple GROUP BY statements in a single SQL query, you will be very happy. If you wanted a hierarchical data type, you will be ecstatic. SQL Server 2008 also includes a new and completely re-written version of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)-complete with a new interface, new charting features, and (get ready to applaud) no more reliance on Internet Information Services (IIS). So while the temperatures are getting warmer, it’s Christmas Day here at the Baker’s Dozen, and we’re about to unwrap thirteen major SQL Server/SSRS 2008 gifts from Microsoft.
Microsoft released Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 in November 2007. I have good news and, depending on your perspective, I have either bad news or good news. If you were hoping ASP.NET 3.5 would be released with a variety of new controls, features, and architectural changes then I have bad news for you. If you’re still trying to master all the controls, features, best practices, project structures, deployment options, and architectural changes introduced when ASP.NET went from version 1.1 to 2.0, I have good news for you. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of new things you will want to take advantage of in ASP.NET 3.5, but the changes from ASP.NET 2.0 to ASP.NET 3.5 are more additive and incremental than monumental.
Visual Basic 9 in Visual Studio 2008 has a new set of language features that allows developers to work with XML in a much more productive way using a new API called LINQ to XML. LINQ stands for Language Integrated Query and it allows you to write queries for things like objects, databases, and XML in a standard way. Visual Basic provides deep support for LINQ to XML through what’s called XML literals and XML axis properties. These features allow you to use a familiar, convenient syntax for working with XML in your Visual Basic code. LINQ to XML is a new, in-memory XML programming API specifically designed to leverage the LINQ framework. Even though you can call the LINQ APIs directly, only Visual Basic allows you to declare XML literals and directly access XML axis properties. This article will help you master these new features for working with XML in Visual Basic.
In today’s world of fast food, fast cars, and instant gratification, people expect to be in touch at all times.We have become conditioned to staying in touch with businesses, friends, and families. Because of this desire for instant data, we have the Internet, cell phones, Wi-Fi, MP3 players, and DVD players. As the equipment needed to drive this thirst has become smaller and smaller, we find ourselves looking for portable replacements for our bulky desktop computers.
It can help you manage your application more efficiently and make sure that your project is backed up and can be rolled back to any revision on the file or project level. I recently got acquainted with the open source Subversion and Tortoise SVN tools and, for the first time, feel that this is source control that I can live with comfortably. This article describes all you need to know to get started with Subversion and Tortoise SVN for Visual Studio projects.
In episode #337 (jeez, can you believe we’ve produced so many shows?) Richard and I talked to Jim Webber, Global Architecture Lead for Thoughtworks, about his favorite topic, Guerilla SOA.
July/August 08 Doc Detective Column.