Nov 29
Following are some simple but useful FREE tools for software developers. Each tool is freely distributable and includes the original C# source code so you can modify the tool to your needs. These tools are not supported. Enjoy!
Color Gadget
Select a .NET KnownColor or other color, copy RGB and hex values to the clipboard.
Free Download
Guid Generator
Generate a new globally-unique ID and copy it to the clipboard.
Free Download
Hex Converter
Quickly convert between hex and decimal numbers.
Free Download
Shortcut Replace
Search/replace the path and working directory in a collection of shortcut (.lnk) files.
Free Download
Visual Studio Toolbox Installer
Console program that installs/removes tabs and custom controls and components in the Visual Studio .NET Toolbox.
Free Download
Window Watcher
Shows the form and client bounds of the active window.
Free Download
Tags: C#, Color, Guid, Hex, Search-Replace, Tools, Visual Studio
Nov 26
Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework v3.5. These upgrades enable .NET software developers to rapidly create more secure, manageable, and reliable applications and take advantage of new features found in Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007.
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Tags: .NET, AJAX, C#, LINQ, Tools, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, Visual-Studio-.NET
May 29
The promise of end-user programming has been a fleeting one.
First there was Hypercard for the Macintosh. Hypercard was powerful enough to produce commercial applications but simple enough for a child to use. Unfortunately, Hypercard proved too difficult for Apple to market properly, and besides, most developers don’t care about the Mac anyway.
Microsoft followed in 1991 with Visual Basic, which retained the simplicity of the BASIC programming language while upgrading it for use on the new graphical Windows platform. VB was such a smash success with both novice and professional programmers that at one time, over 60% of software developers reported using Visual Basic for some of their projects. But along the way, Visual Basic matured into a real (read: complex) object-oriented programming language, leaving behind its simple roots and unfortunately many of its fans. As a result, VB use has plummeted 35% in just the past year.
There are also new efforts by IBM and smaller companies such as DabbleDB and Zoho to turn novices into programmers. But none have the excitement or momentum of Microsoft’s new programming tool for the masses: Popfly.
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Tags: Development, Microsoft, Popfly, Silverlight, Software, Tools, Web
May 08
Silverlight is Microsoft’s answer to Adobe Flash.
Officially, “Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, Python, and Ruby, and integrates with existing Web applications. Silverlight supports fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality video to all major browsers running on the Mac OS or Windows.”
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Tags: .NET, C#, Development, Flash, Silverlight, Tools, Web
