Fabrice's weblog

VS 2008 and .NET 3.5 SP1 Beta changes for LINQ to SQL, and more

Fabrice Marguerie — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:43:00 GMT

The ADO.NET team details on its blog what has changed for LINQ to SQL with the release of Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1 Beta:

Across the LINQ to SQL we have made numerous bug fixes, better SQL translation for queries comparing nullable columns in Visual Basic, and support both in the runtime and the designer for SQL Server 2008.
New SQL Server 2008 Support includes:
Support for connecting to SQL Server 2008 databases in Server Explorer
Drag & drop tables in SQL Server 2008 databases from Server Explorer
Support for the following new types: Date, Time, DateTime2, DateTimeOffset, Filestream

The above is just for LINQ to SQL, but this service pack comes with lots and lots of updates and new features! The ADO.NET team also has a detailed list of what's new for Entity Framework, as well as a list of breaking changes for Entity Framework. The same kind of information can be found on the Astoria team's blog for ADO.NET Data Services (Astoria).

You can get a good overview of what's included in this service pack on Scott Guthrie's blog. There are way too many changes included to repeat them all here.

Note: Scott adds that "The debugger in VS 2008 SP1 has also been improved to provide more debugging support for evaluating LINQ expressions and viewing results at debug time. LINQ enabled data sources now have a "Results View" node show up within the debugger watch window. Expanding this node will evaluate a LINQ expression and allow you to examine the materialized objects it returns."

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

LINQ in Action Second Edition is being printed!

Fabrice Marguerie — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:59:00 GMT

LINQ in Action is doing well. We're all happy with the sales and all the reviews, on Amazon (5 stars on average) or on blogs.
In fact, the book is doing so well that the publisher has to print a second edition! We didn't expect that it would happen so soon :-)

We've updated the text where needed, according to the errata we've collected since the first edition was published, back in February. The new files are being sent to the printer right now.
If you see something else that could be improved (for the third edition...), feel free to post a comment to the new errata page or in the forum.

LINQ in Action can be found on Manning's website (with all the details and sample chapters), on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.jp, Amazon.de, BarnesAndNoble.com, and many more online and offline bookstores!

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

Vidéos d'annonce de l'Université du SI Octo Technology

Fabrice Marguerie — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:59:00 GMT

This is a followup to the announcement of my session at the Université du SI.

J'ai annoncé récemment ma participation à l'événement Université du SI organisé par Octo Technology les 2 et 3 juillet prochains.

Des vidéos viennent d'être mises en ligne pour présenter certaines des sessions. Voici la vidéo que nous avons enregistrée avec Frédéric pour notre session intitulée Venez expérimenter en direct les dernières innovations de .NET :

Vous trouverez plus d'informations dans mon message d'annonce et sur le site de l'événement.

Great fluent interface sample: the fluent repeater

Fabrice Marguerie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:52:00 GMT

I'm not that much a fan of fluent interfaces, but in some cases they are well fit.

A great example is the fluent repeater created by Adrian Aisemberg. It's also a good example if you don't know what a fluent interface is.

Here is sample code that uses it:

Repeat.Call<string>(Save).WithParameters("myfile.txt").UntilSucceeds.Start(10);
Repeat.Call(Ping).PauseBetweenCalls(2000).Start(100);

Some more:

Repeat.Call(Open).InBackgroundThread.At(ThreadPriority.Lowest).
OnSuccessCall(Opened).OnExceptionCall(Failed).Start();

This could be written in the following way using a non fluent interface:

Repeater repeater = new Repeater();
repeater.Method = Open;
repeater.InBackgroundThread = true;
repeater.ThreadPriority = ThreadPriority.Lowest;
repeater.Success += Opened;
repeater.Exception += Failed;
repeater.Start();

Which version do you prefer?

To var or not to var

Fabrice Marguerie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:24:00 GMT

C# 3.0 and VB.NET 9.0 introduced implicit typing. When you use anonymous types, it's required. The rest of the time, it's mostly a judgment call to decide whether to use implicitly-typed local variables or not.
An interesting discussion is going on about this on Jean-Paul S. Boodhoo's blog. See all the comments.

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

Google killed me

Fabrice Marguerie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:16:00 GMT

In March and April, Google made a big update to its search algorithm. This update, nicknamed "Dewey", hit many websites. The result for these websites being a drastic decrease in search results ranking. The rankings have even changed a lot over the last weeks, sites moving up and down in search results. This is known as the Google Dance syndrome.

Given the domination of Google in search, this kind of update is something really feared by webmasters. Your very successful website can fall in disgrace all of a sudden because Google decides it should not appear at the top of search results any longer.
This is what happened to my websites, SharpToolbox.com and JavaToolbox.com. When a site used to get 1000 visits, it now receives around 330. 2/3 of the traffic is lost! I hope this will improve, but I don't see any sign of this. It's too bad that you work hard to develop websites, and lose almost everything in one day...

To evaluate the rankings of my sites, I search for keywords such as ".NET tools", "dotnet tools" or "Java tools". SharpToolbox and JavaToolbox now appear several pages behind, when they used to appear on the first page for these keywords. Incidentally, my rankings are still good on Yahoo, and not so good on Live. But this is of minor importance because, 2/3 of the traffic was coming from Google, the rest from referring links or by direct access. Almost none of my traffic is coming from other search engines.

Have you been hit by this Google update too? Would you have ideas on how to survive it?

Université du SI Octo Technology

Fabrice Marguerie — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:44:00 GMT

On July 2 and 3, Octo organises in Paris an event for "geeks and bosses" of information systems. Speakers will include no less than stars such as Neil Armstrong, Michel Serres, Eliyahu Goldratt, and Bjarne Stroustrup.

With Frédéric Schafer, I will give a presentation about the ADO.NET Entity Framework, LINQ and WPF. Here is its description:

Come and see live how to develop an application using the latest .NET innovations

2008 brings a wealth of novelties to the .NET platform, notably in the data access field. Microsoft indeed provide their own solution for objet–relational mapping with the Entity Framework.

How does this framework allow us to persist business objects?
How does it integrate with recent object manipulation and presentation frameworks such as LINQ and WPF?

We will address these questions in practice, by developing live a sample multi-layer application based on these frameworks.

OCTO organise à Paris les 2 et 3 juillet 2008 un séminaire à l'attention "des geeks et des boss" du Système d'Information.
Pour cette première édition, OCTO Technology sera entouré d’intervenants prestigieux : Neil Armstrong, ingénieur, pilote, astronaute, et premier homme à avoir marché sur la lune, Michel Serres, philosophe et membre de l’Académie Française, Eliyahu Goldratt, père de la théorie des contraintes, Bjarne Stroustrup, inventeur du C++, et de nombreuses autres personnalités du monde de l’IT.
OCTO a souhaité la réunion lors du même événement de tous les acteurs de son métier : Directeurs des Systèmes d'information, Architectes, Chef de projet, Responsables Métier et leurs représentants MOA ou Développeurs.

Pour cette première édition OCTO, ses partenaires et ses speakers proposent plus de 50 sessions (parcours libre) où vous pourrez construire vous même votre agenda personnalisé. Parallèlement l'université du SI propose 3 parcours formation de deux jours.

Avec Frédéric Schafer, je ferai une présentation à sur ADO.NET Entity Framework, LINQ et WPF. En voici la description :

Venez expérimenter en direct les dernières innovations de .NET

2008 vient avec son lot de nouveautés pour la plate-forme .NET, notamment pour l'accès aux données. Microsoft apporte en effet sa réponse au problème du mapping Objet – Relationnel avec Entity Framework.

Comment ce framework nous permet-il de persister nos objets métier ?
Comment s'interface t'il avec les récents frameworks de manipulation et de présentation d'objets que sont LINQ et WPF ?

Nous répondrons à ces questions par la pratique, en développant en direct une application d'exemple multi-couches basée sur ces frameworks.

Plus d'informations sur le blog d'Octo et sur le site officiel de l'événement.

MVP times 5

Fabrice Marguerie — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:47:00 GMT

Microsoft has just recognized me as a MVP for a fifth year, for my contribution to the .NET community (mostly through SharpToolbox.com, Proagora.com, the LINQ in Action book, my posts on the forums, etc.).
I'll be at the MVP Summit in two weeks with hundreds of fellow MVPs -- I'll try to wear this promo t-shirt to be easily identifiable ;-)

SharpToolbox and JavaToolbox newsletters and updates

Fabrice Marguerie — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:36:00 GMT

I've just started a new wave of updates on SharpToolbox and JavaToolbox. You can see what the latest feature looks like on the following screenshot:

I've also sent out new newsletters editions. You can read them online here and here.

More features are coming soon... Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletters to be notified when they become alive, on this page for SharpToolbox and on this one for JavaToolbox.

My TechDays 2007 sessions available in video

Fabrice Marguerie — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:08:00 GMT

The two sessions I co-presented during the Microsoft TechDays in February (and all the other sessions) were recorded, and the videos are now available. This is all in French, but I plan on recording soon an English version of my session about LINQ and C# 3. Stay tuned.

Les deux sessions que j'ai co-présentées durant les Microsoft TechDays en février (et toutes les autres sessions) ont été enregistrées, et les vidéos sont maintenant disponibles.

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

LINQ in Action reviews and quotes

Fabrice Marguerie — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:41:00 GMT

Since our LINQ in Action book was published last month, we are lucky to receive a lot of nice feedback and comments. Steve, Jim, and I worked hard to make LINQ in Action a book that readers would enjoy. It's very encouraging to see what readers think about our work!
I have collected a list of reviews and quotes.

"By far the best book available on LINQ"
"I have the LINQ books, and this is by far the best"
"One of the best overall tutorial texts on software development I have ever come across in 15 years"
"LINQ in Action ROCKS!"
"A pure pleasure to read"
"I'm having a hard time putting down LINQ in Action, to do my actual job!"
"One of the best .NET books ever written"
"Best book I've read in a while"
"I enjoy this book for its practical advice without trying to cover up any holes in the inaugural edition of LINQ"

LINQ in Action book signing session in Paris

Fabrice Marguerie — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:41:00 GMT

A book signing session for LINQ in Action will take place at the Monde en Tique bookstore in Paris at the end of the month.

Une session de dédicaces du livre LINQ in Action est prévue au Monde en Tique à Paris le samedi 29 mars. N'hésitez pas à passer nombreux entre 15h et 18h au 6 rue Maître Albert dans le 5ème, à deux pas de Notre-Dame, pour discuter du livre, de LINQ, de .NET ou même d'autre chose.

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

LINQ in Action is for VB developers too

Fabrice Marguerie — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:20:00 GMT

A frequent question we get about our LINQ book is whether it's been written for C# developers only. If you think so, you're making a mistake.

We cover both C# and VB.NET in the book. This is one big difference with competing books. Even if not all code samples are in both languages all the time in the book, we make sure to demonstrate and explain the differences between both languages when it makes sense.

In addition, to determine if this book is for you before buying it, you can take a look at all the resources we made available for free. This includes 3 free chapters and the source code. You can find them all on the book homepage.
The complete source code for all the code samples in the book is available as a free download. All code files and projects are provided in C# and in VB.

By the way, Jim is a VB.NET MVP. Do you think he'd been ok if we didn't cover VB in the book? ;-)

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

Ever wanted to see LINQ in action, visually?

Fabrice Marguerie — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:06:00 GMT

It's not always easy to grasp and follow what's happening when a LINQ query is executed. Well, thanks to clever code by Jon Skeet, it's now possible to see LINQ queries execute in front of your eyes! At least LINQ to Objects queries that is.

See this post about Visual LINQ in which Jon introduces the concept and the prototype implementation. You may want to watch the video or execute the code to instantly understand what it's all about.

Cross-posted from http://linqinaction.net

TechDays lundi

Fabrice Marguerie — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:49:00 GMT

Les TechDays, c'est lundi. N'oubliez pas de vous inscrire si ce n'est pas encore fait.
Pour mémoire, je co-anime deux sessions.