March 2005 - Posts
For anyone who was wondering how to reduce the size of his word / power point / excel files check this nice add-in that allow you to permanently remove hidden data and collaboration data, such as change tracking and comments, from Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Power Point files.
Download it here
I was looking for some information regarding grid computing and was very surprised to find out Alchemi.
Alchemi is an open source .Net Grid Computing Framework, the framework allows you to aggregate your computing power of several networked machines into a virtual supercomputer. The framework also allow you to develop apps to be run on this grid computer.
Version 1.0 (beta) of the product is expected to be released soon…
I’m waiting to see what will be the new features…
Download v0.8.0 from here
For anyone who was looking for information regarding Visual Source Safe 2005 …
Visual SourceSafe 2005 will be availabe with the release of Visual Studio 2005, it will be more highly refined and integrated version control system that adds new and expanded capabilities for teams and individuals. Following minor changes in Visual SourceSafe 6.0d (released with Visual Studio .NET 2003), Microsoft is making more enhancements for Visual SourceSafe 2005. These fundamental changes will improve the reliability, scalability, performance, and remote access capabilities of Visual SourceSafe.
Support for Larger Projects and Distributed Teams Software efforts that are increasingly global in nature span time zones, domains, and continents. Visual SourceSafe 2005 is changing to address the needs of these global teams:
· Remote Web Access over HTTP
Use Visual Studio to connect to Visual SourceSafe databases from anywhere in the world where HTTP or HTTPS Web access is available. (Requires Visual Studio 2005, IIS, and ASP .NET).
· Enhanced Performance and Stability.
Work faster with significantly improved LAN access speeds, particularly when using Visual SourceSafe along with Visual Studio in slow and remote RAS configurations. While maintaining the compatibility of its current client-based file share architecture, Visual SourceSafe provides significantly faster access speeds for common operations, particularly improving performance in slow and remote network situations. Robust improvements reduce the need to analyze, administer, and repair databases.
· Increased Capacity.
Data storage is increased to 4 GB, and archive limits are also enlarged.
· Regional Time Zones and Languages.
View file change histories adjusted to your local regional time zone while maintaining a separate audit log of changes synchronized to the server reference clock. Customize the user interface with any specified language and font.
Enhanced Customization
Teams can take advantage of new automation and extensibility features to automate their processes and extend the functionality of Visual SourceSafe:
· Support for Custom Viewers, Merge Tools, and Editors.
Use the new plug-in editor/viewer feature to compare and view source code and document differences using any third party or custom tool.
· Managed Code Extensibility.
Use the .NET Programmable Interop Assemblies (PIA) for Visual SourceSafe automation to further extend Visual SourceSafe with new functionality that can be developed using Visual C#® and Visual Basic® .NET.
· Automate Your Team Processes.
Use events, such as OnBeforeCheckout or OnAfterCheckIn to automate your process. Leverage the new MSBuild tool by creating custom tasks that retrieve and download source code files before building them with an automated build.
Web Development and Productivity Improvements
Visual Studio source control integration for Visual SourceSafe was updated to improve developer productivity, particularly when developing Web services and Web sites:
· Unicode and XML Support.
When developing ASP.NET Web services with previous versions of Visual SourceSafe, all XML files such as Web.config, *.wsdl, *.disco, *.map, and others were stored as a binary format in Visual SourceSafe. This meant that only one developer at a time could modify or check-out those files, limiting the possibilities for parallel development tasks. Also, Visual SourceSafe could not be used to compare or merge those XML files stored as binary. Using Visual SourceSafe 2005, developers can now store, compare, and merge UTF-8 and Unicode-encoded file content, including XML files. Using the multiple check-outs functionality, developers can simultaneously work on parallel development tasks and merge the results.
· Check Out Improvements.
Visual SourceSafe and Visual Studio are even better together through continued innovations to the integrated source code control experience in Visual Studio, including the ability to check out a file from a local Working Folder directory without requiring the network download of the latest version of the file from the Visual SourceSafe database. Within Visual Studio, check outs are now automatic and prompting is reduced.
· Web Project Enhancements.
Take advantage of greater flexibility in specifying project locations, and synchronize renamed or deleted files within Visual Studio. Open and browse source-controlled projects using the standard Open Project dialog.
To read more about it check the following sources :
Visual Source Safe page at MSDN
Visual Source Safe RoadMap
Visual Source Safe Web Cast
I seem to missed the Whidbey Command for VS 2003, Visual Studio addin developed by Gaston Milano
Simon Chapman published a post covering this addin features.
The thing that I most love about this addin is the Demo Font feature….
Demo Font swaps the editor font to a larger, clearer font. This is useful when you have a bunch of developers crowded around your desk trying to help debug some nasty crash.
Wheel Font Sizing is really good if you regularly connect to your machine from several monitors with different resolution (i.e. using Remote Desktop). By pressing Ctrl while rolling the mouse wheel, you can enlarge or reduce the font size.
Download WhidbeyCommands 2.1 for Visual Studio 2003. and the Microsoft Interop Assemblies.
I am working right now on developing .Net SmartCard Application Block as I couldn’t find any working framework dealing with SmartCards and .net which would give me the ability to validate pin cards, encrypt data, sign data and more.
One of the things needed to be handle when implementing PKI in an organization is a way to revoke certifications, this is where the Certificate Revocation List may come handy BUT what you find out if you’ll try to implement PKI is that you publish a new revocation list the and the client does not give a damn ! … It made me crazy for a day….
I revoked a certificate but when I checked if the certification is valid I got the annoying ‘true’ meaning it is still valid…. My guess was that the CRL list is being cached on the client side which is normally a good idea… but not for testing and the minimum caching time could be set to 1 hour and couldn’t have the pleasure to wait 1 hour between testings.
So… I started the quest for the cache…I searched and searched and did some more searching on where the list was hidden and here are my findings:
There is no simple way to force the cached CRL to refresh. The CRL has an Expiry Date after which it will be renewed. A whitepaper about certificates and caching can be found at here
According to this paper the CRL can be cached in various locations:
- Memory
- Local File System.
In order to clear the CRL cache immidietly do the following:
1. Memory – You need to restart the application which is checking the CRL validity as it seems that in my case when using CAPICOM isValid the state is not refreshed immidiatly until the process restarts.
note: if you are trying to debug inside Visual Studio you will have to close and open the Studio of just start the process outside the studio for the memory to get refreshed.
2. Local File System – the cache file is stored in the following directories:
\Document and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache\Methadata
Delete the file in this directory.
( if this procedure haven’t worked for you for some reason I've found out that there is a similar directory under
%windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\Application Data\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache but i didn’t have to touch it)
I hope this information will help someone and save some massive amount of time that can be waist trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the client’s cache.
Updater Application Block v2.0 shows how to add self updating capabilities to .NET-based smart client solutions (such as applications built with Windows Forms) using Enterprise Library Configuration Application Block and the Cryptography Application Block.
So what’s new in the Updater AB ?
Renovated landing page, new content structure, better tooling, integrated help into VS.NET and much more.
For more information checkout here
To download the Updater AB click here
Ron Jacobs published on his blog the list of Enterprise Library webcasts containing the webcast’s powerpoint presentations and demo code.
|
Date |
Title/Abstract |
Resources |
|
|
3/3/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Overview
|
Enterprise Library is the next generation of the patterns & practices Application Blocks. This guidance is designed to assist developers with common enterprise development challenges and will deliver the most widely used blocks into a single integrated package. Our vision is to build a broad community of customers and partners using, sharing and extending their own Application Blocks that are consistent with and integrate into the patterns & practices Enterprise Library. |
 |
| Tom and Kyle at MS Studios (full size) |
|
 Slides |
View On Demand |
|
3/4/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Configuration Application Block
| Configuration data is a constant challenge for application development. The way in which your application handles configuration data dramatically impacts its manageability. In this webcast we will discuss the requirements for building a great configuration system and how you can leverage the configuration application block to meet these requirements. |
 |
| Scott and Ron at MS Studios (full size) |
|
Slides
Hands On Lab
|
View On Demand |
|
3/8/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Data Access Application Block
| Discover how you can implement the recommended data access architecture using Enterprise Library to quickly build a robust and secure data access layer which supports connectivity to SQL Server, Oracle and DB2. |
  |
| Scott and Ron at MS Studios | |
Slides
Hands On Lab
|
View On Demand |
|
3/10/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Caching Application Block
Properly designed caching can make your system more robust and increase performance dramatically, poorly designed caching adds unnecessary overhead and provides little benefit. Learn how you can make use of the new caching application block to help lessen the demand on your back-end systems while increasing throughput.
|
Slides |
Register |
|
3/14/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Logging & Instrumentation Application Block
Properly instrumented applications are a dream to manage, they tell what is happening and when things are going wrong point you to the source of the problem quickly increasing your mean time to recovery resulting in increased system availability. In this webcast you will learn how to use the Enterprise Library logging and instrumentation block to consistently and easily build an application that tells you where it hurts. |
Slides |
Register |
|
3/17/2005
11:00
|
Enterprise Library Exception Handling Application Block
Exceptions happen...the question is what you will do to handle them. Poorly written applications behave unpredictably when exceptions occur and often this bad behavior results in crashes or security holes. Learn how you can create exception policies that can be consistently and quickly applied in your application to insure predictability even when things go wrong. |
Slides |
Register |
The Virtual PC Guy just published cool tip of how to control VPC from inside a powerpoint presentation.
I’ll try to use it during my upcoming presentations as it is cool that you don’t even need to get out of powerpoint !
I read Dan Wahlin post today about Nasa’s World Wind and went to download it…
I don’t know how i missed its coming too…. It so cool app !
Now when now I have a great demonstrating to show of using C# and Managed DirectX !
If you want to know why it was developed using C# and .Net Managed DirectX read here
To download it click here (180Meg)
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