September 2005 - Posts
Ok - I've received a lot of traffic on this service! I came back this evening to a huge log file, and saw that many people were typing in some interesting things (e.g. System.Skillet.Eats.Bologna.) Thanks to feedback from Lenny, we've learned that the service does not work with Trillian - not sure, just know that it doesn't work.
I've also added the System.Data namespace to the service's content store. I think this is the start of something really cool.
Some possible future features may include allowing people to contribute to the service (custom classes, additional links, descriptions, examples, etc.) or maintaining version-specific information (1.0, 1.1, 2.x, etc.) Please share your thoughts.
I've made a few changes to this service after recieving quite a bit of traffic. The first version was not functioning properly when dotnetreference@hotmail.com was added to someone's Contact List; thus, I've set up the service to automatically add the user to the service's Contact List (rather than simply allowing all messages.) I've also added support for namespace listings (although the list is truncated to the first 20 classes due to MSN Messenger message length restrictions.)
I've also moved the service to another machine, that should be a bit more stable. Enjoy!
I hate to rip people off, but Ben's brilliant idea to create an IM bot for the ColdFusion Live Docs got me to thinking; "Wouldn't this be great for the .NET Framework Class Libraries?" So, sitting here late on a Saturday night, I decided to have some fun ...
I created a Windows Service that utlizes the DotMSN library (which is easy to use, and overall badass) to respond to messages from MSN Messenger sent to dotnetreference@hotmail.com. The message content will be used to search a list of classes, interfaces, etc. in the .NET Framework Class Libraries. If a match is found, the name, brief description of the class and a link will be returned to the user.
I've got the service up and running on a machine in my home lab. Give it a go if you like - simply add dotnetreference@hotmail.com to your Contact List and fire away. Please note that I've only collected content for the System namespace.
Also, my home lab is not too sophisticated, so this service may drop at anytime. Enjoy!
UPDATE:
The bot will also respond to namespaces (although System is the only namespace currenlty cataloged.) Just send the name of the name space (e.g. System) for a truncated list of classes, etc. contained therein.
Ben Forta has written a ColdFusion-baesd bot for Macromedia's ColdFusion Live Docs reference site.
To use, add the appropriate user to your Contact List (Y!: cflivedocs, GTalk: cfdocs@gmail.com.) Then, send a message with a ColdFusion tag or function name and you'll receive a description of that tag/function, and examples of use. Pretty slick! Coming from Ben, it doesn't supprise me.
Original Post here. I'm thinkin' of doing something simliar for the .NET Framework Class Libraries ...
Via Demian's Post: check out OldVersion.com. They're creating an archive of old versions of internet software, including Internet Explorer 1.0!
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=msie
I'm very sorry for my apparent lack of consideration regarding my last post! It seems that all comments and emails from my blog were being treated as spam and deleted from my mail server :( I have gone back through the site and view some of your comments, and realize that I foolishly left out the solution description for implementing a Custom Header in Reporting Services / Windows SharePoint Services.
I intend on delivering the solution to you all; however, with so many folks interested, I have decided to package the solution up and write a White Paper on it. I'll post the build and WP here as soon as they're completed.
Thanks for your understanding!
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