Vikram Lakhotia

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 announced with Go Live License

2009-10-20T17:32:00Z

Hi,

Microsoft has announced the release of the Beta 2 of the Visual Studio 2010. MSDN Subscribers can download the same today and this will be available for the general Public of Wednesday. The link for download is

http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/vstudio/dd582936(en-us).aspx

VS 2010 and .NET 4 bring a huge number of improvements and additions. They include big advances for ASP.NET web development, WPF and Windows Forms client development, SharePoint development, Silverlight development, data development, parallel computing development, and cloud computing development. VS 2010 also delivers a ton of improvements in the core IDE, code editors, programming languages, and enterprise design, architect, and testing tools.

Very important to note that .NET 4 and VS 2010 Beta 2 include a “go-live” license which means you can start using the products for production projects.

Vikram

Join the full day free community techdays event on 11th October 2009 in Kolkata

2009-10-08T04:39:00Z

Hi,

Although a little late in blogging this, But I would like to invite all people in and around kolkata to join the KolkataNET - KolkataITPro - Community Tech Day on 11th Oct. 2009. The event is being held at International School of Business & Media, Kolkata Campus situated at Kolkata (address below). The event does not require any registeration free and is free.

The agenda for the event are below.

KeyNote
About KolkataNET and Community Tech Day in association with Microsoft, INETA, Culminis, SQL Pass - By Abu Ismail [15 Min - 10:00 to 10:15]

Developer Track
Session I - .NET 4.0 - Language Enhancement
Speaker: Sankarsan Bose [75Min - 10:15 to 11:45]
Break - Q&A Session 10-15 Min

Session II - ASP.NET 4.0
Speaker: Debjit Kar [75Min 12:00-1:15PM]

Launch [ 45Min 1:15-2:00PM]

IT Pro cum Database Professional Track
Launching Kolkata IT Pro Community - [15 Min 2:00 - 2:15PM]

Session III - Microsoft Virtualization Technologies
Speaker: Ranjana Jain [90Min 2:15 - 3:45PM]

Session IV - What's New in SQL Server 2008
Speaker: Rajesh Singh and Abu Ismail [60 Min 3:45-4:45PM]

Closing Ceremony [15 Min 4:45 - 5:00PM]

Venue
International School of Business & Media, Kolkata Campus
EN - 22, Sector - V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700 091

Date: 11th Oct. 2009

For More Information you can contact at 9836 000020.

Check the below link for more.

http://www.kolkatanet.com/events/calendar.aspx

Hope to meet many of you at the event

Vikram

Web Platform Installer 2.0 available for Web developers

2009-10-04T00:51:00Z

Hi,

Of late Microsoft Has been doing great job in creating an great experience for installation for both development component for Asp.net and IIS server and also available free open source software. Yes I am talking about the Web Platform Installer 2.0.

The web Platform Installer has been a great success, and is very user friendly tool to install most of the available software required for web development along with many available open source platforms and application.

Web Platform Installer 2.0 (Also known as Web PI) was released recently and can be downloaded from the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx

The new release is localized in 9 different languages and includes many more scenarios around Dev tools enterprise and Media. There have already been over 1 million download (Now that means success) for Web Platform Installer, and over 840000 download of available application. So if you have an open source application you should look forward to have it in the Web platform installer, as this way it can be easily visible to a huge number of audience.

Web PI has over 400 installers and if used fully can download over 22 GB of data (so be careful when installing something). It works great with Windows XP, Vista and windows 7 and has input from the product teams of SQL, IIS, Venus, Asp.net Expression, Azure, and many more.

I would urge all the web developer to have look at the Web Platform Installer RTW today and use it as the first preference to install any software for web development. This also ensures that you get the latest version of the correct software from the right vendor.

Vikram

LINQ Having Clause and Group By with condition

2009-09-17T07:20:00Z

Hi,

While querying with LINQ, some times we will have to use the group By clause. But many a times we also want to use the having clause of SQL with the group by clause in the LINQ. There is no direct having keyword in LINQ to do this we need to use the where clause itself.

You can query the LINQ to SQL to have both Group By and Having like this.

var categories =   from p in db.Products
               group p by p.CategoryID into g
               where g.Count() >= 10
               select new {
                      g.Key,
                      ProductCount = g.Count()
                     };

But there are occasion when you might not to group with an existing column but with a column which calculated at the run time itself. For those conditions you can write the query like this.

var categories =   from p in db.Products

                          group p by new { Criterion = p.UnitPrice > 10 } into g
                           where g.Count() >= 10
                           select new {
                                    g.Key,
                                    ProductCount = g.Count()
                                   };

Vikram

How to simulate IN Clause in LINQ queries

2009-09-15T10:33:00Z

Hi,

When working with the LINQ queries for SQL one of the common queries that we need to run is the select query with IN clause. In SQL IN clause is used to provide more than one value to match in the where clause.

Something like the query below

Select * from Table
where column1 in (‘Value1’, ‘Value2’, ‘Value3’)

To do a similar query in LINQ we can use

var list = from t in table
                where t.column1 = Value1’
                And t.column1 = Value2’
                t.column1 = Value3’
                Select t

But what if the number of values are not known is design time, coming from another list etc?

In that case you need to write the LINQ query like this.

List<string> names = new List<string>();
   names.Add("Value1");
   names.Add("Value2");
   names.Add("Value3");
   names.Add("Value4");

var list = from t in table
where names.contains(t.column1)
select t

You can pass the value of a full table also by querying the table first and then fetching all the values of the table in the list.

Vikram

A workshop for IT Professionals on 15th September on Implementing SECURITY INSIDE-OUT with MICROSOFT Technologies

2009-09-12T01:10:00Z

Hi,

There an interactive live session on September 15, 2009 on how the New Efficiency Products will help you manage security in a simpler way. This session will occur across 16 cities at NIIT centers as a live session with benefit of face-to-face teaching, each participant having their own computers to work on, and having the ability to ask questions any time. The following event is available for the following city.

Ahmedabad
Lucknow
Bangalore
Mumbai
Bhopal
Mysore
Bhubhaneswar
Nagpur
Chandigarh
Nasik
Chennai
New Delhi
Hyderabad
Patna
Kolkata
Pune

The session is mainly meant for the IT Pro’s.

Hurry register for the event as the seats are very limited in each city. Below is the link for registration.

http://www.endtoend.in/apps/forms/microsoft/SecurityLive/registration.aspx

9.30 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Enhanced Security and Control This session will explore Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 core platform security improvements, securing anywhere access, data protection, and protecting desktop users.
11.15 a.m. to 12.15 p.m.	Identity Management and Access Control in Windows Sever 2008 R2 Identity and access control features and technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2 that provide a central way of managing credentials and technologies to allow only legitimate users access to devices, applications, and data.
12.15 p.m. to 12.45 p.m.	Lunch break
12.45 p.m. to 2.00 pm.	Understanding SQL Server 2008 security In this session, we shall focus on advance security features like data encryption, keys & certificates management, auditing & Execution context.
2:00 p.m to 2:30 p.m	Break
2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m	End-to-end security with Microsoft Forefront Security Solution Forefront Security products deliver protection, access, and management solutions. We will discuss each business scenario along with detailed demos on how Forefront technologies provide the protection layer and enable businesses.

Vikram

Application running in localhost and debugging mode

2009-09-07T05:28:00Z

Hi,

Most of the time (If not all) when working on the project we view the website with the help of localhost in debugging mode. Many a times when working on some modules, for solving small problem, we want to write some code that should execute only when running in the localhost or debugging environment.

Normally developers would write the code and then take it as their responsibility to remove the code before the code goes to the next environment. But some time we might make a mistake of not removing the code and letting it go to the next environment, which can cause a lots of trouble.

In these kinds of circumstances and Asp.Net developer can take help of the IsLocal method of the Request class. The method will return true in case the application is running from localhost.

If (Request.IsLocal)
{
// Do task that should execute only when running in localhost.
}

To know if the application is running in the debugging mode, we can use the

If (HttpContext.Current.IsDebuggingEnabled)
{
// Do task that should execute only when Application is running in debugging mode.
}

Vikram

Visual Studio Changing default profile setting

2009-09-04T04:55:00Z

Hi,

While working with Visual Studio, was that normally we have to select the profile setting (Visula Basic profile, C# profile, web development profile etc...) when we start the Visual Studio for the first Times. But Many a time after working on a type of project for some time you start working on other types of project.

For Example, Currently I am working on a Windows Applictaion (With Language VB.Net) But before this project I was Working on Web Development in C#, and before that Windows Development in C#.

In Visual studio you can easily change the profile of the IDE by going to Tools -> Import Export Settings. This brings up Import Export Windows Wizard. Follow the simple Wizard (which also allows to save you the current settings for future use) and seletc the new profile setting (based on the kind of project you are working on) and you are ready to work with new profile.

Vikram

Programmatically Create PDF from Crystal Report

2009-08-31T12:42:00Z

Hi,

Some times when working with crystal report viewer you do not want to show the report to user in raw format but instead you want to pass on the report in PDF or other format without requiring user to do extra click. This can be done easily in Dot Net with the following code.

MyReport report = new MyReport();

DataSet ds = GetData();

report.SetDataSource(ds);

report.ExportToHttpResponse(ExportFormatType.PortableDocFormat, Response, false, "ExportedReport");

If you want you can use different format for export like PDF, word, Excel by changing the ExportFormatType enumeration value.

Vikram

Received ASIA MVP Certification Hero Award 2009

2009-08-20T15:18:00Z

Hi,

Just received the ASIA MVP Certification Hero Award 2009. I did not knew that another award was coming. Was more than pleasantly surprised. Thanks to Microsoft, Microsoft MVP Team, Microsoft Learning Team.

Its amazing that You get awarded for Helping others with the knowledge of discounts available.

Again Thanks to Microsoft for the award.

Vikram

Asp.net 4.0 FormView Control Enhancement

2009-08-20T08:41:00Z

Hi,

another of the new features of Asp.net 4.0 is the enhancement(in terms of rendering) made in the Formview control. By default the Formview control would render table, tr and td tags for display of content. This can be of much trouble to many of the designer because they have little control over the rendered HTML.

With Asp.net 4.0 you can disable the rendering of these HTML elements. (Mind you in Asp.Net 4.0 by default these HTML content are rendered.) To do this all you need to do is set the RenderTable property to False.

<asp:FormView ID="FormView1" runat="server" RenderTable="false">

This enhancement can make it easier to style the content of the control with CSS, because no unexpected tags are rendered by the control.

Vikram

Programmatically set the Page Description and Keywords in Asp.Net 4.0

2009-08-18T08:42:00Z

Hi,

One of the small but new features in Asp.Net 4.0 is the addition of the Title, Metakeyword and Metadescription property in the page class itself. Now we can easily set the Title, Metakeyword and Metadescription (very important for sites looking for SEO.) from the page itself.

This makes adding these values based on some condition or from database very easy. To Add these value to the page now (Asp.Net 4.0) we can write following code.

this.Page.Title = "Vikram Lakhotia Blog";
this.Page.MetaKeywords = "ASP.NET, SQL, Sharepoint, dotnet";
this.Page.MetaDescription = "Some description of My blog";

If we already have some static tag value in the page markup then that will be replaced with the new content provided.

Vikram

Attend Virtual Techdays for free using live meeting

2009-08-16T01:06:00Z

Hi,

You can attend Virtual Techdays live using the live meeting. All the session are free and will be available using Live meeting. All session will be held between Aug 19-21.

I would encourage everyone to take the maximum benefit of this opportunity. . This edition of the event will have 13 technology tracks dedicated to developers, infrastructure professionals, architects and designers. You can register for the virtual Techdays from the following link.

http://co1piltwb.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/mcoeredir/mcoeredirect.aspx?linkId=12350629&s1=0c6029f5-7cc0-31cc-0279-04d58c975971

Vikram

Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange server launch road show in India in 16 different cities

2009-08-10T05:26:00Z

Hi,

Microsoft is organizing a road show for the launch of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange server 2010

2010. Roadshow will be organized in 16 cities in India on different Dates.

Please find the below list of Cities and Dates for the event. You can find more at the following link. All the events will be held from 2 pm to 6 pm

http://impactmarketingservice.com/promotions/2010/q1/win7/tech/login.asp

Date	City
11th Aug	Cochin
12th Aug	Chandigarh
13th Aug	Indore
1st Sept	Ahmedabad
1st Sept	Lucknow
3rd Sept	Chennai
3rd Sept	Mumbai
4th Sept	Delhi
4th Sept	Ranchi
8th Sept	Guwahati
9th Sept	Hyderabad
9th Sept	Kolkata
11th Sept	Bangalore
16th Sept	Jaipur
17th Sept	Coimbatore
17th Sept	Pune

Do register for the seats might be limited. For people in Kolkata the event will be held at the Taj Bengal Hotel.

Vikram

Assigning Multiple FontStyle to a single instance of font class in Dot net Windows Application

2009-07-28T14:29:00Z

Hi,

While working with Textbox in a windows application I wanted to show the text of the textbox to be both Bold and Underlined. I had to do this based on certain condition.

I was surprised to see that the bold and underlined properties in the font class are readonly. What this means is that we can only set these properties in the constructor of the class and there is no other way to set the property.

In the constructor we can only send one type of fontstyle. This meant there is no way to set up multiple font style (Bold font style and Underline font Style are two different styles) in the font.

After googling a bit I found that we can send more than one fontstyle in the constructor of the font class with the help of “OR” keyword. Below is an example of how to provide multiple fontstyle in the font.

Font ft = new Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 8, FontStyle.Regular | FontStyle.Bold);

Vikram

Vikram Lakhotia

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 announced with Go Live License

Join the full day free community techdays event on 11th October 2009 in Kolkata

KeyNoteAbout KolkataNET and Community Tech Day in association with Microsoft, INETA, Culminis, SQL Pass - By Abu Ismail [15 Min - 10:00 to 10:15] Developer TrackSession I - .NET 4.0 - Language Enhancement Speaker: Sankarsan Bose [75Min - 10:15 to 11:45]Break - Q&A Session 10-15 Min

Session II - ASP.NET 4.0 Speaker: Debjit Kar [75Min 12:00-1:15PM]

Launch [ 45Min 1:15-2:00PM]

IT Pro cum Database Professional TrackLaunching Kolkata IT Pro Community - [15 Min 2:00 - 2:15PM] Session III - Microsoft Virtualization TechnologiesSpeaker: Ranjana Jain [90Min 2:15 - 3:45PM]

Session IV - What's New in SQL Server 2008Speaker: Rajesh Singh and Abu Ismail [60 Min 3:45-4:45PM]

Closing Ceremony [15 Min 4:45 - 5:00PM]

VenueInternational School of Business & Media, Kolkata CampusEN - 22, Sector - V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700 091

Web Platform Installer 2.0 available for Web developers

LINQ Having Clause and Group By with condition

How to simulate IN Clause in LINQ queries

A workshop for IT Professionals on 15th September on Implementing SECURITY INSIDE-OUT with MICROSOFT Technologies

Application running in localhost and debugging mode

Visual Studio Changing default profile setting

Programmatically Create PDF from Crystal Report

Received ASIA MVP Certification Hero Award 2009

Asp.net 4.0 FormView Control Enhancement

Programmatically set the Page Description and Keywords in Asp.Net 4.0

Attend Virtual Techdays for free using live meeting

Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange server launch road show in India in 16 different cities

Assigning Multiple FontStyle to a single instance of font class in Dot net Windows Application

KeyNote
About KolkataNET and Community Tech Day in association with Microsoft, INETA, Culminis, SQL Pass - By Abu Ismail [15 Min - 10:00 to 10:15]

Developer Track
Session I - .NET 4.0 - Language Enhancement
Speaker: Sankarsan Bose [75Min - 10:15 to 11:45]
Break - Q&A Session 10-15 Min

Session II - ASP.NET 4.0
Speaker: Debjit Kar [75Min 12:00-1:15PM]

IT Pro cum Database Professional Track
Launching Kolkata IT Pro Community - [15 Min 2:00 - 2:15PM]

Session III - Microsoft Virtualization Technologies
Speaker: Ranjana Jain [90Min 2:15 - 3:45PM]

Session IV - What's New in SQL Server 2008
Speaker: Rajesh Singh and Abu Ismail [60 Min 3:45-4:45PM]

Venue
International School of Business & Media, Kolkata Campus
EN - 22, Sector - V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700 091