Connection Strings
Build 2016, One Last Time
My colleague at MSDN Magazine, Michael Desmond, covers Build 2016 with an eye on the message Microsoft is pushing across development platforms.
I'd be remiss if, with all the Build 2016 coverage of the last few weeks (and the coverage we're continuing to do as we focus on specifics and feature rollouts that are taking place with more frequency) -- I forgot to mention my colleague at MSDN Magazine, Michael Desmond's take on the event. It's worth reading and you can find it here.
Why I mention it is because you'll see in the coming months on the part of the MSDN site content that he manages (MSDN Magazine is just a component of the much bigger MSDN subscription and support service) some of the new technologies covered in its pages, in many cases by the program managers involved in developing them. And one thing that really sticks out in that coming coverage is that the message Microsoft seems to be pushing these days with more frequency is to rely less on developing specfically for the Windows space, because tools matter more and not so much the device. (Sub-message, of course, is to not forget Windows 10 because it's better that what came before, by the way.)
Even though the acquisition of Xamarin was semi-old news as Build 2016 rolled around, the event was the perfect showcase to drum up the cross-platform message that was (no pun intended) building up. It's not unusual now, but there was a time 10 years ago when it was near-blasphemous for a Microsoft employee to even eye an iPhone let alone own or even develop for one. Through the years, that stance has completely been rendered moot and at Build 2016, not to state the obvious but MacBook Pros and iPhones and Android phones were present in large numbers.
As if it were paralleling the Build sessions in miniature, the current issue highlights Xamarin development, Apache Cordova, and development on the Spark framework. As Desmond notes in his take: "Microsoft has come a long way over the last 10 years. It'll be interesting to see how much further the company goes before Build 2017 rolls around."
Here are ten more links I've run across that might be useful to you, in no particular order and definitely not conforming to any particular theme:
The Elegant Code I Wish I Can Write In C# 7 (Code Project) -- What's so awesome about functional programming techniques?
C# Extension for VS Code (.NET Blog) -- John Kemnetz gives a demo of the experimental support for C# debuggingfrom within VS Code
Tiobe Index: Visual Basic losing language popularity (The Hans India) -- VB devs need not panic; results come from a search engine comparison
Microsoft Bringing Windows 10 Hyper-V Containers and PowerShell Dev Perks (Redmondmag.com) -- desc
Ensure your Actions aren't missing Authorization with Unit Tests (Less Than Dot) -- A unit testing method that ensures your apps are secured with the correct Authorization attributes
The New Configuration Model in ASP.NET Core (Telerik) -- Configuration differences between ASP.NET and the upcoming ASP.NET Core
Designing Universal Windows Platform apps (Channel 9) -- Intro to UWP design elements that's more than One Dev Minute can handle
As IoT 'Goes Mainstream,' How Should Developers Prepare? (ADTmag.com) -- IoT data is already flooding the gates, so to speak; here's a disaster prep guide for devs
How to Buy HoloLens Development Edition (Build HoloLens) -- Learn about HoloLens without opening your wallet
Exupérianism: Improving Things by Removing Things (Dylanbeattie.com) -- No, not pair programming; more like pared programming
Know of an interesting link, or does your company have a new or updated product or service targeted at Visual Studio developers? Tell me about it at [email protected].
About the Author
You Tell 'Em, Readers: If you've read this far, know that Michael Domingo, Visual Studio Magazine Editor in Chief, is here to serve you, dear readers, and wants to get you the information you so richly deserve. What news, content, topics, issues do you want to see covered in Visual Studio Magazine? He's listening at [email protected].