How To


Building a Useful HTML Helper for ASP.NET MVC Views

Creating a full-featured extension for the ASP.NET MVC HtmlHelper class sounds like a lot of work. But, because of the way the Microsoft .NET Framework works, it's almost trivially easy. To show that, here's an EditBlockFor method that adds a label, a textbox and a validation message to your ASP.NET View.

Add Azure Active Directory Support to Azure Mobile Services-Enabled Windows Phone Apps

Windows Phone applications can use Azure Active Directory to authenticate users and authorize access to Azure Mobile Services. Nick Randolph walks through the process, step by step.

How To Solve the Impossible Data Problem

Andrew does integration for a living. As a result, weird client data comes with the territory, but one client's data in particular stands out as being truly unique.

Responding to Events with TypeScript and Backbone

Peter upgrades his Backbone/Typescript to respond to the event raised when the user selects an item in a dropdown list by retrieving related data from a Web API service.

Compiler Basics How-To, Part 4: Improving the Parser

Now you have compiler fundamentals down pat, let's move on to some of the techniques you can use to improve the parser's design and performance.

Simplifying Cross-Platform Mobile App Development with Xamarin.Forms

Lots of decisions go into creating cross-platform apps. Without Xamarin.Forms, the decision process is almost too unwieldy. Here's how it can simplify your mobile development.

How To Refactor for Dependency Injection, Part 5: A Look at 5 DI Containers

DI containers all serve a similar purpose, but with some differences in syntax and functionality. Ondrej Balas explains the differences between Ninject, Castle Windsor, Unity, StructureMap and Autofac.

Splitting Tables To Improve Performance: A Designer-Based Solution

Peter returns to improve performance by splitting a single table into multiple entities, but this time, he implements his solution using the Entity Framework 6 designer.

Creating Neural Networks Using Azure Machine Learning Studio

Dr. McCaffrey walks you through how to use the Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio, a new front-end for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, to get a neural prediction system up and running.

Splitting Tables in Entity Framework 6 to Improve Performance

There are some occasions when using Entity Framework can really hurt you: When you have tables with hundreds of columns or tables with large payloads. Here's how to get EF6 to do the right thing.

Web API Documentation Tools

A look at some of the tools available to automate the creation of documentation for your Web API.

Enterprise Distribution of Windows Phone Applications

Nick Randolph discussed how Windows Phone applications can be deployed within a company using enterprise distribution.

Build Context-Aware Apps with iBeacons

Context is king, and your app can easily create hyper-local experiences with iBeacons!

Managing Your Page States with Backbone Routers

Peter turns the management of his single-page Backbone application over to Backbone itself by integrating Backbone Routers and Events. Plus: How to simplify your TypeScript code with longer namespaces.

Creating Custom HTTPClient Handlers

Accessing Web APIs can be easily done using the HTTPClient Handler. This class expedites the development process in accessing data from a Web API, and allows for customizing the client handlers when the need arises.

Managing Transactions in Entity Framework 6

Here's an article about managing transactions that you don't need to read because, with one exception, Entity Framework will do the right thing by default. But, in the .NET Framework 4 and later, you can do more (if you ever need to).

Keep It Simple

Simple problems are often solved by simple solutions. Other times, simple problems are solved with an end user running a Web site from Visual Studio on their machine.

Understanding Neural Network Batch Training: A Tutorial

There are two different techniques for training a neural network: batch and online. Understanding their similarities and differences is important in order to be able to create accurate prediction systems.

How To Manage Asynchronous Tasks Using the Task Object

You want the responsiveness that asynchronous programming in the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 provides, but also need your asynchronous methods to work with other code in your application. Here's how the Task object answers all of your problems.

How To Refactor For Dependency Injection, Part 4: Configuration Changes

Ondrej Balas continues his series on refactoring code for dependency injection, looking at patterns and strategies for changing application behavior after it has already been compiled.

Leveraging Interfaces and Extension Methods To Extend Your Classes

Extension methods provide a great way for extending a class functionality -- but it's interfaces that let you use those methods anywhere you want.

Semantic Code Highlighting

We often take syntax highlighting for granted -- it just makes code so much more readable that it's become hard to live without. I'll take a look at a little history behind it and some new developments that might make code coloring even more useful.

Windows Phone and Windows 8.x: Designing Once for Both with XAML

How to define common XAML resources to improve the consistency of your applications.

Retrieving Data with Backbone and TypeScript

Peter creates an AJAX-enabled application using TypeScript with Backbone that talks to a Web API service. He also upgrades to the latest version of Backbone TypeScript support, causing several things to break -- but it does result in better, simpler code.

Be More Social: oAuth, Facebook and Xamarin

How to use Xamarin.Auth, Xamarin.Social, and the Facebook SDK for Android to interact with Facebook within a Xamarin.Android application.

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