How To


Debugging Tools for the .NET Developer

Visual Studio provides a rich set of tools for finding bugs, though most developers aren't aware or don't take advantage of all of them.

Mono for Android UI Blueprint

A good first impression is critical for an Android app. Learn the principles of Android UI design.

Free Databases in the Window Azure Marketplace

The Windows Azure Marketplace has a hidden jewel: a host of free and nearly free databases ready for monetization.

Caching in on HTML5 Local Storage

HTML5 introduces client-side caching for local and session storage. Learn how to boost your app's performance through the new functionality.

Running Windows 8 in a Virtual Machine

The advantages of using virtualization, and specifically VirtualBox, to develop on the Windows 8 platform.

Developer Recommendations from BUILD

Joe Kunk sifts through the Windows 8 announcements at BUILD and offers advice on next steps.

Work Item Customization: Working With Global Lists

How to use global lists in work item type definitions.

Updates in Entity Framework

A primer on how to update objects, including adds and deletes, in the Entity Framework.

Windows Runtime and .NET: Better Together

The new Windows Runtime integrates beautifully with the .NET Framework. Building this app will demonstrate just how well.

Understanding LINQ to SQL on Windows Phone 7.5

The "Mango" update to Windows Phone 7 includes LINQ to SQL abilities. Use them while building a movie review app.

WebSockets for Faster, More Scalable Ajax Applications

If you want to call a service you can—but the service can't call you back. WebSockets offers the potential for real, two way communications -- and it's as simple as calling a Web Service.

Chocolatey Goodness: A Sweet Installer

Chocolatey is a powerful installation program for open-source software.

Using MEF to Retrieve Connection Strings

Rather than try to ensure that he's getting the right config file for his production and test systems, Peter Vogel lets the application configure itself, using the Managed Extensibility Framework to enable automatic selection of the right connection string

A CLR Alternative to the SQL Server ISNUMERIC function

CLR functions that perform string manipulation and substring extraction perform very well in SQL Server.

Eliminate Joins by Modifying Entity Framework Models

Peter Vogel explains why adding associations to Entity Framework navigations helps you avoid using Joins.

Using the Form View with Any Data Collection

The ASP.NET DataViews are powerful tools when coupled with a DataSource. But you can skip the DataSource and use the DataViews to handle displaying and updating any collection of objects you want, with a few lines of code.

MVVM in 5 Minutes

Learn MVVM fundamentals by building this simple Twitter app.

WPF and Inversion of Control

Use Inversion of Control to decouple views and viewmodels in WPF.

Multilevel Sorting with IComparable and IComparer

IComparable and IComparer sound the same and work in similar ways, but there are important differences you need to know.

To Think in LINQ

If you start "thinking in LINQ" you'll get more done with less code, and what you write will be simpler than using SQL.

ASP.NET: Managing DOM Events Interoperably

Peter Vogel introduces you to the new dynamic event model for JavaScript that's available in all the contemporary browsers.

Modifying Work Item States and Transitions

Mickey Gousset dives into modifying the states and transitions of a work item.

Simplify Workflow with Custom Activities

The number of built-in Activities that you can use to create a service that handles a long running service is small. Fortunately, it's easy to add additional Activities that wrap up business logic.

Better Development Through Reading the Specs

Reading the Visual Basic language specifications may sound boring, but it actually reveals important information for developers.

Retemplating a Control and Adding Visual States with Expression Blend

Learn how to easily create a toggle button in Expression Blend by retemplating a control and adding visual states.

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