Microsoft's cumulative Feature Pack update for MSDN subscribers adds useful new testing capabilities to Visual Studio 2010.
- By Mickey Gousset
- 01/18/2011
Just as a car factory creates cars on an as-needed basis, we can create "factories" in our code to create objects for our applications' specific needs. In this first article of a series, we'll explain what the factory pattern is and how you can use it in your code to make your applications more flexible.
- By Patrick Steele
- 01/11/2011
Peter Vogel returns to encrypting web.config files in subfolders and encrypting non-standard sections. Sort of everything you wanted to know about encrypting the web.config file but were afraid someone would tell you.
On VB columnist Joe Kunk explores the benefits and drawbacks of commenting source code, and finds that the answer is not as clear cut as many might think.
A look inside the critical technologies and tools that will shape .NET development over the next year.
- By Michael Desmond
- 01/02/2011
The suite continues to deliver tons of controls that Windows Forms developers want to use -- but organization could be improved.
Microsoft's latest announcements make it clear that, when it comes to delivering applications over the Web, the choices for the .NET developer are ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC.
The award-winning component suite is a powerful tool for ASP.NET app development.
Cloud computing solutions vary considerably, yet claim superior privacy, security and scalability over on-premises deployments that also require the expense of an IT department to manage them.
- By Mark Michaelis
- 01/01/2011
The frequency with which Microsoft has changed database access technologies is remarkable, with each new scheme offering the promise that .NET developers have finally arrived at a long-term solution.
- By Mark Michaelis
- 01/01/2011
Microsoft's efforts to improve mobile, Web and cloud application development have captured a great deal of mindshare over the past year.
- By Michael Desmond
- 01/01/2011
With all the activity around mobile and Web technologies, it's easy to think that Microsoft might take its eye off the ball in the area of line-of-business (LOB) development.
- By Michael Desmond
- 01/01/2011
Every once in a while, Microsoft toys with the idea of taking its dev tools cross-platform.
- By Andrew J. Brust
- 01/01/2011
In 2011 even low-end laptops come with two cores and, at the high end, eight and even 16 cores aren't uncommon.
- By Mark Michaelis
- 01/01/2011
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a critical measure of a team's maturity and development effectiveness.
- By Mark Michaelis
- 01/01/2011
An important part of a software testing -- or coding -- effort is the ability to measure progress. One way for doing this is a technique called Earned Value Management (EVM). Find out how easy it is to apply EVM to your own projects.
- By James McCaffrey
- 01/01/2011
Nearly all applications need to open or save data files. Use the common file dialog APIs to easily avoid another unneeded dependency and sidestep some system bugs as a bonus. (Part 2 of 2)
- By Karl E. Peterson
- 12/22/2010
With the new year upon us, Peter Vogel looks back at some of the big changes and advancements in ASP.NET in 2010.
SoftFluent releases near-feature complete version of its visual modeling designer.
- By Michael Desmond
- 12/20/2010
Why tempt fate by making your application dependent upon an easily replaced component? Karl Peterson shows how you can begin reducing external dependencies in your VB apps.
- By Karl E. Peterson
- 12/14/2010