Web Services / Remoting
Web Services / Remoting
XML Web Services are a wonderful thing. However, they also have some drawbacks.
The one I have to deal with a lot is the sometimes non-availability of the web service that I'm consuming. For whatever the reason, Time-out issues, server down, lazy network admins, it seems like whenever my application has the highest demand for information called via a web service that service is unavailable. So we end up caching the data in SQL Server and if the web service is unavailable we get the last available data from SQL and display it to the user (With proper annotations that the data is time late).
I'm wondering if anyone has a better way of dealing with this problem? Also wouldn't it be great if the Whidbey version of .NET made caching web service data as easy for the developer as user authentication and personalization will be (HINT HINT Microsoft!).
I haven't read the Preview of ADO.NET 2.0 book yet so maybe they've already done this.
WOW! Yesterday was a
whirlwind of .NET related events here in Hampton Roads. I missed the
morning sessions (Some of us do had to work, at least part of the day ;-). But I
was able to attend the afternoon events. Microsoft Developer Community Champion
Geoff Snowman (Say that three times fast), gave an informative presentation on
Smart Client apps and No Touch deployment. After the break (We got
free popcorn from the movie theater the event was held in), Geoff talked
about the upcoming Visual Studio add-in for writing MS Office applications.
Really cool stuff.
Later in
the evening Geoff talked to our SQL Server
User Group about Reporting Services (Code Named Rosetta). This looked REALLY
exciting and very easy to use. Especially if you've ever tried to use Crystal
Reports with VS.NET. It had great integration with Visual Studio. I'm
looking forward to the release (Around the end of the year for SQL Server 2000).
You can try to get in on Beta testing by filling out the forms here.
It looks like
we're building quite a community of Hampton Roads .NET bloggers. Mark
DiGiovanni and Paul Laudeman have
joined the fray. Subscribed.
Lutz Roeder's
Programming.NET
In addition to the
great Reflector Class Browser there are a number of other interesting components
that you can download. A nice looking menu control and date picker for
instance.
Via Colt Kwong: Want to influence the design of Microsoft developer
platform?
Want to win Visual Studio Professional 2003 with a Viewsonic V37
Pocket PC device?
Click the following link right now: http://146.82.142.73/webservices/
I knew there was PowerToys
for the OS. But there are for VS.NET
also. Coming soon: ADO.NET
PowerToys.
I also just found the
Web Services Development
Center at MSDN. Cool!
I mentioned the other
day that I was preparing to take the Web Services Exam 70-310 and presto others start talking about
it. I'm not saying I was the spark for that conversation. But it
sure was handy to have all of those links right when I need them. Tim's Exam Links looks
especially promising.
[Now Playing: Santana - El Farol (04:51)]
But it is. Hooking up a DataGrid to an XML Web Service.
Dim ws As New ws_WebService.SomethingOrOther()
DataGrid1.DataSource = ws.WebMethod(Key)
DataGrid1.DataBind()
I never would have thought it could be so easy.
I'm actually studying to take the 70-310 XML Web Services certification test in the next couple of weeks. Any suggestions that might help me out would be greatly appreciated.