TSHAK

Enterprise Library 3.0 Shipped!

Microsoft Joins OpenAjax, Enterprise Library Gets Aspects, and More!

I'm actively blogging again but on my new blog. What's new?

Blog Moving!

Actually, my blog already moved I just forgot to update my old blog! You can now reach me at http://blog.tshak.net (rss). Cheers!

Redmond Makes Attempt at Freezing Hell

Microsoft and Zend will be playing nice on the Windows platform via FastCGI. From the announcement:

Microsoft and Zend will work to help ensure a production-quality PHP runtime environment for IIS 6.0 (Windows Server 2003) and IIS 7.0 (Windows Server "Longhorn").

My experience includes a bit of PHP, and while I'm not a huge fan, I think that it's important for developers to have choice on the Windows platform. Keep it up Microsoft!

Project Server Visual Studio Team Connector Released

A working Project Server to Visual Studio Team Connector was released by Avanade last week. From the GotDotNet annoncement:

Microsoft® Office Project Server 2003 and Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 Team System (VSTS) are two powerful applications that are each used in different ways for management of software development projects. Up-to-date project information requires a seamless integration between the development environment and the project management tool. The Connector synchronizes Project, Resource and Task data between the two systems.

I'm proud to have had the opportunity to work on an Avanade asset that we released publically. You can read the announcement for download instructions.

Patterns and Practices: It's All About Community!

The patterns & practices team is looking for your help to help them define what sort of community infrastructure you would like to nurture and grow the P&P community. Help out by giving Don Smith your feedback.

Is the Browser Really a Good Application Platform?

Kyle Huntley (are you seeing a new theme for my blog?) has just written on a topic that I've been thinking about lately: Browser vs Runtime, Atlas/Ajax, WPF thoughts. In the midst of all of the hype around the cool hacks that you can with a web browser, it is important not to ignore the innovation happening around application development on the Windows platform. My favorite quote: "Ajax is simply a way of trying to paper over the “poor” client characteristics of the browser / markup technology rootstock." My personal take is that there are definitely some good business cases for web applications, but the web browser is still not the appropriate runtime for rich appications.

Waterfall and Communism

Kyle Huntley recently posted a humorous entry comparing Waterfall to Communism. On another note, for those of you who are wondering where I've been, I have been deeply focused on a few really cool internal projects at Avanade. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, that means I can not talk about them. Just know that I'm still alive and I will make the effort to post on occasion!

Webcast: EntLib 2.0 Configuration Block

Brian Button and Tom Hollander are doing a webcast this Thursday on the Configuration Application Block in Enterprise Library 2.0. Register for it here.

Enterprise Library 2.0 Released!

Enterprise Library 2.0 has been released on MSDN! Check out Tom Hollander's announcement for additional information, including the Enterprise Library roadmap for the future.

MSF Was Agile in 1993?

According to Andrew Delin, agile-thinking isn't that new because MSF told us not to create big design documents up front. This is an interesting bit of history indeed. It is always good to remind ourselves that ideas are never all that new. On the other hand, if any of you have worked with MSF (or even MSF Agile) you'll know that these methodologies are not Agile, even if there is a common idea or two. There's a reason why entire departments within Microsoft are turning to the likes of SCRUM and XP after working with MSF for so many years, and it's not because they have a lot in common with MSF.

Late Update: EntLib, CAB, and more.

I'm posting a lot less than I'd like to be. Between a demanding (but fun) project at work and a lot going on in my personal life, I have not prioritized this blog. For the time being I will try to keep up with my low content "news" type posts. Otherwise do not expect to see much until early next year. A lot has gone on since my last update:

Enterprise Library has released an interim drop that finally includes the configuration tool and designtime APIs! The team is very close to a final release. If you're curious about some of the core changes in Enterprise Library from an architecture point of view, check out the Enterprise Library Core Architecture Webcast.
The first version of CAB is complete! I can't stress this enough: If you're building complex WinForm UI's you must check out this asset.
The Software Lifecycle Blog has launched. This blog represents a team of Avanade folks who are passionate about the Software Lifecycle. While these guys focus on VSTS it is not a limited to VSTS or Microsoft solutions.
Scott Densmore is leaving PAG! Scott is going to work on some uber secret product at Microsoft. Brian Button will take his place as the Enterprise Library Developer Lead.
As I predicted, the TDD article on MSDN was pulled. Some people are saying that people (i.e. overzealous agilists) overreacted. If you are in this camp, I strongly encourage you to read Brian Buttons definition and walkthrough of TDD. While you may not agree with this process, you should see a fundamental difference in the definitions. Agile folks were definitely not arguing semantics for semantics' sake.
Speaking of Agile, patterns & practices discusses how Agile has and has not worked for them from both a developer and management perspective.
NUnit Converter RC1, the tool for converting NUnit tests to VSTS tests, was just released.

Happy Holidays!

12/27/05 Update: Peter noticed that the agile webcast link was wrong. It has been fixed.

How Long Before the MSDN TDD Article is Pulled?

A MSDN article on TDD is getting quite a bit of attention. About 100 people have rated it with an avg. of about 1.2 out of 9. *ouch*. While I feel bad for the author, it's clear that s/he just doesn't get it. Here are some responses that illustrate the problems with this article:

This isn't how I learned TDD... - Brian Button
Test Driven Development?! - Michael Feathers
Microsoft’s recommendations for Test Driven Development are wrong! - Jeremy Miller

CAB Released!

The coolest guidence asset for building composite user interfaces, CAB, has just been released! If you are building a WinForms application with any level of complexity you must check this out!

Seattle Code Camp This Weekend

If you live in the Seattle area you should definitely check out the FREE Seattle Code Camp occuring this Saturday and Sunday. There is a great list of sessions available covering a wide range of topics focused on Microsoft technologies, although there are quite a few topics covering non-Microsoft technologies such as Linux, OSX, and Ruby. Finally, if you wanted to attend my LINQ presentation last week and missed it I will be giving it again on Sunday at 1:30pm as part of the Languages track. I hope to see you there!