Yesterday, I gave a presentation to the Austin .Net User Group titled “ASP.NET Tips and Tricks”.  I’ve made the demos available for download in a VS 2003 class library project (just map IIS to the folder).  The demos are:

• The effects of a DocType on your pages


• Using the <browserCaps/> web.config section so that ASP.NET recognizes non-IE browsers.


• Using Request-level cache to cache objects.


• Custom HttpHandlers (.ashx, and .axd)


• ASP.NET Trust Levels


• Making a user control a container


• UrlRewriting (the real way without the bad side effects – no Server.Transfer here).

This is a very basic reason for choosing a class library project for websites in Whidbey:  Compiling is faster.  Yes, the IDE has the option to “Build website”, but this “validating” step takes forever, and in my class library, I can build the same stuff in a fraction of the time, and it actually goes into a single binary instead of hundreds. 

Another hiccup is that the auto-gen partial class mechanism doesn’t keep up all the time, and I’m left with build errors not because my code is wrong but because the IDE is behind on updating the other half of my code behind.  Stick with the CodeBehind model of v1.1, and I keep my protected control declarations _and_ I don’t depend on the IDE to generate half my code.  No false build errors.

I’ve voiced my concerns over the new web projects in VS 2005.  Starting from scratch, you may like them for a little bit, but convert an existing project, and you’ll get a better feel for the shortcomings.  Most of the problems could be solved by using a project file.  Use a class library for your web apps, and you get a project file. 🙂

Scott Bellware, fellow community leader and co-worker, rants far better than I about the new web projects or lack thereof.

Evaluate Sarissa, the cross-browser javascript library for javascript Http requests.  It makes a server call from javascript require only a few lines on the client page.

After downloading, check out this page for some code examples to get your started.

Show 125 is now available for download on www.dotnetrocks.com.  I talked a little about my experiences in Iraq, but then went on to topics about web standards, ASP.NET tips and upgrading to Visual Studio .Net 2005 Beta 2.  Download and have a listen.

I’m going to post my experiences with VS 2005 Beta 2 so you can hopefully save some time when you migrate.  My company has converted completely and has deprecated v1.1.  My group is a large web project with several class libraries.  I’m excited and disappointed with the new web projects.  I’ve been working for 2 weeks now with the new web project, and I like most of what they’ve done.  The following are the things I don’t like:

• No more pre or post build events


• No project references (just .dll files copied to the bin directory)


• partial classes hide code I’m interested in and hides things from me.

I’m almost to the point where I’m going to use a class library project to develop my ASP.NET 2.0 web projects as well.  I will sacrifice some designer support, but I don’t depend on that anyway.  If you are using class library projects in v1.1, don’t run your project through the converter.  Just open the project in VS 2005 and keep it as a class library.  It will be a seemless upgrade with few problems. 

When I start new web projects from scratch, I’ll be using class libraries.  The new web site layout will be good for hobbyists developing with VWD, but it has too many limitations for me.  I really like a lot of what they’ve done, but a few things just ruin a good thing.

Most people who keep up with the computer industry know about John
Dvorak,
a writer for PC Magazine.  He rants about Microsoft.  He’s
way out there in left field on
most things.  He loves Linux, thought (but I’m puzzled why he
still uses Windows).  He’s definitely in the camp of Microsoft –
bad, Linux
(and all the underdogs) – good.  At the end of this post is some
of his past columns
with the most recent on top.  You’ll notice how many times he
complains about Microsft.

I had to laugh today when I came upon his blog, and
he had a link on the left that said “Valid XHTML”.  It’s a link to
the w3c markup validator.  The funny thing is that when you click
it, the W3C tells you that it’s NOT valid markup (307 errors)..

• Windows Vista: Where’s the Buzz?

  Is this the end of Microsoft’s OS dominance?

• Longhorn’s Missing Snap Factor

  Microsoft sees Longhorn as a great blimp losing altitude, and it’s
  throwing out any dead weight it can to get the vessel to go back in the
  right direction: up!

• Software Patents: Microsoft’s Fatal Error

  Microsoft’s reputation as a company that steals other people’s ideas
  puts it in the worst possible position in a litigious environment.

• Microsoft’s Updates: Out of Control

  It’s time for a new, clean version of Windows XP.

• A Google-Microsoft War

  Microsoft will see the Google browser as its biggest threat and find ways to thwart the upstart’s intentions.

• Longhorn Becomes Shorthorn

  Microsoft can’t take forever to do its next major OS.

• Kill Microsoft Word

  The most widely used word processor is on its last legs and should be discarded.

• Closing Microsoft

  What if the company simply shut down?

• Microsoft, Spend Your Money!

  With billions and billions of dollars, why can’t Microsoft fix its software?

• The Importance of Being Linux

  Open source is poised to cause a major upheaval.

This blog uses Community Server, and I’ve made it know that CS doesn’t
generate valid markup (no Doctype to start with) I don’t pretend this
blog is valid markup.  I encourage Telligent to refactor Community Server so that it renders valid markup.

That’s right folks.  Tomorrow (Friday, August 5th, 2005), I’ll be the guest on the .Net Rocks internet audio talk show for .Net developers.  You can catch it live at 6PM EST or download it for you Mp3 player when it’s published on Monday.

I will obviously be talking about web standards (Xhtml, Doctypes, etc) as well as ASP.NET tips and tricks.  I’ve done several projects with ASP.NET 2.0 now, so I’ll also talk about my upgrade experience as well as some pitfalls to avoid.

And I’ll have some stories about coding in Iraq.

Jeremy Miller is a local Agile “champion” here in Austin, TX, and he is posting a great series on pair programming at his company.  Very good info! 

• Pair Programming Braindump


• Pairing Rotation


• Pairing is a Great Way to Learn and Teach


• More on Pairing


• Pair Programming Ergonomics