VS.NET 2005 Beta2 - WS proxy class generation!

I just got vs.net 2005 beta 2 installed (on a virtual PC image, thanks NI for the help!). I was very happy to see they've improved proxy class generation for web services - they actually generate private fields and public properties! for some reason, there is not a public constructor. good thing its a partial class so i can add my own :) :)

i can't wait to start playing w/ the beta as its the first time i've seen it since the PDC 2003 tech preview.... ;)

cheers
jk

Putting smack

Note: This post was taken from an advertisement for Odyessy putters http://www.steelmeetsfeel.com. I was not paid for this post (unfortunately), but I do own an Odyessy White Hot #2 putter (which I love). You're supposed to buy their putter to improve your game so you can hurl insults at your playing partners...(a good craftsman never blames his tools, right?)

Enjoy!
jk

------------------------
•I’ve had brushes with death that were closer than that.
•You know what the best joke in golf is? Your short game.
•You know what really helped me with my putting? Hitting the ball in the hole.
•You know what they call that type of putt in Scotland? Horrible.
•I hope you’re better at ordering drinks than you are at putting.
•The problem appears to be that you’re standing too close to your ball…after you hit it.
•You know what you’re doing wrong? Playing golf.
•In case I don’t remind you later, I like vodka martinis.
•One more putt and you get a free toaster.
•You walk around this green any more and you’re going to need hiking boots.
•Can you hand me some sunscreen? It looks like we’re gonna be here awhile.
•I must be dehydrated because I just hallucinated you missed that putt.
•After all that walking I bet you could use an energy bar.
•Should I cal 911? You look like you’re choking.
•You know what’s wrong with our putting? You’re not good.
•Nice touch, hammer.
•Come on, I’m running out of fingers here.
•You putt like I sing opera. Terribly.
•You know what the problem was there, don’t you? your ball didn’t go in the hole.

Insects and Entropy

A coworker (thanks PaulR!) sent this out the other day. As a person who seems to make things harder than they need to be, it is an excellent reminder. Enjoy the article :)
jk

It is done

MCSD .NET

Passed 70-229 (2nd try) w/ a 747. Not the best score, but I'm not taking it again :)

DL by any other name smells as sweet : was: Service Station: Contract-First Service Development -- MSDN Magazine, May 2005

Anyone remember IDL back from the good ol' COM/DCOM days? Even though I used to do a lot of VB (versions 3.0-6.0; I'm now recovering nicely thankyouverymuch), I always had interest in how IDL worked and had Mr. Box's Essential COM tome bookmarked at the page containing the the datatype compatibility between C++, VB (and scripting). The C++ "design IDL first" vs. the VB "code first and let VB generate the IDL goo" just added to the my-tool-is-better-than-your-tool issues.

I found Mr Skonnard's article: Service Station: Contract-First Service Development -- MSDN Magazine, May 2005 a very interesting in how, like many other things in technology, we're back to repeating ourselves in the web service world with WSDL First vs. Code first (the ASMX plumbing) displacing IDL vs. Code first.

Defining an abstraction via any Definition Language (IDL or WSDL) and coding to it seems much more like engineering/constructing something intentionally vs. just hacking the functionality out and refactoring it later. This can only improve the quality of the system, thereby making maintenance and extensibility better (and perhaps even possible)!

On our current project, we've been able to use contract first to help us go faster; by working together to define the WSDL, I was able to get the client side objects created and hooked up to the UI, while Mork and Neil started on the backend plumbing. Even though the standard vs.net tools around creating XML schema and WSDL are not high-productivity tools, we do ok w/ them and have hopes for a future where either we write our own version of wsdl.exe, or grab the source from wsdl.exe and refactor it into something that generates more useful proxy classes! :)

I'm looking forward to part two of Aaron's article!

Contract first baby! (think: Just win baby!)

jk

SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator

This would work for requirements document too :) Thanks SimpleGeek for the link (i would insert a link to your blog if you had one due)

SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator

I'm back (sort of)

I made it out to the Hyland Hills driving range yesterday. I was a good boy and kept it pretty low-key, but it was excellent being out and swinging the club again! My post-op protocol says I can play 9 holes during phase IV (3 months after surgery), so this means I will get to play WAY more than I thought this summer!

jk

Window Driver - a .Net perspective

Testing is goodness. Writing tests for the data access layer and business object layer are commonplace and sometimes even generated! However, testing UI components has often been more difficult to accomplish; screen scraping and tracking mouse clicks dissappoints. Inspired by Mr. Fowler's article, Window Driver, I attempted to do something similiar for my current project.

First, I took the ultra-simple approach of making the controls public, and then accessing them from the unit test code. However, this implement breaks encapsulation and feels 'dirty'. John suggested Reflection. Reflection is good clean fun, so I started down that path, and then realized, that every class that derives from System.Windows.Forms.Control (Form, UserControl...) exposes a public controls collection! so................

[Test]
public void MyUITest()
{
 MyForm form = new MyForm();
 ComboBox combo1 = GetControl(form, "combo1") as ComboBox;
 Assert.IsNotNull(combo1);
 Assert.AreEqual(combo1.SelectedValue, "somevalue");

 //TODO party on the combo1 control
}

private Control GetControl(Control parent, string name)
{
 foreach(Control c in parent.Controls)
 {
  if(name == c.Name)
   return c;
 }
 return null;
}

So, hopefully this helps and inspires someone else! Test first baby!

jk

BS from Lounsberry: MN 2005

The honor was our's buddy!

It was a great weekend, and I know Tricia and I are really looking forward to the return trip to the greater Seattle area later this year.

In further Seattle news, I just heard Nate McMillian won NBA coach of the year, so congrats to Nate! I always enjoyed watching him play (from afar in MN); he seems like a good guy and I always enjoy seeing 'good guys' succeed. :)

The hightlight of the weekend was probably the Gameworkd dance-off @ 1:30am between Dan, Brian and Ryan. Thank goodness that I have a bum knee and had an excuse not to participate! :) :)

jk

The power of Bloggestion

This morning, Mork was telling me about his idea for a computer book, and then, minutes later I saw this post at EricG's site. Ahhh, the power of Bloggestion.

jk

Master's TV coverage

Here's the Master's TV schedule on USA and CBS. Since I'm off friday, I'm hoping to catch some coverage that I would not normally get to see. Someday, I will be watching in person...:)

jk

Phil defends...Master's week is here

The Masters starts thursday. Good luck to Mr. Mickelson in defending his title!


I'm also glad to hear that Mr. Nicklaus has decided to play as well. I hope the Golden Bear makes the cut!

Nicknames

Does this include code poet?

/* just kidding Mr. Clooney, couldn't help it :)*/

blouns is coming to a town near you (if you live in Minneapolis)

Brian is coming! I forsee a lot of beer in our future!

Things you can wear on casual fridays

Mork found these: good, clean fun...


Still, my personal favorite is from the good people at Net Objectives. I still wear mine with pride!