DeveloperFusion offers a free .NET code converter.  Simply paste your C# or VB.NET code into this web-based tool, then select your target language: C#, VB.NET, Python or Ruby.  Supports syntax up to .NET 3.5. Code Converter Related posts:C# Universal Type ConverterFree Developer ToolsVisual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Released Related posts: C# Universal Type Converter Free Developer Tools Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Released

This is one of those “D’oh!” moments.  You’re creating your own UITypeEditor.  You know the UITypeEditor class is located in the System.Drawing.Design namespace.  So naturally you want to add to your Visual Studio project a reference to the System.Drawing.Design.dll, right?  Wrong!  When you compile your project, the following error may appear: The type or namespace name Related posts: Adding Assemblies to the Visual Studio "Add Reference" Dialog Web Service Stumper: “Ambiguous Type” IEventHandlerService Already Exists in the Service Container

Click the image above to download a .NET Framework 4 and Extensions poster from Microsoft. Want more .NET posters?  Devcurry has published a collection of .NET Framework and Visual Studio posters including keyboard shortcut, namespace and type posters. .NET and Visual Studio Poster Collection Related posts:Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 Released TodayVisual Studio 2010 and Related posts: Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 Released Today Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Release Candidate Documentation Available for .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010

Earlier this month Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010, the .NET Framework 4.0 (which includes ASP.NET 4.0), and new versions of their core programming languages: C# 4.0 and Visual Basic 10. In designing the latest versions of C# and VB, Microsoft has worked to bring the two languages into closer parity. Certain features available in C# were missing in VB, and vice-a-versa. Last week I wrote about Visual Basic 2010’s language enhancements , which include implicit line continuation, auto-implemented properties, and collection initializers – three useful features that were available in previous versions of C#. Similarly, C# 4.0 introduces new features to the C# programming language that were available in earlier versions of Visual Basic, namely optional arguments and named arguments . Optional arguments allow developers to specify default values for one or more arguments to a method. When calling such a method, these optional arguments may be omitted, in which case their default value is used. In a nutshell, optional arguments allow for a more terse syntax for method overloading. Named arguments, on the other hand, improve readability by allowing developers to indicate the name of an argument (along with its value) when calling a method. This article examines how to use optional arguments and named arguments in C# 4.0. Read on to learn more! Read More >

Earlier this month Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010, the .NET Framework 4.0 (which includes ASP.NET 4.0), and new versions of their core programming languages: C# 4.0 and Visual Basic 10 (also referred to as Visual Basic 2010). Previously, the C# and Visual Basic programming languages were managed by two separate teams within Microsoft, which helps explain why features found in one language was not necessarily found in the other. For example, C# 3.0 introduced collection initializers , which enable developers to define the contents of a collection when declaring it; however, Visual Basic 9 did not support collection initializers. Conversely, Visual Basic has long supported optional parameters in methods, whereas C# did not. Recently, Microsoft merged the Visual Basic and C# teams to help ensure that C# and Visual Basic grow together. As explained by Microsoft program manager Jonathan Aneja , “The intent is to make the languages advance together. When major functionality is introduced in one language, it should appear in the other as well. … [T]hat any task you can do in one language should be as simple in the other.” To this end, with version 4.0 C# now supports optional parameters and named arguments , two features that have long been part of Visual Basic’s vernacular. And, likewise, Visual Basic has been updated to include a number of C# features that it was previously missing. This article explores some of these new features that were added to Visual Basic 2010.

On Tuesday, April 13th, Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 (which includes ASP.NET 4.0). To get started with Visual Studio 2010 you can either download a trial version of one of the commercial editions or you can go grab the free Visual Web Developer 2010 Express Edition . The Visual Studio 2010 user experience is noticeably different than with previous versions. Some of the changes are cosmetic – gone is the decades-old red and orange color scheme, having been replaced with blues and purples – while others are more substantial. For instance, the Visual Studio 2010 shell was rewritten from the ground up to use Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) .

Microsoft is releasing Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4.0, and Silverlight 4 at the Visual Studio Developer Conference in Las Vegas.  VS 2010 and .NET 4 are available today, and Silverlight 4 will be available to download later this week. Read more at DevTopics >> Related posts:Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Release CandidateMicrosoft Related posts: Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Release Candidate Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Documentation Available for .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010

As developers, we all make assumptions when programming. Perhaps the biggest assumption we make is that those libraries and tools that ship with the .NET Framework are the best way to accomplish a given task. For example, most developers assume that using ASP.NET’s Membership system is the best way to manage user accounts in a website (rather than rolling your own user account store). Similarly, creating a Web Reference to communicate with a web service generates markup that auto-creates a proxy class , which handles the low-level details of invoking the web service, serializing parameters, and so on.

Do you need help convincing your boss that your company needs to upgrade to Visual Studio 2010?  Or perhaps you are looking for additional ammo in your .NET vs. Java religious wars with your programming colleagues? Microsoft has produced a Silverlight-based “Myth Busting Matrix” for Visual Studio.  This nifty web tool details the benefits of upgrading Related posts: Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Beta 2 Documentation Available for .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010

Zain Naboulsi, a Senior Developer Evangelist at Microsoft, has started the “Tip of the Day” series for Visual Studio 2010, taking the reins from Sara Ford. Visual Studio 2010 Tip of the Day Related posts:Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 Now Available for MSDN SubscribersVisual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Beta Related posts: Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 Now Available for MSDN Subscribers Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 Beta 2

jQuery is a lightweight, cross-browser JavaScript library designed to ease JavaScript’s most common tasks, including inspecting and manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM) and making out of band HTTP requests to support AJAX functionality. In plain English, jQuery makes it easy to perform client-side tasks like adding or removing attributes or CSS classes to elements in the DOM, or showing or hiding elements on the page in response to a user action (such as clicking a button). jQuery is used by many popular Web 2.0 sites to help implement rich, interactive features. jQuery can certainly be used in an ASP.NET application, although integrating client-side script into a Web Forms application can sometimes be a bit trying. JavaScript development fits more naturally with ASP.NET MVC applications; in fact, the ASP.NET MVC framework includes the jQuery libraries. What’s more, Microsoft has announced that jQuery will be included with Visual Studio 2010 and beyond . I recently had the opportunity to use jQuery in a intranet-based line of business Web Forms application. This application has a number of reporting screens that use a GridView control to display the report results. Users often want to filter the results to get a more concise snapshop of the data they are interested in, and to that end many of these reports include a filtering user interface, which is a series of drop-downs, checkboxes, and textboxes, through which they can apply various filtering criteria.

Microsoft has launched a new WebsiteSpark program for independent Web developers and companies that build Web applications and Web sites for others.  The program enables qualified developers to receive FREE software, support and business resources from Microsoft for three years.  The purpose is to help independent Web developers expand their business and build great Web Related posts: Free Developer Tools Microsoft to Share .NET Framework Code Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0

Microsoft is applying its Community Promise to the C# programming language and Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).  This means that anyone can freely build, sell, distribute or use programs with C# and the CLI without signing a license agreement or otherwise communicating to Microsoft.  This applies to all distribution models including open source and GPL.  Under Related posts: Blogs from Microsoft C# Development Team Microsoft to Share .NET Framework Code Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0

If you encounter this warning while compiling a Windows Form application in Visual Studio: The service System.Windows.Forms.Design.IEventHandlerService already exists in the service container. Parameter name: serviceType The solution is not very obvious, and the help provides no guidance.  After a little experimenting, I discovered an easy solution: Exit Visual Studio. Open Explorer, and navigate to the folder Related posts: Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1 Released Adding Assemblies to the Visual Studio "Add Reference" Dialog Web Service Stumper: “Ambiguous Type”

Documentation for the next generation of the Visual Studio, the .NET Framework, and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is now publicly available at MSDN. Visual Studio 2010 Docs .NET Framework 4 Docs WPF Docs

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 is now available for MSDN Subscribers.  Visual Studio 2010 is a complete suite of tools for building both desktop and team-based enterprise Web applications.  In addition to building high-performing desktop applications, you can use Visual Studio’s powerful component-based development tools and other technologies to simplify team-based design, development, and

LINQ , or L anguage IN tegrated Q uery, is set of classes added to the .NET Framework 3.5 along with language enhancements added to C# 3.0 and Visual Basic 9, the versions of the language that ship with Visual Studio 2008. LINQ adds a rich, standardized query syntax as a first-class citizen in .NET programming languages that allows developers to interact with any type of data. Consider a typical data-driven application. There may be times when you are working with a database, displaying records or editing, inserting, and deleting data. Certain parts of the application may require retrieving certain elements from an XML file, or constructing an XML file based on user input. Or perhaps you have a collection of objects returned from a business object that you now want to work with by sorting them, computing the average value of a particular numeric property value, and displaying only those objects that meet a specified criteria. Prior to LINQ, working with each data source requires writing a different style of code. Moreover, working with external resources like data bases, XML files, and the like typically involves communicating with that external resource in some syntax specific to that resource. To retrieve data from a database you need to send it a string that contains the SQL query to execute; likewise, to work with a subset of XML elements in an XML document involves specifying an XPath expression in the form of a string. The idea is that using LINQ you can work with disparate data sources using a similar style without having to know a separate syntax for communicating with the data source (e.g., SQL or XPath) and without having to resort to passing opaque strings to external resources. This article is the first in a series of articles that explores the goals of LINQ, its underpinnings, its syntax, and LINQ providers like LINQ to Objects, LINQ to XML, LINQ to SQL, and so forth

I started my career as a web developer with Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP), the predecessor to ASP.NET. ASP was a very simple scripting engine and lacked the tools that ASP.NET developers today take for granted, most notably a debugger. Debugging an ASP script typically involved littering the code with Response.Write statements to output the values of variables at different points in time of the script’s life-cycle. Debugging an ASP.NET page is so much easier thanks to the Visual Studio debugger, which allows you to set breakpoints, step through executing code, use Watch windows to keep an eye on variable values as they change, and an Intermediate window to evaluate statements during debug time. While the Visual Studio debugger has greatly improved the debugging story, there are certain scenarios where a server-side debugger is of little or no help. In certain cases the problem is not in the server-side code but instead in what is being sent from the client to the server (or vice-a-versa).

Most web developers have a particular development environment on their computer.

Microsoft announced the next version of its developer platform, which will be named Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0.  Microsoft said VS10 will focus on five key areas (in marketing-speak): riding the next-generation platform wave, inspiring developer delight, powering breakthrough departmental applications, enabling emerging trends such as cloud computing, and democratizing application life-cycle management (ALM). Read More >> ShareThis

Stored procedures in SQL Server are similar to methods in C# and Visual Basic code. They encapsulate one or more statements into a single, parameterized construct. Both stored procedures and methods are a form of code reuse and their use help developers adhere to the DRY principle ( D on’t R epeat Y ourself). But the similarities don’t end there. The .NET Framework has a feature called Reflection that enables developers to programmatically retrieve a list of methods for a given class, along with their input parameters and return types. It’s also possible to programmatically determine what stored procedures exist in a database, along with each stored procedure’s input and output parameters.

Microsoft has released Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5.  This update patches numerous bugs, improves performance, and even adds a few new features.  As a .NET commercial software developer, I am most excited that SP1 provides a .NET Framework installation optimized for client applications.  The optimized download is less than 28 MB, compared to the original 200 MB download that all but ensured consumers would not download .NET 3.5 and hence forced us to remain on .NET 2.0 (see FAT .NET ). Read more… ShareThis