Toronto User Group Community Blog

Date:
Monday, May 12, 2008 @ 6:00 p.m. 

Topic:
Data Access Layers with LINQ to SQL and ADO.NET Data Services

Speaker:
Scott Hanselman and Beth Massi, Microsoft

Join Scott and Beth as they show you how to build a data access layer using LINQ to SQL and then how to expose the LINQ to SQL entities using ADO.NET Data Services.

LINQ to SQL is an O/RM (object relational mapping) implementation that ships in the .NET Framework 3.5, and which allows you to model a relational database using .NET classes. You can then query the database using LINQ, as well as update/insert/delete data from it. LINQ to SQL fully supports transactions, views, and stored procedures. It also provides an easy way to integrate data validation and business logic rules into your data model.
Beth will show you how to build a LINQ to SQL model using the designer in Visual Studio 2008, customize the model with code, and consume the model from a smart client application.

ADO.NET Data Services (also known as Project code name “Astoria”) consists of a combination of patterns and libraries that enables any data store to be exposed as a flexible data service, naturally integrating with the Web, that can be consumed by Web clients within a corporate network or across the Internet. ADO.NET Data Services uses URIs to point to pieces of data and simple, well-known formats to represent that data, such as JSON and ATOM.
Scott will show you how to take an ADO.NET data model and expose parts or all of it as a set of RESTful services. He will demonstrate how to secure access to entities within the model and how to customize the results of a query using interceptors.

Scott Hanselman works for Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager in the Developer Division, aiming to spread the good word about developing software, most often on the Microsoft stack. Before this he was the Chief Architect at Corillian Corporation, now a part of Checkfree, for 6+ years and before that he was a Principal Consultant at STEP Technology for nearly 7 years. He was also involved in a few things Microsoft-related like the MVP and RD programs and will speak about computers (and other passions) whenever someone will listen to him. He's written in a few books, most recently with Bill Evjen and Devin Rader on Professional ASP.NET. He blogs at http://www.hanselman.com and podcasts weekly at http://www.hanselminutes.com.

Beth Massi is a Program Manager at Microsoft on the Visual Studio Community Team working with the Visual Basic Team producing developer content on MSDN (http://msdn.com/vbasic/) and her blog (http://blogs.msdn.com/bethmassi). As a VB community champion and a long-time member of the Microsoft community she also helps run the East Bay.NET user group and is a frequent speaker at various software development events. Before Microsoft, she was a Senior Architect at a health care software product company and a Microsoft Solutions Architect MVP. Over the last decade she has worked on distributed applications and frameworks, web and Windows-based applications using Microsoft development tools in a variety of businesses.

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

Date:
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 @ 6:30 p.m. 

Topic:
AJAX for ASP.NET

Speaker:
Justin Lee, ObjectSharp Consulting

AJAX for ASP.NET comes in three flavours and this session will look at all of them. First you’ll see how the new AJAX-enabled controls allow you to create ASP.NET applications that are more responsive and more scalable than traditional web-based applications (including the one AJAX control that everyone will use). Then you’ll see how to use control extenders to integrate ASP.NET controls with Web Services. Finally, you’ll see how AJAX for ASP.NET allows you to call Web Services from client-side code to create a new paradigm for Web applications.

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

Date:
Saturday March 1st, 2008

Event Description:
In case you aren't familiar with Code Camps, they are designed to provide a forum for the developer community to speak, network and share ideas. In recent years, many user groups had lost the participation of their members for presentations. This core principle has been overshadowed by commercial aspects and user groups have really drifted from their fundamental purpose. The main tenets of a Code Camp are:

1. By and For the Developer Community: Code Camps are about the developer community at large. They are meant to be a place for developers to come and learn from their peers. Topics are always based on community interest and never determined by anyone other than the community.
2. Always Free: Code Camps are always free for attendees.
3. Community Developed Material: The materials of a Code Camps are always developed by the community. Only original content is accepted. All presentation content must be provided completely (including code) without any restrictions.
4. No Fluff - only Code: Code Camps are code & demo centric, not marketing materials and management overviews.
5. Community Ownership: All are welcome to attend and speak and do so without expectation of payment or any other compensation other than their participation in the community.
6. Never occurs during work hours: Code Camps always occur on weekends. This is to increase participation without impacting “work hours”.

Our last event was a huge success with over 350 attendees, 25 sessions, 24 speakers, 20+ volunteers and contributors including Manulife Financial, Microsoft, ObjectSharp Consulting, Infusion, Navantis, DevTeach, etc. This year we will continue to build on the success of the prior Code Camps and increase the number of attendees and make the event an even greater critical and logistical success.

[Details and Registration on www.torontocodecamp.net]

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Date:
Thursday, December 13, 2007 @ 6:30 p.m. 

Topic:
What's New in Visual Basic 9.0

Speaker:
Rob Windsor, ObjectSharp Consulting

Date:
Monday November 19th, 2007

Event Description:
Conversation about the new language features in .NET 3.5 have been dominated by the inclusion of Linq. In this session we will look at some of the features that have been lost in the shuffle. We will deep dive into anonymous constructors, simple properties, anonymous types, the ‘var’ keyword, lambda expressions, extension methods and more.

Speaker Biography
Donald Belcham, C# MVP
 
Donald Belcham is an independent contractor in Edmonton. He has worked with .NET for the last 5 years and currently works with both web and smart client applications. Donald is an avid practitioner of agile development methodologies, pragmatic coding practices and delivering quality and value to the business. A Microsoft MVP in C#, Donald is active in the community as the President of the Edmonton .NET User Group, an organizer of the Edmonton Code Camp and a speaker at User Groups and Code Camps across Canada and in the United States. His thoughts on software development, .NET and C# can be found at www.igloocoder.com.

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Date:
Monday, November 5, 2007 @ 7:00 p.m.  <-- Note time change from original post 

Topic:
Introduction to SharePoint 2007 for Developers

Speaker:
Reza Alirezaei, Development Horizon Corp

As a SharePoint developer you must know what types of functionality the SharePoint object model provides, and how to leverage it in order to build custom solutions. During this session attendees will learn the most commonly used objects in the SharePoint object model, including what they are, what they do, and how to use them to perform common SharePoint development tasks. In this session you will also learn some tips and tricks that make your development tasks easier.

Reza Alirezaei has been providing technology solutions since 1994 and is currently working as principal architect for Eidenai Innovation providing technology solutions for SharePoint, Collaboration, Knowledge Management, and Business Process Management. Reza has extensive skills with design, architecture and implementation with all versions of SharePoint since its Tahoe days (SPS 2001) and other Microsoft Office and Microsoft Server technologies. Former SQL Server Reporting Services MVP was recently appointed a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MVP for 2007-2008 due to his commitment to the technical community.

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

Date:
Thursday September 20th, 2007

Event Description:
Silverlight is arguably the biggest shift in Microsoft strategy on the web since IE was introduced over 10 years ago.  With the reach of cross platform and the richness of the .NET framework, the future of building Rich Internet Applications (RIA’s) has never been more exciting.  In this talk, you will learn about Silverlight, the platforms, tools and technologies you can use to build Silverlight applications, and how it differs from the full Windows Presentation Foundation platform in .NET 3.0 and how Silverlight can be used in conjunction with other technologies, such as ASP.NET Ajax, Web Services and Visual Studio 2008.

Speaker Biography
Jason Beres, Director of Product Management for Infragistics
 
Jason Beres is the Director of Product Management for Infragistics, the world’s leading publisher of presentation layer tools.  Jason is one of the founders of Florida .NET User Groups, he is the founder of the New Jersey .NET User Group, he is a Visual Basic .NET MVP, and he is on the INETA Speakers Bureau.  Jason is the author of several books on .NET development, he is a national and international speaker conference speaker, he is a frequent columnist for several .NET publications, and keeps very active in the .NET community.

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Date:
Monday September 10, 2007 @ 6:30 pm

Topic:
Will Silverlight Change the World?

Speaker:
Bruce Johnson, ObjectSharp Consulting

There is no question that Silverlight is one of the hottest technologies out of Microsoft in quite a while. But as it is with most hyped products, there are elements of truth and not-so-truth to the marketing story. In this presentation, we take a closer look at Silverlight. We will talk not only about what is currently available but also what is expected in the next release. But most of all, we will look at some of the capabilities and drawbacks of using Silverlight and the appropriate Expression products. This includes an evaluation of some of the demo applications, and the creation of a simple Silverlight application.

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

Date:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 @ 6:30 pm 

Topic:
Messaging Patterns for WCF Services

Speaker:
Michele Leroux Bustamante, IDesign Inc.

When you build a distributed enterprise system many flavors message exchange are available to meet the needs of different communication patterns. In this session I will discuss a variety of messaging patterns and how they satisfy different deployment and communication requirements for your services. I’ll discuss approaches for handling large messages such as MTOM and streaming; I’ll explain how classic message exchange patterns are employed while discussing the impact on service contract design and communications as you move from request/reply to introduce one-way operations or callback contracts (duplex); I’ll review options for publish and subscribe implementations; and I’ll show you how to build a classic router and deal with related messaging and configuration semantics. The point of this session is to provide you with a high level understanding of the rich scenarios WCF supports for messaging, and what those configurations look like.

Michele Leroux Bustamante is an Associate of IDesign, Inc., a Microsoft Regional Director, a speaker for the International .NET Association (INETA), and the author of Learning WCF. At IDesign, Michele contributes her diverse background to .NET training and high-end corporate consulting. She focuses on the C# language, ASP.NET, everything Web services, and also provides guidance to technology executives. Michele is also a frequently published writer and international conference speaker. For more information visit www.idesign.net or Michele's blog at www.dasblonde.com

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

June 13, 2007 (EST) - Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
speaker: Sheldon Fernandez - Infusion Development
location: 200 Bloor Street East Toronto (Manulife Financial) - International A

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) represents one of the most significant architectural changes to the Windows Operating System since its inception. Specifically, it replaces the ‘HWND’ windowing technology that has been used by Windows since the release of the original Windows Operating System in 1985.   In addition to this architectural revamp, WPF gives developers a number of powerful tools in creating savvy and sophisticated GUI applications: XML authoring by means of XAML, Vector Graphics, Document Management, Styles & Animation, Media file support and 3D programming.    In this lecture, author and industry guru Sheldon Fernandez will examine the exciting facets of Microsoft’s emerging GUI technology.

To Register

http://www.metrotorontoug.com/User+Group+Events/462.aspx

 Sheldon’s  Bio
Sheldon Fernandez graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2001 with a degree in Computer Engineering. As a student he won provincial and national awards for his design of the ‘Dynamic Infrared Photoretinoscopy system’, a product for ascertaining the eyesight of children who could communicate with an Optometrist.
 After graduation, Sheldon joined a team of Waterloo graduates and co-founded Infusion Development’s Toronto office. While at Infusion, he has developed software for Silicon Valley startups, as well as financial and medical institutions the U.S. and Canada. He has worked with Microsoft technology for many years and has taught numerous aspects of the .NET Framework to a variety of companies, including some of the world’s largest banks and government agencies.
 In addition to being a renowned speaker and trainer, Sheldon is also a published author; having been the primary writer of Infusion’s CodeNotes computer book series and the chief researcher on Applying COM+, a definitive work on Microsoft’s enterprise component technology prior to the .NET Framework.
 Today, Sheldon is a Director at Infusion Development, and CTO of Infusion Angels, an early seed firm that attempts to foster economic growth in Canada by providing students and entrepreneurs with the critical resources needed to take their ideas, concepts and solutions to market. In addition, he continues to be closely involved with the University of Waterloo in an academic capacity as an Adjunct Lecturer for the Waterloo School of Optometry.

About Infusion Development
Infusion Development is a dynamic, IT consulting and software development firm with offices in New York City, Boston, Toronto and London. Founded in 1998, the company has enjoyed significant success since its inception, growing steadily while building an impressive client list that includes the world's largest banks and government agencies.
Infusion specializes in architecting, designing and implementing enterprise-scale and mission-critical applications.  Customers also turn to Infusion for training, mentoring, and technical writing services, with many of our white papers being published on the MSDN. Infusion also authored the Random House CodeNotes™ book series, and we count among our staff numerous published authors, renowned industry speakers and technology experts. Infusion is also a key Microsoft Gold Certified Partner focused on new and emerging technologies. We are one of Microsoft’s “goto” partners for evangelism, architecture design sessions, and strategically important proofs of concepts.
Infusion’s continued success can be attributed to the entrepreneurial spirit of its employees. We employ an organic growth strategy allowing our employees to rise to whatever heights they wish within our organization, based solely on attitude and demonstrated aptitude. In addition, we as a firm are committed to fostering employee growth by way of training and other career enhancement opportunities.  For more information please check out our website at www.infusiondev.com

Date:
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 @ 6:30 pm

Topic:
Extending the ObjectDataSource

Speaker:
Bruce Johnson, ObjectSharp Consulting

One of the more interesting additions to ASP.NET 2.0 is the ObjectDataSource control. Not simply because it allows object of almost any type to be used as the source for binding to the controls on a form. But also because it can be easily extended to fit into a more complete framework. A framework where validation defined on the class can be integrated into the web page. Where the business rules implemented in the class are automatically invoked when the web form is submitted. And where any errors raised through this process can be propagated back to the web page.

And that is the the purpose of this session. To demonstrate how to extend ObjectDataSource to incorporate both field and class-level validation. To show how error messages can be integrated with the typical controls. To provide a reference application that you can use to implemement this functionality in your own applications.

For more information check out the TVBUG website.

• Discover the advantages of leveraging SharePoint as a platform for web-based applications
• Learn a tried-and-tested approach to extending SharePoint lists in order to facilitate complex entity relationships
• Find out how to customize various out-of-the-box behavior to get what you need out of SharePoint for your web applications

Date:
Wednesday April 11, 2007

Speaker: 
Jean-Luc David

The purpose of this event is to demonstrate how the Microsoft Application Platform provides a robust and secure foundation for building data-driven applications and Web sites. Specifically, this session will examine some of the tools and technologies available for developers including Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals and examine some of the exciting new features of ADO.NET. 

Prizes For This Event:

To be announced...

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]

Date:
Thursday February 22nd, 2007 THIS DATE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED

Speaker: 
Chris Dufour, MVP 

The Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is Microsoft's unified framework for building secure, reliable, transacted, and interoperable distributed applications. In this session we will begin with a high-level overview of the WCF architecture and its key concepts. Then we will learn how to build and consume simple WCF services. After attending this session you will be able to start creating your own WCF enabled applications.

Download the PowerPoint and demo code http://gtaeast.torontoug.net/Downloads/1675.aspx

Prizes For This Event:

	Windows Vista Business (3 copies) Windows Vista Business is the first Windows operating system designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses. You'll empower your entire business to work more efficiently with a stunning and improved, simple-to-use interface that makes it easier to search and find the information you need quickly and easily, both on your PCs and on the web. With powerful new safety features, you're in control and can better protect the key information that is the life of your business and that builds the trust of your customers. Suggested retail price for full package product, $299.00 USD. Suggested upgrade retail price, $199.00 USD.
	Vista Posters
	Assorted T-Shirts

[Details and Registration on gtaeast.torontoug.net]