DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by JOELROXOR

Exploring System.Web.Routing

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:31:11 GMT

An overview of the new System.Web.Routing namespace that was included in .net 3.5 SP1.

jQuery and the ASP.NET MVC Framework

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:46:02 GMT

With WebForms, integrating with Ajax libraries other than ASP.NET AJAX was slightly painful. With the new ASP.NET MVC Framework, however, you can use jQuery without these additional headaches.

7 principles of clean and optimized CSS code

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:01:02 GMT

With the popularity of CSS layouts and JavaScript-enriched web page experiences, it's not uncommon, particularly for large sites, for the CSS files alone to grow in size, but there are some principles to consider during and after you write your CSS to help keep it tight and optimized. Optimization isn't just minimizing file size - it's also about being organized, clutter-free, and efficient. You'll find that the more knowledge you have about optimal CSS practices, smaller file size will inevitably come as an direct result of their implementation. You may already be familiar with some of the principles mentioned in this article, but they are worth a review. Being familiar with this concepts will help you write optimized CSS code and make you a better all-around web designer.

Visual Studio Theme Generator

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:16:02 GMT

A fun little ASP.NET MVC Application I wrote to generate Visual Studio themes based off of 3 given colors. I have always felt that selecting every color to make a decent theme is way too repetitive. This web application automatically chooses complements / contrasts based off your initial color selections (and uses jQuery to let you preview your theme before creating). Check it out and let me know what you think.

Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:16:02 GMT

Customers and partners worldwide confirm mission-critical applications, enterprise-class data warehousing support.

Recursing into Recursion - Memoization

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:17:05 GMT

Matthew Podwysocki continues his series on Recursion. In this post he deals with memoization (speeding up your programs by avoiding repetitive calculations for previously processed function inputs). This is a great read; especially if you are into functional programming.

Software I can't work without

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:46:10 GMT

I'm about to configure a new development machine this week. It's going to be my 3rd install from scratch in the last 12 months, which I know is not all that much, but certainly more than I wish I had to.

Learning Ruby via IronRuby and C# Part 5

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:46:15 GMT

In part 5 of the IronRuby versus C# series, we talk about Arrays in Ruby and how they are a different beast from what we are used to in C#.

ASP.NET MVC: Avoiding Tag Soup : Rob Conery

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:46:15 GMT

"Every time I do a demo or post something about MVC, I invariably get the comment: "this is Spaghetti Code from the bad old days of ASP Classic". Gimme a break. Have we been handheld for so long that we forget how to do this stuff?"

Enhance your input fields with simple CSS tricks

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:16:02 GMT

We're all trying to build an effective and good looking web forms. But there are always a new challenges. If you read my previous articles on how to build a better web forms, you could have noticed there are so many details about it. This article will show you how you can make a usual, boring web forms more effective and exciting with just a few simple CSS tricks.

ASP.NET MVC UserControls Start to Finish

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:46:12 GMT

The ASP.NET MVC framework ships with a number of Visual Studio project and item templates to ease our development tasks. One of these templates is a UserControl built specifically for the MVC framework. We are going to walkthrough building a re-usable Header control that can be added to the top of related pages (in this specific case, this Control will be added to all Account pages).

Learning Ruby via IronRuby and C# Part 3

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:46:09 GMT

Part 3 in a multi-part series on learning Ruby using IronRuby and C#. Justin continues his series using familiar C# code to explain Ruby programming concepts. In this post, he goes over static methods (class methods in Ruby), parameters, conditionals and loops.

Learning Ruby via IronRuby and C# Part 2

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:01:02 GMT

Part 2 in a multi-part series on learning Ruby using IronRuby and C#. C# is used to give you a basis for which to interpret the Ruby and migrate your skills.

Don't be clever

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:01:03 GMT

How being clever can create headaches for you (later) and other team members.

Don't be clever 2 - The cost of cleverness

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:46:03 GMT

In the modern world of programming we need to be more cognizant of making our code readable and grokkable than to make it clever or sneaky. For 99% of the developers out there, no one is ever going to pat you on the back for being sneaky. You're probably more likely to get punched in the face for it when the team has to spend the weekend debugging a piece of your clever code.

IE Sends Mozilla a New Cake for Firefox 3

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:31:02 GMT

Sean from Microsoft came by just a few minutes ago to drop off a cake for the Internet Explorer team. As people may recall, the IE team sent Mozilla a cake after Firefox 2 shipped and it seems that they wanted to continue the tradition.

Which kind of cast should you use in C#?

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:01:04 GMT

C# offers two casting operators: the prefix-cast and the as-cast. Although the two operators compile to different op-codes in the CLR, the practical difference between them is in how they handle failed casts. Prefix-cast throws an exception on cast failure, while as-cast returns null. It's easier to implement correct error handling when you use prefix cast, because it doesn't require manual checks for null values that can cause problems in distant parts of your program. Prefix-cast should be the default cast operator on your fingertips, that you use for everyday situations - reserve as-cast for special cases where performance matters.

Functional C# - Unfolding Lists

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:01:03 GMT

Very nice post on implementing ideas from functional programming with C#.

Getting started with Migrator.net

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:57:55 GMT

"Database refactoring, [..] this is one area that they Ruby crowd has gotten in right (not saying that they haven't got other things right), but with Migrations, it is amazingly easy to create objects in your database and then easily version your database."

Using Linq for NHibernate in an ASP.NET MVC application

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:46:02 GMT

Quick overview on using Linq for NHibernate in an ASP.NET MVC Application. RhinoCommons, NHibernate and ASP.NET MVC Part 5

The Open Closed Principle

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:16:10 GMT

The first installment of a new MSDN Magazine column by Jeremy Miller.

Dime Casts .Net - Short howto videos for .Net developers

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:46:02 GMT

Check out this new cool site with screencasts around 10 minutes in length. Great resource for .Net developers.

Create an ASP.NET MVC site with UnitOfWork & NHibernate QueryGen

Tue, 27 May 2008 20:01:27 GMT

Part 4 of the RhinoCommons, NHibernate and ASP.NET MVC series. Here everything is tied together to create a simple MVC application.

ActiveRecorditize your NHibernate Classes

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:16:02 GMT

Part 3 of RhinoCommons, NHibernate and ASP.NET MVC Setting up the very simple model for use in our ASP.NET MVC application.

CSS Message Boxes for different message types

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:01:04 GMT

Can you believe this: Few days ago I went to my bank to check my credit score with the Credit Bureau. The bank official typed in my personal data and sent a request. Web application responded by displaying a yellow message box with an exclamation icon saying that data processing is still in progress. He checked several more times, but he didn't notice that at one moment the message changed to "Account available". But the message box hasn't changed. He continued to check a few more times and eventually he realized that the request was successful. I don't know what was in the minds of developers and designers who created this application, but it certainly wasn't the user. This poor bank official was really frustrated. I can't imagine what the rest of the application looks like.