Shawn Weisfeld [MVP]

Windows Live Search for Mobile

Last week I made a recommendation (http://drowningintechnicaldebt.com/blogs/shawnweisfeld/archive/2007/01/24/Virtual-Earth-Mobile-1.69.aspx) for mapping software for the Windows Mobile. After I made that post my colleague Rubin recommended another tool, one that I like better. Thanks Rubin

Not only does it do maps but it also has traffic and a cool category drill down for finding businesses.

Check it out at http://wls.live.com/

Bill Gates on the Daily Show with John Stewart

Flipping through the channels last night I saw Bill on the Daily Show. John is funny as always.

Check the clips out at:
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=81464
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=81467
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=81466

Participate in Microsoft Global Research

Virtual Earth Mobile 1.69

Updated http://drowningintechnicaldebt.com/blogs/shawnweisfeld/archive/2007/01/31/Windows-Live-Search-for-Mobile.aspx

For those of you that have a Windows Mobile Device. This application is a must have, providing mapping software for you mobile device. and it is free.

Virtual Earth Mobile is a powerful Windows Mobile-based application that allows you to access and interact with the maps and information provided by the Windows Live Virtual Earth Web Service. The latest version of Virtual Earth Mobile, contains new features including a support for dragging maps with the stylus and a support for text-based directions. This version also includes bug fixes.

http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2007/01/02/virtual-earth-mobile-1-69.aspx

My DataHelper

While I am a firm believer in the Enterprise Application Blocks from Patterns and Practices (http://msdn.microsoft.com/practices) I was recently asked to produce a simple way for people to get data without the EAB. I know there are a million examples on the web but here is mine . . .

I start with a class I call DataHelper this guy is nothing more then a wrapper around the command object.

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    public class DataHelper
    {
        private SqlCommand _command = null;
        /// <summary>
        /// The internal command
        /// </summary>
        public SqlCommand Command
        {
            get { return _command; }
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Constructor
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="cmdText">The Text of the query</param>
        /// <param name="csKey">This is the string value to the name 
        /// of the connection string in the connectionstrings section 
        /// of the app/web config</param>
        public DataHelper(string cmdText, string csKey)
        { 
            _command = new SqlCommand(cmdText, 
                new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[csKey]

                             .ConnectionString));
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Add a parameter to the helper
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="name">Name of the parameter</param>
        /// <param name="value">Value of the parameter</param>
        public void AddParameter(string name, object value)
        {
            _command.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter(name, value));
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Get a dataset from the helper
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public DataSet GetDataSet()
        {
            DataSet ds = new DataSet();
            using (SqlDataAdapter da = new SqlDataAdapter(_command))
            {
                da.Fill(ds);
            }
            return ds;
        }
    }

Using the DataHelper is easy. As you can see in the sample code below the constructor takes in the sql statement and the key in the connection strings setting of the config file. This allows me to initialize the command. Next all the needed parameters can be added to the helper using the simplified add parameter method. Finally you call GetDataSet and get yourself some data!

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            string sql = "SELECT HumanResources.Department.* "

                       + "FROM HumanResources.Department WHERE GroupName = @GroupName";
            DataHelper dh = new DataHelper(sql, "AdventureWorksConnection");
            dh.AddParameter("@GroupName", "Manufacturing");
            DataSet ds = dh.GetDataSet();

Windows Developer Tools Day

Certification vs. University Degree

Recently an ONETUG member sent me the following question asking for my opinion. Here are my thoughts, what are yours. Post a comment to this blog entry.

Shawn,
I wanted to get your views about Microsoft Certification vs. a Computer Science degree.  Specifically, do you think it is worth it to get a MCAD for C#.NET?  Do you know of any good training classes or websites?  I’m currently enrolled at XXXX as a CS major but am thinking about just trying to get certified so I can start working faster.

Thank You
An Eager Student

Eager Student.
   Let me start off by saying this is my personal opinion. I welcome everyone to add to this discussion since my opinion is not the only one that counts, unfortunately. That being said I strongly believe that getting your undergraduate degree is of utmost importance. When I received your email I took an informal poll of the job postings that I have posted to the ONETUG website (http://jobs.onetug.org). Looking at the last 2 dozen or so, almost all of them required a bachelor’s degree. In my experience an undergraduate degree shows potential employers some level of problem solving skills while on the other hand a certification shows that you have mastered one particular skill. For example, if you can pass a certification test then you are telling the employer that you know how to program, but that doesn’t comment about any other skill set. Most jobs that I see not only require some level of programming expertise but also require some knowledge of business process or computer hardware or something else. Things that a bachelor’s degree exposes you to, on the other hand a typical degree program graduate will not be as familiar with a particular language as someone that passed a certification exam. Finally where do you want to be 5 years after graduation? This is an important question as now a day many companies are requiring BS degrees, but like Masters Degrees for those employees that want to enter management. I would recommend staying in school and getting that BS degree. Possibly CS is not the best fit for what you want to do, I know that may schools have CIS or MIS programs that are very popular. 
   Now I can get off of my soap box about getting a BS degree and say that I do think certification exams are good. Like I said they do, for lack of a better word, certify that you know the topic. Additionally if you are talking .NET then I would defiantly recommend a Microsoft Certification. Everything you ever wanted to know about MSFT learning can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/learning. Here is a list of MSFT Partners in Orlando offering training (click here). One of them is New Horizons where ONETUG used to have meetings, New Horizons has offered ONETUG members discounts in the past, if you contact them ask for Mickey Talley. Additionally there are online or CD based classes like AppDev (http://www.appdev.com). As for me my plan is to finish my master’s degree in Computer Science and then go for some certifications.
   Just because you are working towards a BS degree doesn’t mean that you cannot start working. There are many internships, co-op programs, and the like available at most schools that can augment your “book learnin” with real world experience, and they are a great way to get your foot in the door, some are even PAID. Additionally there are programs like http://www.nonprofitways.com that are always looking for volunteers that use there skills to produce applications that would be great fodder for your resume, and great for the non-profit organizations they help.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Launch Event - Free Software

Receive your FREE copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Microsoft Office Groove 2007* when you attend a Windows Vista, 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 launch event near you!
At a launch event you’ll be able to:
 - Attend breakout sessions for developers and IT professionals
 - Test drive the products and evaluate their functionality
 - Network with peers, Microsoft, and local technology partners
 - Ask the experts
 - Receive valuable resources to help you take full advantage of this new software
Evaluate new software solutions and see how to build security-enhanced applications and help ensure reliability, create engaging, visually stunning, and highly differentiated user interfaces to make applications more usable and productive, and build applications that connect users to each other and to their data, allowing them to visualize, share, and act on information.
Register today at http://www.microsoft.com/business/uslaunchevent2007.

Additionally from what I was told Folks attending the Tampa Vista Launch Key City Event, or the MSAM events in Orlando / Lauderdale / Miami are going to get a FREE copy of Microsoft Office Pro 2007.

1/18/2007 - Tampa http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032314636&Culture=en-US
1/25/2007 - Orlando https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032316108&culture=en-US

SSRS Web Services

The other day I was talking to another local developer that was interested in using reporting services, but while the “Report Viewer” control provided by Microsoft is fast and easy it doesn’t necessarily fit into the business requirements that his users have outlined. To that end it is a good thing that Microsoft provided Web Service access to all of the report servers functionality. Since a high level of customization is needed to the UI and the Report Server already provides much if not all of the data you need to build it my recommendation is to build the UI dynamically by queering the report server for information.

I would start by reviewing this article by Marian Dumitrascu. While his implementation is using RS 2000 and looks like the report viewer it should spark the seed to show you what is possible. SQL Reporting Services Viewer Page Using SOAP API (http://www.codeproject.com/sqlrs/SQLRSViewer.asp)

Some general information about the Report Server Web Service can be found here: SQL Server 2005 Books Online - Building Applications Using the Web Service and the .NET Framework (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms154699.aspx)

Finally if you want to render the report and return it to the user as a file take a look at this article: How to create a sample application that uses the Reporting Services SOAP APIs to render a report to a selected file format on a Web page (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875447)

What the C or C++ Programmer Needs to

This free on-line 267-page book is an introduction to C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework for programmers who have experience with C or C++.

Version 1.1 of .NET Book Zero was uploaded on January 1, 2007, and contains numerous minor corrections of typos in version 1.0. Version 1.0 of the downloable code was uploaded on December 4, 2006, and has not changed with the new version of the book.

Download it here: http://www.charlespetzold.com/dotnet/

Thanks to Geert Verhoeven as I found this link in his blog entry FREE Book: Petzold's .NET Book Zero

2007 Microsoft MVP