LINQ is certainly extraordinarily useful. It brings the power of query expressions to C#, allowing an easy way of getting the data you need from a variety of data sources. Up to now, there hasn't been a VS debugger for LINQ that gives you the means to visualise the data at every point in the chain. Michael Sorens, a keen LINQ user, describes a third-party tool that now promises to make using LINQ something we can all participate in.… Read more
Sometimes you need some functionality in your database build process that isn't quite available. Visual Studio Database projects don't have great ways of reviewing SQL code for potential errors, but is it possible to adapt a good command-line tool like SQL Code Guard that does the job well? Lukasz shows how to do it by using NuGet packages to integrate such tools with the project and the build process.… Read more
Without a doubt, Entity Framework is a quick and satisfactory way of producing a database-driven web application. As performance becomes more important, it does, however, require some knowledge of the traps that you need to avoid, and of the wrinkles that impact performance. Ben Emmett gives a practical guide.… Read more
It seems a great idea to have your application on all the main mobile platforms as well as on the desktop. Nothing beats writing an app specially for each device, but then you've created a full-scale maintenance headache. Are technologies like PhoneGap/Cordova or Adobe Air, using a browser-based UI, the perfect compromise? If so, what frameworks do you use?… Read more
Refactoring code won't cause performance problems, right? This was the assumption when Chris Hurley and his team went out to improve some legacy code. They decided to separate the database access from business logic and standardise on Entity Framework, but when it came time to test the code using real-world workloads, unexpected performance issues appeared. Chris recounts how they discovered, investigated, and resolved these issues using ANTS Performance Profiler. … Read more
There aren't many frameworks for writing acceptance tests for databases, including SQL Server. FitNesse is an obvious choice since it is designed with a Wiki-style interface that, once it is configured and set up correctly, makes it very easy for a non-specialist to set up individual tests. … Read more
FitNesse is one of the most popular tools for unit testing since it is designed with a Wiki-style interface that makes it very easy to set up individual tests. Michael Sorens' sixth article in his series delves into the nuances of multiple inputs vs. multiple outputs, multiple rows vs. multiple columns, as well as things that can trip you up when attempting to validate a value.… Read more
Although FitNesse can be used as a generic automated testing tool for both applications and databases, it excels at unit testing since it is designed with a Wiki-style interface that makes it very easy to set up tests. In part 5, Michael Sorens explains how to use symbols and variables effectively, and why those terms are themselves rather problematic… Read more
FitNesse is an automated testing tool for software. based on Ward Cunningham's Framework for Integrated Test. It is designed particularly for acceptance testing and works with both applications and databases. In part 4, Michael Sorens shows you how to debug with Visual Studio, manage control flow and enable tracing.… Read more
Having dealt with Documentation and Infrastructure in the popular wiki-based acceptance-testing tool Fitnesse, Michael turns his attention to conventions and best-practices for naming and layout, in his continuing series of articles that represent the 'view from the trenches'.… Read more
FitNesse is a popular general-purpose wiki-based framework for writing acceptance tests for software systems, including databases. It is intended to be easy for the tester to learn and use. In this article, Michael Sorens gives a 'view from the trenches' of Fitnesse's documentation and infrastructure.… Read more
FitNesse is an open-source framework for supporting user-acceptance testing. The aim is to make the construction of the individual tests as easy and intuitive as possible. It works with Java, .NET and database applications. It is very useful, but needs a simple 'tips from the trenches' guide to its use. Here is the start of that guide.… Read more
T4 usually stays behind the scenes in Visual Studio, but if you find that you have a good reason to write similar code over and over again, or use a lot of copy and paste, then it could be that you have a specific use for T4. There are times when it can be useful for generating code templates but it is versatile to provide a solution for a number of programming headaches.… Read more
Deblector is an open-source debugging add-in for .NET Reflector; the Reflector team investigated whether they could integrate it into Reflector's desktop application, and updated the source code to introduce compatibilty with the latest version of Reflector before releasing it back into codeplex… Read more
With .net SmokeTest, you can take any assembly, construct an instance, call a method, set a property or field of any class Type from a dialog: Then drill-down into the result without ever writing a single line code. … Read more
Part 4 describes how you can extend reflector further by describing how reflector can be used to compare or manage assemblies and exercise the code in front of you or even any arbitrary code on the fly.… Read more
There a number of ways in which Reflector, either by itself or with an Addin, allows you to analyse and explore assemblies, or even change the disassembly languag… Read more
.NET Reflector is most often used for viewing, filtering, navigating, and debugging assemblies to understand it better. Here is how all that is done.… Read more
Almost everywhere that .NET applications are developed, there is .NET Reflector. Although there have been some blogs on how to use it, there has never been a documentation. Michael Sorens puts the matter right!… Read more
Sharepoint has been redesigned to allow independent third-party developers to provide 'apps' that extend SharePoint's functionality, either via client-side execution or by using a separate server. They're available via an 'apps store'. Sounds familiar? Yes, just like a phone, but for SharePoint developers.… Read more
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