Rhonda Tipton's WebLog

I attended the May South Houston .NET User Group meeting this passed Wednesday. Jason Aubrey did a presentation on iPhone Development Using Monotouch.

High Points Gleaned

Some downfalls of iPhone Development

• Requires a Mac
• XCode/Objective C is difficult to learn
• Objective C is outdated (1986)
• The app store is crowded
• App approval process is painful

Alternatives to Objective C

• Unity – C#/Python
• PhoneGap – Javascript
• Corona – Lua

XCode is the IDE used to develop for the iPhone.

Mono – open-source, cross-platform port of .NET

MonoTouch – C#/.NET SDK for iPhone (developed by Novell)

Requirements for MonoTouch

• XCode
• iPhone SDK
• Mac
• Mono for the Mac
• MonoTouch SDK
• Mono Develop–

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I attended the 2010 Austin Code Camp and like the previous two years, it did not disappoint. There were six session tracks for a day of learning.

Below are the sessions I attended

Powershell Awesomeness in Your Deployment Scripts

Speaker: Eric Hexter (@ehexter)

High Points

• Powershell is basically a command shell on steroids
• Great for scripting
• MS Deploy
• Web PI – Platform installer
• PSake – Powershell build automation tool
• PStrami – Powershell deployment automation tool
• You can bootstrap Powershell via a batch file
• Powergui – IDE for Powershell

Introduction to MongoDB

Speaker: Chris Edwards

High Points

• NoSQL Movement – A movement promoting a loosely defined class of non-relational data stores.
• SQL is not always the best option, nor is it the only one.
• MongoDB – Document-oriented database, schema free
• MongoDB is commercially supported by 10Gen

Other features of MongoDB

• Document-based queries
• Map reduce
• Grid fs
• Geo-spacial indexing

Sites using MongoDB

• SourceForge
• GitHub
• ShutterFly
• bit.ly

Supported OS: OSX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, FreeBSD

MongoShell – the grammar of the shell is pure JavaScript

Links: Slides | Code

Aspect Oriented Programming in .NET

Speaker: Keyvan Nayyeri (@keyvan)

High Points

AOP isolates cross-cutting/supporting functions

It is mainly supported by the Java community

Cross Cutting Concerns

• Logging
• Thread synchronization
• Caching
• Lazy Loading
• Dependency Injection
• Data Binding

Principles of AOP

• Joint-point – points in the codebase where code is executed
• Point-cut – join points using a set theory of advice
• Advice

Potential Issues – Debugging, efficiency

Weaving – Object oriented code with integrated aspects

Frameworks

• Aspect J
• JAC
• LinFu
• PostSharp
• Spring.Net
• Loom.net
• nAspect

Links: Slides

Advance Your Debugging Skills with VS 2010

Speaker: Rob Vettor

High Points

Data Tip – Hover over variables and objects for drillable tips in VS2010. There is also a way to keep the tips visible during debug mode. Using the Pin Tips, you can build your own custom debug windows.

Breakpoint enhancements – Add labels to breakpoints and filter based on those values.

Intellitrace is only available with the Ultimate version of Visual Studio.

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Twitter hashtag: #austincodecamp

My Austin Code Camp 2010 Photos

I did not realize until I was leaving, how close I was to where the plane crashed into the Echelon I building here in Austin a few months back.

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Until next year…

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I attended the April Houston Dynamic Languages User Group Meeting this passed Tuesday. Jeremey Barrett gave a great talk on the Scala language.

 

High Points Gleaned

• Native on the JVM
• Statically Typed w/type inference
• More concise syntax
• Pure Object Oriented, Mix-ins (traits – kind of like an interface)
• (Sca)lable (La)nguage
• First class functions, closures, etc.
• Erlang-style actors (not distributed)
• Message-passing concurrency
• Operator overloading
• Everything is an object, including functions (functions can be sub-classed)
• Pattern matching – “Structural Typing”
• Java + Ruby + Erlang = Scala
• Lift – Popular web framework written in Scala
• Twitter uses Scala on their backend

Links

• Scala-lang.org – Official website
• Programming Scala: Scalability = Functional Programming + Objects – Book
• Programming Scala: Tackle Multi-Core Complexity on the Java Virtual Machine – Book
• Programming in Scala: A Comprehensive Step-by-step Guide – Book

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I attended my first ALT.NET Houston Open Spaces Conference this weekend. It was very different than any tech event I have ever seen. This kind of conference instills a sense of collaboration which is a really cool thing.

The process is quite ingenious if you ask me. On Friday evening, the attendees come together to suggest topics and then vote on the suggested topics. Next, the facilitators basically set up the agenda for the next 2 days.

   

 

Four Principles of Open Spaces

• Whoever comes is the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• When it’s over, it’s over

The Law Of Two Feet: If, during the course of the gathering, any person finds him or herself in a situation where they are neither learning nor contributing, they must use their two feet and go to some more productive place.

 

 

Sessions I attended

• Git
• NoSQL MongoDB
• Virtual Brownbag – One Year Later
• Build Scripts w/Powershell
• Promoting an Atmosphere of Refactoring
• Design Patterns

Links and Resources

• ALT.NET Houston Wiki
• Twitter Search (#altnethou)
• My Event Photos

I will definitely be attending this conference in the future and highly recommend for any developer.

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This week, I attended South by Southwest in Austin, TX for the first time. What an experience and I only saw a portion of what this conference/festival has to provide.

South by Southwest (SxSW) is an enormous conference that provides a convergence of original music, independent films, and upcoming technologies. It is broken into three “sub” conferences: Music, Film and Interactive. This year I was able to attend the Interactive part of SxSW.

 

   

There were so many people…I heard someone say there were at least 5,000+ registered for SxSW Interactive alone.

 

Exhibit Hall

The Exhibit Hall was huge. There were so many booths, I am still unsure if I visited them all or not.

   

Here are a few booths that I did stop at and either have or plan to try their products –

• Sobees
• WriteonGlass
• Opera
• Appiction
• CollectiveIdea

 

Austin

Of course, after all the sessions, there was Austin itself. I have always loved this city.

  

There were so many parties going on in the evenings that I can see why the guy below was tired…

 

 

Below are my posts that recap the sessions I attended:

• SxSW 2010 – Sessions (pt 1)
• SxSW 2010 – Sessions (pt 2)

After my first experience with SxSW, I will definitely be attending again.

My Picasa Photo Album for SxSW 2010

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Below are the sessions that I attended on Saturday (3/13) and Sunday (3/14) at SxSW Interactive.

Moon 2.0: The Outer Limits Of Lunar Exploration

Twitter search based on hashtag #Moon20

Description from SxSW.com: Discussion of how the use of web and mobile technologies create opportunities for participation in future exploration of the Moon. The panel focuses on how X PRIZE, NASA, commercial space companies, and others generate greater interaction and interest in Moon missions using collaborative platforms and social media.

Panel was as follows:

• Veronica McGregor (Site | @veronicamcg)
• Nicholas Skytland (Site | @skytland)
• Amanda Stiles (Site | @glxp)
• Dave Masten (Site | @dmasten)
• Cariann Higginbotham (Site | @cariann)

Some Astronauts on Twitter

• Mike Massimino (@Astro_mike)
• Jeff Williams (@Astro_jeff)
• Nicole Stott (@Astro_nicole)

Links of Interest

• Google Lunar xPrise
• Space Tweep Society
• Space VidCast – Making Space Commonplace
• Unmanned Spaceflight
• Data.gov
• SpaceHack.org

What Can Carl Sagan Teach Us About The Web?

Twitter search based on hashtag #SXSagan

Description from SxSW.com: 2010 is the 30th anniversary of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Not only is his explanation of our universe relevant today, it can teach us a great deal about how to create better websites.

Presenter: Mark Trammel (Site | @trammell)

Links of Interest

• Carl Sagan’s Cosmos on Hulu

How Webhooks Will Make Us All Programmers

Twitter search based on hashtag #webhooks

Description from SxSW.com: Programming will increasingly be the most empowering skill on earth… how do we bring it to more people? We can’t rely on better academic programs if nobody is taking them! We have to bring back easy discovery and instant utility. See how webhooks (user-defined HTTP callbacks) are the missing link!

Presenter: Jeff Lindsey (Site | @progrium)

Links of Interest:

• Twillio – Cloud Communications
• Clickhooks
• Scriptlets
• Notify.io
• PubSubHubBub 

Why You Aren’t Done Yet

Twitter search based on hashtag #whyyouarentdoneyet

         

Description from SxSW.com: The deadline is looming, you’ve tweeted how busy you are four times this week, and yet you just can’t get the project wrapped up and out the door. Real artists ship and you want to be a real artist, real bad, but you’re not. Let me show you how to rework…

Presenter: David Heinemeier Hansson (Site | @dhh)

Links of Interest

• Book: Re Work
• 37 Signals 

Coding for Pleasure: Developing Killer Spare-Time Apps

Twitter search based on hashtag #codingforpleasure

Description from SxSW.com: Every startup origin story is about a couple of developers who abscond to a garage and end up building the Next Big Thing. But money and fame don’t need to be your end goal. You can significantly improve your life–and impact others’ lives–by coding for pleasure in your spare time.

Panel was as follows:

• Gina Trapani (Site | @ginatrapani)
• Adam Pash (Site | @adampash)
• Matt Haughey (Site | @mathowie)

Links of Interest

• ThinkTank
• Better GMail
• Mixtape 
• Belvedere
• Fuelly
• Peepcode.com
• GitHub

Everyone Can Be a “Professional” Photographer

Twitter search based on hashtag #anybodypro

    

Description from SxSW.com: Everyone is a photographer: a camera in every cellphone, a powerful point-and-shoot in every pocket and bag, a digital SLR camera in every bag or home. With new platforms to create, distribute and sell to a wider range of clientele, everyone can be a *professional* photographer and sell photography.

Panel (Dual) was as follows:

• Allen Murabayash (Site | @photoshelter)
• Taylor Davidson (Site | @tdavidson)

Links of Interest

• PhotoShelter
• Flickr

SxSW 2010 – Sessions (pt 2)

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Below are the sessions that I attended on Monday (3/15) and Tuesday (3/16) at SxSW Interactive.

Indirect Collaboration: Collective Creativity on the Web

Twitter search based on hashtag #incol

Description from SxSW.com: This discussion will examine the role of crowd-sourced input on the creative process. We will examine art, comics, design, photography and commerce, and the role that the audience plays in directing their creation. We will make a distinction between passive decision-making (i.e. Threadless) and participatory conception (i.e. 700 Hobos Project.)

Panel was as follows:

• Joshua Glenn (Site)
• Joe Alterio (Site | @joealterio)
• Riley Crane (Site)
• Tim Lillis (Site)
• Andrea Grover (Site | @gentleridevan)

Links of Interest

• Indirect Collaboration Blog
• Coral Reef Project
• Houston Lawndale Art Center

ExpressionEngine 2.0: Total Domination!

Twitter search based on hashtag #expressionengine

Description from SxSW.com: ExpressionEngine is growing in popularity and with the release of 2.0, it’s power has expanded to the stratosphere. Powering great websites such as Change.gov, A List Apart, and Campaign Monitor, it represents an amazing way to build websites and publish content.

Panel was as follows:

• Kenny Meyers (Site | @kennymeyers)
• Ryan Irelan (Site | @ryanirelan)
• Jenn Lukas (Site | @JennLukas)
• Brian Warren (Site | @mrwarren)
• Mark Huot (@markhuot)

Links of Interest

• Expression Engine
• EE Insider
• StarterFiles.Com
• Expression Engine 2: Total Domination Slides  

Visual Note-Taking 101

Twitter search based on #viznotes

    

Description from SxSW.com: Ever since Leonardo put pen to paper, visual note-taking has been a route to improve the quality of your thinking, make information more memorable, and make your ideas easier to share with others. Learn practical techniques and ”tricks of the trade” from modern visual note-taking masters.

Panel was as follows:

• Austin Kleon (Site | @austinkleon)
• Dave Gray (Site | @davegray)
• Mike Rohde (Site | @rohdesign)
• Sunni Brown (Site | @SunniBrown)

Links of Interest

• Book: Newspaper Blackout
• Book: Slide:ology
• Scout Books
• Sketchbook Pro
• Every Person In New York
• Time Management Software – Offline version   

SETI: Building a Better Search Using Your ‘Thinkons’

Twitter search based on hashtag #setibettersearch

Description from SxSW.com: For years you’ve been leaving your computers turned on in order to process data packets for UC Berkeley’s SETI@home – that’s great! Please keep it up! Did you ever want to get more involved? Do you think about the ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what if?’ of SETI and want to offer improvements?

Presenter: Jill Tarter (Site | @jilltarter)

Links of Interest

• Harvard Optical SETI
• Setiquest.org
• Exoplanets

Microsoft Bing: Behind the Scenes of The Decision Engine

Description from SxSW.com: One of the most anticipated, high-profile product re-branding and re-launch efforts of this past year, Microsoft’s Bing didn’t just gain mind- and search-share, it earned it through unique positioning and a holistic social media marketing strategy.

Twitter search based on hashtag #bingsxsw

Panel was as follows:

• Aaron Lilly (@aaronlilly)
• Lynn Girotto
• Stefan Weitz (Site | @stefanweitz)
• Ian Schafer (Site | @ischafer)

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I attended my first ever Refresh Houston event last night. The event was located at the new Westchase Technology Center. Matt Mullenweg, Lead Developer of the WordPress blogging platform, gave a great talk and answered numerous questions from attendees.

I was planning to do a recap, but there are a couple of people that have done such a good job of it…why repeat?

Matt Mullenweg Refreshed Houston – PopLabs

Live Blogging: Matt Mullenweg at Refresh Houston – Colin Lowenberg

@GoPopLabs posted an Animoto slideshow of the event

 

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My favorite quote from Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt)

Google is the World’s most complex and elegant machine behind the World’s simplest UI

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I hope to attend another Refresh Houston event in the near future as it was a great flow of information.

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^..^

I attended the Houston TechFest last weekend and I have to say it was a great turnout. According to the web site there were 858 people in attendance. There were 14 tracks containing 70+ sessions.

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Below are the sessions that I attended and some notes I took along the way.

What’s New In Silverlight 3.0

Presenter: Todd Anglin
This presentation gave a great high-level explanation of Silverlight 3.0 and Rich Internet Applications.

Silverlight is not (nor will be anytime soon) available for the iPhone. Apple does not allow this type of plugin.

High Points of Silverlight 3.0

• GPU Acceleration
• Out of Browser (Fit Client)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Assembly Caching
• Validation Templates
• SaveFileDialog
• Cached Composition
• Network Monitoring
• 3-D Support

What’s New in Silverlight 3.0 – Slides and Demo Code

Introduction to iPhone Development

Presenter: Ben Scheirman
This presentation covered the requirements for developing on the iPhone as well as some syntax and frameworks.

Requirements

• A Mac
• X-Code (free)
• iPhone SDK (free – limited to simulator)
• iPhone Developer Program ($99)

Language – Objective C
Based on C, Dynamic, Object Oriented, Powerful

Ben provided a great primer on Objective C. I have to say, it is quite different from any syntax I have ever encountered.

[photo setCaption : @"Day at the beach."];
NSString* caption = [photo caption];

Some of the topics touched on in the primer

• Multi-Input
• Accessors
• Memory Management
• Header Files
• Implementation Files
• Categories (like extension methods)
• Key Value Coding (like reflection)

Frameworks and Libs

• Cocoa Touch
• AddressBook
• Camera
• Accelerometer – Tilt/Gravity
• Magnetometer – Direction
• MapKit – Embedded maps
• CoreLocation – GPS
• CoreGraphics – High level graphics
• CoreAnimations – High level animations
• OpenGL ES – 3D graphics

Introduction to iPhone Development – Slides and Demo Code

Evolve Your Code Using Extension Methods, Fluent Interfaces and Expressions

Presenter: Jonathan Birkholz
This presentation thoroughly covered the topics of Extension Methods, Lambda Expressions and Fluent Interfaces.

Points explored

• Extension Methods – Methods added to existing types. They are static methods, but called as if they were instance methods.
• Lambda Expressions – Anonymous functions that can contain expressions and statements.
• Expression Trees – Representation of language level code in the form of data.
• Expression Tree Visualizer – working implementation of a visualizer that can be run inside the Visual Studio debugger to view the contents of an expression tree.
• Fluent Interfaces – Way of implementing an object oriented API (DSL) in a way that provides more readable code.
• Single Responsibility Principle – A class should have 1 and only 1 reason to change.

Tools discussed

• StructureMap – Dependancy Injection/Inversion of Control tool
• Fluent nHibernate – Fluent, XML-less, compile safe, automated,  convention-based mappings for NHibernate.
• AutoMapper – A convention-based object-object mapper.
• NBuilder – Tool for rapidly creating test data. I am really interested in this tool…

Evolve Your Code – Slides and Demo Code

Developer <T>: Utilizing .Net Generics to Write Better Code

Presenter: Shawn Weisfeld
This presentation provided a great overview of .NET Generics.

Generics are basically type-safe data structures that do not commit to a data type. This feature was introduced in .NET Framework 2.0/Visual Studio 2005.

Other points covered

• Generic Contraints
• Generic Lists
• Generic Structs
• Generic Guidelines
• Performance

Resources provided

• Teach Yourself Visual C# 2010 in 24 Hours
• An Introduction to C# Generics
• Professional .NET 2.0 Generics

Utilizing .NET Generics to Write Better Code – Slides and Demo Code

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Materials for all the sessions are being posted to the TechFest 2009 Content site.

The 2009 Houston TechFest was a great day of learning and I am already looking forward to next year. As always, the swag was pretty nice too.

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Until next time…

Yesterday I attended Austin Code Camp 2009. As always it was a great event and you can’t beat the price. There were several great one and two hour sessions to choose from.  Of course, there was the issue of everyone wanting to attend the same session, so it did get rather crowded at times -or- you had to sit in on a session you were not planning for.  Even with that, it was a good day of learning.

Below are the sessions that I attended.

Sneak peek at C# 4.0 — Jimmy Bogard

There were 50+ in attendance, with several people standing. Looked to be a pretty popular session.

New items in C# 4.0 include

• Dynamic
• Named and Optional Parameters
• Generic Variance

SQL Server Reporting Services: Report Creation and Deployment — Anil Desai

There were about 20 in attendance. I was able to see this presenter last year and he is a great and knowledgeable presenter.

The process of setting up SQL Server Reporting Services was discussed as well as the creation and deployment of the reports. Anil demonstrated creating reports in both the Report Designer and Visual Studio.

Applying Refactoring techniques to prune the legacy code — Mahendra Mavani

There were about 6 in attendance. 

Most of the other attendees were in the Enterprise Architecture Patterns: Presentation, Business Logic, and Persistence session.

Building Business Applications with Silverlight 3.0 — Todd Anglin

Another pretty crowded session.

Todd did a great job in presenting on the great things that can be done using Silverlight.

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Related Content

• Presentation Demos and Slide Decks
• Austin Code Camp was a hit! – Jeffrey Palermo
• Austin Code Camp 2009 Was A Ton-O-Fun! – Derick Bailey

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All in all, the Austin Code Camp was a great day of learning and I will be there again next year.