Entity Framework Beta 2 & the 1st Entity Framework Tools CTP Released!

 

The long awaited Entity Framework Beta 2 and the accompanying Entity Framework Tools CTP have been released!

ADO.NET team blog : Entity Framework Beta 2 & the 1st Entity Framework Tools CTP Released!

A common business need: Generating server-side documents on the fly

 

I gathered a list of common Open XML questions related to programmability:

1. What are the Open XML File Formats and what can I do with them?
2. Can you show me the internal structure of a Word 2007 document?
3. What are WordprocessingML, SpreadsheetML, PresentationML, and DrawingML?
4. Do you have a .NET API that I can use to generate documents programmatically (server-side)?
5. What is the architecture of a server-side OBA document generation solution?
6. How can I generate a document programmatically and have more control over document content?
7. How do you add images to an Open XML document?
8. How can I pull data from my data source and create a table in a document?
9. How can I add styles and format to my document content?
10. What about compatibility with previous versions of Office?

Office Business Applications + Open XML File Formats

 I blogged to show you how to generate a document using a document template, content controls, and XML mapping. I also created a little video and article that shows how to bind custom xml to a document template. This approach is great when you are trying to replace placeholder data in document templates like an invoice or contract. However, your business needs may be different and you may want to have more control over document content and formatting. In that case a better approach would be to manipulate the WordProcessingML content stored in different document parts.

More from the Author…

Erika Ehrli : A common business need: Generating server-side documents on the fly

Dapper to Launch Instant Facebook AppMaker

 

This Tuesday, Israel-based Dapper will launch the private beta of Facebook AppMaker, a new tool that the company claims will provide people with a dead simple way to create new Facebook applications.

At its core, Dapper allows users to create API?s called ?Dapps? by selecting data from Websites, RSS/XML feeds, Google Gadgets, and more. Each ?Dapp? is an XML which can be manipulated in any number of ways. The company released a tool to create Netvibes modules in late 2006.

Dapper?s Facebook AppMaker lets these Dapps be transformed into full-blown Facebook applications. This includes functionalities such as remote search and retrieval, remote login, and multi-page apps. A Facebook Developer account is a prerequisite to the AppMaker process itself.

Dapper to Launch Instant Facebook AppMaker

Ruby, PHP, ASP.NET Job Comparison

New York City, East Coast

Site	Zip	RoR	PHP	ASP.NET
Monster.com	10270	29	357	621
Career Builder	10270	8	184	356
Hot Jobs	10270	18	176	180
Total		55	717	1157

 

West Coast – San Francisco

Site	Zip	RoR	PHP	ASP.NET
Monster.com	94130	23	216	135
Career Builder	94130	17	123	67
Hot Jobs	94130	31	521	107
Total		71	860	309

 

So for me ASP.NET makes the most sense by far (almost 4x that of PHP).  A surprise to me is on the West Coast, were it looks like ASP.NET is much smaller then else where.  It seems that Ruby on Rails is very much in the incubator stage still, I guess I?m not turning on RoR anytime soon after all.

Excerpt from here

Customize the Windows Vista Media Center SDK project template

 

Windows Media Center SDK 5.2 Now Available

Customization that can be made to this project template in order to create different types of Windows Vista Media Center applications:

• Creating a Windows Media Center background application - http://blog.mediacentersandbox.com/CreatingABackgroundApplicationFromTheTemplate.aspx
• Adding the button from the Z sample application to a new project – http://blog.mediacentersandbox.com/AddingTheZSampleButtonToTheApplicationTemplate.aspx

I encourage you to check out these posts to see step by step instructions for these customizations that can be made to the standard Windows Vista Media Center SDK project template.

Scott Hanselman’s 2007 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows

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Using .Net 3.0 to automatically generate Word 2007 documents. – The Code Project – C# Programming

 

This article describes how to automatically generate Word 2007 documents using .Net 3.0

Using .Net 3.0 to automatically generate Word 2007 documents. – The Code Project – C# Programming

WCF, WF and CardSpace Orcas Beta 2 Samples

 

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Windows CardSpace Samples for Orcas Beta 2 Download

Download details: WCF, WF and CardSpace Orcas Beta 2 Samples

VS2008 Beta 2 WPF Designer Cider Features

Part 1: Cider Beta 2 : Feature walkthrough

Part 2: Cider Beta 2 : Styling a WPF application with Blend and Cider

 

  

Creating a simple Facebook Application using WPF

 

Introduction

Facebook is growing at an incredible pace (Already 30 million user register and doubling every 6 months). The new Facebook platform is an incredible software platform and can easily be extended using the provided SDK. The following code project article is an introduction into creating a very simple MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger type application for Facebook.

In this first article I will provide an overview of how to setup your facebook application and to write a very basic WPF application that connects to Facebook and populate your friends list.

Setting up Facebook

Visit the developer website: http://developers.facebook.com/

• Click on “Getting started”
• Add Facebook Developer Application
• Log into Facebook
• Add Developer Application
• Set up new application
• Application Name: WPFB (Here you can choose any name as long as it doesn’t contain the words Face
• Click checkbox to agree with License Agreement and also expand the optional Fields
• Change application type to Desktop (This is very important!)
• Submit

Keep the API Key & Secret provided for use later

Read More from here…

Creating a simple Facebook Application using WPF – The Code Project – Vista