The Case for ViewModel (Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:56:47 GMT) 
One of the comments I got on my last post on view/view model hookup options was the following: I've been a mvvm fan but actually when I see all the hoops to jump through I wonder at times how effective this is So I wanted to take a moment to list what I thought compelled me to adopt the ViewModel pattern of client application development (so much so, that I now feel odd writing Silverlight and sometimes even Ajax apps in any other way). Some will be obvious benefits, especially to those already using MVVM in their everyday development, but I want to throw in a couple that are farther out exploratory ideas that I am thinking about. I'd also love to pursue what it means to make view model more mainstream, so if you've got ideas on...(read more)

View/ViewModel Association - Convention and Configuration-based Approaches (Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:47:15 GMT) 
Some time back, I blogged about different options to hook up a view to its view model when following the ViewModel (aka MVVM) pattern. There are multiple approaches in use out there. I raised the possibility of a convention-based approach in addition to existing ones like the ViewModelLocator pattern. Motivation: I find the simplest way to explain ViewModel is to present it as a better code-behind , especially to the mainstream developer who is intimately familiar with the latter (at least in the .net world). With the code-behind approach the UI, its state and operations are all mixed up. The ViewModel pattern is of course designed to help separate application logic from the view, but now results in two discrete halves that need to be reconnected...(read more)

RIA Services at MIX10 (Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:06:17 GMT) 
A bit about my RIA Services talk at MIX10... let me know what you'd like to see. [ Full post continued here... ] Read More......(read more)

SCREENCAST: Managing Browser History Using Client Script Without ScriptManager (Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:18:06 GMT) 
NOTE: This was cross posted from here . ASP.NET Ajax has a great feature that helps make it easy to enable back/forward button and bookmarking support in your Ajax applications.  However, most people think you need ASP.NET WebForms and the ScriptManager control to take advantage of this feature.  Furthermore, most people think you actually have to be using ASP.NET to take advantage of these capabilities.  You don’t.  There’s a walkthrough on MSDN showing how to use this capability purely from client side BLOCKED SCRIPT Managing Browser History Using Client Script Basically, the walkthrough shows you how to use Sys.Application.navigate event and the Sys.Application.addHistoryPoint method.  Once you understand these two...(read more)

jQuery 1.4.1 Intellisense with Visual Studio (Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:30:30 GMT) 
[In addition to blogging, I am also now using Twitter for quick updates and to share links. Follow me at: twitter.com/scottgu ] A few people have emailed me recently asking about the availability of a Visual Studio –vsdoc intellisense hint file for jQuery 1.4.1.  I blogged about –vsdoc files in the past – they provide additional intellisense help information for Visual Studio, and enable you to get a richer intellisense experience with dynamic Javascript libraries.  If you are using VS 2008 SP1 you’ll want to download and install this patch in order to have VS 2008 automatically use –vsdoc files with intellisense.  VS 2010 has support for –vsdoc files built-in. jQuery 1.4.1 –vsdoc download The good news is that you can download...(read more)

Love jQuery = Love ASP.NET Ajax Library (Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:20:57 GMT) 
digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/publicsector/archive/2010/02/03/love-jquery-love-asp-net-ajax-library.aspx";digg_title = "Love jQuery = Love ASP.NET Ajax Library";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined; NOTE: This was cross posted from here . I’ve been covering ASP.NET AJAX and what used to be called the “Microsoft Ajax Library” ever since the first “Atlas” code drops.  ASP.NET AJAX has always offered Web Forms developers a relatively simple way of Ajax enabling their applications without forcing them to change how they write them through the the core Ajax Server Controls (ScriptManager, Timer, UpdatePanel...(read more)

ViewModel Pattern for Silverlight - Options for Hooking a View to its Model (Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:42:15 GMT) 
In the ViewModel, aka the MVVM pattern, a view such as a UserControl is bound to its associated view model. The view model manages state exposed as observable properties, operations exposed as methods and raises notifications via events. An interesting question is how a View should specify its view model, and how a view model instance should be created. Like everything else in the ViewModel pattern, this topic is no different. There are different strategies, with pros and cons, and different people have different opinions. In this post, I'll describe a couple of options, and hope to collect some feedback as well as ideas on alternatives. Part of my goal here is to improve what is supported in Silverlight.FX out-of-the-box. The other goal...(read more)

RIA Services Link Listing #1 (Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:10:43 GMT) 
Starting a new link listing series around interesting posts/content related to RIA Services. Hope you find these useful, and if you'd like to share something please send them along... [ Full post continued here... ] Read More......(read more)

Bing Maps roadshow in Reston (Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:27:13 GMT) 
NOTE: This was cross posted from here . Want to get up to speed on the latest release of Bing Maps including both the Ajax and Silverlight controls as well as the SOAP web services?  Don’t miss the upcoming roadshow in Reston, Va.  Details: http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/govmaps/archive/2009/11/24/bing-maps-roadshow-coming-to-reston-virgina.aspx “At this event, experts will provide an overview of Bing Maps as a powerful visualization tool for geographic and location-based information. With highlights of scenarios such as locators, fleet/asset tracking, data visualization portals, and location intelligence, we’ll present a deep dive into the Bing Maps Platform, including details on specific features, AJAX, Web Services, and new...(read more)

Script# Update - v0.5.5.0 (Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:19:05 GMT) 
The long-awaited event (by some) ... an updated script# build, along with next steps, new channels for Q&A and staying up-to-date via @scriptsharp on twitter... [ Full post continued here... ] Read More......(read more)

Microsoft AJAX CDN – Now with SSL Support (Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:55:34 GMT) 
Back in September I blogged about the new Microsoft AJAX CDN (Content Delivery Network) service that the ASP.NET team is now providing.  The CDN provides edge caching support for AJAX libraries (including jQuery and ASP.NET AJAX).  The service is available for free, does not require any registration, and can be used for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.  It offers a great way to speed up your external facing web-sites. SSL Support Now Provided One of the features in September that we said was coming (but which was not available at the initial launch) was SSL support for scripts served off of the CDN.  This is necessary for scenarios where you have SSL enabled pages on your site, and you want to reference a script...(read more)

RIA Services: Jumpstarting RIA Development (Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:03:31 GMT) 
In my post on RIA Services: From Vision to Architecture , a while back (right after MIX09), I mentioned that I like to think of RIA Services as RAD for RIA. At that point we had a very early preview of framework bits with little tools support. A large part of jumpstarting your development actually centers around good tooling. VS2010 brings tooling for RIA Services (now: WCF RIA Services). Scott Hanselman demonstrated some key features used in building a Contacts application (as shown on the right) during the keynote at PDC09 . The latest version of RIA Services is now available for download. It works on .NET 4 and VS2010 as well. You can also check out a video tutorial on using RIA Services and Visual Studio 2010. In this post, I want to highlight...(read more)

Silverlight 4 Debuts with Killer Demos at PDC09 (Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:35:44 GMT) 
Lots of wow from this morning with Silverlight 4 (and RIA Services) taking center stage in the keynote, here at PDC09. [ Full post continued here... ] Read More......(read more)

PDC09 - A Call to Dream (Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:15:12 GMT) 
Immediate thoughts after Ray Ozzie's keynote at PDC09 [ Full post continued here... ] Read More......(read more)

re: Old iPaq and Media Player 11? (Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:58:23 GMT) 
I have a Ipaq 3950 and Vista on my computer. I to get that horrible meessage that states my handheld is to old ot sink with the computer. Is there really no way to fix this? I love my Ipaq, and I know it is old, but it works great. Read More......(read more)