Billy Hollis and the .NET Rocks Road Trip in Pittsburgh

The .NET Rocks Road Trip is coming to Pittsburgh, with special guest Billy Hollis! The crew will be here on October 11, 2012 from 6-10pm at the Sheraton Station Square.

For anyone not in the know, .NET Rocks is perhaps the longest running podcast for developers, with over 800 weekly episodes. Billy Hollis is a well known speaker, author, consultant and trainer. I’ve seen Billy speak on a number of occasions, and he is a very engaging and informative speaker. This is a great opportunity to see all three of these guys in one place.

Fajita dinner will be served starting at 6, and the festivities will begin promptly.

Here’s how the evening shakes out:
Intro by Carl and Richard (10 mins)
Carl builds a Windows 8 application (60 minutes)
Richard demonstrates DevOps toolchain with VS2012 and SCOM (60 minutes)
Billy’s talk, whatever is on his mind (15-20 minutes)
Billy, Richard and Carl record a DNR based on Billy’s talk (45-60 minutes)
Swag!!!!

For more details on the evening, and registration, go to http://pewee.ws/5m

Speaking at Aug 10 2010 Pgh .NET, with swag!

Five great sessions this time (#1 is sure to be the best, though).  This will be my first talk as a Technical Evangelist for ComponentOne.  And, I'm bringing C1 swag.  

 August PGHDOTNET Meeting – 5 Guys with Code (plus Swag-a-palooza)

 Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
 Microsoft Offices, 30 Isabella St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212
 Registration details :
http://www.pghdotnet.com/201008.aspx
 
Join us for a fun-filled evening as 5 developers present for 15 minutes on a topic of their choice.  In between each session we'll be giving away all sorts of swag.  This is the can't-miss event of the year!!
 
Session 1
  A Quick Look at the new SQL CE Engine
  Rich Dudley
 
Session 2
  Layout Controls for XAML
  John Hidey
 
Session 3
  jQuery Code Snippets in Visual Studio 2010
  David Hoerster
 
Session 4
  Bowling for TDD
  Eric Kepes
 
Session 5
  Table Value Parameters with SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft .NET

  John Sterrett 

PGHDOTNET June Meeting — Microsoft .NET 4 Language Features — Monday, June 14th, 2010

Pay attention here–the meeting is moved to Monday because of a Pirates game.

Please join us on Monday, June 14th, at 5:30 PM at the Microsoft Offices on the North Shore for a deep dive into the new C# and VB.NET language features with two Microsoft engineers (Adrian 'Spotty' Bowles for VB.NET and David Sterling for C#) who are part of the language teams at Microsoft!  There will be two sessions, one for each C# and VB.NET.  And while there will be prepared materials for these sessions, please take this opportunity to ask the engineers who work on the language teams why the languages behave the way they do.  This is your opportunity to directly ask Microsoft about C# and VB.NET!!
 
Please RSVP early for this meeting as we expect a full crowd.  Please note that due to traveling schedules and a Pirates home game on Tuesday 6/15, this meeting is next Monday, 6/14.
 
If you have any questions, please reply to pghdotnet@gmail.com
 
Thank you!
Your PGHDOTNET Team
 
 
June PGHDOTNET Meeting – Microsoft .NET 4 Language Tour
 Monday, June 14th, 2010
 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
 Microsoft Offices, 30 Isabella St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212
 Registration details : http://www.pghdotnet.com/201006.aspx
 
Session 1: VB 2008/2010 New Language Features
Visual Basic has always been about developing applications to get the job done quickly.  During the 2008 and 2010 product cycles many new language features have been added to provide enhanced functionality and productivity.  Come learn about many of these new features and how these can help you “code like the wind“.
 
About Adrian 'Spotty' Bowles
Spotty is Software Engineer in Test on the VB Compiler team. He has worked on the team for 5 years testing features like extension methods, collection and array initializers.   Spotty earned a Bachelor of science in Computer Studies from the Leicester University in the UK.

Session 2: C# 4.0 – New Language Features (Level 300)
From simpler Office development to interaction with dynamic languages, C# 4.0 makes many programming tasks just plain easier. There are lots of new features both big and small that we’d like to introduce to you!  Come learn about dynamic, named arguments and all the other language gems in C# in Visual Studio 2010.
 
About David Sterling
David is Software Engineer in Test on the C# Compiler team. He has worked on the team for 3 years testing features like covariance and named arguments. David earned a Bachelor of Software Engineering from the University of Waterloo. You can follow David on twitter at http://twitter.com/dsterling.
 
 
This meeting is sponsored by DiscountASP.NET.  DiscountASP.NET is the global leader in ASP.NET Web Hosting Services.

 

Pittsburgh Code Camp 2010 Registration Now Open

Registration Open – Code Camp Pittsburgh, April 17th, 2010
Our Spring Code Camp will be here in about 5 weeks (Saturday, April 17th).  Registration is open and we have plenty of topics to interest you.  We will finalize the session schedule over the next few days, but the site has all of the session titles and abstracts for camp posted.  For session or schedule changes, either check the site or please follow us on Twitter (@pghdotnet) or join the PGHDOTNET LinkedIn group for late breaking news.
The URL for Code Camp is here:  http://codecamppgh.com/CodeCamp2010_1_info.aspx.  Please follow the registration link to register for the event.  Registration is FREE.

Also, download the Pittsburgh Code Camp iPhone App (written by camp speaker Jason Agostoni).  Here's the URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pittsburgh-code-camp/id359789229?mt=8

If you have any questions about Code Camp, please email us either at codecamppgh@gmail.com or pghdotnet@gmail.com.
Code Camp is sponsored by ProTech Professional Technical Services, ComponentOne, e-Staff Consulting Group and Microsoft.

March PGHDOTNET Meeting – Bringing ALT.NET to the masses with ASP.NET MVC



 Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
 Microsoft Offices, 30 Isabella St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212
 Registration details: http://www.pghdotnet.com/201003.aspx

 

At
this month's meeting we'll discuss not only the core ideas and concepts that
make ALT.NET what it is, but we'll also
discuss how you can apply some of these very same concepts to your own day to
day development using frameworks like ASP.NET MVC. 
Some concepts we'll be discussing our Test-Driven Development, Inversion of
Control, and the SOLID principles.

Scott Guthrie announced ASP.NET MVC to the world at the first ALT.NET Conference in October of 2007. 
Since then, 
this new framework has made impressive inroads into the mainstream .NET
community.  The flexibility inherent in this 
lightweight framework has made many of the ideas which first inspired the ALT.NET mindset achievable in every day .NET
development.

 

Speakers

Jeremy Jarrell (ALT.NET), Matt Otto (ALT.NET),
Craig E. Oaks (Pgh.NET)

Feb PSSUG – SQL Server and .NET CLR Integration



This month, Joe Smith will
present on SQL Server and .NET Common Language Runtime Integration and
Programming.  With the release of SQL Server 2005, and subsequently SQL
Server 2008, the ability to develop using the .Net Runtime has become an
intrinsic capability available to SQL developers.  

This talk will explore:

·        
Basics of the
.Net architecture and its integration with SQL Server

·        
Creation of
artifacts built on .Net for use in SQL Server (user defined functions, stored
procedures, etc.)

·        
Security and
Access (how the integration

·        
Deployment and
use of .Net artifacts to SQL Server

·        
Best Practices in
utilizing the .Net integration, one size does not fit all.

 

Joe is a Solutions
Architecture Consultant with Dell Computer, Inc.  He has numerous years of
consulting experience working with customers across the landscape of small,
medium and large enterprises associated with varying industries.  His past
focus was primarily with middle tier and backend .Net development.  Recent
efforts with Dell focus on solutions built using .Net, SQL Server on or
associated with SharePoint.  Prior to joining Dell, Joe worked for
Microsoft Services in a similar role with a focus on both Enterprise and
application integration and .Net technologies such as Windows Communication
Foundation and Windows Workflow.

 

Date: Wednesday, February 24

Time:  12:00 PM – 2:00 p.m.

Venue: Pittsburgh Technology Council,
2000 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Cost: No charge, but you must RSVP. Space is limited!

RSVP: Online

Feburary PGHDOTNET Meeting – Improving ASP.NET Web Application Performance and Creating Web UI Tests

Update: Cancelled due to snow!  Next meeting in March. 

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Microsoft Offices, 30 Isabella St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Registration details: http://www.pghdotnet.com/201002.aspx (we have a new online registration form!)

Join us on February 9th for two sessions as David Hoerster first describes how you can quickly create web UI unit tests using Visual Studio 2010's new CodedUI Tests feature.  Afterwards, we'll talk about how to improve the overall performance of your ASP.NET web sites by going over a few tips and tricks.  This is a session that will be beneficial to developers, testers and architects alike!

Session 1: Creating Automated Web Unit Tests Using Visual Studio 2010's Coded UI Tests


Quickly create UI unit tests using Visual Studio 2010's new feature called CodedUI Tests.  They're very easy to create, give the developer/tester a lot of control, and allow you to data drive your tests.  This feature is great for developers and testers alike.

Session 2: Improving the Performance of Your ASP.NET Web Sites


There's a lot of tips and tricks to improve the performance of your web sites, and we'll take a tour of a few of them in this session.  We'll look at: CSS Sprites, Using WCF Services for AJAX Calls, Tools for Minifying Your JavaScript and CSS Files (and how to integrate them into a build tool), and a few more!

Pgh.NET: Dissecting DevEvents.com – A Look at a Real World .NET MVC Implementation

Tuesday, December 8 | 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
This event is free, please RSVP.

Join us for our next PGHDOTNET meeting on December 8, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at the Microsoft Offices on the North Shore. Steve Andrews will present on Dissecting DevEvents.com: A Look at a Real World .NET MVC Implementation.

The ASP.NET MVC Framework provides a powerful Model View Controller (MVC) approach to building web applications, and provides separation of concerns, increased testability, control over HTML output, and intuitive URLs. We will start by looking at building a model framework with LINQ to SQL, including validation and model binding. Then, we'll explore a custom generics-based repository and services implementation. Finally, we'll tie it all together with a look at Views and jQuery.

Sponsored by:
DiscountASP.NET

October PGHDOTNET Meeting – An Introduction to .NET RIA Services

Please note that our October PGHDOTNET meeting will NOT be on Tuesday, October 13th.  It will be on Thursday, October 22nd.

October PGHDOTNET Meeting – An Introduction to .NET RIA Services
 Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
 Microsoft Offices, 30 Isabella St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212
 Registration details:
http://www.pghdotnet.com/200910.aspx
 
This session is an introduction on how Microsoft is simplifying the traditional n-tier application pattern by bringing together ASP.NET and Silverlight.  Join Dani Diaz and learn about patterns for working with data, implementing reusable and independently testable application logic and application services that readily scale with growing requirements.
 
Danilo Diaz, aka Dani, is a Developer Evangelist for Microsoft's Mid-Atlantic State district. In this role, he helps developers understand Microsoft's product offerings and strategy. Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked at Perficient Philadelphia where he helped establish their Mobility Practice. Dani has over 8 years of experience in the IT industry. His ability to identify and utilize the right blend of technologies to solve business needs has been an asset on all projects he has worked on. Dani's first .NET project was a Web-based eLearning application which was built on ASP.NET 1.0 Beta 2. As a consultant he has served the roles of system architect, technical lead, developer and mentor on various large and small projects. He has worked on SOA-based applications, Web applications, Windows applications and mobile systems.

This event is sponsored by DiscountASP.NET, a global leader in ASP.NET Web Hosting Services.