I started to learn how to use the Azure Cloud Service from Microsoft this week. Currently it’s still in Tech Preview stage. Unfortunately you can tell that from the SDK documentation. Here’s some useful links to get you going: Screencasts: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dd439432.aspx These are quite basic, but trust me, you need them to be basic to [...]

.Net 3.5 had some nice tricks in it. LINQ-to-XML was one of them. With the new "X"-types, you can make working with XML really easy. VB.Net 9 takes it one step further, and lets you write XML in your code without strings. "Hey Rich, that’s old news," I hear you say. "And who’s interested in [...]

Have you wondered if and when you should use the new LINQ features in .Net 3.5? Like, where should I put a new extension method? Should I use Func<T> or a custom delegate? How do I best implement a mix-in (extension methods on an interface)? Well, Mircea Trofin has just published a new draft of [...]

Yesterday I thought I’d learn about the LinqDataSource in ASP.Net 3.5, and got an interesting surprise. The new LinqDataSource can also be used with a LINQ-to-SQL model to perform updates. You simply add the DataSource to your page, set the table name, and set EnableUpdate to true. Then, using a standard DataControl, you can make [...]

When learning LINQ-to-SQL, it’s not immediately obvious how to do an update. Querying is easy, and there are methods for inserting and deleting. Updating usually occurs by modifying an object already known to the DataContext and then calling SubmitChanges on the context. var product = (from p in dataContext.Products where p.ProductID == 1 select p).Single(); [...]

Until recently I thought this was a well-known feature. After demonstrating it a few times, I found out it wasn’t. A long time ago, in an cubicle far, far away, someone created the .Net Framework. To cut a long story short, they simultaneously produced guidelines for creating Exception classes, which you should always use or [...]

When you started using LINQ, did you think it looked like SQL? I did. The more I learned LINQ, the more I realized it wasn’t anything like SQL. Take grouping, for example. Because LINQ has a group by statement, and it looks like SQL, I assumed that the syntax for grouping in LINQ would be [...]

Last week I had to prepare a small presentation for a new LINQ workshop. For my research, I browsed through the MSDN documentation on LINQ where I came across a reference to "LINQ to DataSets". I couldn’t find any more information about it though, and so LINQ to DataSets got a small mention in my [...]

So, I did it! I finally did it! I wanted to publish my ideas for a framework, and I did. You can find it on CodePlex at http://www.codeplex.com/aspnetmvp. Go have a look. I really want to know what you think.

Dude! I got quoted! And by none other than Rob Conery of SubSonic fame. It seems like my last post caused quite an unexpected stir. Thanks to both Rob and Scott for taking the time to answer me. I really appreciate it.