Codeguru Update eNewsletter – April 8th, 2008

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CodeGuru
Newsletter
April 8, 2008
http://www.CodeGuru.com


This newsletter is part of the Developer.com, EarthWeb, and
internet.com networks.
Jupitermedia Corporation


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___________________________
Sponsors ________________________________
Business Objects

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TOPICS:



–> Editorial
–> Recently Published Books

–>
New on CodeGuru:
        ==>
ADO.NET
               
– A Basic VB.NET ADO.NET Tutorial: Adding, Deleting,and
Updating
        ==>
ADO.NET
               
– A Basic ADO.NET Tutorial in Visual
Basic.NET
        ==> Controls:
TabContainer
               
– Lazy Loading the ASP.NET AJAX TabContainer
Control
        ==>
Gaming
               
– Simple DirectMedia Layer: Gaming Platform for C++, Java, and
More
        ==> IDEs: Visual
Basic
               
– [Updated] Little Quirks in the VB.NET
IDE
        ==> Visual
C++
               
– Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack: MFC Enhancements


–> Discussion Groups — HOT
Threads 
        – Opengl
flickering and saving images to a bitmap
(VC++)
        – How do you feed a
multibyte character into a CString?
(VC++)
        – rundll and dll functions
(VB 6)


–> Highlighted new articles on
Developer.com 

        1.
Enabling Project Success Through an Architecture
Baseline
        2. Simple DirectMedia
Layer: Gaming Platform for C++, Java, and
More
        3. Working With Design
Patterns: Prototype


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Comments
from the
Editor
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I want to thank everyone who provided feedback last week. I had planned to
respond to each of you who emailed; however, there were simply too many replies
to do it in a timely manner.  I do appreciate the feedback on what I should
work to keep in this newsletter as we evolve it into HTML. Your feedback truly
helps and is appreciated.


Last week, I was going to make a few comments about the Microsoft D
programming language that is starting to get a small amount of buzz. I decided
that writing about this topic on April 1st might cause some people to believe I
was joking in mentioning that Microsoft is working on such a new language.


In truth, the Microsoft D programming language likely is no joke. The
Microsoft D programming language is a declarative language that seems to be
developed around Microsoft’s “Oslo” project.


“Oslo” is not a product, but rather a set of technologies that Microsoft is
developing to help simplify the effort of building composite applications within
and across organizations. It is targeted to extend the SOA paradigm. The D
programming language is a text-based language designed to make development easy
within this model.


It is worth mentioning that, if Microsoft sticks with the name D, you should
be cautious not to confuse it with other D programming languages. As one
example, Walter Bright of Digital Mars created a D programming language and
compiler. His D programming language was positioned to some extent as “an easier
C++” that could be used to write high-performance solutions with an easier
language model.


According to Wikipedia, D is not just a variant of C++, but rather has many
redesigned features. The first stable version was released in January of
2007.


If you are a C++ developer, the big news for you is the release of the Visual
C++ 2008 Feature Pack. Just released by Microsoft, the download includes
extended support for a number of TR1 features such as Smart pointers, regular
expression parsing, polymorphic function wrappers, type traits, and more. It
also contains MFC extensions to support the Office Ribbon style interface, fully
customizable toolbars and menus, a set of advanced GUI controls, advanced MDI
tabs, and other things.


You can find an overview of the Visual C++ 2008 Features Pack as well as the
download at:


http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,iwf3,8duv,jorm,i5r0


You’ll also find an article by Nick Wienholt on Codeguru at:


http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,7yab,2bp5,jorm,i5r0


Until next week…


Brad!
—————————
Bradley L.
Jones
www.CodeGuru.com
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Recently
Published Books
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For those of you keeping up by reading books. The following are just a few of
the new books that have been recently released. If you’ve read any of these,
feel free to write a review to be posted on CodeGuru. See the submission
guidelines at:


http://www.codeguru.com/review-guidelines.php


–> Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure
Training Kit (MCTS Exam 70-643)
      By
J.C. Mackin and Anil Desai for Microsoft Press
     
700 pages for $69.99 (hardbound)
      http://books.internet.com/books/0735625115


–> Build a Program Now! Visual C# 2008 Express
Edition
      By Patrice Pelland for
Microsoft Press
      270 pages for $19.99 w/
DVD
      http://books.internet.com/books/0735625425


–> AJAX, Rich Internet Applications, and Web Development
for Programmers
      By
Deitel and Deitel for Prentice Hall
      1000 pages
for $59.99
      http://books.internet.com/books/0131587382


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New
& Updated Articles on
CodeGuru
=========================================================


Following are short descriptions of new articles on CodeGuru. If you are
interested in submitting your own article for inclusion on the site, then you
will find guidelines located at


http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,fka1,909i,jorm,i5r0


This week’s CodeGuru posts:


==> ADO.NET


– A Basic VB.NET ADO.NET Tutorial: Adding, Deleting,
and Updating
    By
mendhak
Manipulating data with ADO.NET can be easy. Discover the steps to
creating a simple form to add, update, and delete database records using
ADO.NET.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,eb9o,c6p5,jorm,i5r0


==> ADO.NET


– A Basic ADO.NET Tutorial in Visual
Basic.NET
    By mendhak
Discover a quick (and
easy) introduction to using ADO.NET to read information from a database.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,5s32,2z9c,jorm,i5r0


==> Controls: TabContainer


– Lazy Loading the ASP.NET AJAX TabContainer
Control
    By Mark Strawmyer
Learn how to avoid
possible performance problems in your web applications when using the ASP.NET
AJAX TabContainer by employing a technique known as lazy loading.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,lbds,irg5,jorm,i5r0


==> Gaming


– Simple DirectMedia Layer: Gaming Platform for C++, Java,
and More
    By Victor
Volkman
Got game? SDML immerses you into a complete game developer’s
environment, including low-level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick,
OpenGL, and 2D video framebuffers.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,boyz,eiwp,jorm,i5r0


==> IDEs: Visual Basic


– [Updated] Little Quirks in the VB.NET
IDE
    By Richard Newcombe
Every program has
bugs; this is the way things are. Look at some of the quirky bugs found in the
.NET 200# IDE.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,6fuk,7u4y,jorm,i5r0


==> Visual C++


– Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack: MFC
Enhancements
    By Nick Wienholt
Hot on the heels
of the significant MFC updates that were delivered with the release of Visual
Studio 2008, the Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack significantly boosts the ability
of MFC to deliver modern-looking user interfaces that will be familiar to
Windows and Office users. Look at these new controls and see how MFC developers
can significantly improve their application’s look and feel.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,7yab,2bp5,jorm,i5r0


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Discussion
Groups
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Check out the CodeGuru discussion forums at:


http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,bcr8,cx5j,jorm,i5r0


Forums include Visual C++, General C++, Visual Basic, Java, General
Technology, C#, ASP.NET, XML, Help Wanted, and much, much, more!


… HOT THREADS …


Some of the current threads with the most activity are:


==> Opengl flickering and saving images to a bitmap
(VC++)
        http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,hruz,1qaj,jorm,i5r0


==> How do you feed a multibyte character into a CString?
(VC++)
        http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,e413,ktz5,jorm,i5r0


==> rundll and dll functions (VB
6)
        http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,cwyt,9qv1,jorm,i5r0


==========================================================
New
Articles on
Developer.com
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Below are some of the new articles that have been posted to Developer.com (http://www.developer.com).


1. Enabling Project Success Through an Architecture Baseline

    By Jeffrey Ryan –
Have you participated in a
proof of concept, prototype, or pilot? How about an architecture baseline? If
not, consider how you might include this valuable software development activity
in your next project.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,99uo,os0,jorm,i5r0


2. Simple DirectMedia Layer: Gaming Platform for C++, Java, and
More
    By Victor Volkman –
Got game? SDML
immerses you into a complete game developer’s environment, including low-level
access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, OpenGL, and 2D video
framebuffers.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,izm9,gdvr,jorm,i5r0


3. Working With Design Patterns:
Prototype
    By Jeff Langr –
Like the abstract
factory pattern, the prototype pattern helps you adhere to a clean design by
moving object creation into a polymorphic hierarchy. When using the prototype
pattern, you create objects by making copies of already existing
instances.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3wqi,1,h4c7,ate4,jorm,i5r0


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