April 29: Get the Inside Story on Visual Studio 2010

Register for Scott's visit here!

Thursday, April 29, 2010, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Are you ready to hear the backstory behind the latest version of Visual Studio? Do you have burning questions for the Visual Studio team? Then you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to hear from Scott Wiltamuth, a Microsoft Product Unit Manager for Visual Studio Languages. Scott is bringing his 17 years of experience at Microsoft to Richmond, and will share his perspective on the Visual Studio 2010 release, drill down into how .NET languages are moving forward in Visual Studio 2010, and spend time answering attendees questions about the new release.

If you use Visual Studio, this is a great opportunity to learn more about the new release directly from the source…don’t miss out, register now!

Bio

As a Product Unit Manager for Visual Studio Languages, Scott Wiltamuth manages Microsoft’s .NET programming languages: VB, C#, F#, IronPython and IronRuby. In his seventeen year tenure at Microsoft, Scott has worked in a variety of roles on a wide range of development tools, including Visual C#, Visual Basic, Visual Basic for Applications, VBScript, JScript, Visual J++, and OLE Automation. Scott is one of the designers of the C# language, and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University. Scott’s blog can be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/scottwil.

May 5: DotNetRocks Richmond Road Trip

Register for the DotNetRocks Road Trip Here!

Carl and Richard are loading up the DotNetMobile (a 30 foot RV) and driving to Richmond, VA to show off the latest and greatest in Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0!

And to make the night even more fun, we’re going to bring a mystery rock star from the Visual Studio world to the event and interview them for a special .NET Rocks Road Trip show series.

Along the way we’ll be giving away some great prizes, showing off some awesome technology and having a ton of laughs. We'll even serve you dinner! You have no excuse to stay at home. And one lucky person at the event will win “Ride Along with Carl and Richard” and get to board the RV and ride with the boys to Raleigh, NC, the next town on the tour (don’t worry, we’ll get you home again!) So come out to the most fun you can have in a geeky evening – and find out what’s new and cool in Visual Studio 2010!

The event will be held at the Massey Library Technology Center at the J. Sergeant Reynolds Parham Road Campus (same location as Richmond Code Camp), 1651 East Parham Road | Richmond, VA 23228.

May 22: Richmond Code Camp 2010.1

Sign-up is open! Click here to attend Richmond Code Camp!

The next Richmond Code Camp will be held at the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College campus on Parham Road on Saturday, May 22nd 2010. It's totally free. No gimmicks. No sales pitches. Enjoy breakfast and lunch at no charge while you mingle with your peers in a state of the art learning facility and enjoy over 40 awesome sessions covering a wide range of database, software and portal development topics.

Please REGISTER.

Does Your Code Tell a Story? by
Alan Stevens

Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Software developers are writers. Our medium is text. What can we learn about writing code by studying the principles of good writing?

Frequently in software development, we solve a problem, check in the code and release it. Unfortunately, this means we release the first draft of the solution.

One of the main lessons of wrtiting workshops and classes is to write in small chunks and revise ruthlessly. By releasing our first drafts, we increase the maintenance cost of our application because it is harder to understand the initial intent of the solution.

In this session, we will explore concepts from writing such as small assignments, bad first drafts, and telling the truth as they apply to the craft of software development.

Bio

Alan Stevens is a father, geek, vegan and software artisan living in Knoxville, TN. Alan regularly speaks at industry conferences and user groups. Alan is an Open Space Technology facilitator. Alan is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in C#. Alan is a member of ASP Insiders. When Alan is not playing with his kids, enjoying a fine cigar, singing or playing his acoustic guitar, he occasionally updates his blog at http://netcave.org.

Join our Facebook Group!

Join the Richmond .NET User Group on Facebook! You can find the group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116297130294

The April 2010 meeting of the RDNUG will take place at a non-standard meeting time! This is a save-the-date reminder..

Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Same place - different time. Join us on Wednesday, April 14 at the standard Markel location. More info is coming!

Join our Facebook Group!

Join the Richmond .NET User Group on Facebook! You can find the group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116297130294

Please REGISTER. Thank you!

Meeting Sponsor: UDig

Silverlight Integrated Testing using Selenium by
John Gonyo

Thursday, Mar 4, 2010, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Let's explore a way to automate testing of Silverlight applications using Selenium, an open-source web site testing framework. We'll look into Silverlight's HTML bridge, the javascript testing syntax and some patterns that will allow us to write tests against Silverlight. We'll also look at some hardships of Silverlight testing such as asynchronous calls and code security. I'll show some work-arounds that can allow us to write successful tests against even the most complex Silverlight application.

Bio

John is a Quality Assurance Tech Lead and Senior Software Engineer at snagajob.com. He's helped improve software quality at snagajob.com by replacing their commercial automated testing tool with a C# tool based on Selenium. He comes from a long background in software development, but most recently he was caught writing high-performance C/C++ applications for national banks. He is an avid cyclist and needs to ride his bike at least once a week or he'll go insane.

Join our Facebook Group!

Join the Richmond .NET User Group on Facebook! You can find the group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116297130294

Our Developer Evangelist is in town! Stop by the meeting to catch up with Andrew and learn about Silverlight!

Please REGISTER. Thank you!

Meeting Sponsor: Macon IT

Silverlight - Lessons Learned by
Andrew Duthie

Thursday, Feb 4, 2010, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Join Microsoft Developer Evangelist G. Andrew Duthie as he takes you on the journey of an experienced web developer tackling a first major Silverlight 2 application. You'll hear about his experience working with two of his fellow evanglists to prepare an application to help the folks at Tech-Ed connect attendees with local user groups and events in their area, and the challenges they faced along the way, including differences in styling between web and Silverlight applications, asynchronous programming trickiness, and the need for good troubleshooting tools. You'll learn that in the end, Silverlight allowed the team to deliver a very cool application, but there was plenty for them to learn along the way!

Bio

G. Andrew Duthie, aka .net DEvHammer, is the Developer Evangelist for Microsoft’s Mid-Atlantic States district, where he provides support and education for developers working with the .net development platform. In addition to his work with Microsoft, Andrew is the author of several books on ASP.NET and web development, and has spoken at numerous industry conferences from VSLive! and ASP.NET Connections, to Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference (PDC) and Tech-Ed. Andrew is also the creator and developer of Community Megaphone, a site designed for promoting and finding developer community events. Andrew can be reached through his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/gduthie/. You can also follow Andrew on twitter.

Meeting Sponsor: Fahrenheit Technology

Functional Programming Techniques for the Object Oriented Developer by
Anthony Conyers

Thursday, Jan 7, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

There are many techniques commonly used by functional programmers that can be of great use to object oriented developers. We’ll start with a brief introduction to functional programming. Then we’ll spend most of our time looking at some common, real world, problems we see as objected oriented developers and use functional techniques to solve those problems in a clean and concise way.

Bio

Anthony Conyers is a Sr. Developer at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation where he designs and develops software on both the Microsoft .NET and IBM Websphere platforms. Anthony has held a number of positions during his 10+ year IT career, including stints as a Technical Trainer, and as a Systems Administrator on both the Windows and Linux platforms. No matter what his official job title Anthony, has always found a way to write code.

Meeting Sponsor: Fahrenheit Technology

Implementing REST Services with WCF and LINQ the Easy Way by
Kevin Israel

Thursday, Dec 3, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

This presentation will cover the REST architectural pattern, and then dive into implementing REST services with the WCF REST Starter Kit. We will cover its implementation model and using Fiddler to discover Service diagnostics and testing. A SQL Database will hold our data and we will use LINQ to perform CRUD operations on our data via the service. Once this is covered we will then look at some newer assemblies that we can use to create our client REST Service consumer. A good time will be had by all....

Bio

Kevin Israel is a Solutions Architect with Ironworks consulting. He has a strong background in SharePoint architecture, Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio Team System and delivering architectural solutions of all types with a focus on scalability, flexibility and high availability. He has been developing software using Microsoft Technologies for 10 years and remains a passionate technologist. Kevin is a Microsoft MVP in Team System. He is a community activist and currently leads the Innsbrook .Net User Group, helps with the Richmond Code Camp, co-founded the SharePoint Saturday events, and enjoy presenting topics at various community events in the area. When not working or involved in community events, Kevin enjoys camping, fishing and hunting, reading, Aikido, coding for fun and spending time with his daughter. You can catch him occasionally blast a tweet on Twitter as @kevdadev.

Meeting Sponsor: Dominion Digital

Harnessing the Power of Code Generation in .Net by
Mark Broski

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Code Generation is fundamental for modern developers. No .Net application will run without a significant amount of code being generated behind the scenes. But why let Microsoft have all the fun? The talk explores ways developers can significantly increase their productivity by switching over to an “Only write it if I can’t generate it” mentality. We will review some of the available tools, like Codesmith, that make it very easy to get started. The talk includes an example of how to integrate code generation into the continuous integration process to produce a homegrown set of entities that adapt instantly to changes in backend database structure.

Bio

Mark Broski began his career as an educator, eventaully becoming a professor of economics at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. His experience in the doctoral program at George Mason University, however, cultivated a love of Virginia and a passion for heavy duty data analysis. In 2002 he made the transition to fulltime consulting work, beginning in Northern Virginia. He's worked on a variety of .Net and SQL Server projects since then. Since 2008 he has worked for CapTech Ventures in Richmond VA. Mark enjoys all aspects of software development from the database to the UI. When he's not coding, you'll find him at the barbecue or brewing his own beer or being draged by his two Siberian huskies along the beautiful James River.

Meeting Sponsor: MaconIT

Digging Deep into Linq (AKA Fun with Expression Trees) by
Justin Etheridge

Thursday, Oct 1, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

If you are using C# 3.0 then you are probably using Linq. Linq is an amazing technology that has a lot going on under the covers. Linq expression trees are the key that has enabled Linq To Sql, Linq To Xml, and all of the other Linq To X tools. Come join us and learn what expression trees are, how they work, and how you can build/parse them. Then you will be able to better understand how you can leverage them within your application. We will also take a look at a few frameworks that use expression trees heavily and see how they are using them to make your life easier.

Bio

Justin Etheredge is a Microsoft C# MVP, author at CodeThinked.com, and founder of the Richmond Software Craftsmanship Group. He is a Senior Consultant at Dominion Digital (DominionDigital.com) in Richmond, Virginia, where he provides guidance in designing and building systems of all shapes and sizes.

Please register for the Richmond Code Camp on Saturday, Oct. 3 at J. Sargeant Reynolds

Register here:  http://tinyurl.com/GoToRCC
Find out all the details here:  http://richmondcodecamp.org/

THE SESSIONS HAVE BEEN POSTED!

Meeting Sponsor: Synigent

Writing Better Code with Visual Studio 2008 Developer Edition by
Steve Andrews

Thursday, Sep 3, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Ever wonder what it would take to really build software that has fewer bugs, runs faster, and is still maintainable? Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Developers includes several tools to assist in writing quality code. In this session, we'll learn how to create and use unit tests, review code coverage across tests, and how to use the code analysis and profiling tools to ensure your code conforms to accepted industry or internal design guidelines.

Bio

Steve Andrews is a Team System MVP and INETA speaker, and has been working as a developer for more than 9 years. During this time, he has designed and developed applications in such widely varying areas as trust accounting, medical information management, supply chain management, and retail systems. Steve is also a MCTS, ICSOO, and community fanatic.

Please REGISTER for the Richmond .NET user group meeting.  Thank you for registering!

Meeting Sponsor: UDig

Business Rules Engines: Building Flexibility and Visibility into Software by
Mike DiIorio

Thursday, Aug 6, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

There are a number of techniques and design patterns that help system architects separate application designs into logical layers. Even with the use of these design patterns, a significant amount of business logic is still buried in a compiled codebase making it more difficult to identify and change. This presentation will discuss the role of the Business Rule Engine (BRE) and demonstrate how it can make it easier to manage decision logic across the enterprise.

Bio

Mike Diiorio is a Lead Consultant and Architect for CapTech Ventures, Inc. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mike was the drummer for house bands on board the ships of Premier, Princess and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Mike holds Bachelor degrees in Music Industry and Computer Information Systems from James Madison University. He is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer and has achieved Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist credentials in .NET 2.0 Web Development and BizTalk Server 2006.

Please REGISTER for the combined Richmond .NET and Richmond SQL Server User Groups meeting.  Thank you for registering!

Meeting Sponsor: UDig

Business Rules Engines: Building Flexibility and Visibility into Software by
Mike DiIorio

Thursday, Aug 6, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

There are a number of techniques and design patterns that help system architects separate application designs into logical layers. Even with the use of these design patterns, a significant amount of business logic is still buried in a compiled codebase making it more difficult to identify and change. This presentation will discuss the role of the Business Rule Engine (BRE) and demonstrate how it can make it easier to manage decision logic across the enterprise.

Bio

Mike Diiorio is a Lead Consultant and Architect for CapTech Ventures, Inc. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mike was the drummer for house bands on board the ships of Premier, Princess and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Mike holds Bachelor degrees in Music Industry and Computer Information Systems from James Madison University. He is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer and has achieved Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist credentials in .NET 2.0 Web Development and BizTalk Server 2006.

Please REGISTER for the combined Richmond .NET and Richmond SQL Server User Groups meeting.  Thank you for registering!

Meeting Sponsor: UDig

Get a Job! by
Steve Jones

Thursday, July 2, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Steve Jones, founder of SQL Server Central talks about how to update your resume to fit into today's modern world, and take advantage of the tools offered by blogging, social networking, and more.

Bio

Steve Jones has been working with SQL Server for over 18 years in a variety of industries and companies. After serving as a DBA for many years, Steve founded SQLServerCentral and currently serves as editor.

Please REGISTER for the Richmond .NET User Group meeting.  Thank you for registering!

Meeting Sponsor: UDig

Enhance your .NET Application with Reporting Services by
Jessica Moss

Thursday, June 4, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Social Time starts at 6:00!
Location: Markel Plaza
4600 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 [map]

Abstract

Improving the experience for users of your .NET application can be as simple as adding a SQL Server Reporting Services report. In a few easy steps, you can create an SSRS report, embed the report, and allow users to interact with it. This session will discuss best practices and show demos for different reporting and application scenarios.

Bio

Jessica M. Moss, a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and business intelligence mentor with Solid Quality Mentors, is certified as an MCDBA, MCTS: SQL Server 2005 BI, and an MCITP: SQL Server 2005 BI. She has been working with SQL Server 2005 and 2008 since their releases and has participated in many warehousing and reporting solutions. Jessica enjoys working with the local community and is a regular speaker at user groups, code camps, and conferences. You can read about her work on her blog, http://www.jessicammoss.com.