ASP.NET MVC 1.0 has gone RTM!

The RTM release (which is not a great departure from the last RC release) now features the latest jQuery library (version 1.3.2).

Download ASP.NET MVC 1.0 RTM

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As the beta days of ASP.NET MVC are coming to end, Scott Guthrie has announced a free end-to-end ASP.NET MVC tutorial in ebook form.  The ebook is the first chapter of a yet-to-be-released ASP.NET MVC book by Wrox.  Scott Guthrie wrote the first chapter of the book.  The other contributors of the book are Scott Hanselman, Rob Conery, and Phil Haack.

• Download the free e-book! (14 MB PDF – 185 pages.  It’s licensed as Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives i.e. you’re free to share, distribute, print, or hand it out to anyone.)
• Buy the full book

The ebook gives a nice end-to-end walkthrough in building a small, but complete ASP.NET MVC application from scratch.  In particular, the application the tutorial builds is called “NerdDinner”.  Download the source code and unit tests of the completed application at CodePlex.

Thanks Scott, for working so hard to make the chapter available for free to the community.  As the other Scott (Scott Hanselman) said:

…the real applause goes to ScottGu who closed down Starbucks a number of times, working late into the night….

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Media Release

Mike Murach and Associates has just published a 2008 edition of their bestselling SQL book, now entitled Murach’s SQL Server 2008 for Developers. It teaches how to create SQL queries and take advantage of powerful DBMS features (like views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, and cursors) the way the best professionals do.

This includes coverage of 2008 features like FILESTREAM storage, the MERGE statement, new date/time data types, the user-defined table type, the SPARSE attribute, filtered indexes, and more. But beyond that, this book has several features that make it different from most other SQL Server books.

#1: It’s written for application developers
Most developers squeak by with minimal SQL skills, not realizing all the time and work they’d save by mastering SQL. Part of the reason for that is that many SQL books are written for database administrators (DBAs), so developers pass them by. But this book focuses on showing application developers the SQL that they need to harness the power of the database.

#2: It starts off with how to query a database, not how to design one
Many SQL books start off with database design and performance. But if you’re an application developer, the first thing you need to know is how to write queries. So that’s the focus of the first 8 chapters in this book. It starts with simple queries, then moves on to complex inner and outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries that do more of the database processing so that your applications can do less.

#3: It lets developers expand into database design as they want to
After the thorough course in querying, this book shows how to create and implement a database. This material is helpful for developers who have to set up small systems on their own. And it provides a solid introduction to DBA skills for those interested in that career path.

#4: It teaches the advanced features that top developers need
To complete the developer’s mastery of SQL, this book covers powerful DBMS features like views, scripts, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, locking, and security. It teaches SQL features for handling XML and BLOB values. And it shows how to use CLR integration to create database objects in applications using C# or VB code.

#5: Coding examples provide models for a wide range of SQL jobs
One key to mastering SQL is to have plenty of coding examples that show how the features work and what problems may occur as they’re used in everyday applications. And these examples become more crucial as the code becomes more complex.

So besides showing sample code for all types of queries, this book also provides code for database maintenance jobs, for stored procedures, for handling XML and BLOB data, and for using CLR integration. This code can be downloaded for free from the Murach website.

#6: The paired-pages format lets developers set their own pace
Murach books have a distinctive format. Each two-page spread presents a single topic: the lefthand page explains the topic, while the righthand page shows the critical details, using syntax, code, screen shots, and how-to notes. Both beginning and experienced developers find that this format makes it easy to focus on the information they need, whether they’re using the book for training or reference.

Murach’s SQL Server 2008 for Developers is available directly from the publisher at www.murach.com and from all major retail outlets.

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Buy the book

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Microsoft has recently released a new free ASP.NET server control that can be used with ASP.NET 3.5!  The controls can be used in both WebForms and MVC-based pages.  Note that there are also WinForms equivalents for the charting control.

For download links and more information about the charting control, check out Scott Guthrie's blog.

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The 8-year old .NET logo has been given a fresh new look!  This is one of the cool reveals at PDC2008.

Old logo:

New logo (shown here with variants):

What's with the change?

We needed a logo that was in sync with the key values that we want .NET to stand for: consistency, robustness and great user experiences. We also wanted a logo that conformed to the design principles that are driving Microsoft’s brand identity evolution and is reflected in newer brands such as Silverlight, Surface and more.  Finally, we needed a logo that is more strongly aligned with the portfolio of brands that .NET is most strongly aligned with: Silverlight, Visual Studio and the AppPlat server products.

The result is a design we refer to as the “wave.”  The design is strong, simple and distinctive. The suggestion of the letter ‘N’ in the design will become instantly recognizable over time as shorthand for the .NET brand name.

Source: Scott Barnes blog

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ASP.NET MVC Beta is now available for download! The release comes with an explicit "go-live" license and supports all versions of Visual Studio 2008.

Visit ASP.NET MVC to get started or read Scott Guthrie's blog post for details on the latest release.

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Silverlight 2 final release is officially here!

Highlights of new Silverlight 2 features include the following:

• .NET Framework support with a rich base class library. This is a compatible subset of the full .NET Framework.
• Powerful built-in controls. These include DataGrid, ListBox, Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar controls and more.
• Advanced skinning and templating support. This makes it easy to customize the look and feel of an application.
• Deep zoom. This enables unparalleled interactivity and navigation of ultrahigh resolution imagery.
• Comprehensive networking support. Out-of-the-box support allows calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS and standard HTTP services, enabling users to create applications that easily integrate with existing back-end systems.
• Expanded .NET Framework language support. Unlike other runtimes, Silverlight 2 supports a variety of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby, making it easier for developers already familiar with one of these languages to repurpose their existing skill sets.
• Advanced content protection. This now includes Silverlight DRM, powered by PlayReady, offering robust content protection for connected Silverlight experiences.
• Improved server scalability and expanded advertiser support. This includes new streaming and progressive download capabilities, superior search engine optimization techniques, and next-generation in-stream advertising support.
• Vibrant partner ecosystem. Visual Studio Industry Partners such as ComponentOne LLC, Infragistics Inc. and Telerik Inc. are providing products that further enhance developer capabilities when creating Silverlight applications using Visual Studio.
• Cross-platform and cross-browser support. This includes support for Mac, Windows and Linux in Firefox, Safari and Windows Internet Explorer.

Check out the following blog posts for further details of the final release of Silverlight 2:

• Scott Guthrie
• Jesse Liberty
• Tim Heuer
• Official press release

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Media Release

Mike Murach & Associates has just published a 3.5 edition of their best-selling ASP.NET book, now entitled Murach’s ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming with C# 2008.

As its title implies, this book presents all of the best new ASP.NET 3.5 features as it teaches web programming. That includes the ListView and DataPager controls that allow for complex data handling; LINQ data sources for accessing data using C# constructs; new tools for working with cascading style sheets (CSS); and an introduction to ASP.NET AJAX that shows how it can improve the performance of web applications.

But beyond that, this book has several features that make it different from other ASP.NET 3.5 books.

#1: There’s a 7-chapter section on database programming

That’s two more chapters than in the previous edition because .NET continues to deliver powerful new tools for this critical component of business applications.

So this section still teaches the basics of database programming using SQL data sources and controls like GridView. But it also shows how to use the versatile new ListView control in conjunction with the new DataPager control. It shows how to use LINQ data sources, also new in 3.5, to access SQL Server data using the Object Relational Designer and the LinqDataSource control. And it has expanded material on how to use object data sources to create 3-layer applications with custom business and data access classes.

#2: It teaches development the way it should be done today, using Visual Studio

The 1.x edition of this book was one of the first to teach web development using Visual Studio instead of tools like Notepad. Today, no developer should miss out on the productivity features that Visual Studio offers. So they’re integrated throughout this book, rather than being relegated to just a chapter or two at the beginning.

#3: Complete applications show how all the pieces interact

The key to mastering web development is to have plenty of applications that show how the features you’re learning interact and what problems you might run into as you build a website. So this book shows complete applications, including the web forms, the aspx code, and the C# code. These can be downloaded for free from the Murach website, so developers can experiment with them on their own.

#4: The paired-pages format lets developers set their own pace

Murach books have a distinctive format. Each two-page spread presents a single topic: the lefthand page explains the topic, while the righthand page shows the critical details, using syntax, code, screen shots, and how-to notes.

Beginners find that this format breaks the material down into manageable bites. Experienced developers find that they can pick up on information that’s new or interesting just by paging through. And developers at any level find that they can easily pinpoint the details they need when they’re using the book as a reference.

Murach’s ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming with C# 2008 is available directly from the publisher at www.murach.com and from all major retail outlets.

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Buy the book

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