thinking-out-loud

LINQ Pop Quiz

So, I was browsing the C# 3.0 specification, and I noticed the following:

from c in customers
where c.City == "London"
select c

translates to an invocation of a Where method with a synthesized lambda expression created by combining the iteration variable identifier and the expression of the where clause:

customers.
Where(c => c.City == "London")

Which begs the question:

When [oh when] would I ever want to use the verbose, ugly

from c in customers where c.City == "London" select c

to replace the almost lovely

customers.Where(c => c.City == "London")

???

My Answer: Never.

MSF for Agile Software Development

It looks like Granville "Randy" Miller has a book coming out about MSF for Agile Software Development.  It should be available in the UK on February 28th, but I see no sign of it in the US. 

Info:

Publisher: Addison Wesley

Language: English

ISBN: 0321336445

VS2005/.Net v2.0 and VS2003/.Net v1.1 Compatibility

I’ve had a couple of clients ask about this, and recently a prospective client asked again.  But rather than just base my answer off experience, I did some research.  Here’s the skinny on VS and .Net version compatibility.

When first upgrading, I was pleasantly surprised that Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2003 work well when installed on the same computer. 

• VS2005 installs a “Version Selector” application loader that is associated with solution and project files.  When you open a VS related file, the Version Selector first checks which version of VS the file requires, and then loads the right version of VS.
• If you install VS2005 without VS2003 already installed (as I have on my laptop here), you still get the Version Selector. 
• If you install VS2003 later, that installation process will associate ALL VS solution and project files with VS2003.  You can re-associate them with the Version Selector by right-clicking on the file, selecting “Open With…”, choosing the “Microsoft Visual Studio Version Selector”, and checking the “Always use….” checkbox.
• You can open a VS2003 solution or project with VS2005 and up-convert it to the newer version, but you can’t go back.  Warning: there are some choices to be made for web apps.

.Net 2.0 which comes with VS2005 is backward compatible with .Net v1.1. 

• .Net v2.0, v1.1, and v1.0 all cohabitate well in a "side-by-side" installation.  When they are installed on the same machine, starting a managed application will cause the appropriate version of the .Net framework to be used.
• If only v2.0 is present, it will execute code compiled for v1.1 without known issues.  I did some research and could only find one stated case of compatibility failure in the final v2.0 frame, which was related to IE plug-ins.  (I can’t find it now, but the issue is that if IE is configured for .Net v2.0, it might have a problem running a v1.1 plug-in b/c a process can only load one version of the framework at a time.)
• If you up-convert a solution or project and compile code written to the v1.1 spec with v2.0, you should get no (new) errors.  However, you may receive API deprecation warnings.  And there are quite a few deprecated types and members.  Here’s the official list of “backwards breaking changes”.

All in all, I highly recommend moving to VS2005.  I like the IDE much better and the learning curve is minor.  You can start using it right away and pick up the crafty things like snippets and built-in unit testing over time.

PowerPoint Presenter View

I recently presented a private seminar on MSF 4.0, comparing and contrasting the ‘agile’ vs. the ‘CMMI Process Improvement’ methods specified by the new version of the framework.  Unfortunately, my new Dell Inspiron 9300 didn’t like using a second monitor – acted like the ctrl-up-arrow key combination was being pressed.  Not sure why. It totally screwed up the presentation and I had to revert to another machine.
Anyway, today I got around to playing with it a little.  It seems I can circumvent the issue by extending my desktop to a second screen rather than using Fn-F8 to switch modes.  But here’s the really cool thing I discovered.  In fact, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I’d never seen it before.  But here it is…
OK.  I’ve always known, since the first time I tried extending my desktop to a second monitor or my TV, that PowerPoint can present on the second screen while your desktop remains on the primary display.  (MediaPlayer can do it too.)  But today when I selected the PowerPoint menu options Slide Show > Set Up Show, I saw a little a little check-box under the drop-down list of monitors.  The check-box is labeled, “Show Presenter View”.  Try it out.  It’s cool!
Presenter View displays a view just for the presenter on the display not being used for the audience.  So, if you present on the second monitor, the Presenter View shows on the first, and visa versa.  The Presenter View contains the slide currently showing, presenter notes, the page number, the time you’ve spent on that slide – all in the middle of the screen.  On the left is shows a scrolling list of all the slides.  And on the right you have some handy buttons like “Black Screen”, which I’ve always wanted while teaching to turn the blank the screen and encourage the audience to look at me.
So, it seems really cool and I thought others would want to know.  Maybe I’ve just been living in a cave.  But on the chance others I missing it too, there you go.  PowerPoint Presenter View.