Leveraging the .NET Framework in Measurement and Automation Applications   07 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
Discusses the enhanced features of the .NET Framework version 2.0, including easy-to-use language constructs, robust distributed communication functionality, and language and technology interoperability.
Source: MSDN

Take Advantage of ASP.NET 2.0's Data Caching Techniques, Part 2   07 Apr 2005 00:51 GMT
The second half of this two-part article looks at ASP.NET 2.0's new SQL cache invalidation support, and shows you how to use the Caching API to speed up your ASP.NET applications.
Source: DevX

Querying and Updating a Database Using Web Services in InfoPath and ASP.NET   06 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
Learn how to create a Web service and consume that Web service in InfoPath 2003 SP1 and a Web application using ASP.NET.
Source: MSDN

.NET Rocks! - Scott Hanselman and Rory Blyth   06 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
Scott Hanselman returns to .NET Rocks! for the first time in several months. In this otherwise ASP.NET-centric show, Rory shows off his hands-free flush abilities and Scott rants about cascading style sheets.
Source: MSDN

Business Portal Configuration Entity Settings   06 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
This article describes the configuration entity settings of the BusinessFramework.config file in the Business Portal, and how you can use them to change the behavior of the Business Portal application.
Source: MSDN

Unit Testing the Data Access Layer   06 Apr 2005 00:00 GMT

Unit testing is becoming very popular among .NET projects, but unit testing the Data Access Layer (DAL) still remains a common obstacle. The problem stems from the very nature of databases: they are slow, common, persistent, external, and relational. This conflicts the nature of unit tests, which should be quick, independent, and repeatable. Looking at the criteria for good unit tests (from Pragmatic Unit Testing in C# with NUnit, Andrew Hunt and David Thomas), it's easy to see why. The table below lists the goals of unit tests on the left along with the problems that databases pose for unit testing on the right.

Unit Testing Criteria	Problem with Database Unit Testing
Automatic	Testing the database first requires that that database has been set up, therefore we need ways to automatically create the schema and adjust the base data.
Thorough	Thorough testing should cover objects like stored procedures and functions. However unlike business entities that exist in the code and are directly referenced with Intellisense support, data objects are only referenced indirectly through data access code.
Repeatable	A database is designed for persistent storage, yet unit tests should be without persistent side-affects. Therefore you need to ensure that data from one test doesn't interfere with data from another test.
Independent	Unlike business entities, databases are not instantiated. There is likely just one database shared by the entire application. Furthermore even a simple stored procedure can be intertwined with other objects having custom functions or lookups from other tables. Therefore the database is a common and dependent set of objects, making it harder to write independent tests.
Professional	Professional includes industry performance, and databases are slow. This is especially problematic when repeatedly running hundreds of database tests.

While mocking out the data layer can be useful when testing business objects, there is still tremendous value in having the real Data Access Layer thoroughly tested. For example, stored procedures can contain complicated search logic, or database functions can perform logic that must be done at the database level. This article will show how to resolve these problems so that you can reliably unit test your Data Access Layer. First we need to establish two prerequisites:

(This article assumes that the reader is familiar with unit testing and already has a data-access utility class to run stored procedures and execute SQL statements, such as Microsoft's Data Access Application Block (DAAB). For more information on unit testing refer to Muthukamar's article Test Driven Development Using NUnit in C#; for information on Microsoft's DAAB, see Examining the Data Access Application Block or Working with the Enterprise Library's Data Access Application Block.)
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla

Preparing for Indigo—Choosing the Right Technology Today   05 Apr 2005 08:00 GMT
Today .NET offers three distinct technologies for application connectivity: Web services, remoting, and Enterprise Services. Each offers something that the other does not: interoperability, extensibility, and productivity. In preparing for Indigo, you need to choose today a technology that best approximates its programming model, most likely Enterprise Services.
Source: DevX

SQL Server Data Mining Programmability   05 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
Learn more about the new APIs for data mining in SQL Server 2005, and get an introduction to several common development scenarios.
Source: MSDN

Building .NET Add-Ins for Windows Media Center Edition   05 Apr 2005 04:00 GMT
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is an exciting platform for enjoying all of your media from the comfort of your sofa. However, in many cases you might wish to extend Media Center to perform functionality that it does not have "out of the box." Microsoft has created a software development kit that lets you write your own software that runs in Media Center. In this article, Michael Earls shows you how to write your first .NET add-in for Media Center Edition of Windows XP.
Source: O'Reilly

Using the WiX Toolset to Integrate Setup into Your Development Process   04 Apr 2005 07:00 GMT
Learn how the Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset enables developers to integrate setup development into their daily development process.
Source: MSDN