How to Use Settings in Visual C# 2005   29 Sep 2006 00:17 GMT
Learn the difference between application and user settings, how to create new settings at design time, how to access settings at runtime, and how to incorporate multiple sets of settings into your C# application.
Source: MSDN

Accessing and Updating Data in ASP.NET 2.0: Retrieving XML Data with XmlDataSource Control   27 Sep 2006 00:00 GMT

Data Source Control Basics - explores the concepts and advantages of data source controls, and compares their usage in ASP.NET 2.0 to data access techniques in ASP.NET 1.x.

Accessing Database Data - shows how to use the SqlDataSource and AccessDataSource controls to query data from a relational database.

Filtering Database Data with Parameters - learn how to retrieve just a subset of database data based on hard-coded values and values from the querystring, other Web controls on the page, session variables, and so on.

Retrieving XML Data with XmlDataSource Control - see how to retrieve both remote and local XML data and display it in a data Web control.

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A Multipart Series on ASP.NET 2.0's Data Source Controls
ASP.NET 2.0 introduced a number of new Web controls designed for accessing and modifying data. These controls allow page developers to declaratively access and modify data without writing any code to perform the data access. This article is one in a series of articles on ASP.NET 2.0's new data source controls.

With its new declarative data source controls and improved data Web controls, ASP.NET 2.0 has greatly simplified the process of working with data. In Part 2 of this article series, Accessing Database Data, we looked at how to use the SqlDataSource control to retrieve data from a relational database, which could then be bound to any data Web control (such as the GridView, DetailsView, FormView, DataList, Repeater, and so on). XML data can be accessed (and displayed) just as easily with the XmlDataSource control.

The XmlDataSource control makes accessing, filtering, and transforming XML data a simple, code-free process. Additionally, the XPath() and XPathSelect() databinding methods added to ASP.NET 2.0 make displaying particular XML values or binding entire XML nodesets just as easy. And the XML data accessed can be from a local file or automatically downloaded from a specified URL. In this article we will examine how to use the XmlDataSource control and the XPath() and XPathSelect() databinding methods, displaying the results in a variety of data Web controls. Read on to learn more!
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla

Disable the Standard Window Close (X) Button   26 Sep 2006 22:44 GMT
This code disables the X button in the window form.
Source: DevX

Add Continuous Integration Capabilities to Team Foundation Server   26 Sep 2006 21:51 GMT
Continuous Integration is an agile process that rebuilds a project whenever the underlying code changes. Find out how to modify your Team Foundation Server projects' "build types" to implement continuous integration features such as automatic builds, testing, and problem notification.
Source: DevX

Visual Studio 2005 (SP1) Beta is now available   26 Sep 2006 18:04 GMT
Microsoft has released the Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta. Visual Studio 2005 shipped in November of 2005 and this beta Service Pack incorporates fixes that we have addressed since that release.
Source: MSDN

Introducing Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Power Packs   25 Sep 2006 19:08 GMT
Visual Basic 2005 Power Packs are Add-Ins, Controls, Components, Tools, or Samples for you to use with Visual Basic 2005 to make developing great applications even easier. The first two Power Packs are now available for free download.
Source: MSDN

Putting the VS 2005-Generated Data Access Layer Into Perspective   23 Sep 2006 02:22 GMT
Get an insider view of VS 2005 auto-generated Data Access Layers (DALs) so you can edit and extend the code.
Source: DevX

Consuming External Web Services with Microsoft Atlas   21 Sep 2006 22:43 GMT
To consume external Web services in Atlas, you build a server-based Web service proxy to the service. The good news is that you can leverage Visual Studio and Atlas features to handle most of the work.
Source: DevX

Low-Cost High Availability: Simple Database Monitoring in a Windows Environment   20 Sep 2006 23:50 GMT
The .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005 make it easy to create a basic but extensible database-monitoring solution without a lot of complexity or coding.
Source: DevX

Creating Validator Controls for the CheckBox and CheckBoxList   20 Sep 2006 00:00 GMT

ASP.NET provides a variety of validation Web controls that can be used to validate a user's form field inputs. (See Form Validation with ASP.NET - It Doesn't Get Any Easier! for general information on the validation Web controls and Dissecting Validation Controls in ASP.NET 2.0 for the validation control changes from ASP.NET version 1.x to ASP.NET version 2.0.) Unfortunately, the validation Web controls do not work with the CheckBox or CheckBoxList Web controls. If you set a validation control's ControlToValidate property to the ID of a CheckBox or CheckBoxList, the page will throw an HttpException, stating: "Control 'controlID' referenced by the ControlToValidate property of 'validationControlID' cannot be validated."

There may be times, however, when you need to provide validation for a CheckBox or CheckBoxList. Many Web pages with Terms of Service include a CheckBox titled "I agree to the above terms" that must be checked before continuing. Likewise, a Web Form may contain a set of options in the form of a CheckBoxList. Perhaps the user is required to check at least one of these options before continuing. To provide such validation, we have three choices:

1. Forgo any sort of validation Web control semantics and perform the validation check using code on postback. The downside of this is that it breaks from the standard validation control metaphor and requires extra effort to include client-side validation.
2. Use the CustomValidator control and define our own server-side and client-side validation logic. The benefit of this approach is that it adheres to the validation control metaphor; however, the validation logic is tightly bound to the ASP.NET page, meaning that the server-side and client-side validation must be replicated on all pages that need to validate a CheckBox or CheckBoxList. (See Using the CustomValidator Control for more information on this topic.)
3. Create a custom, compiled validation server control that provides the functionality needed. The benefit of this approach is that we have a reusable, easily deployable custom server control that adheres to the validation control metaphor. Unfortunately, this option requires the most upfront code/effort.

In this article we'll implement the third option, creating two custom server controls, CheckBoxValidator and CheckBoxListValidator. The download at the end of this article includes both the entire source code and a compiled assembly that you can drop into your ASP.NET 2.0 web applications. Read on to learn more!

The server controls provided in this article were designed using Visual Studio 2005 and the .NET Framework 2.0's base class libraries; consequently, they will only work in ASP.NET 2.0 applications. If you are still using ASP.NET 1.x, check out Creating a Validation Control for CheckBoxLists. Alternatively, you may adapt the code presented here to work in ASP.NET 1.x.
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla