Now Available: Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" March CTP   01 Mar 2007 03:46 GMT
Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" is the next generation development tool for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and the Web. The March CTP consists of two releases, Visual Studio Team Suite and Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, which are available in a pre-configured Virtual PC image or as self-extracting installation files.
Source: MSDN

Bridging the Gap: Continuous Integrated Testing with DevPartner Expedites and Optimizes Development   28 Feb 2007 22:24 GMT
Writing test cases and automated test scripts as a developer may not be your idea of challenging application development. You just want to write bug-free code and let the quality assurance testers do the testing when you're done. You're not alone in your thoughts, but however mundane iterative tests and builds seem, it is a necessary component of the Agile development process and can make any development model more efficient. See how Compuware DevPartner can help.
Source: DevX

Using Asymmetric Encryption and Digital Signatures in a SQL Server 2005 Database   28 Feb 2007 00:00 GMT

Two previous article of ours, An Overview of Cryptographic Systems and Encrypting Database Data and Using Symmetric Encryption in a SQL Server 2005 Database, explored cryptosystem fundamentals and looked at encryption support in Microsoft SQL Server 2005. We compared and contrasted symmetric and asymmetric encryption, examined SQL Server 2005's key management, and saw examples of how to use T-SQL commands to create symmetric keys and to use these keys to encrypt and decrypt data.

In this article - the final one of the series - starts with a look at the T-SQL commands for performing asymmetric encryption and decryption. Next, we discuss using digital signatures as a means for ensuring the integrity of the encrypted data. This article concludes with an ASP.NET 2.0 website example that ties together the lessons learned throughout this article series. Specifically, the database used by this ASP.NET application stores customer information with the customer's credit card information encrypted. An ASP.NET page provides a means to view the sensitive information in plaintext as well as a means to add new customers to the database with the credit card information properly encrypted. Read on to learn more!
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla

Integrating .NET Code and SQL Server Reporting Services   27 Feb 2007 00:03 GMT
No product can satisfy all developers out of the box. SQL Server Reporting Services is no exception. But you can extend the SSRS expression system with .NET code.
Source: DevX

Build a Photo Viewer Using the New FTP Classes in .NET 2.0   24 Feb 2007 02:49 GMT
Yet another highly useful but underappreciated feature of .NET 2.0? How about the FTPWebRequest and FtpWebResponse classes? These nifty classes let you built FTP file access right into your applications. See how it's done with this handy photo viewer example.
Source: DevX

Solve Postback Hassles with Cross-Page Postbacks in ASP.NET 2.0   21 Feb 2007 23:02 GMT
ASP.NET 2.0's new cross-page postback capability gives developers three choices to choose between when transferring server processing from one page to another—and they're all useful in different scenarios.
Source: DevX

Hosting WCF Services   21 Feb 2007 04:27 GMT
You can host WCF Services in many ways, but which is right for you? This article describes the desired features of a hosting environment, provides you with an overview of WCF hosting options and their availability, and explains how to implement scenarios applicable to each environment.
Source: DevX

Using Symmetric Encryption in a SQL Server 2005 Database   21 Feb 2007 00:00 GMT

As the attacks in which hackers use become more and more sophisticated, and the programs in which they attack become increasingly complex, encryption is becoming the last line of defense in database management system (DBMS) security. A previous article of ours, An Overview of Cryptographic Systems and Encrypting Database Data, compared and contrasted symmetric and asymmetric encryption and discussed key database encryption concepts, including key management, authentication, authorization, and so on. The article also briefly touched upon encryption capabilities of Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

In this article we will expand upon the first and look at how, specifically, to encrypt the data in a SQL Server 2005 database using symmetric encryption techniques. We'll start with examining the facilities for managing keys in SQL Server and then explore symmetric encryption in SQL Server 2005. A future article will look at using asymmetric encryption. Read on to learn more!
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla

101 Ways to Manipulate the DataGridView Control   15 Feb 2007 00:37 GMT
The DataGridView control, new in Windows Forms 2.0, is so versatile and powerful that beginners can easily be overwhelmed by the options. Here's an at-your-fingertips reference to some of the most common and useful things you can do with it. (OK there aren't really 101 ways but there are a lot!)
Source: DevX

An Overview of Cryptographic Systems and Encrypting Database Data   14 Feb 2007 00:00 GMT

As the attacks in which hackers use become more and more sophisticated, and the programs in which they attack become increasingly complex, encryption is becoming the last line of defense in database management system (DBMS) security. Since Microsoft announced their Trustworthy Computing security initiatives four years ago, the industry has been waiting to see how these initiatives would be implemented in upcoming products. With the introduction of Microsoft's newest DBMS, SQL Server 2005, it does indeed seem as though they have provided what they have promised.

What follows is a two-part article series that provides an in-depth examination of encrypting data in SQL Server 2005. In this article we will exploring key challenges facing database systems and the motivations for providing robust encryption mechanisms directly within the database system. We will also look at encryption fundamentals and SQL Server 2005's encryption capabilities. A future article will step through creating a database table with encrypted data and working with that data from an ASP.NET 2.0 web application. Read on to learn more!
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Source: 4GuysFromRolla