ASP.NET: Issue Tracker Starter Kits Beta Release.  - the ASP.NET Issue Tracker Starter Kit Beta is available. 

Technologies and Design Approaches Demonstrated:

• Best practices for building applications in preparation for ASP.NET 2.0
• Multiple database support (Access (Jet) and SQL Server)
• Mobile web application development

[via Microsoft WebBlogs]

 Another one to look at.

System.Web.Mail Explained - Part 3.  ..., and felt it needed its own website, in the form of a FAQ. So I built one. You can see it here: System.Web.Mail, OH MY! at http://www.SystemWebMail.com  [via Wanta .NET ?]

Take Your Web Pages to the Next Dimension with FastScript3D.  Rocket-power your Web pages with the new Java technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  [via DevX: Latest Web Development Content]

"Yes, there's Java in there somewhere, but Java Desktop System is really a distribution of the Linux operating system and a collection of open-source applications that anyone can easily use," said programmer Mark Fahley. "Why Sun opted to call it Java Desktop is simply beyond me -- even something as silly as Stoned Beaver would have been a better name."  [via Wired News: Sun Linux a Good Rival to Windows]

 Well, stoopid old me thought it was based on Java - oops! Ah well, it turns out to be just another Linux (JAL) that 'rocks' and just a bit cheaper than Windows.

"This is where Sun blows it badly," said Sweeney. "There is nothing in the documentation that explains just what or where the heck is this code or password. ... It turns out that your serial number is the 'code' needed and should be used also for the password. The word 'moronic' comes to mind for this little exercise. Bad Sun. Bad, bad Sun." ...  "JDS rocks, and I don't say that lightly. It's Microsoft's worse nightmare come true."

Time will tell.

ADAM West.  

The AD team is going wild!

 

I just found ADAM - an AD implementation that doesn't require domain controllers or a server OS.

 

I also ran into our DSMLv2 implementation that works just fine with ADAM.

 

I now have a SOAP-enabled directory service running on my puny little XP laptop.

 

Now all I need to do is figure out how to get MSMQ to use ADAM as its queue directory and I'm cooking with gas!!

 [via Don Box's Spoutlet]

 Got to be of ujse some time.

! Cool Javascript Libraries

FreeImage is an Open Source library project for developers who would like to support popular graphics image formats like PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF and others as needed by today's multimedia applications. The library comes in two versions: a binary distribution that can be linked against any 32-bit C/C++ compiler and a source distribution. Workspace files for Microsoft Visual C++ 6 are provided, as well as makefiles for Linux.

From january 2000 to july 2002, FreeImage was designed and mainly developed by Floris van den Berg. FreeImage is now maintained by Hervé Drolon.  [via .NET Weblogs @ ASP.NET]

Radeox Render Engine API (REA)

REA is a lightweight standard API for Wiki rendering engines. This makes it easy to plug a rendering engine that suits your needs into your wiki. Or this makes the rendering engine from your wiki available to others. Using REA you can make wiki engines exchangeable. The API is LGPL (lighter license like Apache possible) and written for Java.

 [via Radeox :: Radeox]

Portal software makers Plumtree Software, Documentum, BEA Systems and Sun Microsystems on Monday announced the creation of an online library of open-source portal applications, or portlets. The site, called the Portlet Open-Source Trading (POST) site, is intended to spur the adoption of portlets that adhere to the Java and Web services portal specifications.

The site is hosted at development Web site SourceForge.net. The sponsoring companies will provide feedback and recommendations on how to create portal applications that comply with the two standards--called JSR 168 and Web Services for Remote Portlets--for improving interoperability between portals from different providers.

 [via Portal providers create 'portlet' library | CNET News.com]

Introducing Customer Debug Probes and CLR SPY.  

Version 1.1 of the .NET Framework introduces a handy feature called Customer Debug Probes (CDP).  These probes enable you to find and diagnose difficult bugs lurking in managed code, even in a production environment.

I'll share the details of each probe in future blog entries, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, I've uploaded a tool (with source code) to gotdotnet.com called CLR SPY that makes it easy to use the probes.  To get a feel for the tool, add any managed application to the "Monitored Applications" list and run it with the Marshaling probe enabled.  You should see a flurry of messages appear as parameters get marshaled to unmanaged code.

This dynamic analysis tool is a great complement to FxCop's static analysis for writing high-quality managed code.  Use it to find your bugs before your customers do!  Let me know what you think of the tool!

 [via Adam Nathan's Interop-Centric CLR Blog]

Just got Skype.  Try Skyping me using the Skype button under my portrait.  There has been some problem finding people so Skype might be mostly hype.  It's VoIP technology might be up to snuff, but it sure is difficult finding anyone to talk to.  If situation doesn't change, it's being uninstalled after a few days.  Yipes!

SitePoint: Storing Hierarchical Data in a Database, by Gijs Van Tulder. The article first shows how the easy way of storing hierarchies in a database, using parent fields and a recursive PHP function to iterate up the tree. It then goes on to talk about a far more interesting alternative called "Modified Preorder Tree Traversal" where trees are first "flattened" in to a heap-like structure, then each node is stored with a pair of numbers representing that node's position in the tree. I'd seen this somewhere before but Gijs Van Tulder's explanation is far clearer, and comes with some good examples showing how this unconventional storage method can retrieve all of the eventual children of a node in a single query. He also talks about ways of updating the tree structure when new items are added.

If you find Bayesian filters useful, here are two interesting open source packages I found, thanks to Stuart Langridge.

Reverend is a general Bayesian classifier written in Python.  If you are tired of hacking SpamBayes, you might want to give Reverend a try.

Orange is a component-based data mining software with a nice bayesian library inside it.  It is implemented in C++, but comes with Python binding and something called Orange Widgets.

Windows Applicat http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/appexperience/appverifier.asp ion Verifier . "The Windows Application Verifier (AppVerifier) examines executable programs for common application quality issues. Running this tool on an application aids a tester in detecting issues dealing with stability, security, and compatibility."

This tool should be required for all QA departments, just like FxCop is required for all .NET developers. [ sellsbrothers.com: Windows Developer News ]

OK, OK.

Paul Glavich has released version 2.0 of his Dom Validator controls.

These controls support all of the client-side validator functionality found in the Microsoft supplied validator controls, but contain support for a wider variety of browsers such as Netscape 6.0+ (client and server side) and 4.72+ (server side only), along with Internet Explorer. This release incorporates a new RangeDomValidator to complete the validator control set, has many bug fixes, and includes .Net framework 1.1 support.

Cutting Edge - Form-based Programming in ASP.NET. Tips for Forms Programming [MSDN: .NET Framework and CLR]

In here it mentions that showModalDialog suffers from the fact that it cannot host a form without wrapping in an iframe - in Zeepe 7 we don't need the iframe hack.

It also mentions something I didn't know - a .NET generated form must post back to the same 'page'; reasonable I suppose but ....

Tidy...

Might be useful in the future.