More on Regular Expressions.

I'm starting to use .NET's RegEx class all over...in ways I never expected.  Here's the tools and sites I'm using lately:

• Expresso is a new free tool for working with regular expressions in .NET. [Larkware]
• Of course, RegexDesigner.NET from Chris Sells
• The Regular Expression builder inside of SharpDevelop (which is worth the download just to read the SharpDevelop code!)

And Library Resources:

• RegExLib.com has 213 Regular Expressions at last count (and is hosted by the kick-ass ORCSWeb)
• The Early Adopter Regular Expression Repository at 3Leaf
• The Regular Expression Workbench at GotDotNet.com
• Miloslav's Regular Expression Reference
• Dan Appleman's Regular Expressions with .NET book
• The Tao of Regular Expressions

[Scott Hanselman's Weblog] [ScottW's ASP.NET WebLog]

Wired News interviews Netscape founder Marc Andreessen. The intro incorrectly gives him credit for writing the first Web browser. That honor goes to Tim Berners-Lee. [Scripting News]

An interview that really rather does make him look like a twerp - but then I've never been impressed by the bloke.

Wikilog software. SnipSnap is "a free and easy to install Weblog and Wiki Software written in Java" (via George) [Seb's Open Research]

More on the TaskVision sample.

It is an odd sample. The auto-updating feature is seemingly independent of .NETisms. It would appear there is a stub program which launches the real program - and the stub program stays alive while the 'real one' is running. Meanwhile, said stub looks for a bit of xml on the internet and if said xml says hey I've got a new version downloads it to a *new* directory (it can't overwrite a running program) and runs that next time - it also has a method the real program can call back on periodically and say have you got new, in which case it asks the user if they'd like to switch. Presumably, it then closes down and the stub launches the new. There is absolutely nothing here that couldn't be done without .NET, indeed, I think Wise and Installshield provide such services. Which just goes to show that all .NET is a set of new languages and redone libraries - WinForms doesn't really provide anything new (?) whereas ASP.NET really does seem to provide something new/extended over the old ASP. The question is then, is writing programs easier with .NET than with VB/C++? Do you get less buggy, more 'secure' programs (which was always a claim for Java)?

Text service warns of attacks. Londoners can sign up to a commercial service that will send text messages to help them cope with terror attacks on the capital. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Every cloud has a silver lining or an economic opportunity.

Well here's an experiment. I know a couple of people pondering about whether to go to this bash. The experiment is will anyone wander here also wondering - if so drop me a line via the mail button to the left.

TaskVision: Web Deployed WinForms Sample

Interesting sample for the fact that the bits people might be very interested in (the graph and collapsable panel UI components) seem to be binaries only, not source. Also, interesting for MS upping the ante with something more real-world on how they (may) see the future for applications running with the Internet - as opposed to running via the Internet. HTA never went anywhere, and I don't expect it to.

http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/Europe/reports/open_demonstrators/hp-requirements-specification.html

For some reason, I thought it would be more, much more than this.

New Mac Tool Is Kon-Fabulous. An open-source programming tool for nonprogrammers called Konfabulator lets Mac OS X users create Widgets to do anything from getting the local weather to ordering a pizza online. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]

Not in this way, which is sort of XUL like, but essentially Zeepe can do this - its all a question of presentation.

The Web as a Diffuse Substrate. Clay Shirkey sure knows how to write an article [Sam Ruby]

Is interesting more for its general sociology view rather than application to weblogs, it wanders off towards the end. But, near the beginning is this:

...matters is this: Diversity plus freedom of choice creates inequality, and the greater the diversity, the more extreme the inequality.

Which ought to give the planners at New Labour UK food for thought.