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Employ refactoring via Visual Studio to write better code

Refactoring is the practice of making your code cleaner and clearer without affecting the functionality. Find out what's included in Visual Studio's Refactor menu, and discover a couple of Visual Studio add-ins that bring refactoring to the Visual Basic community. by Tony Patton

Tags: Developer, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Basic, Code, Feature, Refactoring, Refactor, Refactor Menu, Visual Studio IDE, Microsoft Development Tools, Programming Languages, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-08-04

Bignum arithmetic and premature optimization

What does Knuth's statement, "premature optimization is the root of all evil," mean for security? by Chad Perrin

Tags: Integer, Optimization, Ruby, Programmer, Language, Moore, Scripting Languages, C/C++, Development Tools, Security, Software/Web Development, Web Development, Programming Languages, Software Development, Chad Perrin

Blog posts 2008-07-22

T-shirt of the week: Think globally

As the United States enters yet another Presidential election cycle, the American media deluges us with campaign messages warning of the nation's foreign dependencies, and the importance of responsible future development with a close eye on our environment. They're talking about IDEs, right? by Jay Garmon

Tags: Dependency, Development Tools, Advertising & Promotion, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Marketing, Jay Garmon

Blog posts 2008-07-18

CodeGear: Working hard to rejuvenate its legacy

Justin James jumped at the chance to interview an executive at CodeGear. Discover what the CodeGear developers are working on. by Justin James

Tags: CodeGear, Borland Delphi, Borland Software Corp., Michael, Development Tools, Programming Languages, Productivity, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Justin James

Blog posts 2008-07-01

A .NET primer on reference types and value types

Working with reference types and value types is usually not given much thought during daily programming chores; but if you ever choose to pursue .NET certification, you should be familiar with both types. Tony Patton provides you with a solid background in these programming basics. by Tony Patton

Tags: Method, Reference, Class, Type, Object, Class Type, ByRef, Person, Person Class, SwapPeople, SwapValue, person1.FirstName, person1.LastName, person1.Title, person2.FirstName, person2.LastName, person2.Title, Console.WriteLine, Integer, ByVal, .Net, C#, Application Servers, Microsoft Development Tools, Development Tools, Programming Languages, Middleware, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Enterprise Software, Software, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-06-16

My move from VB.NET to C#

Justin James confesses why he stuck with VB.NET for so long rather than moving to C# and reveals how life has been now that he's taken the plunge. by Justin James

Tags: Microsoft Visual Basic.Net, .NET Documentation, C#, .Net, Programming Languages, Microsoft Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Development Tools, Justin James

Blog posts 2008-06-11

Keeping up with development technology at TechEd 2008

Bill Gates kicked off last week's TechEd North America 2008 Developers conference in Orlando, FL by talking about the fact that he's taking a less active role at Microsoft to spend more time as a philanthropist. Even though this was old news, I learned plenty of new information during the...

Tags: Developer, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Silverlight, Product, Microsoft Corp., Conference, Silverlight 2 Beta 2, Microsoft Sync Framework, Microsoft Development Tools, Enterprise Software, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Software, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-06-09

Video: Bill Gates talks past and future in his 'last keynote' for Microsoft

On Tuesday at Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008 in Orlando, Bill Gates gave what was billed as his last keynote as a full-time Microsoft employee. He talked about the past and the future of software development and even made a few product announcements. Gates said: "When I think...

Tags: Keynote, Bill Gates, Video, Microsoft Corp., Corporate Communications, Software Development, Development Tools, .Net, Marketing, Software/Web Development, Jason Hiner

Blog posts 2008-06-03

Why it's impossible to become a programming expert

The pace of change in the technology industry has made it nearly impossible to specialize in much or become an expert in anything. I started cluing in on this a few years ago when I was reading a lot about Lisp, but I simply didn't have time to try it...

Tags: .Net, C, C#, Development Tools, Expert Programmer, Java, Justin James, Namespace, Perl, Programmer, Programming, Programming Languages, Scripting Languages, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Web Development

Blog posts 2008-05-27

Offshore developers: Focus on comprehension rather than speed

In the discussion about whether you charge by the hour or per day for onsite IT consulting, TechRepublic member Marty R. Milette took me to task for being a "whiny, spoiled, American consultant." The idea that I name my own terms and charge more for onsite work did not resonate...

Tags: Developer, Offshore Developer, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Chip Camden

Blog posts 2008-05-27

Visual Studio 2008 simplifies JavaScript debugging

One of the more cumbersome development tasks is debugging client-side JavaScript code. Tools such as Firebug are helpful, but in the case of Firebug, you're forced to use Firefox. Thankfully, Visual Studio 2008 provides a robust and developer-friendly environment for debugging JavaScript. Simplification Whenever I hear developers discuss...

Tags: Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, JavaScript, Debugger, Breakpoint, Breakpoints, Figure B, Microsoft Development Tools, Scripting Languages, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Web Development, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-05-15

Don't expect these five high-tech skills to bring you more money

If pay rate for a skill is any indication of its value, there are some IT skills that look to be well on their way to extinction. A recent piece from Network World listed the five high-tech skills that don't command the pay that they once did: ...

Tags: Skill, Help Desk, Programming Languages, Development Tools, Call Centers, Strategy, Middleware, It Operations, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Management, Enterprise Software, Software, Toni Bowers

Blog posts 2008-05-07

Create custom Visual Studio 2005 code snippets

Visual Studio 2005's built-in code snippets are great, but you can extend the concept by creating custom code snippets to easily reuse common code blocks in your application. This tutorial walks you through the process of creating custom code snippets. Creating the file Code snippets are defined in...

Tags: Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, Snippet, CodeSnippets Element, Code Element, Microsoft Development Tools, XML, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Web Development, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-04-18

Take advantage of code snippets in Visual Studio 2005

The auto-complete features of Visual Studio .NET are wonderful if you are a Visual Basic developer, but C# developers sorely missed out on the feature. (Of course, C# developers who never use Visual Basic may be unaware of its existence.) Fortunately, Visual Studio 2005 brings auto-complete for code snippets to...

Tags: Folder, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft Visual Basic, Snippet, CodeSnippets Element, Declarations Element, Code Element, Microsoft Development Tools, C#, Programming Languages, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-04-15

Don't sweat migrating legacy .NET projects to Visual Studio 2008

I'm always a bit apprehensive when moving to a new development tool or a new version of an existing tool because of the possibility of breaking existing code and projects. Little did I know that migrating to Visual Studio 2008 would be such a breeze. Visual Studio...

Tags: Project, Microsoft Visual Studio, Solution, Microsoft .NET, Version, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Conversion, Solution File, Wizard, Microsoft Development Tools, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Tony Patton

Blog posts 2008-04-07

When a micromanaging boss is just plain wrong

All of us have encountered micromanagers. It doesn't matter how far up the corporate ladder you are. Your boss -- and it could be the general manager, the director, or even the majority shareholder -- could come barging into a technical evaluation or discussion and outline in excruciating detail on...

Tags: Boss, Analyst, Programmer, Programming, Development Tools, Internet, E-mail, Workforce Management, Team Management, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Online Communications, Human Resources, Management, Paul Mah

Blog posts 2008-04-03

Project failures may soon carry legal risks for programmers

Project disasters come with the territory in IT. Some observers including me pessimistically believe that the majority of IT projects fail to meet their original goals. All too often, "descope and declare victory" is the only possible way to end a project. Part of the problem is that, regardless of...

Tags: Project, Lawsuit, Information Technology, Programmer, Programming, Programming Project, Development Tools, Strategy, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Management, Justin James

Blog posts 2008-04-02

ScrumMaster Boot Camp

Instantly save $500 off the standard course price when you register on TechRepublic or ZDNet! Offer ends April 30, 2008.View Available Dates and LocationsScrum is an agile project management process that allows you to deliver usable results during your project lifecycle, absorbing changes as you go along. In this...

Tags: Global Knowledge Network Inc., Productivity, Project Management, Tools & Techniques, Development Tools, Strategy, Middleware, It Operations, It service Management, Management, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Enterprise Software, Software

Training 2008-04-01

Can you identify your shortcomings as an IT consultant?

Have you ever wondered what clients might say if they had to write a critique about you? It didn't really enter my mind until I read TechRepublic member meryl_logue's comment in the discussion thread about how to become an IT consultant: I NEVER hire a consultant without at least...

Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Referral, Software Development, Strategy, Development Tools, Software/Web Development, Management, Chip Camden

Blog posts 2008-03-28

Security news roundup: Backdoor found in Cisco's IPM, Mifare Classic RFID cracked

Here’s a collection of recent security vulnerabilities and alerts, which covers patches for multiple products from Adobe, a backdoor discovered in Cisco's IPM, an IFRAME exploit that showed up at Trend Micro's Web site, and news that the Mifare Classic RFID has been cracked. Adobe releases...

Tags: Adobe Systems Inc., Allaire ColdFusion, Trend Micro Inc., Vulnerability, Cisco Systems Inc., Technology, Sun Solaris, Development Tools, Security, Operating Systems, Software, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Paul Mah

Blog posts 2008-03-16