I will be speaking at devLink 2009! If you are not familiar with devLink, take a look at what great technical content you get over three days for only $75. Here is my speaker bio, and my sessions will be:
Windows Mobile Development*
Do you want to learn how to develop applications for Windows Mobile that are useful in your personal life, or in the enterprise? Had enough drag-and-drop demos where you build boring-looking applications? This session will include an introduction to the Windows Mobile platform, .NET Compact Framework, Windows Mobile SDKs, SQL Server Compact Edition, and frameworks from Microsoft and third-parties. The latter half of the session will discuss and demonstrate creating advanced user interfaces with .NET CF as well as tools and techniques for testing, debugging, and tuning your applications. This session expects no Windows Mobile or .NET CF experience, but will presume some Visual Studio and .NET experience.
Compact and Capable!**
SQL Server Compact Edition is an in-process database for use in applications that extend data storage capabilities to the desktop and to mobile devices. It is ideal for distributed and embedded applications and delivers essential relational database functionality in a small footprint while providing the familiar programming and management interfaces of SQL Server. This session will explore how you can leverage SQL Compact as a local data store for Smart Client and Smart Device applications. Also covered will be Visual Studio support, deployment options, ADO.NET interfaces, and synchronization options. Leave this session empowered with knowledge how to make your applications work anywhere the users are.
My sincere thanks and appreciation to the devLink speaker selection committee for selecting my abstracts. Register today and come join me in Nashville, TN from August 13 – 15, 2009.
* The WM Dev session is an in-depth session which will be a multi-hour session.
** Yes, I stole the tagline of the SQL CE team for my talk title (and think it quite apropos for the product).
I am delighted to announce that two of the abstracts I submitted for the Central Ohio Day of .NET 2008 have been accepted! Go to http://cinnug.org/cododn/default.aspx for details, session list, and event registration (even though the event is FREE, please do register as it helps with planning for facilities, swag, and refreshments). I hope to see you there on April 19, 2008! My sessions are:
A Quick Tour of the Windows Mobile Development in Visual Studio 2008 (Level 200)
This session will give attendees a quick tour of Windows Mobile Development in Visual Studio 2008, primarily focusing on developing with the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 against the Windows Mobile API and SQL CE 3.5. See what features are in VS2008 to enable development of Windows Mobile applications for both the hobbyist and the enterprise. This session will also discuss and demonstrate use of Windows Mobile APIs including GPS, Outlook Mobile, SNAPI, and WISP as well as SQL CE 3.5
Access to Your Data Anytime and Anywhere With the Microsoft Sync Framework (Level 300)
The Microsoft Sync Framework (MSF) is a comprehensive synchronization platform that enables synchronization, offline, and collaborative scenarios for services, applications, and devices. This session will discuss MSF, its architecture (including the default providers (Sync Services for ADO.NET, Sync Services for File Systems, and Sync Services for FeedSync)), and the mechanisms by which MSF can be extended. Demonstrations of MSF usage and building a custom provider will also be featured in this presentation
I am very excited about the Sync presentation as I can also now talk about ADO.NET Sync Services for Devices which just released CTP1!
No blogging last week on account of the MVP Summit, but we’re back at it this week…
Microsoft has now RTW’d (release[d] to the web) the final bits for SQL Server Compact Edition (SQLce) 2005 (aka SQLce 3.1):
Go get the bits and be certain to read the associated KB articles.
Software / Hardware
Development
In Other News . . .
Last week, I attempted to install the SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition Tools for Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 and received the following error message:
The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade patch.
How did I work through this issue? I did a repair on my Visual Studio 2005 [Team Suite] installation and then re-installed Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1. After this, I attempted the SQLce VS tools install (SSCE31VSTools-ENU.exe) again. Success!
Of course, performing a repair install on Visual Studio is something we would all rather avoid (and the SP1 re-install). By the time I went to perform the install on a second dev box, I found a better way:
From the original Visual Studio installation media, locate the \WCU folder and install SQL Mobile from there. After that is complete, retry the SQLce 2005 VS tools install. (credit to Amit Chopra from the Visual Studio for Devices team for the tip). For more, check out this thread from the sqlce newsgroup in which fellow MVP Ginny Caughey answers questions.
If you want the download links for all the SQL Server Compact Edition 2005 bits, check out my prior blog post where I list all the downloads.