I just published a new article.

You won’t find any .Net coding this month. Instead, I will introduce you to my favorite new features of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 from developer’s perspective (because this is what I am after all). There are way too many new features and enhancements to list here. I will also limit myself to talk about the new T-SQL features I prefer.

You can read it from http://www.emoreau.com/Entries/Articles/2012/05/SQL-Server-2012--Whats-new-for-the-developers.aspx.

I have been invited once again by Mario and Guy to record another Visual Studio Talk Show. Once again, it was a great chat about data exchange between application.

If you want to listen to it (in French BTW), visit http://www.visualstudiotalkshow.com/Archives/146-16avril2012-EricMorea.html.

Everybody who tried the beta of Visual Studio 11 has comments about the new plain/dull/monochrome/all caps/… UI. Apparently, the new theme is giving more focus to the code. Jeremy Iversion was bored of the All Caps of the window titles. He wrote a simple extension (called VSCalm)  to change the caps of these titles. You can get if from http://visualstudioaddins.svprogramming.net/2012/03/29/vscalm-extension-for-visual-studio-11-beta/

I just published a new article that will add some more useful feature to the Auto-Complete found in .Net Windows Applications.

Very often I found that users would like a Contains instead of a StartsWith.

This is exactly what my article from http://www.emoreau.com/Entries/Articles/2012/04/A-more-useful-auto-complete-Textbox-control.aspx is about!

I just published a new article about the SQL Dependency object of ADO.Net.

Very often, developers need a way to refresh the UI when something changes in the database. I can safely say that instead of having their application warned that something has changed, developers usually just re-query the database every so often (most of the time based on a timer).

Since Microsoft SQL Server 2005 has been released, a new more appropriate mechanism is available but unknown from most developers I have met. This mechanism is available straight from ADO.Net and is known as SQL Dependency. ADO.Net relies on SQL Service Broker to be warned.

The mechanism is simple. You create a subscription to receive notifications whenever the underlying data of a query changes on the server. The application receives the notification in the form of an event.

You can read the article from http://www.emoreau.com/Entries/Articles/2012/03/Using-SQL-Dependency-in-a-Net-application.aspx

Windows 8 Consumer Preview (another way of saying it is a Beta) has been released February 29.

If you want to start playing with it but don't want to install it as your primary OS yet, you need to find a way around it. Workarounds include running from a VM and dual-booting.

I have personnaly tested another method which is working perfctly for me. I have installed Windows 8 CP on an external hard drive and I now boot from it when I want to put my fingers on the screen (on my Lenovo ThinkPad X220T).

You will find all the steps to do it at http://tweaks.com/windows/52279/how-to-create-a-windows-to-go-usb-drive/ (thanks to Jérôme Laban for the link).

If you are a developer and have any interest in developing for Windows 8, be sure not to miss the Windows 8 Camp. This is a free 2-days event (in Montréal April 10th and 11th 2012).

Find all the information and register from https://win8.msregistration.com/default.aspx?ID=e7d8837a-d69a-490a-96a5-81927db829be

Why attend a Windows 8 Camp?

Be part of the Windows 8 Camp in Montreal, a two day free conference with technical sessions that dive into the platform for building Windows 8 Metro Style apps.

You'll learn from experts in a low-key, interactive way and apply what you've learned with support from Microsoft Canada.

You will learn hands-on how to use the new features in Windows 8 Metro style apps to your advantage.

Also, you will learn how the developer platform supports C#, C++, XAML , HTML and JavaScript and how to monetize and distribute your app.

Other locations (Vancouver and Toronto) are also availble.

Anyone who started playing with Windows 8 slow starts to find equivalence between keyboard shortcuts, mouse and fingers gesture.

If you want a good start up, have a look at this cheat sheet: http://docs.com/IOLP

Greg Duncan created a page full of SQL 2012 related links which are worth digging into:http://coolthingoftheday.blogspot.com/2012/03/sql-server-2012-rtm-day-download-link.html

I don't know if it is an April fool but it looks official:http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2012/03/06/sql-server-2012-released-to-manufacturing.aspx