April 2014

Volume 29 Number 4

Windows Store - Windows Store C++ for C\# Developers: Understanding the Domain

Windows Store - Windows Store C++ for C# Developers: Understanding the Domain

Bill Kratochvil

Modern C++ offers power and performance for developing Windows Store applications, but a blizzard of information and disinformation can stymie C# developers. Bill Kratochvil helps you get started phasing in C++ components where they’ll be most useful.

Windows with C++ - Using Databases on Windows AzureColumn

Windows with C++ - Using Databases on Windows Azure

Kenny Kerr

First it was ODBC, then it was OLE DB, and more recently the relational data access technology favored by Microsoft has switched back to ODBC. But don't worry, Kenny Kerr explains how modern C++ makes it easy to use this older C-style API to access databases on Windows Azure.

MVVM - Multithreading and Dispatching in MVVM Applications

MVVM - Multithreading and Dispatching in MVVM Applications

Laurent Bugnion

Laurent Bugnion continues his series on the MVVM pattern with a look at a common scenario in modern client applications—handling multiple threads and helping them communicate with each other.

Data Points - Adding New Life to a 10-Year-Old ASP.NET Web Forms AppColumn

Data Points - Adding New Life to a 10-Year-Old ASP.NET Web Forms App

Julie Lerman

Legacy code: can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Julie Lerman figures out how to update an old ASP.NET WebForms app using Knockout.js and Breeze.

Async Programming - Patterns for Asynchronous MVVM Applications: Commands

Async Programming - Patterns for Asynchronous MVVM Applications: Commands

Stephen Cleary

In this second article in a series that looks at patterns for combining the async and await keywords with MVVM, Stephen Cleary shows how to develop an asynchronous implementation of ICommand.

Modern Apps - What’s New in Windows 8.1 for Windows Store DevelopersColumn

Modern Apps - What’s New in Windows 8.1 for Windows Store Developers

Rachel Appel

Get the lowdown on better management of windows and tiles, new project templates, updated and new HTML and XAML controls, new networking and security APIs, and much more.

Windows Phone - Build a Cross-Platform, Mobile Golf App Using C\# and Xamarin

Windows Phone - Build a Cross-Platform, Mobile Golf App Using C# and Xamarin

Wallace B. McClure

Golf season is here! Learn how to build a cross-platform mobile app (Windows Phone and iOS) that uses Windows Azure Mobile Services to track drives in a long drive contest.

DirectX Factor - 3D Transforms on 2D BitmapsColumn

DirectX Factor - 3D Transforms on 2D Bitmaps

Charles Petzold

Achieving fluency in 3D transforms is crucial if you want to become a 3D graphics programmer. Charles Petzold shows how you can explore them within the relative familiarity and comfort of Direct2D.

Windows Phone - Build an Advanced Camera App for Nokia Lumia Phones

Windows Phone - Build an Advanced Camera App for Nokia Lumia Phones

Rajesh Lal

Learn how to use the Nokia Imaging SDK to create enhanced photos through the use of multiple filters and effects as Rajesh Lal builds an advanced tilt-shift camera app.

C\# - Using Survival Analysis

C# - Using Survival Analysis

Zvi Topol

Survival analysis is a discipline in statistics that focuses on estimation of time to events. Typically applied in disciplines like drug research, engineering systems design and credit analytics, this feature shows how survival analysis can apply to software development.

Don't Get Me Started - We Didn't Start ComputingColumn

Don't Get Me Started - We Didn't Start Computing

David Platt

Billy Joel's 1986 hit "We Didn't Start the Fire" inspires David Platt to stream a bit of consciousness of his own.

Editor's Note - Survey SaysColumn

Editor's Note - Survey Says

Michael Desmond

The 2013 MSDN Magazine Reader Survey offers an insightful snapshot of our readership and provides a glimpse of the trends shaping the dev space during a time of transition for Microsoft.