New Stuff
Resources for Your Developer Toolbox
Theresa W. Carey
Contents
Licensing Component for .NET
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Wanderlust Software LLC has released licX Licensing Component for .NET, a solution for licensing applications and components written for Microsoft® .NET. Featuring drag and drop integration with existing Visual Studio® .NET projects, licX allows developers to add licensing support to their products quickly and easily. licX provides explicit support for redistributable components, ensuring that only properly licensed components can be redistributed.
By supporting evaluation licenses, licX allows a single product distribution to behave differently depending on the license key used. This allows a developer to package a free download of their full product with an evaluation license key that provides only limited functionality. licX can provide periodic visual notifications (so called "nag" screens) to the evaluating user for purchasing the product. Once purchased, a full license key can be sent via e-mail so that the existing product can be "unlocked" with no need to distribute new binaries.
Put it in Your Pocket (PC)
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SYWARE Inc. is now shipping Visual CE 7, a database and forms development toolset designed for building customized databases on Pocket PC and Windows® CE-based handheld devices. Visual CE 7 features an array of development tools, including support for Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, picture control, multidevice synchronization, and a wide range of numeric, string, and date functions.
Because it supports GPS, Visual CE 7 can open the serial port on the handheld device, read the NMEA standard statements containing positioning data, extract the latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates, and close the serial port. This allows Visual CE to read and store positioning information for a variety of field applications that have relied on paper-based communication.
In addition, pictures can be integrated into any Visual CE database and multiple handhelds can be synchronized to the same desktop table, making it easy to keep the latest product catalog or maintenance data in the hands of the field force.
Visual CE allows strings to be written to or read from the serial port, providing access to a broad range of external devices, including scanners, test equipment, and medical devices. In addition, button colors can be set to prompt users visually and grids can be ordered by specific values. For those with SYMBOL devices, a scan can launch a macro program.
Integration with mEnable, SYWARE's wireless architecture, extends handheld apps with real-time, interactive access to server data, allowing mobile devices to be tied to enterprise business processes.
Telephony under .NET
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Pronexus Inc. has announced the release of VBVoice 5.0, a telephony development environment that runs under Visual Studio .NET. VBVoice 5.0 allows communications developers to choose among a variety of languages including Visual Basic® 6.0, Visual Basic .NET, and C#. New telephony controls include VoIP, SpeechWorks OSR, and Web integration. Standard telecom processes are organized into user-programmable ActiveX® controls, and programs can call any .NET or ActiveX component directly. New controls in VBVoice 5.0 include Voice over IP, which allows both inbound and outbound voice calls over the H.323 protocol.
This integration of supported IP cards means that developers can continue to use existing VBVoice controls regardless of the underlying hardware. VBVoice allows developers to incorporate speech recognition into an application, adding integrated support for SpeechWorks OSR to its speech recognition capabilities. A new Voice Commands control enables developers to make systemwide voice commands (Help, Operator, and so on) available for the duration of a call without requiring additional recognition sessions.
The optional WebQuery control allows data retrieval from any Web site identified by a URL. This is useful for accessing directory information or other Web publications for use in a VBVoice application.
For large-scale installations, VBVoice 5.0 introduces Modularity, an optional, fully distributed master/slave architecture. Developers can host system resources and services such as telephony hardware and TTS and ASR engines on one or more master machines while the applications themselves run concurrently in separate processes on separate machines.
Plug in a Logic Flow Map
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AppsChannel Inc. has released Visual Workbench, a plug-in tool which extends the Visual Studio .NET IDE. Visual Workbench uses a flowchart metaphor to conceptualize and render a programming solution in one step. The resultant logic flow map is stored as XML and can be used repeatedly to generate in-context source code directly to the code editor window. By storing its logic flow maps as XML, Visual Workbench provides compatibility with Microsoft .NET and XML Web Services as well as implementing a methodology independent of programming language restrictions. Currently, the Visual Workbench XML maps can be reused in projects employing Visual Basic .NET and C#. AppsChannel has announced plans to support Visual J#® .NET and Visual C++® .NET.
Cross-platform Design and Debug
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SoftLite Ltd. recently released ScriptWorx.NET, an evolution of the ScriptWorx Professional Web applications development suite. Designed for the Web developer, ScriptWorx.NET offers support for key technologies, including ASP.NET, XML, Visual Basic .NET, C#, and SOAP. A range of new features have been implemented for the design and debugging of Web applications and Web Services, adhering to industry standards for an independent route to .NET. ScriptWorx.NET is compatible with other members of the ScriptWorx family, sharing a common user interface.
High-volume Transaction Environments
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Xtremesoft Inc. has published new versions of its AppMetrics for Transactions and AppMetrics for BizTalk Server products. AppMetrics for Transactions 2.5 is aimed at organizations with applications built using Microsoft Transaction Services (Windows NT®) and COM+ (Windows 2000) application servers. It has a variety of new features focused on making the applications more available. These include automatic detection and correction of performance problems, such as component hangs and memory leaks.
AppMetrics for BizTalk Server 2.0 is designed for organizations with applications built using both Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2002 and 2000. AppMetrics' new Suspended Document Manager helps you deal with the exceptions that occur in any high-volume environment. The Business Process Manager enables operations staff to identify the status of workflows and their associated documents.
Disaster Recovery
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Aelita Software Corporation has announced the newest releases of ERDisk 6.5 for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, and ERDisk 6.5 for Active Directory. These programs are designed to help organizations recover from computer emergencies. ERDisk for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP automate the process of creating and using emergency repair disks and system state backups. ERDisk for Active Directory provides backup and online granular recovery of Active Directory®. Version 6.5 of ERDisk for Active Directory extends its online granular recovery capabilities with attribute-level recovery. It includes features that enable Active Directory change analysis and troubleshooting and improved Group Policy Object (GPO) management.
ERDisk for Active Directory now provides "snapshot" comparisons of two versions of Active Directory, helping with the challenge of isolating differences between two backup copies of Active Directory, or a backup copy and a live version. A new analysis and reporting engine also supports improved change tracking and troubleshooting. Group Policy backup/restore is expanded through support for GPO replication across domains. This gives administrators the ability to model GPO changes in a test lab and then copy them to the production environment. GPOs can also be replicated across live domains to ensure consistent GPO usage across the enterprise.
Version 6.5 of ERDisk for Windows provides control over the backup through an Intelligent Selective backup feature that enables collection of only those files that are not available from other sources, such as the system installation CD or a Service Pack. This feature speeds data collection and reduces the bandwidth and storage required by backups by 85 to 95 percent. During recovery, ERDisk automatically retrieves files from the original source as required.
Search and Edit Source Code
Hurricane Software Inc. recently announced that WinGREP 4 is available for download. WinGREP is a search tool that integrates with multiple IDEs and editors to allow developers to find and edit source code, documentation, and archived files. Click on the desired string and WinGREP will launch the appropriate IDE, open the file, and position the cursor on the match. Searches allow the use of regular expressions, file masking, exact case, multiple strings on any single line, and more. Developers can include or exclude multiple files and save settings using the projects feature for fast recall.
Automated Testing Tools
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Seapine Software Inc. recently released QA Wizard 1.6 for testing Web applications. This version provides a tighter integration with TestTrack Pro, Seapine's defect management solution. QA Wizard's improved integration feature automates moving defects into TestTrack Pro. Seapine's product architecture allows multiple copies of QA Wizard to feed defects into TestTrack Pro on a LAN or remotely over the Internet.
Another new feature is automated exception handling, which lets QA Wizard continue testing when specific exceptions occur during script playback. This can be helpful during unattended testing sessions. For example, while testing a Web application, an error message dialog may appear requiring user interaction. Instead of disrupting the testing process, QA Wizard records the message, closes the dialog, and continues playing back the script.
Two additional new features are the ability to add commands and checkpoints to scripts without rerecording and an undo/redo command.
Create a Flash Demo without Flash
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eHelp Corporation has announced the availability of its newest product, RoboDemo 3.0, for creating software demos and tutorials in Flash format without having to learn Flash. By combining Flash compression technology within an editing environment, RoboDemo 3.0 lets users build Flash tutorials and demos with small file size and high fidelity that can be viewed via the Web and on different platforms without requiring proprietary plug-ins. Companies can use RoboDemo 3.0 to create marketing and sales demonstrations, eLearning tutorials, online support, and more. RoboDemo 3.0 can record Flash movies of an application in use or on-screen activity, which can then be played back as a demo or tutorial. Tutorials and demos can be edited frame by frame.
The Bookshelf
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Developing .NET Custom Controls & Designers Using C# by James Henry is targeted for experienced developers who have a basic understanding of C# and the .NET Framework. The book takes you to the next level of .NET programming: creating custom controls and designers for both Windows and the Web. It starts with an introduction to basic prerequisites, including data binding and event handling. It then discusses type conversion and editor implementation topics.
The book covers the basic architecture of Windows Forms and Web Forms. Topics include tools and services for enhancing design-time support for components, irregularly shaped, borderless Windows Forms, and advanced techniques on building simple and complex UITypeEditors.
Henry also details how TypeConverters work and offers guidelines on implementing new ones. In addition, you'll find a component licensing model and architecture with sample demonstrations, a reusable Windows Forms wizard control, and a reusable Web Forms tab control. More details are available at
http://www.bluevisionsoftware.com.
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Wrox Press recently published Professional .NET Network Programming, by Doug Paterson, which is intended to give the programmer familiar with C# the information necessary to put network programming at the heart of their .NET-based applications.
This book will give you an understanding of the general concepts of networking, information about network programming in .NET with C#, and skills to build network-based applications in .NET. The book includes an overview of the architecture of physical networks, network protocols, the OSI model, streams in .NET, and the classes provided to facilitate access to streams such as StreamReader and StreamWriter.
Then the book moves on to sockets programming, with an introduction to the concept of sockets, and full coverage of using sockets in .NET. There's discussion of TCP, UDP, using multicast sockets in .NET, and application-level protocols built on top of these layers, such as SMTP and FTP.
The book also covers Internet programming with a look at HTTP and e-mail protocols, the .NET classes for sending e-mail via SMTP, and implementing POP3 and NNTP clients in .NET to read mailboxes and newsgroups. The book finishes with an exploration of how to secure network communications in .NET—encrypting network traffic, certificates and Secure Sockets Layer, authenticating and authorizing users with NTLM and Kerberos. All the code examples are in C#. Find out more at
http://www.wrox.com.
Contacts
Aelita Software Corporation 6500 Emerald Parkway, Suite 400, Dublin, OH 43016, 800-263-0036, 614-336-9223, http://www.aelita.com
AppsChannel Inc. 14031 West Highway 51, Sand Springs, OK 918-455-4714,
http://www.appschannel.com
eHelp Corporation 10590 West Ocean Air Drive, San Diego, CA 92130, 800-358-9370, 858-459-6365, http://www.ehelp.com
Hurricane Software Inc. 19401 East U.S. Highway 40, Suite 130, Independence, MO 64055, 888-946-4737, http://www.hurricanesoft.com
Pronexus Inc. 260 Terence Matthews Court, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2M 2C7, 877-766-3987, 613-271-8989, http://www.pronexus.com
Seapine Software Inc. 5390 Courseview Drive, Suite 115, Mason, OH 45040, 513-754-1655, http://www.seapine.com
SoftLite Ltd. Forsyth House, Rosyth Europarc, Rosyth, Fife, KY11 2UU, United Kingdom, +44 (0) 1383 428026, http://www.softlite.net
SYWARE Inc. P.O. Box 425091, Cambridge, MA 02142, 617-497-1300, http://www.syware.com
Wanderlust Software LLC 1120 SE 12th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441, 954-294-2294, http://www.wanderlust-software.com
Xtremesoft Inc. 800 West Cummings Park, Suite 1850, Woburn, MA 01801, 866-987-3631, 781-937-3800, http://www.xtremesoft.com |
Send your New Stuff to Theresa at newstuff@microsoft.com.
Theresa W. Careyis a freelance writer who lives in California. Her byline has appeared in Barron's and PC World.