April 2015

Volume 30 Number 4

Azure Notification Hubs: Best Practices for Managing Devices

Microsoft Azure : Azure Notification Hubs: Best Practices for Managing Devices

Sara Silva

Sara Silva explores the best practices for sending cross-platform and customized push notifications using Azure Notification Hubs and shows how they are integrated into Azure Mobile Services.

Queryable ServicesColumn

Cutting Edge : Queryable Services

Dino Esposito

Organizations need to maintain the backend business services they expose as plain HTTP endpoints. Using OData to implement queryable services on top of an ASP.NET Web API lets you give clients the flexibility to download only the fields in which they’re interested.

Automate Creating, Developing and Deploying Azure Websites

Microsoft Azure : Automate Creating, Developing and Deploying Azure Websites

Gyan Jadal

Enable your Azure Website with continuous and automated deployment and authentication for all types of different environments.

Visual C++ 2015 Brings Modern C++ to Legacy CodeColumn

Windows with C++ : Visual C++ 2015 Brings Modern C++ to Legacy Code

Kenny Kerr

Kenny Kerr revisits the topic of smart handle class templates and explores how to use modern C++ to enhance some old C-style libraries.

Event Hubs for Analytics and Visualization

Azure Insider : Event Hubs for Analytics and Visualization

Bruno Terkaly

When dealing with massive stores and sources of data, you need advanced data analytics and visualization techniques to get the most out of that data. This sample project will show you how to do just that.

EF6 Code First Migrations for Multiple ModelsColumn

Data Points : EF6 Code First Migrations for Multiple Models

Julie Lerman

The new support for Code First Migrations in Entity Framework 6 makes it easier to store data for multiple models in a single database. But that support may not be what you imagine. Julie Lerman explains what this feature does and doesn’t do, and how to use it.

Visualize Streaming Data the Easy Way with OData

OData : Visualize Streaming Data the Easy Way with OData

Louis Ross

Louis Ross explores the use of OData for exposing near-real-time time-series streaming data, and demonstrates a sample implementation of an industrial automation time-sequence data streaming capability that uses an OData service.

Multi-Class Logistic Regression ClassificationColumn

Test Run : Multi-Class Logistic Regression Classification

James McCaffrey

James McCaffrey explains how standard logistic regression classification can be extended using multi-class logistic regression, which allows the variable to predict to have three or more values.

2D Drawing Techniques and Libraries for Web Games

Game Development : 2D Drawing Techniques and Libraries for Web Games

Michael Oneppo

High quality 2D graphics are the lifeblood of many Web games. Michael Oneppo examines the technologies at play for Web graphics and explores some libraries that make drawing for 2D games easier and faster.

A Mobile-First Approach to Modern App DevelopmentColumn

Modern Apps : A Mobile-First Approach to Modern App Development

Rachel Appel

When it comes to mobile development, native apps have different development, architecture and sometimes business requirements than Web applications. Keep in mind such considerations as UI, navigation, power usage and scalability, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Authoring Desired State Configuration Custom Resources

Windows PowerShell : Authoring Desired State Configuration Custom Resources

Ritesh Modi

DSC Resources are a core component that enables authoring configurations. This article will provide comprehensive information to start authoring DSC custom resources from group-up. It would also provide steps to deploy and use them in configurations.

Siri and Cortana TangleColumn

Don't Get Me Started : Siri and Cortana Tangle

David Platt

David Platt consults his inner dialog and recounts a recent conversation between mobile avatars Apple Siri and Microsoft Cortana.

Fished OutColumn

Editor's Note : Fished Out

Michael Desmond

The Lenovo Superfish fiasco is a cautionary tale about a trusted enterprise computing company that should have known better.