New Stuff

Resources for Your Developer Toolbox

Theresa W. Carey

Contents

Testing the User Experience
Configuration Management System
Generate Code and Database Documentation
Visualize Your Data
Push Those Patches
Convert from Speech to Text
Troubleshoot Task Resources
Smart Components
The Bookshelf

Testing the User Experience

Techsmith recently rolled out Morae, which records and synchronizes user and system data for the analysis of human-to-computer interaction. It enables users to record, log, analyze, and share user information, application details, and system data with its automatically synchronized screen and camera video, and can even be run on a laptop.

The default settings record screen video, camera video, and audio of the user (with installed camera and microphone), as well as Web page changes, mouse clicks, keyboard entry, onscreen text, and various application events.

The company's Rich Recording Technology platform synchronizes these input streams into one recording file. Recorder can be set to start and stop manually, set for a specific event, or specific time. Start and stop options such as event-based triggers (including mouse clicks) or the launching or closing of an application can be modified independently. For example, you could set Recorder to begin recording each time Microsoft® Internet Explorer is launched, then stop recording after a specified period.

The search results can be viewed in a time-stamped list view or interactive graph format, synchronized with the video. Your search results can be exported to a comma-delimited file so that they can then be imported into other applications.

https://www.techsmith.com

Configuration Management System

Perforce Software announced version 2003.2 of its Fast Software Configuration Management (SCM) System, which includes the Perforce Plug-In for Windows® Explorer (P4EXP). The plug-in gives one-click access to Perforce SCM functionality when developers use Windows Explorer in order to browse files and folders.

Perforce tracks and manages software development, handles distributed development, and supports developers across more than 50 operating systems.

The system groups multifile updates into atomic changes, enables concurrent development, and manages multiple software releases by using its own Inter-File Branching system.

SCM users can access source control through the file management environment of Windows Explorer. The newly designed look of the Perforce Web Client (P4Web) is consistent with the appearance of Perforce Software's Windows, Linux, and Macintosh interfaces.

Additional server enhancements in Performance Software version 2003.2 include improved performance, more versatile file diff layouts for mixed-platform environments, and new options for integrating files and viewing annotated file content.

https://www.perforce.com

Generate Code and Database Documentation

SharpPower Corp. released RapTier 1.4, a C#, Visual Basic® .NET, ASP.NET, and SQL code generator for database-driven applications. The latest version introduces ASP.NET UI generation, support for FoxPro and Sybase databases, stored procedure wrapping, and database documentation generation.

The data access code generated by RapTier provides efficient isolation of SQL code and business logic, supports both DataSets and typed Data Transfer Objects, and represents database stored procedures as regular .NET code. Generated ASP.NET and Windows Forms applications allow the user to edit, sort, insert, and delete records in the database.

RapTier 1.4 allows users to generate database documentation that contains information about tables, views, stored procedures, indexes, triggers, and table relations. SQL Server™, MSDE, Microsoft Access, Oracle, MySQL, FoxPro, Sybase SE, and Sybase Anywhere are all supported. RapTier is available in three editions: Lite, Professional, and Enterprise.

https://www.SharpPower.com

Visualize Your Data

Tecplot Inc. recently announced the release of Tecplot Edge 2.0, a data visualization product designed for application developers. Tecplot Edge is a customizable version of Tecplot that can be integrated with other third-party applications.

With Tecplot Edge, developers can integrate XY, 2-D, and 3-D, plotting capabilities into their solver, simulation code, or analysis application. New in Tecplot Edge 2.0 is the ability to modify the entire menu system and replace the Tecplot sidebar. This lets developers tailor the interface and deliver a solution with a customized appearance. Also new is support for bitmapped buttons in the Tecplot GUI Builder and enhanced development tools. Tecplot Edge 2.0 is available for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and Unix. A suite of development tools for extending functionality and building platform-independent GUI code is also included.

https://www.tecplot.com

Push Those Patches

Executive Software has unveiled new patch management functionality available in Sitekeeper 3.1 via a plug-in that utilizes inventory and "push" deployment technology. This update determines which versions of software are running on which machines, and allows you to download and update software with just a few clicks. You can determine the machines that need specific software versions, updates, or patches.

The redesigned interface contains direct links for help, so if you run into a snag, you can get assistance without having to abort your task.

Sitekeeper can give your company an enterprise class solution to ensure that you keep current with all the latest security updates. This update is available for existing Sitekeeper 3.0 customers and is included as part of the Sitekeeper Inventory and Deployment modules.

https://www.execsoft.com

Convert from Speech to Text

Cool Conversations (Cool C) has released the Cool C Read Writer as a new component for their Cool C Interactive Speech software. This upgrade module, utilizing the Microsoft Speech Engine, makes it possible for a Windows-based PC equipped with the Cool C Talking Computer Software to convert spoken words into printed text. Cool C Read Writer will also read aloud text that is pasted into the application. These functions complement the program's ability to have conversations with computer users and deliver both verbal reminders and special broadcast messages.

The basic Cool C Talking Computer software converts most any computer into a talking computer. The program makes it possible for any Windows-based PC to verbally respond to spoken questions or comments from users. Each Cool C Broadcast Group has the ability to send private messages with the Cool C interactive speech application functioning as a receiver for broadcast information. Messages are delivered directly to the PC of this defined group of users controlled by the broadcaster. Cool C will automatically search for messages each time a user's computer connects to the Internet.

When a message is received by Cool C, a box will appear asking the user if they want to hear the message. Clicking on the box will open the main program window, which will deliver the message verbally and also provide scrolling text. If you want, the window can be customized to include advertising or sponsorship graphics with links to the Web.

The Cool C Read Writer upgrade module provides users with two utilities: pasting text from a Web page or document into an application to be read aloud, and having dictated content converted to text to be saved or pasted into other applications.

https://www.coolconversations.com

Troubleshoot Task Resources

The Warecase Software Group launched its eXtended Task Monitor for Windows 2000 and later, an auxiliary tool designed for troubleshooting task resources and workstation problems that sometimes arise during software development.

XTM can provide solutions for problems which may develop in a product's functioning without having to reinstall it from the user workstation or close the application. The XTM toolkit provides the developer with direct access to the flow of processes, allowing data collection and problem solving. XTM integrates its task-monitoring tools with a suite of tools for hands-on management of data resources and the workstation while maintaining product functionality.

Its features include the ability to monitor processes, modules, handles, threads, files, registry keys, memory, windows, COM+ components, services, and environment variables. In addition, XTM can monitor process performance and statistics, manage process resources, filter processes by particular criteria, free resources previously allocated, manage synchronization objects, find the required resources, perform workstation services management, workstation power management, and tracing.

https://www.warecase.com

Smart Components

Smart Components recently introduced Flat File To Xml Pro, which converts textual flat files into XML using a specification file. Many older applications such as banking or payroll systems output flat files for various purposes from printing to reporting. Developing software to process these files can be time consuming and difficult, requiring a rewrite of the application as the format of the flat file inevitably changes.

Flat File To Xml Pro eliminates these problems by converting the flat file into XML using a specification file as defined in XML. Once converted into XML, the data can be processed easily in a multitude of ways, giving all the advantages of XML without requiring a rewrite of existing legacy code.

Flat File To Xml Pro includes all the features of Flat File To Xml including a flat file described in an XML specification file, a fast, efficient parser, outputting the XML as a file or as an XML doc, and a demo application with complete source code and several transformation examples.

Flat File To Xml Pro also includes the following powerful features: the use of Regular Expressions to identify different types of flat file lines so they can be formatted differently, complex customizable formatting of data when creating output XML, outputting lines as parent or child nodes, and outputting data as child nodes or attributes.

In addition, the product provides three different event logging modes to help debug transformations, and you can input XML as a file or a document.

https://www.smartcomponents.plus.com

The Bookshelf

In How to Fail at Software Development (Anchor Point Books), Arthur Griffith explains that the principal cause of code failure is that no one involved asks the simple, yet crucial questions that can detect and avoid disastrous results.

Some questions that could prevent implosion are: Does anybody really want this thing? Do folks talk about finishing the project or just talk about continuing work? Is the written design document treated with respect? If the overall design is a source of comedy, disdain, or is completely ignored, then you will never get anywhere. Does everybody know exactly what is to be accomplished? Do you have everything you need to build it? This book examines what happens when the team does not address these and many more questions.

https://www.anchorpointbooks.com

Addison-Wesley Professional recently published two new books in their Microsoft .NET Development Series: .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference, Volume 1: Base Class Library and Extended Numerics Library by Brad Abrams, and The Visual Basic .NET Programming Language by Paul Vick.

The Visual Basic .NET Programming Language describes the language, beginning with simple concepts and moves toward the more advanced concepts. Paul Vick is one of the lead architects of Visual Basic .NET and author of the specification.

NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference, Volume 1: Base Class Library and Extended Numerics Library is the first of a two-volume set providing developers with a detailed reference to the most useful parts of the .NET Framework Class Library. The book and CD set uses annotations and code samples to move beyond the online documentation in order to provide dictionary-style reference to the most used parts of the Framework.

This volume covers a subset of the ISO CLI standards, including the Base Class Library and the Extended Numerics Library. The printed book contains overviews of each namespace and an alphabetic reference of types in the standard. The CD is comprised of the book contents as well as member-level descriptions, sample code, and all source code in a buildable format.

https://www.awprofessional.com

Send your New Stuff to Theresa at  newstuff@microsoft.com.

Theresa W. Carey is a freelance writer who lives in California. Her byline has appeared in Barron's and PC World.