New Stuff
Resources for Your Developer Toolbox
Nancy Michell
Contents
Easily Port Unix Code and Scripts to 64-Bit Windows
Screen Recording Program
Graphical Business Rules Tool
Create Calculation Formulas Dynamically
Generate Flowcharts from Your Source Code
Unit Tests Drive Code Quality
Automate Object Model Documentation
Defend Against Hackers and Malicious Software
The Bookshelf
Easily Port Unix Code and Scripts to 64-Bit Windows
MKS Inc., a provider of tools for porting Unix/Linux applications to Windows®, has just announced the availability of its new 64-bit products. MKS is shipping a beta version of MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers 64-bit edition with support for extended-architecture 64-bit platforms such as AMD64 running Windows 64-bit OS.
Enterprise customers and ISVs now have a single solution that will allow them to migrate both 32-bit and 64-bit Unix/Linux applications for deployment on 64-bit Windows platforms. 64-bit Windows is an ideal platform for applications that require large amounts of memory and high performance such as financial transaction analysis, digital content creation, electronic design automation, and advanced scientific and research applications.
MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers allows organizations to maintain a single source code baseline and evolve applications as necessary to take advantage of Windows and .NET technologies. As the industry moves toward 64-bit Windows over the next two to three years, MKS Toolkit will help companies quickly and easily migrate legacy applications to Windows.
Screen Recording Program
Blueberry Consultants Ltd. recently announced the release of its new Windows-based program called BB TestAssistant—a helpful aid for software developers, Web designers, and others who need reliable visual feedback. The program streamlines communications within a testing team, helping to eliminate vague and ambiguous feedback.
BB TestAssistant captures screen activity in movie form with little drain on system resources. It uses a custom compression engine to create movies that are easy to e-mail, enabling the entire testing and development team to share feedback. The program aids in beta testing by automatically collecting the computer configuration information to help pinpoint the source of problems.
Additionally, BB TestAssistant can automatically catch Windows application errors. This program enhances team communications by presenting a visual record of what happened so you don't need to write out lengthy descriptions.
BB TestAssistant features a rolling record mode that runs in the background, allowing testers to work as usual, only saving a movie file once a problem has occurred. Also, BB TestAssistant can be configured to create reports automatically, once an error has occurred in an application.
BB TestAssistant is easy to use and requires little training time. This program does not require special integration—BB TestAssistant will work in conjunction with existing beta testing protocols. BB TestAssistant will run under Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.
https://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/BBTestAssistant.aspx
Graphical Business Rules Tool
Logic Programming Associates Ltd. recently announced VisiRule, a graphical charting tool that lets you draw, test, and generate business-rule applications and components. VisiRule allows you to design and deliver commercial rule-based systems, expert systems, and knowledge-based systems on the desktop and Internet without having to write any code. You simply draw the decision logic using a point-and-click paradigm and state the conditional logic to use at the relevant branching points.
Now you no longer have to be a sophisticated AI programmer to build decision support systems that may involve complex and interconnected logic. VisiRule lets you rapidly produce accurate charts which you can share and discuss with non- technical colleagues who under- stand the business process at hand. VisiRule runs on all versions of Windows.
Create Calculation Formulas Dynamically
EasyFormula, recently released by JTech Software & Media, is a software development component used to create dynamic calculation formulas. With EasyFormula, your application can let users create their own formulas and evaluate them at run time. Users can choose how to process and present their data, instead of letting the developer decide.
EasyFormula features include a convenient interface for getting your client application data, seamless integration with any Windows-based application that supports COM, more than 30 built-in functions, support for native C++ classes and ActiveX® controls, and compatibility with Visual Basic®, Visual C++®, and a number of other environments.
With EasyFormula you can separate calculation formulas from source code, keep them in central storage, and evaluate them at run time. You can also change the logic without having to rebuild the system.
Generate Flowcharts from Your Source Code
Reliable Union Inc. now offers Code to Chart 2.0, an integrated visual code analyzer and source code flowchart generator. Using Code to Chart, you can quickly get a visual flowchart representation of your source code and achieve synchronization between the flowchart and the code in the editor, easily navigate between function and class definitions, and export the generated flowchart to Visio or a BMP image. You can also save your source code as a RTF file or an HTML file with syntax highlighted.
Code to Chart comes with a classes/functions browser, a syntax highlight code editor, and a flowchart generator. The three components are integrated into one interface and work together. Because Code to Chart 2.0 is specially designed and optimized for C, C++, C#, Java, and PHP, you get especially fast parsing speed.
Unit Tests Drive Code Quality
Are your unit tests effective? Your code may be passing the tests, but that doesn't mean the tests are testing all of your code. It would be safer to know how much of your code is being tested and how critical the code that is not running through the tests is.
Clover.NET, recently released by Cenqua, can help you answer all of these questions for your Microsoft® .NET-based applications. Clover.NET reports are published in HTML format to provide an accessible, easily navigated view of your code. These reports can be shared with the development team or with project management.
Clover can also be used to find "dead code" in an application—code that is no longer used by the app that can be safely removed, helping to prevent code bloat.
Clover.NET is a fully integrated plug-in for Visual Studio® .NET 2003. It provides seamless integration with projects using NAnt and with legacy build systems with command-line interfaces and APIs. It also provides fast, accurate, configurable, detailed coverage reporting of Method, Statement, and Branch coverage. It offers precise control over coverage gathering with source-level filtering.
Automate Object Model Documentation
ComponentOne recently unveiled Doc-To-Help 7.2 Professional, an upgrade for current Doc-To-Help 7.2 Professional subscribers. Doc-To-Help adds time-saving features that let developers automate object model documentation of their .NET code and features enhanced topic functions and hyperlink usability. It enables users to easily create HTML Help, cross-platform HTML-based Help, JavaHelp, WinHelp, Microsoft Help 2.0, and printed documentation from a single set of Microsoft Word docs.
Defend Against Hackers and Malicious Software
SoftSphere Technologies has just released Anti-Cracker Shield 1.0, a proactive PC protection software application that explores computers and their contents in order to identify vulnerabilities and weak spots.
Anti-Cracker Shield is a multitier protection system, with several levels of defense—ultra, high, low, and passive defense. The program identifies and instantly blocks any predatory or malicious processes, so it can protect against new and unknown exploits by simply blocking any processes used to infiltrate the system. In addition, the program can do preemptive anti-exploit strikes, such as relocating system libraries, so even if a virus or a trojan is planted, it won't be executed.
One unique feature of Anti-Cracker Shield is that it can protect Windows NT® services without actually turning them off, since they are likely to be used by legitimate applications. The program does not hinder computer performance when an attack happens, leaving the computer fully operational. In addition to the regular version, there is a server version that works with all popular servers and targets server-specific exploits.
With Anti-Cracker Shield, you can specify which particular processes are likely to be used in a hacking attack and thus need to be fully protected. Anti-Cracker Shield protects the entire system, including software applications, network settings, browser, e-mail components, and the operating system itself. When a problem is found, the program informs the user about it, suggesting how to fix it.
The Bookshelf
Charles Petzold's book Programming Windows isn't a movie yet, but that doesn't mean you can't mix software development with entertainment. The recently published cyberthriller Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent does a fine job. It's a fast-paced, hacker-chasing story that also provides lots of information about how to keep your network from being overtaken. The book, by security experts FX, Paul Craig, Joe Grand, Dan Kaminsky, Fyodor, Ryan Russell, Temmingh, Beale (Syngress Publishing, 2004), is the follow-up title to the 2003 bestseller Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box (Syngress Publishing, 2003).
How to Own a Continent operates on a global stage when the network infrastructure of an entire continent is compromised. You may well find yourself having nightmares about the day when your own network goes down.
The book introduces the concept of hacker groups and the damage they can inflict through a concerted, orchestrated string of malicious attacks.
The book also includes a unique appendix, The Making of STC, where the Stealing the Continent mailing list is published. Readers can see the actual e-mail threads where the story was developed, ideas were exchanged, and the project was monitored. Take a look and see if there's anything that strikes a chord.
Send your New Stuff to newstuff@microsoft.com.
Nancy Michellis a developmental editor at MSDN Magazine where she spends her time manipulating bits of string literals for the good of mankind.