New Stuff

Resources for Your Developer Toolbox

Theresa W. Carey

Contents

Stitch ASP Apps to ASP.NET
Graphing with .NET
Detag HTML Pages
Cross-platform Data Exchange
Is that License Up To Date?
Programmer's Text Editor
Web Content Management
Managing Patches
Share Session Variables
Barcodes for the .NET Framework
Integrate with QuickBooks
Interactive HTML Help
The Bookshelf

Stitch ASP Apps to ASP.NET

Consonica Ltd. has announced StateStitch, which enables ASP.NET technology to be used with existing ASP applications. ASP.NET offers a more powerful feature set, but since ASP and ASP.NET applications cannot share session data, existing applications would otherwise need to be completely rewritten. StateStitch solves this incompatibility. ASP and ASP.NET applications run side by side and sessions are shared between the two environments. Developers can now add Microsoft® .NET Framework features while continuing to make use of their existing applications.

Graphing with .NET

Graphics Server Technologies recently announced that it is shipping Graphics Server .NET, a component that provides managed code support for the .NET Framework. Graphics Server .NET provides a collection of business and scientific graphing features, including a variety of graph and chart types, property pages to customize graphs, statistical overlays, and limit lines. Graphs can have multiple data sources in a graph or even in a series. The package includes a resource center with Visual Basic® and C# code examples and extensive documentation.

Detag HTML Pages

JafSoft Ltd. has released Detagger 2.0 for Windows, an HTML-to-text converter and markup remover. Detagger allows you to extract text from your Web pages for use elsewhere or to tidy up your HTML code to make faster loading Web pages. Detagger runs in two distinct modes: selective markup removal and full conversion to text files.

As a markup remover, Detagger allows you to tidy up your HTML code in a number of ways. You simply select classes of tags you want removed, sections of code you want stripped out, or tag manipulations you want performed. Options include the ability to remove all FONT tags; remove tags added by Microsoft Office applications; strip out HEAD, SCRIPT, or FORM sections; convert tags to uppercase or lowercase; and replace hyperlinks with their display values.

As an HTML-to-text converter, Detagger allows you to convert HTML newsletters into a more compact format. The program will output the document as text, preserving the marked-up headings, lists, tables of the original document, and turning them into suitable text formats. Text will be laid out as faithfully as possible to the original document, within the constraints of your chosen page width. Simple tables can also be converted into comma- or tab-delimited data, ready to import into spreadsheets.

Hyperlinks are replaced by their display text, and you can choose to have the link URL displayed in the text or added as an entry in a reference table at the end of the document. Images can be replaced by their ALT tags. There are many formatting options to lay out the text which allow you to specify the page width, justify the text, insert gaps between sentences, and to format dialog clearly. Selected options can be saved in policy files so that they may be easily reloaded in later sessions.

Cross-platform Data Exchange

EldoS Group has released MsgConnect 1.0, an open source, cross-platform framework that enables data exchange. MsgConnect encapsulates low-level transport protocols (currently TCP and memory-mapped files) and provides a uniform API for exchanging binary information on a single system or across a network.

MsgConnect utilizes the paradigm of messages and provides optional support of Rijndael encryption, ZLib compression, and CRC32/Adler32/MD5 integrity checking. The program is available for a wide variety of platforms and development tools. MsgConnect can be used in both open source and commercial applications.

Is that License Up To Date?

Aspose has released Aspose.License, which allows developers to license their applications, components, and controls built with the .NET Framework both for Windows® Forms and Web Forms. Aspose.License is a software licensing component for Microsoft .NET that can check against preset license fields including but not limited to product, company, version, license name, expired days, expired date, owner name, as well as your own custom license fields. With it, you can store and distribute your licensing strategy via multilevel encrypted license files while managing issued licenses via XML. The component is platform independent as well as database independent.

Programmer's Text Editor

Emurasoft Inc. has released EmEditor 3.31, the latest version of their text editing shareware tool designed mainly for Web and software development. EmEditor features an extensive toolset and an array of plug-ins for editing a variety of programming languages. New features include a Windows Toolbar to switch between windows and a Page Setup dialog box where details such as which printer to use, page size, and page orientation can be specified.

Another new function, Save/Restore Workspace commands, allows users to save and restore the positions of windows on the desktop. EmEditor fully supports Unicode, enabling users to edit in multiple languages. The program also utilizes an assortment of plug-ins in order to extend its functions for specific needs. EmEditor supports syntax highlighting for many programming languages and is compatible with Windows XP.

Web Content Management

Ektron recently rolled out updates of their browser-based content management products, Ektron CMS200 and Ektron CMS300. New features for version 3.1 of both products include support for Microsoft Active Directory® and load balancing functionality. The target customer creates and manages mid- and large-sized deployments.

Ektron CMS200 offers word processor-like editing (via Ektron eWebEditPro), a permission model, and multistep workflow. It also includes international language support, metadata support, an API for user-maintained navigation, stylesheet support, syndication, and a teaser display. Ektron CMS200 features administration much like Windows 2000 and an interface similar to Windows Explorer.

Ektron CMS300 offers a browser-based XML content management system. It encompasses all Ektron CMS200 features, plus capabilities that enable the creation of XML using Smart Web Forms. By combining Ektron CMS300 with XSLT and XML schemas, organizations can enforce content style and page layout, ensure content validity, and optimize content for reuse to various consumers or devices.

Managing Patches

RippleTech Inc. recently launched its PatchWorks patch management automation software for Windows. PatchWorks evaluates networked workstations and servers to identify security or stability vulnerabilities due to missing or out-of-date hotfixes or service packs. Once identified, PatchWorks remotely deploys the appropriate patches through its central management console and validates each installation to ensure that it was completed successfully.

PatchWorks' continuously updated database makes it easy to find the patches that are critical to securing and stabilizing business systems and applications. Each patch is verified and tested by experts for deployment interdependency issues, so patches can be installed with confidence. With PatchWorks' policy management and conformance reporting features, companies can establish and ensure adherence to update policies. Powered by St. Bernard Software, the product supports Windows NT® 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and many software applications, such as SQL Server™, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, and more.

Share Session Variables

Westglenn Software Inc. has announced the release of SessionBridge, an application that allows ASP.NET and ASP pages that operate within the same application to share session variables seamlessly, while gradually converting those pages to ASP.NET. SessionBridge includes a COM object that intercepts calls to ASP session variables and stores them as ASP.NET session variables. The only changes needed to the ASP code can be handled with a global search and replace.

Since the ASP.NET session objects are used to store the variables, the ASP.NET code is exactly what you would normally write. When the entire application has been converted, you are no longer using SessionBridge and are left with standard ASP.NET code. SessionBridge allows you to migrate to ASP.NET gradually as an extension of your daily workflow.

Barcodes for the .NET Framework

The ASP.NET Barcode Server Control, recently published by IDAutomation.com, is a drag-and-drop component that adds dynamic barcoding capability to Web applications using the .NET Framework. This server-side component creates JPEG images, so all processing takes place on the server, making it compatible with all Web browsers. Online tasks that involve items printed from a Web browser, such as online tickets, coupons, name badges, invoices, registrations, rebate mailers, check-in confirmations, RMA packing slips, and gift certificates, can be automated with barcodes.

Online barcodes may be included in Web applications by dragging the control on a form in the same way a textbox control is used. Several barcode types are supported in a single control including Code 3 of 9, Code 128, UCC/EAN-128, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC, EAN, Codabar, Planet, and Postnet. The Barcode Server Control also includes adjustable orientation, automatic sizing, automatic temp file maintenance, and high quality image creation.

Integrate with QuickBooks

AcctSync Technologies Inc. has announced the release of AcctSync SDK, a toolkit for QuickBooks developers and integrators. AcctSync SDK will enable QuickBooks developers to build integrated solutions using their preferred development environment such as the .NET Framework, C++, and others, without any prior knowledge of qbXML, XML, or COM APIs. AcctSync SDK is built on top of the qbXML SDK, Intuit's development kit that enables data integration between third-party applications and QuickBooks.

AcctSync SDK has no external dependencies, other than QuickBooks; users do not need to download the QuickBooks SDK, an XML parser, or any other utilities to run applications built with AcctSync SDK. Nearly all the components included in the AcctSync SDK correspond to the most commonly used QuickBooks constructs like Customer, Employee, Vendor, Invoice and so on, and can be used to store information and communicate with QuickBooks. AcctSync SDK is available for the .NET Framework.

Interactive HTML Help

A!K Research Labs released version 2.16 of chm2web, its online help system creation utility that offers the ability to create interactive Web-based help systems. The application is capable of creating integral help systems from existing .chm (compiled HTML help) projects. chm2Web is intended both for developers and Webmasters using the .chm file format for maintaining digests and online knowledge bases.

The application features a wizard interface which helps you create customizable template-based help systems that both comply with the current Web site design and utilize client-side scripting technologies to make the help system interactive. chm2Web runs under all versions of Windows after Windows 98.

The Bookshelf

Sybex Inc. has announced two recent additions to its family of books targeting the .NET Framework. Visual Basic .NET Developer's Handbook by Evangelos Petroutsos and Mark Ridgeway is a revised edition for experienced developers using Visual Basic. Readers will learn to use Visual Basic .NET to build and deploy XML-based Web Services, create Web applications in ASP.NET, and implement support for mobile devices. The book also covers trickier aspects of form design, solving tough database connectivity challenges, and securing your applications with built-in features of the .NET Framework.

.NET Framework Solutions: In Search of the Lost Win32 API by John Paul Mueller is filled with undocumented techniques for duplicating Win32® API functionality within the .NET Framework. The topics covered are as varied as the missing functionality: direct hardware access, low-level security control, certain aspects of OS access, support for multimedia and utilities, and DirectX®. You also get hard-to-find information on COM access, plus a collection of examples—dealing with DirectX and the MMC snap-ins—that unite COM and Win32 access. Find out more at https://www.sybex.com.

ASP.NET Kick Start, by Stephen Walther, was recently released by SAMS Publishing. The book teaches developers how to use Visual Studio® .NET to build ASP.NET applications. Walther shares tips and tricks to reduce development time using Visual Studio .NET. Each chapter is a self-paced tutorial that enables readers to immediately start building ASP.NET applications. This book concentrates on the tools and features built into Visual Studio .NET.

SAMS has also released ASP.NET Data Web Controls Kick Start by Scott Mitchell. This book explains how to dig into advanced features of the Data Web controls. These controls are fairly simple to use when it comes to simple data display. However, they can do much more than merely present data. For example, the DataGrid Web control allows for sorting, paging, and editing of data. In addition, these controls allow for templating of data, which can be used to provide more complex views. Check out the details at https://www.samspublishing.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.