Jeremy Likness' Blog

MVVM on MVC: HTML is not XAML

2012-01-25T09:44:01Z

I have to admit that I may have rolled my eyes a bit when I first learned about the KnockoutJS library. It sounded too much like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Isn’t Model-View-Controller (MVC) already it’s own pattern ? Does it make sense to apply something like Model-View-ViewModel ( MVVM ) to HTML? I already had enough issues dealing with MVVM on the platform it was designed for, XAML and C# (WPF and Silverlight). Some people simply didn’t get the pattern, others were pushing it without...(read more)

Video: Getting Started with Jounce MVVM and MEF for Silverlight 5

2012-01-22T11:52:03Z

I created a quick video to help you get started with using Jounce. The video starts with a blank slate, steps through installation of Jounce and the creation of a sample view model for a simple contact record that includes validation. You can access the video directly at http://vimeo.com/jeremylikness/jounce-getting-started , or view it below: Jounce: Getting Started from Jeremy Likness on Vimeo . (c) 2011-2012 Jeremy Likness....(read more)

Jounce 2.0 MVVM with MEF for Silverlight 5 Released

2012-01-21T15:47:01Z

I'm pleased to announce the official release of Jounce 2.0 for Silverlight 5. There are quite a number of new features available that I'll review in this post. Most significantly, of course, the code base has been updated specifically to target Silverlight 5. A number of bug fixes, feature requests, and Silverlight 5 features have been added. The DLL for Jounce is still just under 100 KB for release so it remains nimble and lightweight. There are two ways you can install the latest. Zip over to Jounce...(read more)

CRUD it’s now CQRS … or is it?

2012-01-07T15:34:01Z

In 1983 author James Martin published a book called Managing the Data-Base Environment . It’s interesting the term database is hyphenated in the title; it hadn’t quite settled down as a mainstream term yet. I have not read this book myself, but my understanding is that he presented the concept of the “CRUD Matrix” for engineering how an application performs Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations against the database. Regardless of how the term was first coined, it has gained popularity and is...(read more)

Windows 8 Slate Review

2011-12-28T11:36:04Z

About a week ago, I purchased a Samsung Series 7 Slate PC to learn more about the Windows 8 operating system and to test applications I will be developing primarily with C# and Xaml. The laptop ships with Windows 7 installed, but I quickly wiped the existing install and overlaid it with Windows 8. The process for the most part went smoothly. I had to acquire some Windows 7 drivers and install them in compatibility mode in order for the tablet to recognize orientation changes, and I still cannot get...(read more)

Silverlight 5 Released: Myth vs. Fact

2011-12-09T12:12:02Z

It is very exciting to see the release of Silverlight 5 today, despite all of the rumors flying around the Web. Read the original release announcement from the Silverlight Team here . This is proof positive the team made a commitment to release a new version by the end of the year and stuck to it. This release offers major functionality over prior releases and is something I believe has the potential to revolutionize development for line of business applications, or I wouldn't be writing a book about...(read more)

Handling Extremely Large Data Sets in Silverlight

2011-11-20T09:00:01Z

While writing Chapter 14 of my book, Designing Silverlight Business Applications: Best Practices for Using Silverlight Effectively in the Enterprise (Microsoft .NET Development Series) I focused on an area that is quite common with line of business applications: extremely large data sets. In the example I generated almost 1,000,000 contact rows to illustrate how they would be managed by the Silverlight client. Like many software problems, there are many solutions; here is an excerpt of the three...(read more)

Using Jounce Navigation to Create OOB Child Windows in Silverlight 5

2011-10-21T12:22:03Z

One of the reasons I prefer to manage navigation as an event, rather than a strongly typed interface or handler, is because it allows for so much flexibility and extensibility in the navigation pipeline. In my Jounce framework , for example, the basic navigation event simply wires up an instance of a view to a view model and makes no presumptions about where that view belongs - it leaves positioning the view to the developer. The region manager simply listens for navigation events and passes the...(read more)

Quick Tip: Design-Time Views for Regions

2011-10-11T19:07:02Z

If you've worked with the Region Management pattern before, one source of frustration can be the lack of a design-time view. While you can compose individual views to be designer-friendly, the aggregate views that mark regions often end up devoid of anything useful. A simple little trick, however, can change that. You may be familiar with creating design-friendly view models , but the extensions for Blend work the same with views. For example, consider a main page that has a layout divided into regions...(read more)

Using Visual States to Set Focus on a Control

2011-10-07T12:58:03Z

A common problem encountered in Silverlight applications is how to set the focus properly when transitioning between controls. For example, in the reference application I'm writing for the book Designing Silverlight Business Applications there is the option to either edit an existing record or create a new one. The result of clicking the appropriate button is a panel overlay that zooms into view. Obviously, it makes sense once the panel is rendered to set the focus to the first field so the user...(read more)

If Silverlight is Dead...

2011-09-15T07:27:05Z

Once again speculation and worry has developers around the world biting their fingers and lamenting the end of a new era. It almost seems developers want to stick a fork in their Silverlight development because so many are latching onto the hype wagon, calling .NET "legacy" and refusing to see the bigger picture. Microsoft announces a new run-time called "Metro" that is not based on .NET, and suddenly .NET is dead — even though anyone can download the bits for the new operating system, install...(read more)

Windows 8: What you Need to Know

2011-09-14T10:19:02Z

If you are trying to follow the hash tag for the //BUILD conference you are probably dizzy by now. I don't blame you for trying to sort through all the messages about standing in line for the toilet or what someone is having for breakfast. I thought it might be a good time to step back and pull together what you need to know. Sessions and Keynotes — //BUILD Conference Site Download the Bits — Windows Dev Center PDF Manual — Windows Developer Preview Guide Code Examples — MSDN...(read more)

Windows 8 and Build Day 1 Keynote Thoughts

2011-09-13T11:21:00Z

Yesterday I shared my predictions for Windows 8 at the Build conference. Today I can say that the keynote exceeded my expectations. There were a lot of amazing announcements that I'm excited to share with you. First, let's recap my predictions: Microsoft will focus on Windows 8 as the platform for multiple devices and specifically address the tablet/slate competition space. To be convincing they'll need to address speed and responsiveness, but likely they'll focus on: The richness of the OS - it's...(read more)

My Windows 8 Build Predictions

2011-09-12T10:56:03Z

Tomorrow is the start of the major event that has been hyped as heralding the most significant changes to Windows in the past 15 years (the last was when Windows 95 was announced). There has been a lot of speculation around what will happen tomorrow. Some people claim it will be the death of Silverlight and even managed code, while others hope to see news about the next version of the Windows Phone operating system. While I am not able to attend the event, I will be watching the keynotes closely,...(read more)

Fundamentals of the Managed Extensibility Framework

2011-09-12T06:31:02Z

I've been building enterprise applications for more than a decade now, and have specialized in Silverlight line of business applications for the past several years. The term "enterprise" seems to inspire images of complex, large, difficult-to-maintain software systems but a well-written system doesn't have to suffer from the extra complexity. One question I receive over and over again is what a good resource is to learn best practices for building Silverlight applications that target line of business....(read more)