Recently, I have been updating my Power Threading Library by adding some new features, fixing some minor bugs, and improving the documentation and sample apps to demonstrate its features. I am particulary proud of my AsyncEnumerator class which allows you to write asynchronous code using a synchronous programming model. With my AsyncEnumerator, you can, with minimum effort, convert any existing synchronous code into asynchronous code which scales extremely well while also increasing your application’s responsiveness. For more information about my AsyncEnumerator, please see my Concurrent Affairs columns in MSDN magazine:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163323.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc546608.aspx
And, if code that uses my AsyncEnumerator class needs to synchronize access to some shared data, then I also offer my SyncGate class. This class works with the AsyncEnumerator class to easily write code that accesses shared data without blocking any threads. Again, this increases scalabilty and responsiveness of any application or service. My SyncGate class is derived from my ReaderWriterGate class which you can read more about in this Concurrent Affairs column:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163532.aspx
There are several groups at Microsoft that are using my AsyncEnumerator internally. And, Wintellect has several other customers that are also using it very sucessfully. My Power Threading Library is free and if you decide to use it, I’d love to hear from you. Just add a comment to this blog entry (or e-mail me) telling me about your experience with it.
On another note, I recently recorded a session on .NET Rocks! about the future of hardware. Check it out here: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=343
And, finally, the managed SideShow library that I created for Microsoft (over a year ago) has finally shipped! This library makes it very easy for .NET developers to create SideShow gadgets that run on Windows Vista. You can download the SDK from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=42f2f862-9987-406c-92a3-6523cf0eb3b3&displaylang=en. The SDK installs the runtime and development components that are required to build and run gadgets for Windows SideShow in Managed Code using the .NET Framework. Windows SideShow Project templates and Documentation are integrated with Visual Studio to give developers the optimal coding experience.
The Runtime package (downloadable from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ca8e9272-68e8-4c0c-a239-560c21b66fca&displaylang=en) is targeted for end users. It installs the runtime components that are required to run gadgets for Windows SideShow.
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p class=”MsoNormal”>Microsoft is going to start promoting the use of the managed API at TechEd in June 2008 (next month).