Top 10 SQL Server 2008 Security Features

Protecting database information from threats and vulnerabilities is vital for any organization. This article discusses 10 new security features introduced in SQL server 2008 that facilitate effective management of the database by using server surface area configuration (policy-based management configuration), full database encryption (TDE), enhanced auditing features and more.

Read full article..
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.phpr/3899866/article.htm

How to Use the Visual Studio Code Analysis Tool FxCop

In today's world, software security is the first and foremost requirement of any customer when you are developing a new application. But you can develop a secure application by mitigating all the risks in the development cycle itself.

The best way to mitigate software risks is by doing code reviews and code analysis throughout the development cycle.
Another positive aspect of code analysis is you can easily identify bugs early in the development cycle before those are identified by testers or even users of the application. Identifying and correcting critical bugs early in the software development cycle mitigates risks like reducing developer productivity, creating unnecessary bottlenecks in the software development lifecycle, increasing software development costs, etc. In this article I will discuss the integrated static code analysis tool (FxCop), introduced with Visual Studio 2010. Visual Studio code analysis rules are applicable for five different programming languages.

Read full article - http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/45499

Top 10 SQL Server 2008 Development Features

Many new developer features were introduced in SQL Server 2008 database to facilitate robust database development. SQL server 2008 improves developer productivity by providing seamless integration between frameworks, data connectivity technologies, programming languages, Web services, development tools and data. This article discusses the new top 10 developer features introduced in SQL server 2008. Read my full article.

http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.php/3897251/article.htm

Developing Reports for ASP.NET Web applications Using SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

Crystal Report was the most recommended reporting tool used with ASP.NET web application before SQL server reporting service (SSRS) was first introduced in 2004 as an add-on to SQL server 2000 by Microsoft. An enhanced version of this SQL server reporting service was released with SQL server 2005 and the latest version of SSRS is launched with SQL Server 2008. A SSRS report is an XML file with a .RDL extension (Report Definition Language). After installation of the business intelligent development studio (BIDS) tool , developers can create a RDL report file using Microsoft Visual Studio editor. SSRS also provides a web service (server) interface for custom reporting applications. Read my full article in codeguru
http://www.codeguru.com/csharp/.net/article.php/c17661

Unit Test .NET Business Objects Using Nmock Library

Writing unit script code for your complex business objects in a test-driven development environment really gets difficult, because they may have too many external dependencies (high coupling) on other objects.
It sometimes won't be possible for limited-budget projects to set up development environments appropriately and configure them for unit testing. Developers can overcome these issues by using mock test objects.
Read my full article in devX.
http://www.devx.com/DevXNet/Article/45071?trk=DXRSS_DOTNET

Program a Windows Mobile GPS Device using the Intermediate Driver

A couple weeks back I was highly influenced by a small-map-based GPS (Global Positioning System) application, developed using C#, targeting windows mobile devices. Embedded GPS receivers are becoming a standard for mobile devices, and all recent Windows Mobile devices feature GPS receivers. Windows mobile users can also add third-party GPS receivers to their devices if needed.

These GPS receivers collect data from satellites, specifically latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, and direction data from four different satellites. Mobile GPS receivers refresh collected data every second and display your present location on the Microsoft MapPoint, a powerful data-mapping tool. Your location is calculated using a mathematical formula called three-dimensional trilateration, which uses the positions of the satellites and their distance from Earth. Read the full article.
http://www.devx.com/wireless/Article/44971?trk=DXRSS_LATEST

ASP.NET 4.0: Bi-Directional Routing using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

Routing was first introduced with ASP.NET 3.5 SP1 as an alternative to URL rewriting and query strings. Initially routing was limited to the ASP.NET MVC framework only but with release of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, ASP.NET 4.0 developers can now use routing with web forms also. Using routing, developers can now easily eliminate long URL's and hide file extensions too (like .aspx). Another advantage of URL routing is that developers can now easily hide the physical path/location of web pages residing in the web server. Read my codeguru article.

http://www.codeguru.com/csharp/.net/net_asp/article.php/c17319

Windows Mobile: Working with FakeGPS

Microsoft has introduced a new tool named FakeGPS for Windows Mobile application developers and testers. Testing GPS application was difficult in earlier mobile SDK versions as a GPS receiver doesn't work within closed walls, also the Emulators didn't have any GPS simulated testing tool built in. Using FakeGPS, developers and testers can now easily simulate satellite based global positioning system data and use that for testing their GPS applications. FakeGPS comes with Microsoft Windows Mobile SDK v6.0 and DTK version 6.3.5; after the SDK installation FakeGPS.cab is copied into C:\Program Files\Windows Mobile 6.5.3 DTK\Tools\GPS folder. Check my codeguru article.
http://www.codeguru.com/cpp/misc/misc/article.php/c17279

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) in SQL Server 2008

As part of the SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) regulatory compliance implementation, one of my banking customers asked me to encrypt their database for an already existing application. It was a business critical web application developed using Visual Studio 2005 (ASP.NET 2.0 framework) and SQL Server 2000 as the backend database. Like any other standard software development project, the delivery schedule for this was also very tight and the client requested that I implement database encryption as quickly as possible, with minimal impact on the existing application. I completed that assignment on time and within budget using Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), a new full database encryption technique introduced in SQL Server 2008. In this article, I will demonstrate the implementation of TDE.Read the full article in Databasejournal.com.
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.phpr/3883391/article.htm

Create a Web App Using ASP.NET MVC 2.0 Framework

In this article I will show you how to create an ASP.NET Web Application using MVC 2.0 Framework. You'll recall that ASP.NET MVC 2.0 is the latest Microsoft framework for building web applications on top of the .NET framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 etc. To know more check my article in codeguru.
http://www.devx.com/webdev/Article/44747

Microsoft-Compatible APIs in Mono 2.4

Mono is an open source project led by Novell to create a .NET-compatible set of tools that include, among others, a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime. Mono can be run on Linux, BSD, UNIX, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Windows operating systems.To Know more read the full article in Devx.
URL - http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/43857

Productivity Improvements in Mono 2.4: Components and Architecture

Mono is an open source .NET development framework based on the ECMA standards for the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) Led by Novell, the Mono project creates a .NET-compatible set of tools that enable developers to build Linux and cross-platform applications, including a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime (CLR), that run on Linux, BSD, UNIX, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Windows. To Know more read my article.
URL - http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/43410

Free Microsoft Azure SQL Tools For Cloud Application Development

The relation database (RDBMS) provided in Microsoft Azure is known as SQL Azure. The SQL Azure database can be easily integrated with your local SQL Server and tools provided in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and 2010. Azure Developers can use T-SQL script for queryring data as they presently do for any on-premises SQL database. It's a highly available and scalable service can be obtained by registering to SQL.Azure.com site. Microsoft Azure doesn't provide any Off-premises SQL Azure development tools or Management studio for developers. You need to develop a local database and migrate it to SQL Azure durin production deployment. To know more check my article..

http://www.codeguru.com/vb/mobile/article.php/c17147/Free-Microsoft-Azure-SQL-Tools-For-Cloud-Application-Development.htm

Extend Your ASP.NET MVC Application to Windows Mobile

For the last 6 months I have worked on a web based application in the life science domain, and as per customer demand we introduced ASP.NET MVC Framework with a test driven approach.
Our customer was very happy about the product quality, and after project completion we got another work order to deploy the customer module to Windows Smart Devices. None of our team members had experience deploying ASP.NET applications to Windows Smart Devices. Our plan was to deploy the existing released codebase to Windows Smart Devices with minimal modification.
 
To Know more check my article in Devx.com
http://www.devx.com/enterprise/Article/44610?trk=DXRSS_LATEST

Developing Web Application using MVC 2.0 Framework

For last couple of months I am working on MVC 2.0 Framework.ASP.NET MVC 2.0 is the latest Microsoft framework for building web applications on top of the .NET framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 etc.
MVC stands for Model, View, and Controller, a design pattern that is widely accepted throughout the development industry. You can download MVC 2.0 Beta from the following URL. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4817cdb2-88ea-4af4-a455-f06b4c90fd2c&displaylang=en

Microsoft has also published source code of the MVC Framework, which can be downloaded from Codeplex. http://aspnet.codeplex.com/releases/view/39978 .
 
To Know more Read my Article in devX.com.
http://www.devx.com/DevXNet/Article/44400

Suppressing Compiler Warning Message in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008

NET Compiler generated warnings (Code Analysis warnings) messages may not be meaningful in the development cycle, but once the code review is done you may need to suppress these compiler generated warning messages. To achieve warning message suppression you can either use In Source Suppression (ISS) allowing .NET developers to write code for warning suppression or use Microsoft Visual Studio Project menu to suppress the warnings. In this article, we will be discuss different techniques of compiler warning suppression.


To know more, see my article in Codeguru
http://www.codeguru.com/csharp/.net/net_general/article.php/c17011

Moonlight With Mono 2.6

The latest version of Mono 2.6 and the Mono Graphical editor MonoDevelop 2.2 was released in December, and with this version Mono is now more compatible with regards to Microsoft .NET 3.5 API's.
This version also includes open sourced ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET AJAX, and Microsoft's Dynamic Language Runtime. Read More in devX
 
http://www.devx.com/DevXNet/Article/44206

Vista Security with Smart Cards

If you've always wondered what a smart card is, here's how to think about it: a smart card, used for authentication, is a mini computer that has a hardware and software component. The hardware component contains a micro chip/integrated circuit (ICC) as a memory card.
Another category of the smart card contains an embedded microprocessor and volatile memory, required for data processing. Regarding software, a smart card has its own operating system, required for communication with it via a card reader. The smart card may also have its own file system.
 
To Know More, See my Article in devX
 
http://www.devx.com/security/Article/44279/

Complex Builds with MSBuild

The Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) is the new build platform for Microsoft and Visual Studio. MSBuild is completely transparent with regards to how it processes and builds software, enabling developers to orchestrate and build products in build lab environments where Visual Studio is not installed.Read my Article .

http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/39347

Windows Azure Updates

Microsoft is significantly upgrading its Windows Azure Platform this month as it looks to compete against the likes of cloud services providers Google and Amazon.

See my Post in devX
http://www.devx.com/DevXNews/Article/43656

Mono Articles

Mono is an open source .NET development framework based on the ECMA standards for the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) Led by Novell, the Mono project creates a .NET-compatible set of tools that enable developers to build Linux and cross-platform applications, including a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime (CLR), that run on Linux, BSD, UNIX, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Windows.

See My Articles in devX
http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/43410
http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/43857
http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/43621