Development Tools, libraries and more n°1

Hi, I wish to do some post about some helpful, exciting and great tools I knew, discovered from the net, and from my job experience. I'm a supporter in sharing knowledge, so I wish to share with you what I found. I've learned so much from the net, and from other shared with me..!

Today I want to start speaking about some well known technologies as: Javascript and AJAX (again! I wish I'm going to start speaking about much more!!).

 

Some time ago I knew from a friend of mine a library about javascript called Mootools. I was so exited when I found it and when I tried what could be done with it, that I started to play with, and including in my projects. Why I was so exited?! Just two reasons: first, it's so spectacular what it's possible to do with, second, years ago I started to think javascript in that manner, but there anyone could believe javascript so.

 

Following my "discovery", I started to looking for related technologies, and the things came up were so exciting, I found many other libraries doing the same (in some manner) but each one with some added value. Recently I found one of the best: Ext Library.

This library is more than a simple Javascript library, is a set of controls, codes, utilities, in other words, a World!

For now I will not say more about, I wish let you discover some features, next I will post about Ext.

 

With this fabulous library I found some other exciting things, a development environment, one of the best IDE Javascript, PHP, Rudy, and more. The most exciting feature is the Javascript Debugging one. Have to take a look! This is the Aptana IDE 1.0. Aptana is a free and commercial IDE, in the site you will find videos, examples a much much more! take a look!

 

Next post I will do, I wish to start directly with links and possible examples, with few words from "me"!

 

Recap:

Mootools Javascript Library:

http://mootools.net

 

ExtJS Javascript Library

http://extjs.com

 

Aptana IDE 1.0 (The Web 2.0 IDE)

http://www.aptana.com

 

Technorati Tags: Development , Tools , Open Source

Helpful tools n°3

Today I found a new product online, this could be very helpful and interesting, i noticed about it from a monthly newsletter, the product is a free-to-use UML Designer for Visual Studio, the tool is from the TangibleArchitect.
It seems to be an ineteresting tool, even if few diagrams are implemented, but I wish to take a try and then write something more about.
The product download can be found at: http://www.tangiblearchitect.net/modellingtools.html

Ciao

Technorati tags: Development, Tools

Helpful tools n°2

Yesterday night I was looking for some news from an open source project, accidentally I found 2 interesting tools, one from Microsoft and one from Businessware Architects.

The one from Microsoft is the XSDObjectGen, a tool for gerating code, pure classes, from xsd Schemas. It's free to download at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=89e6b1e5-f66c-4a4d-933b-46222bb01eb0&displaylang=en

The one from Businessware Architects is the CodeXS, a code generation tool who does the same as XSDObjectGen and XSD tools from Microsoft. The Only difference is that CodeXS is open source and more, efficient, modular... It's frre to download (registration required) at: http://www.bware.biz/default.htm?http://www.bware.biz/DotNet/Development/CodeXS/Article/Article_web.htm. There's also an interesting article related to the tool which take a tour over functionality and more.

So I wish to take a try to evaluate the potential from that tool. Maybe one could say I found nothing new to the folks, but before yesterday I never saw that tools, so I want to examinee how can I use them in my projects.

Ciao!

Technorati tags: Development, Tools

Helpful tools n°1

Yesterday's evening I was navigating and writing some code, line after line, I took a tour on the SharpDevelop Web Site, I love that tool, in the past years frequently I took a tour in the source code, to learn, to see what has been done.

So I went to the SharpDevelop Wiki and I found a wonderful online tool, a Code Converter. The tool is exposed as Web service and makes use of NRefactory to convert code.

The link is http://codeconverter.sharpdevelop.net/Default.aspx here you can find:

1. a class converter:
   http://codeconverter.sharpdevelop.net/Convert.aspx
   the supported convertsions are:
   1. C# to VB.NET
   2. C# to Boo
   3. VB.NET to C#
   4. VB.NET to Boo
2. a snippet converter:
   http://codeconverter.sharpdevelop.net/SnippetConverter.aspx
   the supported convertions are C# to VB.NET and vice versa.
3. a code formatter:
   http://codeconverter.sharpdevelop.net/FormatCode.aspx
   supports ASP/XHTML, BAT, Boo, Coco, C++.NET, C#, HTML, Java, JavaScript, Patch, PHP, TeX, VBNET, XML

It's possible too to use these features in client applications directly using and calling the web service.

As example I tried to format and colorize an xml chunk as:

<configuration target="StandardDatabaseConfig">
<provider name="testProvider" refTo="XmlProvider, TestLib.Providers" />
</configuration>

the result is:

1:  <configuration target="StandardDatabaseConfig">

2:     <provider name="testProvider" refTo="XmlProvider, TestLib.Pr

oviders" />

3:  </configuration>

Fantastic tool!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: Development, Tools

AJAX and Server.Transfer battles 2° round

Yesterday, as I said in the previous post, I was fighting with some interesting features of ASP.NET Ajax 1.0. My situation was:

I had two ASP.NET pages, Page1 and Page2 configured as follow:

•  Page1 acts as the Web Site home page
•  Page2, in a different dircetory, acts as a chid, content page

Page1, redirects, via Server.Transfer, to child pages as Page2. Page2 contains an UpdatePanel and some DropDownLists controls.

Here is the problem, when Page2 take control, the "ajaxed" controls works fine the first time, but next time it doesn't. The exception throwed was:

Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManagerErrorException: unknown error ocurred while processing the request on the server. The status code returned from the server was: 404

So after hours spent looking for a solution, an example, or anything else could help me, I found this post http://forums.asp.net/p/1078772/1788445.aspx, the situation explained is the same as above.

The problem I experienced was that Page2 after load, mantains the correct form action, but after the first call then, the action became incorrect and no actions could be performed. So I tried to find a solution in many ways:

1. searching if the client-page-content remains the same between the first well-done call and the second one
2. because the ajaxed dropdown was outside the UpdatePanel, I tried to modify the related UpdatePanel Trigger

After I tried many solutions, I found very helpful the solution provied in the post. The solution is to add a Client-Side Javascript script to attach a custom function to the PageRequestManager to handle the EndRequest. There change the form action so the action remains the same across any ajax content refresh and any postback.

this is the code:

<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//
function EndRequestHandler()
{
theForm.action = "../Folder1/Page2.aspx";
theForm._initialAction = theForm.action;
}
if( typeof(Sys) != "undefined" )
{
EndRequestHandler();
Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManager.getInstance().add_endRequest(EndRequestHandler);
}
//-->
</script> 

Because I spent so much time over this, I think this could be helpful and useful to others, without spending time to looking for a solution!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: ASP.NET, AJAX

AJAX and Server.Transfer battles

Today I was fighting with something special from the Ajax world. I found too much problems trying using ASP.NET AJAX in a Server.Transfer context..and after 5 hours I found a solution, the incredible thing was the solution was under my eyes and i didn't saw before now.

Tomorrow I will post the code I found and the explanation of the contextual problem.

Ciao!

Happy Birthday Peter Gabriel!!

Today is Peter Gabriel's birthday, i wish to express all of my greetings to Peter, for all emotions he and the Genesis gives me in my life with Genesis music, which permit me to understand and to learn the soul of the music, to open my mind on no fixed things, but to open my conception of music, and so on with ideas, to an open and creative space. Many thanks to all of you, but firts to you Peter.

And also thanks to my Daddy, Antonio, who teach me to open my mind to the music, and who let me know the music from Genesis, thank you Daddy!!

Technorati tags: Personal, Music

Hi, recently I was thinking abount doing a bettere web site's/pages UI, in terms of design, lightweight, and easy development, and to group toghether the easy of an HTML/Javascript interface with the power of a server engine approach as ASP.NET or Servlets, and I spent many thinking hours thinking about that, because, I imagine a development scenario wherethe UI is so light and beautiful and back-end is powerful and robust, and so I though that no scenaro, as i imagine yet exist, yes now is between us the new Microsoft AJAX, or other Frameworks to this approach, but I'm thinking at something new, real new, for this I'm thinking about the Nuts-Framework, I wish to approach a new interface designer, tatlly javascirpt, and a server back-end that could be totally separated from the UI.

Something like a "UI Controls Comunication Standard" to let safely talk an UI interface to a back-end written in a language that supports it. Maybe someone can say, weak-up, something like this just exist, but now i Intend something better, that for example ASP.NET, Heavy powerful, strong design, and more and more, but approaches to the UI are so heavy, think about the Viewstate!!! so this is just an Idea, a Think, i hope i could discuss with anyone who want to talk and express ideas.

I know maybe I have to explain better but:

1. my english is poor
2. my ideas comes in my mind but take them entirely is difficult (my head is continuosly thinking)

So be patient with me, I'm for the IDEA CONDIVISION and talking, from there really innovatives ideas comes from

Cheers

Technorati tags: Development, Ideas

Today, not, from many days before, i was thinking and planning to begin the development of a new experimental application framework. I started the project at Sourceforge some days ago, now i'm wayting for project approvance, so now i'm working on architecture and ideas to put onto. Unfortunately I'm too busy in these days so i cannot do anything else, but today, this morning I was thinking to do a post on my BLOG to let see something and more, to let see my BLOG is not dead!! I know at now anyone knows my BLOG, but i hope starting posting code and ideas this could improve my BLOG knowing.

Ops, i forgot, the project name is.... Nuts-Framework, [nuts-framework] late i will explain why i called so.

Cheers

Technorati tags: Framework, Design Patterns

New developing frontier

Hi, I'm back to write here in my blog, i HOPE I can now write maybe everyday about my projects and Ideas, but unfortunately my job is so heavy in this last months so I cannot do anything, my guitar is still on my chair from october...waiting me... So, now I really want to start writing and share my ideas, my projects to the community, because i've learned so much in the past from all of you!!

In this period, I'm working on a new application framework, powerfull and attractive, unfortunately not an open project so i cannot share any ideas, any code, but one thing I can share here, my impression about web programming and coding conventions. 

I know many of us come from old, anchient time of dear ASP code, and in these years we've learned about new programming frontiers (for us), servlets, request handling, http handlers, url rewriting and more..the walk we made is so much..but now I found many many troubles on the way, now with the ASP.NET 2.0, Ajax time in progress, for me is impressive to see how many people, coming from oldest MIcrosoft worlds, still using old programming paradigms in the new worlds, I know someone cannot be impressed, but I'm impressed when I have to mantain and evolve these systems, built on new technologies but in the oldest way! DEBUGGING days spent to find just the right procedure flow, and after horror hours spent to resolve DEVIL'S code... I know this is just a my think but, yesterday I was thinking about: "where and in what place can I talk, very loud, of what I'm boring to see more???" and the I think: "my old BLOG".

Now, I'm thinking about this new time, where new technologies comes to the folks, ajax, web 2.0, asp.net 2.0, and more, and i'm thinking about what will be the approach to these technologies??

The fact is that we heavy need to change our way of think, using new tools and technologies, I think this time could be a better time, where new technologies could generate new job opportunities for everyone, for everyone! I was think another thing, how many poeaple are not agree of what MUM Microsoft is still doing with it's new products and Tech's? billions, and some time I'm one of them, but when I think of the new opportunities and jobs created from scratch, I'm really happy and exited about companies like MUM Microsft wich create job a make money going around!

So enjoy, I hope many of us could take advantage of what is in progress and learn learn learn!

and the last THING, I'm not fall in love with Microsoft, I'm just, oh better, I try to be realistic!

Cheers

Technorati tags: ASP.NET, Ajax, Design Patterns

Technorati Profile
This is just a test to integrate Technorati tags engine to my personal blog