DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by dvader

Fast Add Reference Dialog for VS 2010

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

I have spent a couple of days on implementing a fast add reference dialog box for Visual Studio. The time of adding a reference has been a great time to have some coffee, to have lunch, or even a way to save economy (remember, developer time costs money!).

The "Sim City" effect

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:30:00 GMT

What happens when you turn your back on a software development project.

Learning new Programmming Languages and Technologies

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Recently, I've read article after article about how part of being a good software developer is about being open to new technologies, and to "learn new things" - and I'd be foolish not to agree. However...

Jeff Atwood Finally Jumps the Shark

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:46:04 GMT

Well, we all knew it had to happen eventually. After years of great blog posts and insightful commentary on the programming world, Jeff Atwood has finally jumped the shark in his latest post which essentially says "programming is hard, let's go shopping!"

Today I've Realized How Far We Have To Go

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:01:02 GMT

A call to climb on the shoulders of giants within the software develeopment industry.

Three Index Cards To Easily Remember The Essence Of Test-Driven Develo

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:08:32 GMT

Three physical index cards representing the ideas put forth in http://blog.objectmentor.com/articles/2008/03/06/tdd-on-three-index-cards

What makes me NOT want to leave a company/client/shop

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:16:09 GMT

What makes me NOT want to leave a company

The 5 types of poor software architects

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:31:06 GMT

The types of software architects you never want to meet in your career

Don't be clever 2 - The cost of cleverness

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:46:03 GMT

In the modern world of programming we need to be more cognizant of making our code readable and grokkable than to make it clever or sneaky. For 99% of the developers out there, no one is ever going to pat you on the back for being sneaky. You're probably more likely to get punched in the face for it when the team has to spend the weekend debugging a piece of your clever code.

IE Sends Mozilla a New Cake for Firefox 3

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:31:02 GMT

Sean from Microsoft came by just a few minutes ago to drop off a cake for the Internet Explorer team. As people may recall, the IE team sent Mozilla a cake after Firefox 2 shipped and it seems that they wanted to continue the tradition.

Which kind of cast should you use in C#?

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:01:04 GMT

C# offers two casting operators: the prefix-cast and the as-cast. Although the two operators compile to different op-codes in the CLR, the practical difference between them is in how they handle failed casts. Prefix-cast throws an exception on cast failure, while as-cast returns null. It's easier to implement correct error handling when you use prefix cast, because it doesn't require manual checks for null values that can cause problems in distant parts of your program. Prefix-cast should be the default cast operator on your fingertips, that you use for everyday situations - reserve as-cast for special cases where performance matters.

What a developer needs from their manager

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:16:03 GMT

I've a read a lot of articles talking about what it takes to be a good development manager. There are also articles about what makes a good developer. I thought it would be a good idea to describe what a developer needs from their manager.

How Super Mario Bros Made Me a Better Software Engineer

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:16:05 GMT

Playing NES video games does have some advantages!

What Does It Take To Become A Grandmaster Developer?

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:31:02 GMT

Provides an analogy between chess grandmasters and software developers including some C# examples.

Sound of one man testing

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:16:02 GMT

Recently I was chatting with a friend of mine and he asked if a single developer could be successful following TDD on a team that does not follow TDD. My simple answer was YES, they can. But there are a few things you must consider.....

The Most Useful VS Feature No One Seems To Use

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:46:02 GMT

Speed up your debugging time by using the Exceptions dialog box.

Tell Me Your Unit Testing Pains

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:01:02 GMT

... Unfortunately, by most definitions of Unit Test, most of these tests are really integration tests.

No, you're crazy! (or, the problem with assuming that computer program

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:01:04 GMT

An excellent post on how to think about programming as a profession.

Hundreds of design patterns, antipatterns and refactorings listed

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:31:02 GMT

Good source of common patterns (GoF etc), antipatterns and refactoring types. The examples are good and clear, but the code samples are only in Java/C++. However, the articles and samples are platform neutral enough to be useful even for .NET-purists like us ;)

Confessions of a Software Developer

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:01:02 GMT

Has anybody else ever felt overwhelmed with the sheer mass of "stuff" involved with software development?

Top 5 Attributes of Highly Effective Programmers

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:46:02 GMT

Just an essential article. I would like to add "discipline" to this list.

TDD Proven Effective! Or is it?

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:46:02 GMT

So when Phil Haack announced that Research Supports the Effectiveness of TDD I was more than a little interested in seeing what the linked report actually contained.

101 Great Computer Programming Quotes

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:31:02 GMT

"I think Microsoft named .Net so it wouldn't show up in a Unix directory listing." (Oktal)

Microsoft Sync Framework Support in Visual Studio 2008

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:01:03 GMT

How to add synchronization framework to your app in several mouse clicks in Visual Studio 2008.

Building Data Out Of Thin Air

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:46:02 GMT

A wild ride through theoretical implementations of Cons, Car and Cdr in Scheme, followed by implementations in C# 3.0 and VB 9. Guaranteed to stretch your mind.