Vs 2008 SP1

I posted earlier that SQL 2008 RTM is available to MSDN and Tech Net subscribers which is great, but it appears the Visual Studio 2008 SP 1 will not be available for download until the 11th of August.  These timing issues are annoying to say the least. Both of these pieces are needed in a development environment, in fact without SP1, you can't program against SQL 2008. Let's hope that they release prior to the 11th, but if not at least we have a known date.

SQL 2008 has been released to manufacturing

SQL Server 2008 has been released to manufacturing (RTM). I posted earlier that I thought it would happen by the end of this month, so I was pretty close. It's already available for MSDN and Tech Net subscribers.  Now how about the VS 2008 SP1 RTM?

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and SQL 2008 close to release?

Just ran across a set of slides for the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 launch here. So is it possible that we may finally see RTM of the Service Pack and SQL 2008 in the next couple of weeks? I suspect that it may be pretty close, maybe by the end of August. This would be great because we've been using the beta and SQL 2008 RC internally to ramp up vNext of our application.

New look for MSDN subscriber downloads

Microsoft has changed the MSDN subscribers download layout again. This time around it is actually useable. The last version used a SilverLight application to browse and download products and keys. There were big problems with mouse interaction in the menus in that you would have to select and hold an item for several seconds or else the selection wouldn't work. This was especially annoying when you were several levels deep in the menu, since when it lost focus the whole menu would collapse and you'd have to start at the root again.

The new layout is web based and ajax enabled, no more SilverLight!, the menu hierarchy layout is very similar to the pre SilverLight site, which makes navigation easy and familiar.   Overall as an MSDN subscriber I like the new layout and I think it was the right move, kudos to the MSDN team.

Foundation of Programming eBook

  I saw this free eBook title on Channel 9 while browsing the Webcasts. It certainly isn't anything ground breaking or  revolutionary, but it is well put together and provides a refresher in a down to earth manner.

Sometimes in this field it's good to step back and look at what's going on from a different perspective. This eBook does exactly that by discussing Domain Driven Development in comparison with the Data Driven Development we've become accustomed to with .Net. The author doesn't dismiss the data driven approach, but in fact shows that in some cases it may be the right choice. At the same time he does a great job introducing Domain Driven Development in  practical way by example. 

Sometimes it doesn't pay to help

  I recently found out that a former employer is shutting down development operations locally. The developers that worked there are hard working talented and I'd work with any of them or so I though.

My currently employer is looking to fill a couple of positions  so I passed the information on to my former co-workers since I knew they'd be looking for jobs soon. One individual, a younger mid-level programmer requested a job description and salary range which I sent along.

Now to be honest the position requires some legacy application maintenance, to be specific, some classic ASP maintenance as well as .Net development. We are in the process of moving the systems to a new architecture, but reality is we just can't "turn off" the old systems. At any rate I received a very pompous response from this developer as to how it would never work on "legacy" applications and if he didn't get to work on only new stuff we could take a hike, he wasn't interested. Ok fair enough, but for the record almost any position will require some legacy maintenance, that's just the way it is.

The response was something I'd expect from a junior developer, no actually it's a response I wouldn't tolerate from any candidate. So I'm making sure he's removed from the candidate list. It's important, especially when you are building a team, to find team players who are willing to participate in the good and the bad.  This developer is good as young developers go, but no one is worth that.

Next time this situation arises, I'll  spend more time evaluating my choices before making a recommendation.

Follow up to Web 2.0 Portal book

Admittedly I haven't gotten very far with this title this weekend, but I've made a few observations to share. The book has a corresponding web site, Dropthings.com that you can browse to and check out. One of the key areas so far is the "widget" framework. This framework provides the ability to add custom widgets (user controls) to the portal. After perusing the site and checking I see the follow issues.

• All widgets use the same  header template which includes an edit link. When there is nothing to edit and the link is clicked, in some cases the widget says there's nothing to edit, in others nothing happens. This leads to a very inconsistent user experience.
• You can drag widgets to different columns. The main area is laid out into three columns for widget display and while you can move them up and down within a container, it doesn't seem you can move them to other columns. The UI cues indicate that you can but nothing seems to happen.

Arguably these are small issues but if you're selling a book and the site is a reference, that site better be correct and provide a good user experience.

As for the book, I've noted a few typo's and some discrepancies between the text and images. This is the first O'Rielly book I've purchased and so far it appears to be the last. When I purchase a professional development book, I expect the quality to be good.