CodeStock 2008 Developer's Conference

CodeStock's mission is to bring the best and brightest code experts to East Tennessee for a one day conference open to all developers. This is not a trade show with slick salesman giving prepared demos - this is a gathering of real programmers learning about the latest in technology from each other. Sign up now to learn how you can join us for CodeStock 2008!

Speakers and Agenda

We have lined up 30 sessions, a keynote address by respected author and MVP Jeff Prosise, and a place to hang out with speakers and attendees in open spaces style. Check out the list of amazing sessions by awesome speakers. I will be speaking on ASP.NET Dynamic Data, catch it here.

Registration

Registration is open! You can register for CodeStock 2008 now, and reserve your seat at the greatest developer's conference Knoxville has ever seen!

 

Tonight – June 17, 2008 Central-Penn.NET:

Computer Aid, Inc. (CAI), 470 Friendship Road, Harrisburg (3rd floor)

5:30 - 6:00: Content Management and Workflow with SharePoint (Andy Heller)
Microsoft Sharepoint is a platform for information.  One core component that is gaining traction among users is content management and workflow.  We will take a view at how content management and workflow in SharePoint can be relevant to the developer community.

6:00 - 6:30: Pizza and business meeting

6:30 - 7:30: SharePoint and Applications:  Workflow Designer (Alejandro Rosado)
The Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 provides tools to automate business processes and build efficient applications on top of the Microsoft SharePoint platform. Specifically, we will look at the Workflow Designer and see how to create custom event notifications and other collaboration tasks.

7:30: Q/A and cleanup

I will be attending this meeting, see you then!

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 Tomorrow - June 18, 2008 .NET VALLEY:

Session 1 : 6:00 PM

What’s next for SBS?

Presented By: Michael J. Murphy

Tags: IT Professional | Small Business Server
Session Length: 60 minutes
Session Summary:
SBS 2003 is 5 years old. When can you expect SBS 2008? What should you know about the move to 64x only? What versions will be available? Have you heard about the mid-size server solution Windows Essential Business Server? What technology gap will this technology fill? How can I take advantage of it? If you want answers to these and other questions join us for a discussion of the upcoming release of SBS 2008 and EBS.

Session 2 : 7:15 PM

Providing Your LINQ to SQL

Presented By: Jason N. Gaylord

Tags: Application Development | LINQ | SQL
Session Length: 60 minutes
Session Summary:
One of the issues many developers have is generating a solid data layer for their applications. Microsoft realized this and developed LINQ (Language Integrated Query). LINQ can be used to provide the data layer for nearly anything including XML, Objects, and SQL Server. During this talk you'll see how to use LINQ to SQL, build Lambda expressions, and provide a complete data layer with doing very little work.
 

It looks like this will be Philly.NET's BIGGEST EVER code camp.  Check out these stats, sent from Bill Wolff:

· 590+ registered, expect close to 450 attending
· 8 rooms like last time
· Park on the west or north side, north (back of building) is closest to the common and session rooms
· Attendees and speakers must register, all get a badge, speakers get a shirt (please wear it!)
· Several of the partners will have a table for the day, stop by and say hello
· There will be empty attendee bags and a few tables full of goodies
· Volunteers (see below) should start showing up at 7:30 to set up
· We have three high school kids for the day to handle food, trash, and heavy lifting
· The first session is at 8:30
· Lunch is earlier this time – 11:30, Primo Hoagies
· Afternoon snack are hot soft pretzels
· Closing and raffle happen at 4:50 in the common room
· Volunteers are always welcome to help clean up
· The speaker party immediately follows (5:30-7:30) at the Bent Elbow
· Evaluations will happen online this time using SharePoint, results will be posted in less than a week
· Attendees can win one of three Zunes by completing evaluations

 

My session is "An Intro to ASP.NET Dynamic Data".  You'll get the basics of ASP.NET Dynamic Data in about an hour.  You should be able to be up and building some apps w/it after sitting in the session.

 

Friday starts my Tour de' PA, when I leave for the Bloomsburg area then head over to Philly on Saturday then Harrisburg on Sunday.  What a weekend it's going to be!

 

The Strong Coders Community will be hosting its Ask An Expert Live chat on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time and I've been invited to sit in on the expert panel.

 

Get your tough development questions answered by Microsoft MVPs, Regional Directors, and other industry experts. Community experts will be on hand to answer your .NET- and Visual Studio-related questions. No off topic questions please.

 

Please note that questions regarding upcoming products and future product specs might not be answered.

 

 

MSDN Online Chats - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/chats/default.aspx
Chat Room - http://www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/chatrooms/msdn.aspx
ICS - http://www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/vcs/08_0501_msdn_DEV.ics

 

I just thought this was cute, geeky humor.

Image taken from here:

 

Since its inception in 2005, TECHbash has evolved into the premier technology conference in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Join an estimated 300 Developers, IT Professionals, CIO’s and Industry Experts from Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and host-state, Pennsylvania. This one day event brings together a broad spectrum of Technology Professionals to network, knowledge share and discuss existing technology solutions to business challenges, as well as preview prerelease products on the bleeding edge.
This year, we expanded to three tracks offering more presentations and providing you with more content choices representing a greater breadth of Industry insight. We will open the event with a keynote presentation from the unstoppable juggernaut, Joe Stagner, Program Manager for Microsoft’s Web Tools and Platform Division.Attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Enhance technical knowledge with comprehensive and relevant educational content
• Build experience on current and soon-to-be released technologies and products
• Engage with sponsors, presenters, and other technology professionals
• Learn how to get involved with .NET Valley, Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Technology User Group
• Leave with software and other swag

For more information and to register for the event, visit the TECHbash website at techbash.com
 

DDD Community Event.  May 3, 2008. More at Plip's.

 

.NET Valley Pre-Bash Party at Sidel's

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

If you've never been to a Pub Night before, you don't know what your missing. It's time to roll up the sleeves and dig in to some great food from Sidel's. We'll have Bruschetta, Fried Mozzarella, Antipasta, Tortellini salad, Mini-beef Wellington’s, and Shrimp. It all begins at 5:30pm. We have limited seating available so if you're sure you'll be there, register today!

 

WOOT!

 

 

 

Philly.NET Meeting

Wednesday April 23

 

Brian Donahue, Vitreo Solutions The Evolution of TDD

 

Test Driven Development has been gaining prominence, and many developers recognize the value it provides. Still, TDD adoption can be a slow and painful process, and often results in early abandonment as challenges mount. Many believe the current body of TDD knowledge puts too much emphasis on testing implementation details, and not enough on testing behavior. Behavior Driven Development (BDD) takes a more focused approach to TDD that can help clarify the testing process, and create a meaningful, readable suite of tests that not only helps you and other developers understand your application, but can be used to show your client that the application is meeting their needs. When developers, customers, and managers can clearly see the value of writing tests, everyone wins.