When: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: A Lap Around Silverlight 3

Exactly two years ago, on 7/7/7, Pete and a coworker flipped the switch on the first managed code Silverlight application ever to go into production. Silverlight sure has come a long way since then. Join us for a lap around the new features in Silverlight 3 ranging from business application development to rich media, validation, navigation and out of browser support, plus a little fun stuff thrown in for grins. If you're new to Silverlight 3, or new to Silverlight itself, you'll want to join us for this end-to-end look at Microsoft's RIA platform.

Presenter: Pete Brown

Pete Brown is a Microsoft Silverlight MVP, an INETA speaker, and a RIA Architect for Applied Information Sciences in the Washington, DC area.

From his first sprite graphics and custom character sets on the Commodore 64 to 3d modeling and design through to Silverlight, Surface, Xna, and WPF, Pete has always had a deep interest in programming, design, and user experience. His involvement in Silverlight goes back to the Silverlight 1.1 alpha application that he co-wrote and put into production in July 2007. Pete has been programming for fun since 1984, and professionally since 1992.

In his spare time, Pete enjoys programming, blogging, designing and building his own woodworking projects and raising his two children with his wife in the suburbs of Maryland. Pete's blog is at http://www.irritatedVowel.com/Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pete_brown.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website.

When: Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: Dissecting DevEvents.com: A Look at a Real World .NET MVC Implementation

The ASP.NET MVC Framework provides a powerful Model View Controller (MVC) approach to building web applications, and provides separation of concerns, increased testability, control over HTML output, and intuitive URLs. We will start by looking at building a model framework with LINQ to SQL, including validation and model binding. Then, we'll explore a custom generics-based repository and services implementation. Finally, we'll tie it all together with a look at Views and jQuery.

Presenter: Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews is a Team System MVP and INETA speaker, and has been working as a developer for more than 9 years. During this time, he has designed and developed applications in such widely varying areas as trust accounting, medical information management, supply chain management, and retail systems. Steve is also a MCTS, ICSOO, and community fanatic.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website

When: Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: Dissecting DevEvents.com: A Look at a Real World .NET MVC Implementation

The ASP.NET MVC Framework provides a powerful Model View Controller (MVC) approach to building web applications, and provides separation of concerns, increased testability, control over HTML output, and intuitive URLs. We will start by looking at building a model framework with LINQ to SQL, including validation and model binding. Then, we'll explore a custom generics-based repository and services implementation. Finally, we'll tie it all together with a look at Views and jQuery.

Presenter: Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews is a Team System MVP and INETA speaker, and has been working as a developer for more than 9 years. During this time, he has designed and developed applications in such widely varying areas as trust accounting, medical information management, supply chain management, and retail systems. Steve is also a MCTS, ICSOO, and community fanatic.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website

When: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: Motley Fool, 2000 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Topic: Pair Programming with Jonathan Cogley

Come along to write some real C# code using Test Driven Development through pairing. The intent of this presentation is to introduce the concept of pair programming in such a way that we all participate in a fishbowl style. We'll cover the basics of how to and how two heads can be better than one!

Presenter: Jonathan Cogley

Jonathan Cogley is the founder and CEO of thycotic - a software development company operating in the Washington DC Metro Area with offices in Vienna, Virginia. Jonathan has worked for many interesting companies over the last decade as a software consultant in both the UK and the USA. His company has released various .NET projects and APIs including an implementation of Remote Scripting for .NET, a database platform independent data access layer for ISVs and various tools for the Test Driven Developer. Test Driven Development (TDD) is the cornerstone of the thycotic approach to software development and the company is committed to innovate TDD on the Microsoft .NET platform with new techniques and tools. Jonathan is also a columnist and editor for the popular ASP.NET Web site, ASPAlliance. He is an active member in the developer community and speaks regularly at various .NET User Groups, conferences and code camps across the US. Jonathan is recognized by Microsoft as an MVP for C# and has also been invited to join the select group of the ASPInsiders who have interactions with the product teams at Microsoft.

RSVP Today: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/349430155

The CMAP Hands On Labs Group will be meeting this Thursday, May 21st at TEK Systems in Linthicum, MD at 6:30pm.

The focus of this group is to go through a couple of hands on labs (HOL) together during each meeting.  The idea is to learn through a hands-on experience.  People like touching the bits. It's much easier to learn while getting your hands wet with the code, and we're doing what we can to help you along the way. So, bring your laptop and we'll provide the labs.

If you don't have a laptop (or portable desktop), you can still join us. You can either buddy up with someone or just watch as we will walk through each step of the lab along with everyone else.

If you are planning on bring a laptop, below are instructions and software needed to prepare before arriving.  I will bring the labs on a USB thumb drive.

The focus of the labs this month is Silverlight.

Required software:

• Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows XP SP2, or Windows Vista
• Visual Studio 2008 (evaluation version available here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/enus/vstudio/products/aa700831.aspx)
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 (included in Visual Studio 2008) (http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7755937)
• Visual Studio 2008 SP1 (includes .NET Framework 3.5 SP1) (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FBEE1648-7106-44A7-9649-6D9F6D58056E&displaylang=en)
• SQL Server 2005/2008 Express Edition (or any other edition of SQL 2005/2008) (http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/download/)
• Silverlight™ 2 Tools for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C22D6A7B-546F-4407-8EF6-D60C8EE221ED&displaylang=en)

You can find the HOL manual and sample files here.  There is 1 zip file containing the HOL manuals and source.  I have also put the HOL manual in the directory as well for those who want them separately.

Details and directions can be found at http://www.cmap-online.org/Meetings/Details/2009-05-21.aspx.

Hope to see everyone there.
Christopher Steen
CMAP Hands On Labs Group Coordinator

If you can not put Visual Studio 2008 on your laptop, you can use the Visual Studio Team System 2008 VPC available from MSDN. You will also need to download either Virtual PC 2007 or Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. I suggest just downloading Virtual PC as it will be easier to set up for these particular labs. It will take some time to download these materials.
Of course, if you already have Visual Studio 2008 installed, along with SQL Server or SQL Server Express, you do not need to worry about steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: Download Virtual PC 2007 and install
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=28C97D22-6EB8-4A09-A7F7-F6C7A1F000B5&displaylang=en

Step 2: Download the Visual Studio Team System 2008 VPC, follow the instructions on the download page to extract and set up the virtual machine.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7a809d8-8c9f-439f-8147-948bc6957812&displaylang=en

Lab Files
http://cid-1e604b15acc5b8c7.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CMAP%20Hands%20On%20Labs/May

When: Wednesday, May 20th, 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Where: System Source 338 Clubhouse Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Topic: Behavior Driven Development

Many developers are struggling leveraging tests to drive their development as TDD suggests. Too much time is spent talking about tests and quality when the two are not synonymous. Behavior Driven Development offers a new way of approaching the same problem while shifting the emphasis towards communicating with the user through clear specifications. We will interactively build some simple functionality from the ground up using a BDD like approach during the session. Come and experience how you can improve your designs, code and experience with your users.

Presenter: Mark Lindell

Mark Lindell is a Software Architect for Phillips/VISICU. Mark has been passionate about software development for over 30 years with experience in CAD/CAM, CBT, and medical information technologies. Recently Mark has been designing and constructing a high performance blackboard engine based on Object Prevalence to analyze real-time patient medial data to provide life saving alerts to ICU physicians and nurses.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the BaltoMSDN website.

When: Tuesday, May 5th, 6:30pm

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: WCF 3.5 REST

Tuesday night is not a night to rest but a night to join us for a RESTful evening of learning about a different approach to web services. You need not be a RESTifarian, but you will rest easier knowing you have REST in your toolbox.
With the advent of WCF 3.5, there are now many features at your disposal to build Web 2.0-style services. This demo-heavy presentation will cover both building and consuming WCF REST services. We will dive into many of the new APIs available in the WCF REST Starter Kit with a nod to new features on the horizon in WCF 4.0. Consuming REST services will be explored through a pure AJAX jQuery client as well as a Silverlight client. The session will also give a brief introduction to ADO.NET Data Services.

Presenter: Steve Michelotti

Steve Michelotti, MSCD, MCPD, MCT is a consultant for Applied Information Sciences. He has consulted at Advertising.com/AOL where he was the Tech Lead for one of the highest volume .NET applications in the world. He is a frequent presenter at developer user groups and Code Camps in the Maryland area. He has been on Microsoft Channel9 and his published articles include Visual Studio Magazine and his blog: www.geekswithblogs.net/michelotti.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website.

When: Tuesday, May 5th, 6:30pm

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: WCF 3.5 REST

Tuesday night is not a night to rest but a night to join us for a RESTful evening of learning about a different approach to web services. You need not be a RESTifarian, but you will rest easier knowing you have REST in your toolbox.
With the advent of WCF 3.5, there are now many features at your disposal to build Web 2.0-style services. This demo-heavy presentation will cover both building and consuming WCF REST services. We will dive into many of the new APIs available in the WCF REST Starter Kit with a nod to new features on the horizon in WCF 4.0. Consuming REST services will be explored through a pure AJAX jQuery client as well as a Silverlight client. The session will also give a brief introduction to ADO.NET Data Services.

Presenter: Steve Michelotti

Steve Michelotti, MSCD, MCPD, MCT is a consultant for Applied Information Sciences. He has consulted at Advertising.com/AOL where he was the Tech Lead for one of the highest volume .NET applications in the world. He is a frequent presenter at developer user groups and Code Camps in the Maryland area. He has been on Microsoft Channel9 and his published articles include Visual Studio Magazine and his blog: www.geekswithblogs.net/michelotti.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website.

The CMAP Hands On Labs Group will be meeting this Thursday, April 16th at TEK Systems in Linthicum, MD at 6:30pm.

The focus of this group is to go through a couple of hands on labs (HOL) together during each meeting.  The idea is to learn through a hands-on experience.  People like touching the bits. It's much easier to learn while getting your hands wet with the code, and we're doing what we can to help you along the way. So, bring your laptop and we'll provide the labs.

If you don't have a laptop (or portable desktop), you can still join us. You can either buddy up with someone or just watch as we will walk through each step of the lab along with everyone else.

If you are planning on bring a laptop, below are instructions and software needed to prepare before arriving.  I will bring the labs on a USB thumb drive.
The focus of the labs this month is ASP.NET MVC.

Required software:

• Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows XP SP2, or Windows Vista
• Visual Studio 2008 (not the express edition) (evaluation version available here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/enus/vstudio/products/aa700831.aspx)
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 (included in Visual Studio 2008) (http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7755937)
• Visual Studio 2008 SP1 (includes .NET Framework 3.5 SP1) (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FBEE1648-7106-44A7-9649-6D9F6D58056E&displaylang=en)
• SQL Server 2005/2008 Express Edition (or any other edition of SQL 2005/2008) (http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/download/)
• ASP.NET MVC (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=53289097-73ce-43bf-b6a6-35e00103cb4b&displaylang=en)

You can find the HOL manual and sample files here.  There is 1 zip file containing the HOL manuals and source.  I have also put the HOL manual in the directory as well for those who want them separately.

Details and directions can be found at http://www.cmap-online.org/Meetings/Details/2009-04-16.aspx.

Hope to see everyone there.

Christopher Steen
CMAP Hands On Labs Group Coordinator

If you can not put Visual Studio 2008 on your laptop, you can use the Visual Studio Team System 2008 VPC available from MSDN. You will also need to download either Virtual PC 2007 or Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. I suggest just downloading Virtual PC as it will be easier to set up for these particular labs. It will take some time to download these materials.

Of course, if you already have Visual Studio 2008 installed, along with SQL Server or SQL Server Express, you do not need to worry about steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: Download Virtual PC 2007 and install
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=28C97D22-6EB8-4A09-A7F7-F6C7A1F000B5&displaylang=en

Step 2: Download the Visual Studio Team System 2008 VPC, follow the instructions on the download page to extract and set up the virtual machine.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7a809d8-8c9f-439f-8147-948bc6957812&displaylang=en

Lab Files
http://cid-1e604b15acc5b8c7.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CMAP%20Hands%20On%20Labs/April

When: Wednesday, April 1st, 6:30pm

Where: HCC Business Training Center, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

Topic: Developing and Deploying Your First Azure Service

In this talk we will take a tour of the capabilities of Microsoft Azure by building and running a simple service using the Azure SDK. The sample service highlights some of the features of the platform including service management, storage, and an integrated developer experience. This is a demo-heavy session.

Presenter: G. Andrew Duthie

G. Andrew Duthie, aka .net DEvHammer, is the Developer Evangelist for Microsoft’s Mid-Atlantic States district, where he provides support and education for developers working with the .net development platform. In addition to his work with Microsoft, Andrew is the author of several books on ASP.NET and web development, and has spoken at numerous industry conferences from VSLive! and ASP.NET Connections, to Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference (PDC) and Tech-Ed.
Andrew is also the creator and developer of Community Megaphone, a site designed for promoting and finding developer community events.
Andrew can be reached through his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/gduthie/. You can also follow Andrew on twitter.

For more information about the meeting, please visit the CMAP website.