Right now I am not impressed with Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions. I am not a fan of the number of different versions to choose from nor the need to use more than one edition. At first, I thought for web development I could just choose the Web Developer Edition.
For .NET development I am a big fan of C# so I avoid Visual Basic whenever possible. I am also a big fan of testing my code so when I am finished I have a product that does what I expect. I just started to get into Test Driven Development (TDD) but I think I'll save that topic for another post.
Back to the multiple edition discussion. Since I am doing Web Development in C# I thought I could just grab the one aptly named version and be on my way. Well, mostly. If you don't need to test any of your classes it works just fine. However, if you want to run your classes through a unit test using the standard package NUnit then you are in trouble.
NUnit tests classes by using the assembly a class or set of classes is normally packaged in. Typically you create a Class Library, group all your classes as needed and you are done (Professional edition does this for you in a website project). The big problem is Web Developer Edition can't create assemblies.
To run through the tests there are two options, unfortunately both involve downloading the C# edition of Visual Studio Express. After the program is downloaded and installed, you can create a Class Library project.
The first option is to create a Test class with all your unit tests, build, and then add it as a reference in your website project in Web Edition. The second is to move all your classes into separate Class Libraries (assemblies) add references to the test class, and then add your classes as references back in Web Edition.
Either option works mostly. I chose the second option so I could logically group all my classes and run my unit tests and make changes without switching to the other Express Edition. I ran into problems when I started debugging my front-side code because my classes were no longer available inside Web Edition directly.
The first approach probably would solve that particular issue but at the expense of creating more work when writing tests. I can't say which option is better, only that neither is optimal if you appreciate focusing without task ADD.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Background on Name
The name of this blog was actually not my first choice. Sadly, I was a bit tardy on registration and someone else got there first, timely decisiveness is not my strong suite. If you get a good idea for a domain name or anything requiring registration, register it. I won't mention my first pick as I still might register the domain name.
That's it for the Background Story. I had to think a little bit more about what I hope to accomplish with posting here and the overall theme. This is actually my second attempt at a blog as my first ended just short of disastrous. My first attempt was too narrowly focused and required writing outside my area of passion.
I ended up commenting on the same stories everyone was else was already writing about. I am not the best writer in the world so competing on the same grounds is entirely too inefficient. I can't guarantee this blog will be filled with notions and thoughts you have never seen before, but with every post I hope to achieve it.
Overall some posts will contain more technical material than others while I hope there is enough variety for everyone. Some of the upcoming content will focus on software development, tips and tricks, technology integration, and bit of /dev/random.
That's it for the Background Story. I had to think a little bit more about what I hope to accomplish with posting here and the overall theme. This is actually my second attempt at a blog as my first ended just short of disastrous. My first attempt was too narrowly focused and required writing outside my area of passion.
I ended up commenting on the same stories everyone was else was already writing about. I am not the best writer in the world so competing on the same grounds is entirely too inefficient. I can't guarantee this blog will be filled with notions and thoughts you have never seen before, but with every post I hope to achieve it.
Overall some posts will contain more technical material than others while I hope there is enough variety for everyone. Some of the upcoming content will focus on software development, tips and tricks, technology integration, and bit of /dev/random.
Friday, January 25, 2008
...Why?
Because everyone needs change.
Because life is too linear.
Because it's unexpected.
I can't vouch for that last one and be totally serious. The idea behind yet another blog is to stir up some thoughts and change your perception on daily living. I don't intend to ramble on or delve into strange and utterly useless topics. I don't intend to write what others have already written.
I do intend to keep a log of ideas I have. I do intent to publish different ways of doing the ordinary. I don't have an idea where any of this will eventually lead. I don't know if my thoughts or my opinions will interest anyone in the real world.
I guess what I can do is post when I find something interesting or when I have an idea that could prove useful for someone. If you see something here you want to use and it helps you in some way, let me know. I love to chat.
I can't tell you exactly what to expect, but I can tell you it might be worth hanging around. If you don't see anything you like now, then just wait a bit. If you come back later and still don't see anything interesting, then this is probably yet another blog to ignore.
Because life is too linear.
Because it's unexpected.
I can't vouch for that last one and be totally serious. The idea behind yet another blog is to stir up some thoughts and change your perception on daily living. I don't intend to ramble on or delve into strange and utterly useless topics. I don't intend to write what others have already written.
I do intend to keep a log of ideas I have. I do intent to publish different ways of doing the ordinary. I don't have an idea where any of this will eventually lead. I don't know if my thoughts or my opinions will interest anyone in the real world.
I guess what I can do is post when I find something interesting or when I have an idea that could prove useful for someone. If you see something here you want to use and it helps you in some way, let me know. I love to chat.
I can't tell you exactly what to expect, but I can tell you it might be worth hanging around. If you don't see anything you like now, then just wait a bit. If you come back later and still don't see anything interesting, then this is probably yet another blog to ignore.
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