.NET News & More


Indigo: The end of the rainbow

Longhorn’s Indigo technology -- still years away from its first ship -- could mark Microsoft’s embrace of real interoperability with non-Windows systems.

Do tools matter?

For 30-plus years developers have had a love-hate relationship with tools. Our experts offer their views on the state of development tools today and into the future.

Software applications infrastructure: The “new middleware”?

What exactly should those developing solutions view as “middleware”? The answer lies in an understanding of how vendors are approaching the software stack as a means of implementing SOA.

Longhorn's Architecture

Longhorn is the next major version of Microsoft's Windows operating system for consumers. These architectural models show how everything fits together.

Product Reviews: Openmake 6.2 and SOAPscope 3.0

Mike Gunderloy reviews Openmake 6.2 and SOAPscope 3.0

Review: Crystal Reports

Crystal adds J2EE features and additional data connections in its continued quest for enterprise reporting dominance. Business Objects, the new owner, is sending a strong signal about its long-term viability.

Review: XtraVerticalGrid

An innovative control that acts like a regular grid stoon on edge, the XtraVerticalGrid can be used in a wide variety of user interfaces.

Review: Dotfuscator

.NET code is easy to compile. Dotfuscator helps protect your code from prying eyes.

Review: OpenMake

If you've outgrown your build system because your software is too complex, take a look at OpenMake. It takes the pain out of builds with a knowledge base of software types.

Review: Codify

With code generation on a micro scale for users of Visual Studio .NET, Codify offers a way to integrate code generation into every day development.

Modeling for .NET

When you first think of modeling, you might not think of .NET. But tools already support such methods, and a Microsoft design set alternative is brewing that will surely shake the software design tree.

Build Tools for .NET Applications

Thanks to the growing popularity of .NET, you can now choose among a wide variety of free and commercial tools to automate the build process for your .NET applications. Here's a quick roundup of the contenders.

Review: SQL Comparison & Synchronization Toolkit

From the makers of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare, this library exposes an API that you can call from your .NET applications to work with multiple SQL Server databases.

Briefing: Logidex .NET Library

Logidex .NET Library offers a way to maintain an enterprise-wide repository of Software Development Assets. It's integrated directly into Visual Studio .NET for ease of use.

Review: XtraBars

XtraBars offers a dizzying array of flexible UI components, complete with source code, for an attractive price.

More developer guidance from Microsoft

Two new publications from the Patterns & Practices group tackle .NET-J2EE interoperability and performance issues.

Review: PrimalCode 3.0

This "code-oriented IDE" provides a lighter-weight alternative to Visual Studio .NET for some .NET development projects.

Managed Database Code: Opportunity or Threat?

Next year we'll have managed code tightly integrated with enterprise-level databases. But will the tools be ready?

Review: ActiveReports

ActiveReports offers a solid reporting solution for .NET applications. You may well find it superior to the built-in Crystal Reports.

Whidbey First Look

The next version of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET offers a plethora of new features to make the developer's life easier. But remember: it's not shipping until next year, so don't plan on using it immediately.