New Stuff

Resources for Your Developer Toolbox

Theresa W. Carey

Contents

Benchmark, Test, and Manage Your Applications
RAD for C# Developers
Web Pages from Your Database
Connect Visual Basic to Databases
Wise Developer Tools
Web Site Creation Assistant
Quick Takes
The Bookshelf

Benchmark, Test, and Manage Your Applications

Keynote Systems has published Transaction Perspective 4.0, which helps developers benchmark, test, and manage the end-to-end performance of e-business applications and systems. The program is designed to identify, diagnose, and repair transaction performance problems, ensuring an optimal quality of experience for users and mitigating bottom-line business impact. It also measures availability and performance metrics for use in third-party service level agreements (SLAs) and in-house service level management.

Features include network-level detail, including Domain Name System (DNS), initial connection, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), redirection, request time, first byte download, and base page download. Redirection is broken out into its constituent redirects, while SSL handshake time is measured and reported separately.

Element-level detail, including images, plug-ins, and applets, is documented. Elements downloaded as part of JavaScript execution are also captured for content errors. All HTTP, WinInet, and DNS errors are captured for the base page and elements.

The program includes Advanced Script Resiliency, an agent that adapts to changing Web page content for uninterrupted and stable transaction measurement over a long period of time. Transaction Perspective also includes advanced cookie support, as well as support for Microsoft® .NET Passport, plug-in support for transactions (such as Flash and ActiveX®) that interact with applications, an error keyword search, and 24-hour provisioning of new scripts. Keynote's real-time data feed provides timely data for integration with existing operational tools and systems to allow real-time alerting and notification.

RAD for C# Developers

Recursion Software Inc. has rolled out its C# Rapid DevKit, which includes high-performance enterprise collections and more than 50 advanced data processing algorithms that are designed to reduce .NET development time.

The C# Rapid DevKit extends the Microsoft .NET Framework, is compatible with the ICollection and IEnumerator classes, and includes 11 data structures. The .NET Framework contains support for data collections and algorithms, but was designed to provide a subset of features used by the majority of C# developers. Although the .NET Framework is sufficient for applet design and other use cases, when embarking on any serious C# development, you may need a professional namespace for collections and algorithms.

C# Rapid DevKit ships with a single DLL file containing all C# Rapid DevKit classes, complete HTML API documentation, an HTML user guide packed with over 100 examples, online versions of every example in the user documentation, and a C# Rapid DevKit peer interest group.

Web Pages from Your Database

TheDevShop Ltd. has released dbQwikSite 2.0, an HTML/ASP generation tool which creates Web pages using your database data. dbQwikSite can produce Web catalogs, lists, and online store sites including search and edit pages. The program connects to any database via ADO and ODBC.

The dbQwikSite interface includes a visual query builder and a page designer. The program will split n records per page, generate navigators, and place data into both page content and hyperlinks. Images can be added as links to GIF or JPG files. dbQwikSite supports HTML templates for record layouts and comes with several standard templates for Web catalogs and lists. The preview feature allows the users to see how the final generated pages will appear with data populated. An integrated FTP function deploys the Web site to the server.

dbQwikSite standard version produces static HTML sites. The Pro version adds ASP pages to search, add, edit, and delete data, allowing users to manage server data remotely. dbQwikSite runs on Windows® 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT® 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

Connect Visual Basic to Databases

Harry von Borstel Computer Engineering has released blueshell Active Tables version 3, which connects Visual Basic® 5.0 or 6.0 and .NET-centric languages to databases, including SQL Server™, MySQL, Oracle, Jet, and more. blueshell Active Tables is a control suite designed to minimize development time and cost and to handle all aspects of database client development.

blueshell Active Tables uses table controls, rather than isolated grid controls, supporting a grid view and a customizable form view. The table controls are all connected, observing the database's entity relationships.

blueshell Active Tables doesn't take a wizard-based approach. Every step of the development process is taken through Visual Studio® .NET, Visual Basic 5.0, or Visual Basic 6.0, enabling the developer to redefine anything at any time. The product has a GUI which handles everything that users may need for their databases.

Wise Developer Tools

Wise Solutions recently announced the release of Wise for Windows Installer version 4.2 and Wise for Visual Studio .NET. Wise for Windows Installer is designed to provide professional, reliable software installations. Wise for Visual Studio .NET, similar in functionality and based on Wise for Windows Installer, is embedded within the Visual Studio .NET interface. Wise for Visual Studio .NET synchronizes the installation development lifecycle, resulting in simultaneous development of installations and applications.

Both products share key features, including XML Web Services support, allowing users to create installations for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). The XML Web Services template sets up the required directories, and the virtual directory feature provides the tools needed to deploy XML Web Services.

With Clean Build, developers can build installations on "clean" build PCs. With this feature, all the necessary source files are copied to a build PC, and the installation is built without impacting your build environment. Visual Basic and C# Project import allows developers to import projects created in Visual Basic 5.0 and above or C#.

WiseUpdate allows your users to quickly upgrade to the latest version of your software. Your software can automatically check for available updates and download them.

Web Site Creation Assistant

MetaProducts Corporation has released LightPad v. 3.2, an editor for Web developers and Webmasters that retains control over Web site code while eliminating tedious typing tasks. LightPad is compatible with Windows 95 and above. Whether your Web site is written completely in HTML or includes Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, PHP, or Perl programming, LightPad is designed to let you develop and preview Web pages. LightPad's toolbars are user configurable.

After you select the languages that you use to develop Web pages, each command is a few mouse clicks away. For example, the HTML toolbar has categories for document, structure, paragraph, font, object, form, and table commands. So when you choose bold from the font category, the program inserts the proper pair of HTML commands and places your cursor between the commands. By pasting properly formatted commands, LightPad eliminates HTML typos.

The CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Perl toolbars have the most commonly used objects, functions, and operators for each language. Less popular language elements are also available from dropdown menus. You can also create your own lists of commands and frequently used words and phrases.

Preview Web documents on the fly using the internal browser, or LightPad will configure your system to work with any combination of Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, and Mozilla. LightPad's user interface can be viewed in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Quick Takes

Waymex IT Ltd recently released their FTP.Net Assembly, which allows FTP functionality to be added to any .NET project. Included is a list parser which can be used to provide object-based access to remote files, allowing users to obtain remote file and directory information. The list parser is designed to work with most FTP servers including those running on MS-DOS®, Unix, Netware, and VMS. Support via e-mail is included. Be sure to check out the Windows Help file (https://www.waymex.co.uk) which shows you the complete details of all methods, properties, events, and examples.

ADEW recently updated its HTML Analyser, an add-on to Microsoft Internet Explorer that tells you how the browser is interpreting an HTML page. It also produces a statistical analysis of the page performance. You can see how the forms are built, which HTML tags are used, and which query strings and cookies are generated. If the page has frames, you can view statistics about any frame within the loaded HTML page. Image and link reports allow you to see which images and page links are being used and which URLs they are using. Check it out at https://www.htmlanalyser.com.

Polar Software has released its Polar Draw Component, written in Visual C++®, for developers who want to include flow charting, vector drawing, raster imaging, and hyperlinking in their applications. Full source code is included, allowing flexible customization. Polar Draw can also read data from or write data to a memory variable defined as a Binary Large Object (BLOB). This allows you to store Polar Draw documents in a database table and retrieve them later. Get more information at https://www.polarsoftware.com/products/draw/index.asp.

David Solomon Expert Seminars Inc. has expanded their interactive video product line to include coverage of the most current kernel changes in Windows XP and Microsoft .NET Server. Available in both DVD and Windows Media™ format for CD-ROM and intranet server applications, this video provides in-depth training for the most recent Windows operating systems. Developed by David Solomon and Mark Russinovich, Inside Windows 2000 on video provides 11 hours of interactive training based on their book Inside Windows 2000, 3rd Edition (Microsoft Press, 2000). An overview of the primary differences between Windows 2000 and Windows XP is also included. Find all the David Solomon Expert Seminars at https://www.solsem.com.

The Bookshelf

Prentice Hall PTR has announced the publication of C#: A Programmer's Introduction written by Harvey and Paul Deitel and others for the Deitel Developer Series. This book introduces programmers to C# using the Dietels' Live-Code approach where all C# fundamentals are presented in the context of a fully tested program. The book features 152 Live-Code programs that contain more than 11,500 lines of code as well as 353 programming tips that show you how to build portable, reusable code optimized for performance. C#: A Programmer's Introduction provides a rigorous introduction to programming principles in general and to C# fundamentals in particular. It continues with brief introductions to upper-level topics such as ASP.NET, ADO.NET, databases, SQL, XML, and Web Services. Find out more about this book at https://www.phptr.com.

Apress announces the arrival of Advanced .NET Remoting in VB .NET by Ingo Rammer. The book, divided into two parts, offers in-depth coverage of the .NET Remoting Framework in Visual Basic .NET.

Part One covers issues related to developing distributed applications within the .NET Framework. Highlights include the basics of server-activated objects versus client-activated objects, formatters, channels, lifetime issues, security, configuration files, and more. The server-side hosting of "remotable" components in console applications, Windows Services, and IIS are also covered.

Part Two provides technical insight that will help developers understand what's really happening behind the scenes and how to customize the framework to suit their specific needs. Rammer focuses on message sinks and sink providers and gives in-depth advice on why and how to implement message and channel sinks. Part Two also offers detailed coverage of the synchronous and asynchronous message processing within the framework. More information about the author as well as sample chapters and source code are available at https://www.apress.com.

Send your New Stuff to Theresa at NewStuff@microsoft.com.

Theresa W. Careyis a freelance writer who lives in California. Her byline has appeared in Barron's and PC World.