My friend and former coworker Joe Audette has posted an article on setting up a development environment for Mono.  Joe has worked primarily with Microsoft technology over the last several years, and has only recently begun his descent into the Linux domain.  As he completes this series of articles, I'm sure he will provide many bits of wisdom to anyone who wishes to make the same journey.

Setting Up a Development Environment for mono - Part 1 Choosing and Installing a GNU/Linux Distro

This is mostly for my own reference, but here is a series of interesting articles on SQL Reporting Services.  My company currently uses and recommends Cognos, which is used in comparison in these articles.  I've got a project coming up that I will probably use Reporting Services for.  Anyone care to share their experiences?

MSSQL Server 2000 Reporting Services: A New Paradigm for Enterprise Reporting

The Authoring Phase: Overview Part I

The Authoring Phase: Overview Part II

Managing Reporting Services: Data Connections and Uploads

Managing Reporting Services: Report Execution and Standard Subscriptions

I also ordered Professional SQL Server Reporting Services.  I'll post a review of my discoveries over the next few weeks...

Many developers use Panels to programmatically show and hide different sections of a page, such as for a multi-step wizard interface or different areas of administration. Here is a series of overloaded methods I came up with for making it easier to show and hide Panels on a page.  You'll notice that some of the overloads include a parent control, for cases where you need to show/hide a Panel inside another Panel or PlaceHolder.

1  #region private void ShowPanel(...)   
2
3  private void HideAllPanels(Control parent)
4  {
5   foreach (Control c in parent.Controls)
6   {
7    if (c is Panel)
8    {
9     c.Visible = false;
10    }
11   }
12  }
13
14  private void ShowPanel(Panel showPanel)
15  {
16   ShowPanel(showPanel, this);
17  }
18
19  private void ShowPanel(Panel showPanel, Control parent)
20  {
21   foreach(Control c in parent.Controls)
22   {
23    if (c is Panel)
24    {
25     c.Visible = (c == showPanel);
26    }
27   }
28
29  }
30
31  private void ShowPanel(string panelID)
32  {
33   ShowPanel(panelID, this);
34  }
35
36  private void ShowPanel(string panelID, Control parent)
37  {
38   Panel p = (Panel) parent.FindControl(panelID);
39   ShowPanel(p, parent);
40  }
41  #endregion

I sure wish I could afford one of these!

http://www.poetictech.com

http://www.mypce.com

Why haven't I blogged more?

I've been asking myself that question the last couple of weeks.  I had such great aspirations when I created this Web site and my own Blog engine.  I could say that I've been too busy.  Yes, I have been very busy, but, I think that is a cop out.  Just how much time and effort does it really take to make an entry?

No, I think the real issue is I haven't decided yet who my audience is.  I don't have someone, real or fictional, that I imagine to be my reader.  I think it would be much easier and more natural, if I could imagine I was writing an email to a good friend.

Once I discover who my reader is, then I think I'll have a story to tell.

I recently started evaluating a server-side spam solution for my e-mail server.  Of course, in the context of the World Wide Web, everyone knows that spam is synonymous with unsolicited e-mail messages and not the canned meat.  So, what do you call legitimate messages?  Apparently, some spam filtering solutions are labeling non-spam e-mails as “ham.”

I guess I never thought about it before.

I thought I would pass this tip along.  I know some developers have used an HtmlGenericControl to programmatically change the title of their pages (the text that shows up in the browser's window title).  However, a friend of mine informed me that some search engines will not recognize the <title> tag with the added “id” attribute.

If you are a .NET developer and you haven't downloaded the VB.NET Resource Kit or the ASP.NET Resource Kit, then download them now.  Let me say it again.  Download them NOW.  NOW!!!  Have you downloaded them yet?  Okay, I concede that it takes a while.

Here's why: I write most of my code in C#, but that doesn't stop me from using the free .NET controls that come with the VB.NET Resource Kit, such as ComponentOne Studio Enterprise and Infragistics UltraWebNavigator.  See the DHTML menu used on this site?  That's the UltraWebNavigator.  Not only does it do menus, but it also includes an awesome tree control that I use on a lot of administration pages.  The ASP.NET Resource Kit includes Infragistics UltraWebGrid, and Telerik's r.a.d. rotator control. I haven't done the math, but my guess is the kits have well over $1,000 in free controls.  Not to mention all the source code, training materials, book chapters, white papers, and stuff like that.  Let me say it again, this time like Dave Ramsey.  It's FUHHHH-RRREEEEE.