Visual Studio 2008 Launch Demos and Screencasts

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Well, we finally finished the launch wave in Desert Mountain (and beyond).  As most of you know, Joe Shirey and I wrote custom demos for all 3 sessions.  The launch was broken out into 3 sessions: 1) Web Development in VS 2008, 2) Office Development with VS 2008 and 3) Smart Client with VS 2008.  Our concept was to tie all 3 sessions together, essentially having each session build upon the code in the previous session.  The way it played out was the following (In order to watch the Screencasts, I suggest rt-clicking and saving to your file system):

  1. Web Session
    • LINQ to SQL Demos - The result of these demos were a series of methods that will be exposed as services in later demos
    • WCF REST Demos - This demo started by exposing 2 of the methods developed in the LINQ demos as AJAX-Friendly services using the new webHttpBinding in conjunction with the enableWebScript endpoint behavior.  We then consumed these services in a new web page.  The demo then progressed by changing the endpoint behavior to webHttp, illustrating the support for developing HI-REST services
  2. Smart Client Session
    • Demystifying WPF - The goal of this demo was threefold:  1)  To illustrate how to host WPF user controls in a classic WinForms application, 2) Illustrate how to develop a fairly complex looking UI in WPF and 3) illustrate data binding in WPF.  The demo started with developing a simple WPF user control and hosting it in a WinForms application.  It progressed by creating a complex looking design, from the ground up.  Finally, we made calls into our service tier developed in the Web Session and bound the results to our new WPF control.  The control developed here will be used in 2 of the office demos.
    • WCF / WF Integration - Tis demo illustrated how we can integrate WCF and WF.  Quite simply, we took a WCF service and replaced the implementation with a new WF that we built.  We exposed the new Workflow with a SOAP and REST endpoint.
  3. Office Session
    • Word Task Pane - This demo illustrated how we can use Office Task Panes as a logical means to expose application functionality.  We developed a custom task pane and hosted a WPF control in it.  The control allowed you to choose from a list of patients.  You could then choose from a list of prescriptions for that patient.  You could then update a prescription request document with the pertinent data.
    • Outlook Form Region - This demo illustrated the development of an Outlook Form Region.  The form region hosted the WPF control and allowed the recipient of an email to call into our service tier to request prescription refills for the email author (although that part of the demo was dummied up)
    • Open XML - This demo illustrated how to take advantage of System.IO.Packaging, LINQ to XML, Open XML and ASP.NET to create a document generator that is scalable.

Here is the code for all of the sessions.  You will need to adjust the endpoints and endpoint behaviors, depending upon which demo you are trying to view.  For example, if you want to get the AJAX demo working, you will need to make sure you have an endpoint with a webHttpBinding and an endpoint behavior (behaviorConfiguration on the endpoint) pointing to an endpoint behavior with an enableWebScript child node.  If you are trying the HI REST demos, you will need to point to a webHttp endpoint behavior. 

Regards,

Rob