.NET

While trying to take advantage of the new trend charts in TFS 2013.4, I realized that the state change date was not added to the item template in the TFS Scrum template. I had to resort to using the modification date, but this skews the results for items that haven’t actually changed in a long time but have had a property change (notably the priority when reordering the backlog).

I found this article which explained the changes to be made, but my version of TFS is in French, so here is the French version to add to tasks, bugs, and backlog items in the <FIELDS></FIELDS> section:

If you need to use data formatted with the JSON standard, here is a simple trick to get started (but you can complicate it as you wish ;)). I use the Web Essentials extension and the NuGet package Json.NET. The JSON data file I use is this one: Example JSON File (source).

Here are the steps to take the JSON data, generate the necessary classes, download the data, and populate these new classes:

• Install the Web Essentials extension
• Create a new class file
• Put a snippet or the entire JSON data into the clipboard (Copy or CTRL-C)
• Right-click in the editor or go to the EDIT menu/Special Paste and select “Paste JSON as Classes”

I was aware of the requirement for a privacy policy for the Windows Store (requirement 4.1.1), but when publishing my application it was rejected on the grounds that I absolutely had to provide this policy because I was using the Internet connection. So even if you do not collect information from your users, simply being connected requires this policy. It is unfortunate that Visual Studio validation does not detect this issue and that it is detected later during submission.

After creating a similar app on Windows Phone, I had fun making a similar app on Windows 8: Patiner.

The app allows you to view the status of the ice rinks on the island of Montreal by navigating the map. It’s very simple and that’s intentional, but improvements are already planned for future versions.

The data comes from Patiner Montreal, which offers an excellent web portal and links to apps for other operating systems.

Wow, a great evening: an attentive and interested audience. Here are some links that were discussed during the evening:

• tinyclr.com
• robotshop.ca
• cosm.com
• netmf.com and netmf.com/gadgeteer

You can download the files and the presentation in zip format here and on the .Net Montreal group website.

I forgot Gadgeteer stickers at home, so if you want some, let me know and we’ll arrange to send them to you!

Thank you, if you have any questions feel free to contact me and I look forward to seeing your projects!

On February 25th, I will be giving a presentation titled .NET Micro Framework and .NET Gadgeteer: Embedded Computing for Everyone at the Alt.Net Montreal meeting. I will go over the Framework and Gadgeteer with examples: things that blink, move, and provide useful information ;)

If you have projects you would like to show to the group, feel free to bring them along, we will be happy to discuss them.

Looking forward to meeting you there!

It is very easy to create your first Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 or iOS application with Azure Mobile Services tools. In this post, I will demonstrate how to create a sample “ToDo” application. In fact, it will take you longer to read this post than to execute the steps in it!

Log in to your Windows Azure portal and go to the Mobile Services section. Click on the Create a mobile service link.

The productivity tools for Visual Studio 2012 are now available. In addition to the same features as the 2010 version, the new features of this version are:

• Quick tasks
• Power Commands
• Color printing

All features can be individually disabled in the options. If you have never tried them, don’t hesitate, it could increase your productivity.

Happy coding!

I hope you are having fun with the RC version of Visual Studio 2012!!! The final version will be launched on September 12th, and Microsoft is preparing a virtual event to mark the occasion. Visit VisualStudioLaunch.com.

Happy coding

One of the new features of Visual Studio 11 and the .NET Framework 4.5 are the Caller attributes:

• CallerMemberName: allows you to obtain the method or property name of the caller to the method.
• CallerFilePath: allows you to obtain the full path of the source file that contains the caller. This is the file path at compile time.
• CallerLineNumber: allows you to obtain the line number in the source file at which the method is called.

These attributes help to simplify the code in certain scenarios, such as logging or when using the INotifyPropertyChanged interface (as in MVVM) and you need to pass the name of the calling property.