AMS301: Building a Real World Web Application with Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework v3.5, Part 3 of 3
Eilon Lipton
Scott Hanselman
In this sesion we’ll extend the real-world application built in the previous two parts using Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5. We’ll see how AJAX technology can be cleanly added to an existing codebase to improve the user experience and use less bandwidth without difficulty. Then we’ll add Silverlight to the application to take the user experience to the next level and explore how complementary ASP.NET and Silverlight are and how easy it is to mix HTML and Silverlight seamlessly.

AMS308: Building a Real-World Web Application with Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework v3.5, Part 2 of 3
Scott Guthrie
See how to code a real-world application using Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5. Take advantage of the new controls and technologies that make Web application development faster and easier than ever with the most exciting release of Visual Studio yet.

AMS307: Building a Real-World Web Application with Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework v3.5, Part I of 3
Scott Guthrie
See how to code a real-world application using Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5. Take advantage of the new controls and technologies that make Web application development faster and easier than ever with the most exciting release of Visual Studio yet.

AMS306: Developing Data-Driven Applications Using ASP.NET Dynamic Data
Scott Hunter
ASP.NET dynamic data controls are part of a powerful, rich new framework that lets you create data-driven ASP.NET applications very easily. It does this by automatically discovering the LINQ data model at runtime and deriving UI behaviour from it. A scaffolding framework instantly provides a functional Web site for viewing and editing data. This scaffolding can then be easily customized via a template, or by creating standard ASP.NET pages to override the default behaviour. At the same time, existing applications can easily integrate pieces of the scaffolding logic with their existing pages. In this session, we will demonstrate how to build rich data-driven Web applications from scratch with minimal effort.

AMS304: Developing Data-Driven Web Applications with Language Integrated Query (DLINQ) in .NET Framework 3.5
Scott Guthrie
Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is a set of features that enable compilers to understand and implement query logic over in-memory collections of objects. .NET Language Integrated Query (DLINQ) is an implementation of LINQ that allows expression trees to be translated into query syntax for a given database engine. This session provides a developer overview of leveraging DLINQ to build data-driven web applications. This talk takes an in-depth look at DLINQ support with ASP.NET Web Forms, building an Object-Relational Mapping layer and using the ASP.NET data Controls to leverage DLINQ functionality. You will learn how to build scenarios involving filtering, master-details, Create-Retrieve-Update-Delete, sorting, paging, caching, optimistic concurrency and more.

AMS303: Internet Information Services 7 for ASP.NET Developers
Eric Woersching
Learn how the many changes in IIS 7 make developing and deploying ASP.NET applications on IIS 7 even better than before. We’ll start by showing how IIS7’s new unified configuration system and administration tools can make deploying and configuring ASP.NET applications for IIS7 incredibly simple (think: xcopy deployment). Next we’ll drill into the HTTP pipeline integration for ASP.NET.  We’ll demonstrate how enable ASP.NET core components and 3rd party add-ons to process requests for static content. We’ll move onto rapid development of IIS7 modules using ASP.NET’s existing .NET APIs; IHTTPModule & IHTTPHandler. Finally, we’ll explain how to take advantage of ASP.NET integration into IIS7 diagnostics and tracing so you can leverage these capabilities when you instrument your own ASP.NET applications.

AMS304: Introduction to the New ASP.NET Model View Controller (MVC) Framework
Scott Guthrie
One of the benefits of using a MVC methodology is that it helps enforce a clean separation of concerns between the models, views and controllers within an application. In the near future, ASP.NET will include support for developing Web applications using an MVC-based architecture. The MVC pattern can also help enable red/green test-driven development (TDD) - where you implement automated unit tests, which define and verify the requirements of new code, first before you actually write the code itself. Join us for a dive into the new MVC Framework and you’ll learn how to leverage this new alterative in your own applications.

AMS302: Silverlight for ASP.NET Developers
Eilon Lipton
Scott Hanselman
Microsoft® Silverlight™ is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. See how developing Silverlight applications compares to ASP.NET development and how you can integrate Silverlight into your ASP.NET applications today to truly differentiate your web site. See how designers and developers can easily work together using Microsoft Expression to create these great user experiences. In addition you will get a glimpse of the Silverlight 1.1 Alpha, which will allow you to build rich experiences using the managed C# and Visual Basic programming models you are familiar with.

AMS309: Silverlight, ASP.NET and Web Services in IronPython & IronRuby
Jimmy Schementi
Learn how to use dynamic languages (such as IronPython, Managed JScript, VBx and IronRuby) in Silverlight and ASP.NET. Demos include Python and Ruby in Silverlight, Python in ASP.NET, and dynamic Web Services. Also, the overall dynamic languages initiative, including the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR), will be covered. ASP.NET and Silverlight are two great examples of hosting the DLR, as these languages are implemented on the DLR.

DATA AND XML

ADX203: Building a LINQ-Based Business Layer for ASP.NET Applications
Rick Strahl
With LINQ and DLINQ on the horizon in Visual Studio Orcas, there are many new opportunities for creating a more flexible, business-object layer using the enhanced database connectivity and language enhancements that LINQ offers. Rather than focus on the new features of the LINQ engine, this session puts LINQ into perspective of a business-object framework and how you can leverage LINQ as part of this high-level application layer. I'll start by examining how DLINQ and the Entity Framework interacts with the database and see how this model fits for data access both directly in the user interface layer and in a more formal, multitier-type business layer. I'll then dive in and examine different ways you can use DLINQ in combination with a traditional business layer and highlight the fact that DLINQ on its own does not necessarily replace a flexible data access layer in an ASP.NET application. Focus of the session is on ASP.NET business-application development, which is used for examples and special considerations for data retrieval.

ADX202: Building Data-driven Web Pages in ASP.NET 2.0
Stephen Walther
Data Access in ASP.NET 2.0 has been dramatically simplified and improved. The new data controls--such as the GridView, FormView, and DetailsView controls--enable you to easily build rich user interfaces for editing and displaying database data. Better yet, by taking advantage of the new data controls, you can build an entire data-driven Web site without writing a single line of code. In this talk, Stephen Walther introduces you to the new ASP.NET 2.0 data controls and provides you with detailed walk-throughs and code samples which demonstrate their features.

ADX201: Data Binding in ASP.NET with LINQ
Julie Lerman
Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is a new language innovation that enables querying in-memory collections of objects. In addition to the most basic LINQ to Objects, there are four other flavors of LINQ: LINQ to SQL, LINQ to DataSets, LINQ to Entities, and LINQ to XML. You can bind results returned by any of these query types directly to the data controls in ASP.NET. This session will explore the variety of ways to bind LINQ queries to Data Controls in your Web applications, including using the new LINQDataSource.

GENERAL ASP.NET

AGN302: Compression, Encryption, and Hashing
Rod Paddock
How do you save disk space or reduce wire traffic? How do you insure the security of your data? How do you insure that no one has tampered with a data file or set of data? The answer: use compression, encryption, and hashing. Learn how to use the open source libraries to add ZIP, BZIP, GZIP and TAR compression to your applications. Learn how to work with compressed files. Learn how use can use in-memory compression to reduce wire traffic. You'll also learn how to use encryption to prevent prying eyes from seeing sensitive information, as well as the difference between private key and public key cryptography. How do you insure data you received hasn't changed since it left its source? Use a hash. Learn what a hash is and how to implement them in your applications. You will learn how to implement these using the built-in .NET classes and some other third-party applications.

AGN202: CSS 101--Moving Away from Table-based Layout
Dave Sussman
Table-based layout has been a staple of the Web for many years; it is simple to understand and implement and provides a great way to provide the structure for a site. However tables, while simple, were never intended to be used as a layout tool, their rigidity doesn't allow for easy design changes, and they have accessibility problems. This session will examine how to use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for layout of a site--showing that even without being a CSS expert you can have flexible designs with headers, footers, multiple columns, and even different layouts simply by changing the style sheet. It will cover the basics of style-sheet design as well as examining the issues of cross-browser compatibility.

AGN301: Dealing with Long-running Requests in ASP.NET
Rick Strahl
Long-running requests in Web applications are a potential scalability killer and a usability problem for end users. This session looks at the issues of long-running requests and how to deal with this important scenario. I'll start by looking at how to present the user interface for long requests so users don't get trigger happy and click repeatedly to compound the scalability issues. Then I'll examine ways to offload processing from the ASP.NET threadpool using ASP.NET 2.0's native asynchronous features to continue processing requests without queueing. Finally I'll review an asynchronous, message-based architecture that allows offloading of requests either onto separate worker threads or completely separate processes or remote machines as well as providing interactive progress information.

AGN201: Is Your Web Site Legal? Accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities
Alex Homer
It's easy to create great Web sites with ASP.NET using the built-in features of the Framework and the range of server controls that are provided. But it's also too easy to test the site with just a few graphical browsers and forget about the requirements of the many visitors who may be using text-based and other specialized user agents, which are designed to help them overcome physical limitations with regards to sight, movement, etc. Providing easier access and navigation, and opening up the content to these kinds of visitors, isn't that difficult to do--it just requires an understanding of the problems and the application of a few useful techniques. This session reviews these techniques, shows how ASP.NET 2.0 provides useful assistance in meeting accessibility requirements, and helps you to build-in features that can make a world of difference, without compromising your site as a whole.

PERSONALIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP

APM201: Building ASP.NET 2.0 Applications with Support for Personalization and Membership
Steven Smith
ASP.NET 2.0 introduced a provider model for Membership, Roles, Profiles, and more. In this session, you'll learn how to configure your ASP.NET application to take advantage of the built-in providers for these features. You'll also learn how to customize your own providers and how using these providers enables richer functionality from the built-in ASP.NET Web controls.

WEB SERVICES

AWS201: ASP.NET and WCF: Meet Your New Web Service
Michele Leroux Bustamante
Hosting Web services in ASP.NET applications is nothing new. As of ASP.NET 2.0, ASMX services have been compliant with WS-I Basic Profile; with Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 installed, you can build services that support other advanced standards such as MTOM and OASIS WS-Security. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) represents the evolution of many technologies, including ASMX and WSE. WCF implements the latest Web service standards enabling new levels of interoperability over the Internet, including support for reliable messaging, transactions, and security standards including federated scenarios. This session will show you how to host WCF services as part of your ASP.NET applications, explain the differences between Web service bindings, and explain uses for ASP.NET compatibility mode.

MICROSOFT DAY - VISUAL STUDIO

VDM302: ADO.NET Entity Framework Designers
Sanjay Nagamangalam
The ADO.NET Entity Framework (EF) enables compelling Object-Relational Mapping scenarios. This session is focused on developer walkthroughs and demonstrates new designer capabilities in Visual Studio that enable developers to visually design their EF data access layer and map it to a relational database. We also discuss how EF tools and designers help enhance developer productivity while alleviating typical developer pain points during iterative development. It is recommended that you attend "Data Modeling and Application Development with the ADO.NET Entity Framework" before this session.

VDM304: Data Modeling and Application Development with the ADO.NET Entity Framework and LINQ over Entities
Tim Scudder
Object Relational Mapping technologies have long been used as the infrastructure for the Data Access Components within an application’s architecture. The introduction of the Entity Data Model will make available a first class data model with which application architects can define their domain model and build out their data access layer. With ADO.NET and the Entity Data Model, architects have a number of choices. They can work with Entities with the familiar DataReader and DbCommand abstractions (using the new EntityClient data provider) or they could use generated classes as persistent objects (with LINQ and Entity SQL-based API’s). This session shall discuss the different ways in which one can use ADO.NET and the Entity Data Model within one’s application architecture. The discussion shall include different deployment models and the role that the Entity Framework can play within them. In addition, this session will discuss LINQ over Entities. Most .NET database applications use ADO.NET to access and manipulate data, and most of them have a data-access layer built on top of ADO.NET to abstract out many of the details related to data-access that can get in the way of business logic. We’ll discuss how the system supports conceptual modeling and how great integration with LINQ (language-integrated query) brings new levels of productivity to the data-access development space.

VDM306: Implementing Solutions that Leverage Microsoft Sync Framework to Provide Synchronization Capabilities Across Devices, Services and Applications
Lev Novik
This session will focus on the steps a developer needs to take to incorporate synchronization into their application or services. First we will demonstrate how an existing line of business application can easily add synchronization support to allow users to work offline. Next we will describe the steps involved in building a service which exposes synchronization over SSE using Microsoft Sync Framework. We will briefly describe how support for Microsoft Sync Framework has been added for applications or services using file system or Microsoft SQL Server.

VDM305: Introduction to Microsoft Sync Framework – Synchronization Framework for Enabling Roaming, Offline, and Collaboration Across Devices, Services and Applications
Lev Novik
In this session we will introduce Microsoft Sync Framework. Attendees will learn about the capabilities of the sync platform and see a demonstration of multi-master synchronization across devices and services. We will use this demonstration to guide our walk through of the key components involved in building an application using Microsoft Sync Framework. Finally, we will provide a glimpse into upcoming MS products which will ship with out of the box support for Microsoft Sync Framework.

VDM301: Optimizing Online, Enabling Offline with SQL Server Compact and Sync Services for ADO.NET
Sean Kelley
With Microsoft SQL Server Compact, developers can now easily cache data on the client in a compact, yet capable, transactional, queryable document-like database format.  To maintain the cache, Sync Services for ADO.NET enables developers to easily cache data directly or over services using WCF. Visual Studio codename “Orcas” delivers new integrated, developer-oriented sync designers making caching an easy task to increase user productivity, decrease the server workload, and simplify data access. In addition to caching, you can use Sync Services for ADO.NET to enable full offline scenarios as well. Find out what SQL Server Compact and Sync Services for ADO.NET have to offer for the “edge of the network” clients.

VDM303: Project Astoria: Data Services for the Web
Mike Flasko
The new wave of Web applications are built on technologies such as AJAX and Microsoft Silverlight, which enable developers to build better, richer user experiences. These technologies bring a shift in how applications are organized, including a stronger separation of presentation from data. The goal of Microsoft code name "Astoria" is to enable applications to expose data as a data service that can be consumed by Web clients within a corporate network and across the Internet. The data service is reachable over HTTP, and URIs are used to identify the various pieces of information available through the service. Interactions with the data service happens in terms of HTTP verbs, such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, and the data exchanged in those interactions is represented in simple formats, such as XML and JSON.

VDM308: The Future of Sync Services for ADO.NET: Best on Katmai and the Peer-to-Peer Provider
Sean Kelley
This session will focus on the enhancements being made to Sync Services for ADO.NET. First, we will discuss how Sync Services for ADO.NET is being integrated with SQL Server Change Tracking to increase developer productivity by providing integrated change tracking and conflict detection and subsequently decreasing the barrier to entry associated with implementing 2-way synchronization. In addition, this session will discuss the performance gains associated with leveraging change tracking to support scenarios with a large number of client nodes. Finally, this session will discuss how Sync Services for ADO.NET has been built on top of the sync platform currently referred to as Microsoft Sync Framework. Among other things, this platform has allowed us to extend Sync Services for ADO.NET beyond the traditional hub-spoke topology to support peer-to-peer synchronization.

KEYNOTE SESSION

KEYNOTE: Dynamic IT and the 2008 Launch Wave
Steve Guggenheimer
It’s an exciting time to be in IT! Find out how the Microsoft’s new wave of innovation – Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 will enable you to take advantage of key new industry trends and advances, and drive even more IT success for you and your business. In this keynote, Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft’s General Manager for the Application Platform Division, will demonstrate some of the new features in the releases, and show how you’ll be able to virtualize your infrastructure and scale to mission critical demands; develop powerful new applications and solutions, and deliver business insight to your end users through familiar tools they use today.

ARCHITECTURE, PATTERNS & PRACTICES

AAR202: Architectural Considerations for ASP.NET Applications
Michele Leroux Bustamante
To build an enterprise ASP.NET application requires more than a simple two-tier approach where pages directly invoke business logic or communicate with the database. It requires forethought and design for distribution of work, security, transactions, globalization, and consumption of services in an SOA environment. This session will explore practical architectural considerations for ASP.NET applications.

AAR203: Creating N-Layer ASP.NET 2.0 Applications
Dan Wahlin
Developing N-Tier or N-Layer application architectures has proven to be a sound practice to follow over the years that ultimately leads to easier maintenance and enhanced application agility. With all of the new data source controls found in ASP.NET 2.0, how can you leverage the N-Tier design methodology while still using data source controls and minimizing code? In this talk, Dan Wahlin will demonstrate how to create an N-Tier architecture including data, business, model, and presentation tiers while minimizing the amount of code that has to be written. Topics discussed include the ObjectDataSource control, XSD schemas, and dynamic code generation with xsd.exe as well as new ASP.NET 2.0 databinding techniques.

AAR201: Do Design Patterns Make Sense in ASP.NET?
Alex Homer
Developers and architects are making more and more use of standard design patterns as they build ever more complex applications. However, many patterns are hard to implement, or difficult to justify, in the stateless postback environment of ASP.NET. Yet, ASP.NET itself implements many widely used patterns and some of the other common patterns can help to modularize and simplify development of ASP.NET applications. This session looks at how ASP.NET uses design patterns and how you can implement some of the patterns such as Model-View-Presenter, Page and Front Controller, Publish/Subscribe, Repository, and Service Agent in your ASP.NET applications.

PERFORMANCE AND SCALABILITY

APF301: ASP.NET Scaling Tips & Tricks
Richard Campbell
This session pulls together the best methods for improving the scalability of your ASP.NET web site. You'll see a variety of techniques, including caching, pooling, paging and asynchronous processing. But more importantly, you'll learn a method for ranking each of the techniques according to the benefit to your web site. By comparing the potential benefit of a technique with its cost to implement, this session will give you a plan on what to do next to most improve your site's performance.

APF302: Load Testing ASP.NET Applications for Performance and Scaling
Richard Campbell
Is the first time you’ve really tested your ASP.NET application under load when you put it into production? Don’t do it! This session digs into how you can test your ASP.NET application using Microsoft’s Web Application Stress Tool and Visual Studio 2005 for Software Testers. You’ll see what metrics to measure to determine the real performance of your application and how to effectively benchmark your application. Explore the trade-offs of performance and scalability to serve your entire user base effectively at peak and low load times. Finally, learn about how you can take the information generated from your tests to improve your ASP.NET application performance. The techniques taught in this session will help you keep your ASP.NET application performing its best as your application and users evolve.

REPORTING

ARP201: Programming SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
Paul Litwin
In this session, you'll learn how to programmatically manipulate SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS) and integrate SSRS into your ASP.NET applications by employing URL Access, Report Viewer controls, and the Reporting Services Web Services. A major issue with SSRS is that you can normally only display reports using Internet Explorer, but in this session you'll discover how to integrate SSRS into your applications using any modern browser, including Firefox, Netscape, and Safari. Finally, you'll learn how to extend reporting services by calling custom .NET assemblies from your SSRS reports.

WEB PARTS

AWP201: Building Dashboards: Web Parts or AJAX?
Dave Sussman
Mashups provide a great way to mix and match technologies, but apart from fun social sites, you can also use the idea in building business applications. ASP.NET 2.0 includes the Web Part technology, allowing users a degree of freedom in site content, layout, and design. However, Web Parts come with an overhead: larger pages and they are less CSS friendly. AJAX, on the other hand, provides some interesting ways in which you can create the dashboard-style application without the overhead and with more flexibility. This session will look at both technologies, examine the choices you should make, and show the code needed when creating dynamic sites with changeable content.

AWP202: Building Portal Applications with ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts
Stephen Walther
The Web Part framework--included with ASP.NET 2.0--enables you to build Web applications that users can easily personalize. By taking advantage of Web Parts, each user or a single administrator can customize an application. In this talk, Stephen Walther provides you with an introduction to the Web Parts framework. You'll learn how to build a simple portal application by creating custom Web Parts.

VENDOR SESSION

VENDOR2: Code Quality with Dev Express (and Win a Plasma Monitor!)
Mark Miller
Julian M. Bucknall
Julian Bucknall and Mark Miller show the latest controls, frameworks, and IDE tools for .NET development from Developer Express. Find out how you can improve the quality of your code without sacrificing free time. See new controls for the Web and client applications, Xpress Application Framework, and our developer productivity tools, CodeRush and Refactor! Pro, all presented with an emphasis on increasing the quality and value of that most important company asset: the source code. One lucky attendee will walk away with a plasma monitor!

VENDOR1: The Tool Story
Dmitry Lomov
A craftsman can be judged by his tools, the saying goes. What tools are used by that elite modern craftsman--the software developer? Can a tool make a difference? A difference in the quality of your code, the quality of your work, and, perhaps, the quality of your life? We at JetBrains answer an emphatic "Yes!" to these challenges. This session is essentially that emphatic "Yes" - explained. Win one of 5 Personal ReSharper licenses!

VENDOR3: What's New in Oracle Database 11g for .NET Developers?
Alex Keh
Learn how new features in .NET and Oracle Database 11g make it even easier to develop Oracle database applications on your choice of platforms. New Oracle Data Provider for .NET features include transparent client side data caching, user-defined data types/objects, ASP.NET providers, and simplified deployment. New features for the Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET consist of native integration with Visual Studio 2005, including Server Explorer, Data Sources Window, and Query Builder; automatic code generation capabilities for ASP.NET; and the ability to manage and version control SQL and PL/SQL scripts. Please visit Oracle's session for a free drink and a chance to win a Bose SoundDock System.

SECURITY

ASC301: Writing Custom ASP.NET Membership Providers
Miguel Castro
The ASP.NET Provider model is a powerful addition and makes the integration of security authentication into applications almost brainless. However, the tables in which it stores its information may not conform to the standard set in your company, so you're left with the requirements of handling security on your own and using your own data stores. Fortunately that does not mean that you cannot leverage the power of the Membership object and the great security-control suite that comes with ASP.NET. I'll show you how you can write a custom provider to integrate your own database with the built-in models in ASP.NET and allow you to use all the security controls in your site.

CLIENT SIDE, AJAX, & SILVERLIGHT

ACS202: ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit Overview
Steven Smith
The ASP.NET AJAX Toolkit includes dozens of AJAX controls contributed by Microsoft and community developers. This session will demonstrate many of these controls. Learn how to create your own controls using the same model and learn how to incorporate these controls in novel ways to improve the user experience of your ASP.NET applications.

ACS302: Building Custom ASP.NET AJAX Controls
Dan Wahlin
By creating custom ASP.NET AJAX controls you can encapsulate frequently used functionality and promote better code re-use in applications. In this session you'll learn how to create client-side ASP.NET AJAX controls that extend classes in the ASP.NET AJAX script library. You'll also see how you can encapsulate client-side controls in ASP.NET AJAX server-side controls. Topics covered include defining client-side control constructors and fields, using the prototype design pattern to define control properties and methods, disposing of resources, and creating server-side controls that implement the IScriptControl interface.

ACS203: Enhancing an Existing ASP.NET 2.0 Site Using the Microsoft AJAX Framework
Miguel Castro
All these new technologies that are coming out are great for developing applications. With WPF, you can write next-generation Windows applications; WCF will allow better communication between systems and components; and WF gives us a platform on which to build workflow systems. Atlas also introduces a lot of things to make the development of AJAX-enabled ASP.NET applications easier, but what about those of us with existing systems? Wouldn't it be nice to bring our existing applications up to speed on the new technologies without having to re-architect things and rewrite a lot of code? There are many tools in the Microsoft AJAX Framework and its accompanying control toolkits that allow us to do just that. In this session, I'll demo a small non-AJAX ASP.NET site and show you how you can make minor additions and changes to it using Atlas in order to completely change the user experience.

ACS301: Inside ASP.NET Partial Rendering
Dino Esposito
Architecturally speaking, one of the most problematic aspects of building AJAX applications is crafting an efficient and effective presentation layer. Clearly, the issue here is not richness of functionality—for which AJAX is inherently the right answer—but how to deal with that richness and still limit traditional viewstate-based postbacks and keep the front-end lean, mean, and especially quick. Partial rendering—one of the possible approaches that ASP.NET AJAX propounds—doesn’t build on a new architecture but leverages all of the existing stuff and just does it better. But how better and what you can do to make it really better? In this session, we’ll dig out the inner mechanism that make partial rendering work, reveal its real tricks and come to discover its strengths as well as its weakness.

ACS201: The New Frontier of the Web User Interface: Silverlight and ASP.NET AJAX
Dino Esposito
Silverlight, formerly codenamed WPF/E, is the Microsoft solution for delivering animation, graphics, audio, and video over the Web in a cross-platform way. Based on a subset of Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight enables the creation of content and applications that run within multiple browsers, currently on both Windows and Macintosh systems. Silverlight requires a lightweight, free, browser plug-in, is programmable using JavaScript, and works very well with ASP.NET AJAX. This talk introduces you to the wonders of Silverlight in the context of ASP.NET AJAX applications.

ACS204: User Interface Options for Web Development
Rick Strahl
These days if you are building a Web application with Microsoft technology, you have many choices of how to actually create the front end of your application. No longer is your only choice to build an ASP.NET HTML-based application, but you have a pick of several rich, user-interface technologies that can run inside of the context of the Web browser. In this session, I offer a high-level overview of the most prominent options available. This session covers comparing pure ASP.NET HTML Web applications, ASP.NET + AJAX applications, WPF using XBAB and Silverlight, as well as a quick overview of Flash and its options and compares the virtues of each and where they fit into the Web presentation layer. All of the technologies are possibilities, but each has strongpoints and tradeoffs in respect to browser reach, performance, complexity, and maybe most importantly, user acceptance. This session provides some context for when each of these technologies makes sense for a Web front end.

FORMS AND CONTROLS

AFR201: Data Control Tips and Tricks
Paul Litwin
We've all seen the basic drag-and-drop demos of the 2.0 Data Controls, but you don't build solutions using demo code. In this session, I'll dig deeper into the Data Controls and the Data Source Controls. During this session, you'll learn such things as how to add drop-down and check-box fields, how to set a default field value for inserts, how to update database fields that don't appear in a FormView or DetailsView, how to create GridView controls that can be bound to different datasets on the fly, how to create casading drop-down controls inside of a Form View, and how to deal with Identity columns during inserts.

NAVIGATION

ANV201: Advanced Site Navigation in ASP.NET 2.0
Stephen Walther
The ASP.NET 2.0 Framework includes a powerful, site-navigation framework that goes well beyond the TreeView and Menu controls. By taking advantage of custom, site-map providers, you can retrieve site-navigation information in a variety of different data sources, such as database tables or Web services. By taking advantage of the site map API, you can build custom navigation controls such as previous and next page controls. In this talk, you'll learn how to take advantage of the advanced features of site maps.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

ATS201: Test-Driven Development and Continuous Integration for ASP.NET and VSTS
Steven Smith
Learn how to set up a Continuous Integration (CI) environment and build server using the latest Microsoft developer tools. Build better applications through the use of Test Driven Development (TDD). This session covers some of the basic theory of CI and TDD practices, and then drills down into specific implementation details using Team System (and other tools, such as CruiseControl.Net). Demonstrations will show unit testing, Web application testing, data-driven tests, MSBuild, and Team Foundation Server working together to create a highly productive development environment.

DATA ACCESS

VDA309: ADO.NET Connecting
William R. Vaughn
In this session, you will walk through the maze of issues that developers from all parts of the universe encounter when trying to connect to a database. We'll see how to determine which servers are visible, how to make servers visible (and hide them), how to determine if they're running or stopped, how to know when they go down, and what to do when it happens. We'll touch on MARS and several new ADO.NET 2.0 enhancements that address some long-standing connection issues.

VDA308: ADO.NET Metadata and Code Generation
Kathleen Dollard
LINQ to SQL and Entity Frameworks include code generators. You’ll learn about this technology under the hood and the new metadata strategies these technologies use. This metadata is interesting because it represents some of the first mainstream standards for mapping metadata. If you’re currently using code generation, you’ll want to learn how to leverage these metadata sets to enhance your code generation. If you’re using or considering the ADO.NET technologies, you’ll want to assess your back up strategy if you later need to step outside the box and make a change to how these technologies work. If you elect to do your own code generation, you’ll see the benefits of folding in additional metadata that solve additional problems like automated name morphing. You’ll also see how to leverage patterns in your raw metadata to generate and possibly help maintain the mappings between your database and business objects. This session is technology agnostic and applicable to XSLT, CodeSmith and CodeDOM generation.

VDA306: ADO.NET Performance Tips, Tricks, and Strategies
Don Kiely
ADO.NET is Microsoft’s best data access technology to date. It provides powerful, flexible access to almost any kind of data store you can imagine using, implemented with all the coding benefits of the .NET Framework. But it is far too easy to use ADO.NET so that it is a serious drag on application performance and scalability, such as by passing around way too much data, passing data between application layers inefficiently, and abusing resources. During this PowerPoint-free session we’ll blow off the basics and explore the potential data access problems and as many techniques as we can cover to make data access as blazingly performant as possible. We’ll focus on using ADO.NET with SQL Server 2005, but most of the techniques will apply to any data store.

VDA304: Black-Belt ASP.NET Data Binding
Dave Sussman
The data source controls in ASP.NET 2.0 provide simplified binding, and at first seem too simple for complex or enterprise Web sites. They do, however, provide the best way to support display and editing of data. This session will cover advanced use of the data source controls, including hierarchical data-binding, using events to interact with the data both before and after the command has been run, and how to bind to business and data layers in an n-tier environment. The session will also show how the new Entity Data Framework and LINQ features impact databinding in ASP.NET applications.

VDA301: Five Favorite Features in ADO.NET and SqlClient
Alex Homer
ADO.NET in version 2.0 of the .NET Framework was more an evolution than a revolution and continues to be the foundation of ADO.NET 3.5. There are many exciting features and enhancements introduced in 2.0 that make it easier to accomplish common data access tasks and get better performance at the same time. This session summarizes all of the SqlClient features added in ADO.NET 2.0 that work with SQL Server 2000 onwards, and looks in detail at those that are especially exciting—such as asynchronous data access, promotable transactions, provider-independent code, the new database schema API, the changes to the DataSet and DataTable classes, and more.

VDA305: Implementing the Entity Framework
John Papa
You can use the Entity Framework to architect applications against a conceptual model that is mapped to the logic model. This session will explore the different XML files that map the objects to the database schema and show how to modify them when needed. I will explain how you can design an object model with the Entity Framework using both the Entity Data Model Wizard as well as by manually editing the XML files. I will demonstrate how to implement inheritance and how to merge multiple entities within a conceptual model as well as how to take advantage of features such as conditions in the mapping layer. This session will demonstrate how to interact with the conceptual model using EntityClient, Entity SQL, and LINQ to Entities to perform queries and make updates to a database.

VDA307: Real-World Entity Framework
Julie Lerman
After learning the basics of the Entity Framework, it's time to see how to implement entities in more complex applications. The Entity Framework's Object Services provide functionality for persisting objects as well as moving them across machine boundaries. Come to this session to learn patterns that can be used across tiers in Web applications, WCF services and clients, or smart client applications.

VDA302: Typed DataSets, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities: Data Design Patterns Do Matter
Dino Esposito
Data access code has not changed significantly in the last 15 years. Most of the data access patterns introduced by ODBC in the early 1990s are still the foundation of OLE DB, JDBC, and ADO.NET. The query is expressed as a text string that is opaque to the programming language. Results are returned in untyped data records. Not to mention the intricacies of JOINs and grouping that often require developers to build a totally different skillset. There is a strong need for applications to manipulate data at the conceptual level so that data can be easily transformed into objects that are more natural for the application to work with. In the beginning it was the DataSet, better its typed version, with a little help from wizards in Visual Studio 2005. As weird as it may seem, such an approach is the implementation of a popular design pattern—the Table Data Gateway. LINQ to SQL, instead, is just the transposition of the Active Record design pattern whereas LINQ to Entities goes beyond and hits the most abstract data design pattern—the Data Mapper.What’s behind these patterns? Can you use them together in a data layer? How do you choose the one that best fits your scenario? We may not have the silver bullet, but we do have insights on data access at the time of Visual Studio 2008.

VDA303: Unraveling the Entity Framework
John Papa
You can use the Entity Framework to architect applications against a conceptual model that is mapped to the logic model. The Entity Framework has many components including EntityClient, Entity SQL, Object Services, the Entity Data Model, and LINQ to Entities. This session will discuss the architecture of the Entity Framework and explain the roles of each of its different components. I will also demonstrate how to write queries using the different options as well as how to evaluate which options within Object Services to use or if to use the EntityClient provider directly.