Xperimentality

Well, I just got back from the VS 2005 Launch in Atlanta, GA.  As usual, there were some good presentations and some so-so ones.

I think that no matter how long you have been using a technology, there is always something you can learn.  I have always been old school when it comes to using provided controls.  In order to always squeeze all the performance out of an application, I am one for writing most of the code myself instead of relying on controls.

However ASP.NET 2.0 may make this old dog learn a few new tricks!  There is some really nice functionality provided without having to write any code.  I truly think that in many cases (I won't say most yet) using the ASP.NET 2.0 controls may meet a developer's needs...We shall see!

Well I am happy to say that I have moved my blog to my own server and am now using dasBlog. I have started with one of the included themes but I anticipate you will see some changes over the next...well who knows...as I begin to play around with the theme. I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a happy one!

I just ran across something I guess I have just been missing in playing with the 2.0 framework: The coalescing operator! I love this. Not sure how I have been missing this one. I am a big fan of using something like:

Textbox.Text = (str == null) ? "N/A" : str;

as opposed to using a conditional block. But I just found that I can use:

Textbox.Text = str ?? "N/A";

It is the simple things that make me the happiest! Well, on to finding more things that I have not discovered yet...

I have been using DotNetNuke for a while and am pleased with it. For the most part, I see a lot of smaller businesses and individuals use it. However it seems that over the last year or so, I have seen an increased presence in larger businesses. Recently I gave a presentation at the Alabama Code Camp on custom module development for DNN3.x. I was asked to give it again on Tuesday for a client in Birmingham, Alabama. This client is a large company based in New York. They have started using DotNetNuke for some intranet needs. I think it could prove to be a great cost savings for larger organizations that have the need for what DotNetNuke can provide. A lot of time and effort goes into trying to build frameworks similar to what DotNetNuke provides. Don't reinvent the wheel!

Well, I have needed to get a blog started for a while and I have finally taken that first step. Now I just have to keep it up. I am sure that won't be hard since the software and technology world is never short of good content!