Introduction

We live in a digital world!! Every interaction is a “transaction”, and recorded into the computer’s storage.

So, what is the primary need of capturing this transactional data?

·         Proof of Interaction

·         Grain for Business Analysis

·         Case for Predictive Analysis

As we have digitized every piece into a bit, the challenge faced today is more in terms of

·         Volume of Data and,

·         The disparate forms of Data in a Domain.

As mentioned, data has a purpose to serve; the major is that of participating in analysis, leading to the intelligence required by the business to make informed decisions.

In this multi part blog series, we will try to cover the need, along with the design & implementation practices for a Business Intelligence Application.

The Framework for Business Intelligence

A Business Intelligence Application, from a layered architecture perspective would be represented as shown in Figure 1.

This framework is conceptual, and technology agnostic.

Figure 1.

1.       The Data Integration will result in the Consolidated Data Storage

2.       Data Analysis and Rich Visualization such as decomposition trees will use this Consolidated Data

3.       The Consolidated Data can be termed as Data Warehouse OR Data Mart.

 In the next blog, we will explore the Application Data Layer.

Until then; Cheers!!

.NET component and application framework maker Developer Express will place a greater emphasis on Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) this year, according to its 2010 road map, announced on Tuesday.

DevExpress' Silverlight components will deliver full design-time support for Visual Studio 2010 and Expression Blend 3. Upcoming Silverlight 3 controls will include charting, data editing and a scheduler. A Silverlight 4 printing control will also be introduced.

"We feel we are late to the party, but then again, Silverlight is changing a lot," said DevExpress CTO Julian Bucknall. Aside from controls, the company is integrating Silverlight into its eXpressApp Framework, he added.

Some of its upcoming WPF controls will include final versions of DevExpress' pivot grid and layout manager, data editor, ribbon, report view, and scheduler.

DevExpress' embrace of Silverlight and WPF comes at the expense of Windows Forms development. Bucknall said that WinForms controls are being deemphasized, but development will continue with more chart types, VS 2010 and Client Profile support for controls, as well as new user interface styles to match the appearance of Windows 7 and Office 2010.

VCL (Visual Component Library) controls will be likewise updated with additional views and similar user interface options for the Microsoft stack.

DevExpress will continue to forge ahead to update its existing ASP.NET controls, and it will begin to deliver new controls that exploit the new capabilities that will be introduced by .NET 4.0, Bucknall said. He is being more circumspect about developing components for ASP.NET's Model-View-Controller pattern, but the company will introduce a navigation bar and tab control nonetheless.

Lastly, new editions of the company's next IDE productivity tools, including CodeRush and Refactor Pro, will be released later this year around the time that VS 2010 ships, Bucknall said. "There were big changes in Visual Studio 2010," he added.

By David Worthington

New features and functionality in SharePoint 2010 will be the focal point, but SharePoint Server 2007 instruction will be plentiful at SPTechCon—the SharePoint Technology Conference—being held Feb. 10–12 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, Calif.

SPTechCon, produced by BZ Media LLC, which owns SD Times, will feature more than 80 workshops and technical classes spanning three full days. The 39-member faculty features some of the brightest minds in SharePoint today, including a Microsoft Certified Master in SharePoint as well as numerous Microsoft MVPs and a host of experts with very specific knowledge about all aspects of SharePoint.

The first day will feature full-day workshops for people just getting started with SharePoint. “SharePoint 101” sessions will be offered for developers, IT administrators and business users. Other workshops include “Become a SharePoint 2010 Power User,” "SharePoint Site Planning: Get it Right the First Time,” and “15 Things Developers Should Know About Migrating to SharePoint 2010.”

The opening keynote will again be presented by Tom Rizzo, Microsoft’s director of SharePoint. Rizzo, who delivered the keynote address at the two SPTechCon events in 2009, will speak on the delivery of SharePoint 2010. A second keynote will be given by Ted Pattison, a SharePoint consultant who recently founded Critical Path Training.

A special session called “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (About SharePoint)” gives Microsoft’s SharePoint partners an opportunity to present important information to conference attendees in an entertaining, lightning-talk style, while “Pizza and Answers” gives attendees a chance to talk to our expert faculty members in a very informal setting.

By David Rubinstein

Aster Data has built a business out of map/reduce, and the release today of a thousand new SQL query building blocks—what it calls "functions"—is designed to give business users access to map/reduce computed analytics.

Whereas open-source big data solution Hadoop, for instance, is based entirely on its own implementation of map/reduce, as well as a set of homegrown query structuring frameworks like Pig and Hive, Aster Data wants to use SQL right from the start. Sharmila Shahani-Mulligan, executive vice president of marketing at Aster Data, said that this is a significant advantage over Hadoop.

“Hadoop lends itself more to batch-type processing. Most of our customers are running analytics on a daily basis with the expectation of results returned every few minutes," she said. "It's not real-time, but it's near real-time.

"The second advantage is SQL map/reduce. We are literally targeting the business analyst with SQL using full map/reduce underneath.”

Map/reduce is the framework for processing huge amounts of data, and it is the basis of the Apache Hadoop project, as well as of Big Table, which runs Google's search engine. Using map/reduce, huge stores of data can be processed, and the results can be combined into a cohesive set of information.

Stephanie McReynolds, director of product marketing at Aster Data, said the new sets of query-building tools aren't limited to business users. “We introduced many new business analyst-ready functions," she said. "[These] functions address particular business issues, like path analysis for website traffic.

"We also have a series of packages for power users. These are for people building their own SQL map/reduce applications. They want to use Java or C functions to get ahead. These are smaller building blocks."

Shahani-Mulligan said that Aster Data's analytics can be tweaked and queried by business users, a major advantage over Hadoop. She said that many business users already know SQL, which cannot be said of Hive or Pig. She said that with Hadoop, developers likely need to be called in to implement any analytics batches that need to be run, but with Aster Data, the business users can do that themselves.

“With almost any of our [customers] you talk to, one of the big appeals has been that their existing business analysts can work with functions and don't have to use a new language," said Shahani-Mulligan. "This is why we came out with SQL map/reduce. Some of them also have Hadoop, but it requires you to do constant programming in map/reduce versus having a simple-to-use interface."

By Alex Handy

New Orleans — With an eye to the consumer market, Microsoft has unveiled the policies that will govern how consumer and enterprise applications are distributed in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Yesterday, at its TechEd conference, the company revealed that developers would have no limit on the number of paid applications that can be submitted to the store. Developers will receive five free submissions per registration; further registrations will cost US$19.99 each.

Marketplace business models will provide for ad-supported, free, “freemium” and paid applications. Distribution can be public or private. Private distribution is available for a predefined set of people to review applications, which was done with an eye to the enterprise, said Brandon Watson, director of developer experience for Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft will furnish development partners with Windows Phone 7 devices in July, he said. Applications will be written in a hybrid version of Silverlight 3, which includes elements of Silverlight 4, he said. HTML 5 will not be supported.

Developers can port Silverlight 4 desktop applications to Windows Phone 7; however, they should optimize for the experience that they are delivering, Watson said. Windows Phone 7 will introduce a new interface called “Metro,” which exposes application notifications through tiles on the phone’s desktop.

Further enterprise functionality will become available through integration with Active Directory and support for policies. There will be more opportunities to extend functionality in the future, Watson said. “Those are just the tip of the spear.”

Microsoft is unaware of whether third-party component makers are building controls for Windows Phone 7, Watson said. “They all probably want to be first to market when the phone is available,” he remarked.

By David Worthington on SDTimes

Cloud computing has taken off as a trend in enterprise IT, but analysts say proper governance is necessary for companies to realize the full benefits of on-demand systems.

New, relatively unmanaged and untamed technologies always draw the same analogy: the wild, Wild West. That's what was said about the Internet 15 years ago and several subsets of computing technology, which tend to be unregulated when they first emerge. So is the same situation with the Cloud.

As firms move from hosted, dedicated servers to the looser virtualized environment of Cloud computing, that old wild, wild west feeling is starting to come back, and if people are going to feel comfortable using cloud services, they must be rules and governance set down for proper administration. So says IT research firm Ovum in a report by Enterprise IT Planet.

Cloud computing has already established itself as the next disruptive technology in the enterprise, but IT governance in the next few years will be vital as companies feel their way through the transition away from on-site software applications to cloud-based options, independent research firm Ovum said in its latest report.

The benefits of the Cloud -- lower costs, a smaller data-center footprint and immediate access to multiple applications for a distributed, international workforce with minimal fuss -- are also some things that can expose companies to degrees of risk that simply weren't possible during the heyday of locally deployed software installations.

By Larry Barrett, June 17, 2010

Cloud computing is here. Running applications on machines in an Internet-accessible data center can bring plenty of advantages. Yet wherever they run, applications are built on some kind of platform. For on-premises applications, this platform usually includes an operating system, some way to store data, and perhaps more. Applications running in the cloud need a similar foundation. The goal of Microsoft’s Windows Azure is to provide this. Part of the larger Azure Services Platform, Windows Azure is a platform for running Windows applications and storing data in the cloud.

Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. To deploy a new solution, most of your time and energy is spent on defining the right infrastructure, hardware and software, to put together to create that solution, Cloud computing allows people to share resources to solve new problems. Cloud computing users can avoid capital expenditure (CapEx) on hardware, software, and services when they pay a provider only for what they use.

.NET component and application framework maker Developer Express will place a greater emphasis on Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) this year, according to its 2010 road map, announced on Tuesday.

DevExpress' Silverlight components will deliver full design-time support for Visual Studio 2010 and Expression Blend 3. Upcoming Silverlight 3 controls will include charting, data editing and a scheduler. A Silverlight 4 printing control will also be introduced.

"We feel we are late to the party, but then again, Silverlight is changing a lot," said DevExpress CTO Julian Bucknall. Aside from controls, the company is integrating Silverlight into its eXpressApp Framework, he added.

Some of its upcoming WPF controls will include final versions of DevExpress' pivot grid and layout manager, data editor, ribbon, report view, and scheduler.

DevExpress' embrace of Silverlight and WPF comes at the expense of Windows Forms development. Bucknall said that WinForms controls are being deemphasized, but development will continue with more chart types, VS 2010 and Client Profile support for controls, as well as new user interface styles to match the appearance of Windows 7 and Office 2010.

VCL (Visual Component Library) controls will be likewise updated with additional views and similar user interface options for the Microsoft stack.

DevExpress will continue to forge ahead to update its existing ASP.NET controls, and it will begin to deliver new controls that exploit the new capabilities that will be introduced by .NET 4.0 , Bucknall said. He is being more circumspect about developing components for ASP.NET's Model-View-Controller pattern, but the company will introduce a navigation bar and tab control nonetheless.

Lastly, new editions of the company's next IDE productivity tools, including CodeRush and Refactor Pro, will be released later this year around the time that VS 2010 ships, Bucknall said. "There were big changes in Visual Studio 2010," he added.

By David Worthington on SDTimes.

Query by Biplab Mitra: 

I need some help from you regarding MOSS.

I need to enable/disable some fields with the selection of radio buttons.

How can I add JavaScript to the fields in the list? As I am unable to get the field ID.

Even I need to add some logic for calculating some fields with the selection of the radio buttons.

Solution by Mario Fernandes

1. Open the List.  ( I am assuming its Employee list.)
   
   
2. Pick any one record & go in edit mode.
   
   
3. Right click on the page & View Source
   
   
4. Search for <form element  - note down the “name” value
   
   
5. Search for the field you wish to make read only say “EmployeeName”. Check <input element next to it – note down the “name” value
   
   
6. Copy the URL of this EditForm.aspx
   
   
7. Open Sharepoint Designer, File à Open à paste the url you copied
   
   
8. Go to code window.
   
   
9. Locate <IMG src="/_layouts/images/blank.gif"
   
   
10. Just after this <Img> element put this code  ---      document.formname.inputfieldname
    
    
11. <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">document.aspnetForm.ctl00$m$g_bf411c27_b525_4df6_a7f3_a64ee5b5aef3$ctl00$ctl04$ctl01$ctl00$ctl00$ctl04$ctl00$ctl00$TextField.disabled="true";</script>
    

    
    
12. Save the form. Refresh the page.
    
    
13. There you go
    
    

Synergetics is a premium brand in the Indian IT industry in the area of people competency development  engaged in delivering it thru  its training and consulting interventions; primarily focusing on their productivity with regards to the project and deliverables on hand . Its primary differentiator has been its solution centric approach and its comprehensive client focused service portfolio.

Query by Mr. Rajpreet Singh

I have a query in my WPF application.

I was trying to generate XAML styles at runtime using the following code:

XNamespace xmlns = XNamespace.Get("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation");

XNamespace x = XNamespace.Get("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml");

XDocument xamlDoc = new XDocument(

      new XElement(xmlns + "ResourceDictionary",

            new XAttribute(XNamespace.Xmlns + "x", x.NamespaceName)));

xamlDoc.Root.Add(

      new XElement("SolidColorBrush",

            new XAttribute(x + "Key", "ButtonBrush"),

            new XAttribute("Color", "Red")));

The output which I get is as shown below, but it also brings this (highlighted) useless attribute.

<ResourceDictionary xmlns:x=http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation">

            <SolidColorBrush x:Key="AutoBrush" Color="Black" xmlns="" />

      </ResourceDictionary>

Please tell me what I should change in the code to get rid of this. For now I have manually removed it from the XAML string.

I have also tried combing both the statements into a single one but that also doesn’t help:

XDocument xamlDoc = new XDocument(

new XElement(xmlns + "ResourceDictionary",

new XAttribute(XNamespace.Xmlns + "x", x.NamespaceName),

new XElement("SolidColorBrush",

new XAttribute(x + "Key", "ButtonBrush"),

new XAttribute("Color", "Red"))));

Solutions by Mario Fernandes

(Just add the variable I have marked in green.)

XNamespace xmlns = XNamespace.Get("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation");

XNamespace x = XNamespace.Get("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml");

XDocument xamlDoc = new XDocument(

      new XElement(xmlns + "ResourceDictionary",

            new XAttribute(XNamespace.Xmlns + "x", x.NamespaceName)));

xamlDoc.Root.Add(

      new XElement(xmlns + "SolidColorBrush",

            new XAttribute(x + "Key", "ButtonBrush"),

            new XAttribute("Color", "Red")));

The output which I get is as shown below, but it also brings this (highlighted) useless attribute.

<ResourceDictionary xmlns:x=http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation">

            <SolidColorBrush x:Key="AutoBrush" Color="Black" xmlns="" />

      </ResourceDictionary>

Please tell me what I should change in the code to get rid of this. For now I have manually removed it from the XAML string.

I have also tried combing both the statements into a single one but that also doesn’t help:

XDocument xamlDoc = new XDocument(

new XElement(xmlns + "ResourceDictionary",

new XAttribute(XNamespace.Xmlns + "x", x.NamespaceName),

new XElement("SolidColorBrush",

new XAttribute(x + "Key", "ButtonBrush"),

new XAttribute("Color", "Red"))));

 Microsoft ASP.NET is a free technology that allows programmers to create dynamic web applications. ASP.NET can be used to create anything from small, personal websites through to large, enterprise-class web applications.

Introduction

A Work Item in common parlance is considered to be an instance of effort/work being carried out by an individual. Multiple instances of Work Items eventually culminate into the delivery of a service or a product that is meant for a customer.

Team Foundation Server Work Items

Depending on the approach one adopts for managing an application life cycle i.e. from requirement gathering to actual delivery/deployment, there are various work item types that will be instantiated and persisted into a database. As business needs and the processes thereof are dynamic, and disparate, customizing a Work Item, hence seems to be inevitable. It is therefore essential to understand the anatomy and thereby gain the basic understanding of customizing an existing work item type, or even adding a new work item type.

The Anatomy of a WIT(Work Item Type), in TFS has three essential parts, viz.

1. Fields
2. Layout, and
3. Workflow
   
   

In TFS there are approximately 57 “Field Reference Names”, mapping to base/native types. This is an extensible set.  In keeping with the .NET namespace tradition, two namespaces are predefined: System and Microsoft. The System namespace includes all system fields that are mandatory for Team Foundation system functions. The Microsoft namespace defines all required fields for work item types defined by Microsoft. Customers and partners can create their own field namespaces for custom work item types. We could define our own namespaces, for e.g. a WIT for tracking leads could have a field with a reference name of “Synergetics.LeadManagement.CustomerName”. This in turn could be of a base type “String”, having a name of “Customer Name”, as shown in Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1

Layout

In this section, you map the reference name of the field to a control. The control is the user interface for capturing the required data, and can be customized with a “Type” property to perform necessary validation and change the look and feel, as shown in Figure 1.2. A “Type” property could a “FieldControl”,  “DateTimeControl”, or even a “LinkControl” depending on the data requirement.

Figure 1.2

Workflow

A wok flow is a series of linked steps which would be used to declare transitions to different states, in the life time of a work item. Transitions would be declared, or provide links between states in a WIT work flow, using a graphical UI, as shown in Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3

As an example, the transition from “Active” to “Closed”, will occur for the reasons:

Obsolete, Chose Competitor, Project Cancelled, Too Expensive, or Offer Accepted;

Wherein default values and rules for the fields Assigned To, Activated Date, Activated By, Closed By, and Closed Date are also declared.

The Actions, provides the events under which this transition is deemed to occur.

To conclude customizing a WIT in TFS is a simple, code free effort and can be done within a short period of time, actually hours if not minutes. The key is to know the process and identify the flows, further to which each flow could be encapsulated as a WIT.

Interestingly, as may have been observed, the example used to explain the anatomy and steps, are for a WIT which captures and tracks non development efforts. If you are wondering why would I use TFS to do such a thing?! Well, think about support calls that one would want to capture, post deployment of a product/application.

Thanks for spending time in reading this blog, and sincerely hope it may have helped clear some doubts on the WITs in TFS.

Cheers & Have A Nice Day Ahead!!

About Author: Sanjay Jotwani is Technology Transformation Group Leader.

Synergetics India: IT consulting and Training services on .NET 4.0, SQL server 2008 BI. Awarded as the Best. NET Training Service Provider by Microsoft.