NEW MSDN Video Series: How to explore unfamiliar code in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate

Microsoft has put out some pretty cool videos on the new visualizations tools available in Visual Studio 2010

From the announcement:
These videos show how you can use code visualization tools, such as dependency graphs, DGML, and Architecture Explorer, to help you understand what's going on in unfamiliar code:

•What are dependency (DGML) graphs?
•How can I use dependency graphs to visualize code?
•How do I manage large dependency graphs?
•How can I use Architecture Explorer to browse code relationships?
•How do I edit and customize DGML graphs?
•How can I visualize run-time object graphs?

Here is the blog that announced them.

Documenting Software Architectures: Views and Beyond (2nd Edition) Book Review

This book is the bible of documenting software architectures. It is a mandatory read for all software architects. It should also be read by the various stakeholders who have invested in a software architect so they have some idea about what their investment should be accomplishing. This version includes a lot of new content. It includes new architectural styles for SOA, database models, and multi-tier architectures. The authors have expanded the epilogue which is the comparison of Views and Beyond to other documenting approaches. It now includes comparisons to ISO/IEC 42010 – ANSI/IEEE Std 1471-2000, the RUPs 4+1, Rozanski and Woods Viewpoint Set, agile projects, and DoDAF. The book now includes 3 appendixes. One on UML, SysML, and AADL. Each is an overview of the language. They have improved templates based on experience gained since the first version of the book. The book’s example is now on line. It documents a Web-based service-oriented system. This book shows you how to communicate with your stakeholders and how to address quality attribute requirements like no other book out there. I am not saying it is the best book out there, I am saying it accomplishes what it tries to teach. It creates a view of a great method of documenting architecture. It then provides a cross reference with some other great methods of documenting software architecture in the epilogue I mentioned above. It is a must read for any architect that takes there job serious. It will add a wealth of knowledge to your arsenal of tools.

Microsoft Ribbon for WPF October 2010 Release Available

Microsoft has released and update of the Ribbon for WPF.  The download includes the code and samples.  Below is a screenshot of the samples:


Click here for larger image

Overview  (From MSDN Site)
This release is a managed implementation of the Ribbon for WPF. The Ribbon is a command bar that organizes the features of an application into a series of tabs at the top of the application window, is designed to help you quickly find the commands that you need to complete a task. The Ribbon user interface (UI) increases discoverability of features and functions, enables quicker learning of the application, and helps users feel more in control of their experience with the application. The Ribbon replaces the traditional menu bar and toolbars.

Additional Information  (From MSDN Site)
Note: There are a large number of design revisions in this release since the CTP version. This is mainly to facilitate MVVM-centric applications. r />
Design-time: The MSI will install design-time support for Visual Studio 2010 and Expression Blend 4. This includes a project template for a ‘WPF Ribbon Application’, an item template for a ‘Ribbon Window’, and Ribbon controls in the toolbox such as, RibbonButton, RibbonToggleButton, RibbonMenuButton, etc.

Sources: Ribbon source code is available for reference purposes only. Please see EULA for more information.

Samples: A few samples are also included to provide an overall view of all the available Ribbon features integrated within a WPF application. These samples include:

RibbonWindow Wordpad Sample
This sample illustrates a Ribbon control hosted within a RibbonWindow that emulates the Wordpad appearance. To run this scenario:
--Set RibbonWindowSample as the start project
--Set StartupUri=”RibbonWindowWord.xaml” in RibbonWindowSample\App.xaml

RibbonWindow MVVM Sample
This sample illustrates a Ribbon control hosted within a RibbonWindow that is completely populated from a view-model collection. To run this scenario:
--Set RibbonWindowSample as the start project
--Set StartupUri=”RibbonWindowMVVM.xaml” in RibbonWindowSample\App.xaml

RibbonBrowser Wordpad sample
This sample illustrates a Ribbon control hosted within a browser window that emulates the Wordpad appearance. To run this scenario:
--Set RibbonBrowserSample as the start project
--Set StartupUri=”PageWord.xaml” in RibbonBrowserSample\App.xaml

RibbonBrowser MVVM sample
This sample illustrates a Ribbon control hosted within a browser window that is completely populated from a view model collection. To run this scenario:
Set RibbonBrowserSample as the start project
Set StartupUri=”PageMVVM.xaml” in RibbonBrowserSample\App.xaml

Get it here

Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Rules Book Review

This book is by far the shortest and yet most complete design book I have read. It teaches you why designs are implemented which is much better than just how. I am terrible at memorizing so if I don't learn the theory as to why something is the way that it is, I will forget it as soon as I turn the page. This book tells you why a design principle is used and then gives examples of correct use and incorrect use. The book covers the Gestalt principles in a very easy to understand way and provides excellent examples of each. The samples include proximity, continuity, closure, symmetry, figure/ground, and common fate. There are chapters on why reading is unnatural, our color vision is limited, our peripheral vision is poor, our attention is limited, our memory is imperfect, recognition is easy but recall is hard, and time requirements. Each chapter contains thorough coverage of each topic explaining how they impact design. Each chapter also provides a ton of great examples. I am a software architect. That means I create UML diagrams and code. I am not an artist, and my design skills are lacking. That said, my job often requires me to build user interfaces all the time, from prototypes to production. I have already modified the one I am working on now several times based on the advice I read in this book. This has been one of the coolest books I read this year, and I have read a ton of them. All in all I highly recommend reading this book if you have anything to do with developing software. It is a quick read with tons of valuable information in it.

WPF 4 Unleashed Book Review

This book is a pure pleasure to read. It is in full color, the content is laid out in an easy to read style, the author's writing style makes it easy to read, and the content is all valuable. There is no fluff like you find in a lot of the books written today. There are a lot of new enhancements in WPF 4 and this book covers them thoroughly. They include multi-touch support, easing animation functions, and new controls such as DataGrid, Calendar, and DatePicker. The book starts out with an awesome chapter on XAML, and then moves on to a very thorough treatment of everything WPF. It covers everything and covers it in depth. You won’t find much on networking. There is a small sample but the book is all about the client. That is not a bad thing, just wanted to mention it. The code samples are well organized and very usable. All in all this book is great for the beginner and the experienced WPF developer. If you are considering getting into WPF, this is the book to start with.

Just Enough Software Architecture: A Risk-Driven Approach Book Review

I must admit that the title of this book made me hesitate to purchase it. I am not a big fan of placing the architecture process inside one of the concerns architecture addresses. "Risk-Driven Approach" scared me off because of some of the other attempts to do something similar with security, performance, agility, and patterns. Although all these topics are part of the architecture process, they do not drive it on there own. Having said all that, I was releaved to see my worries about what I would find in the book where not valid. To me this book is a good overview of what Software Architecture is, which of course incudes addressing risks. There is a chapter on the risk-driven model which does a good job of putting risks into the proper context. It does a good job of showing how risk concerns relate to the development process. The book does not obsess on risk. It just brings to light an important part of what architecture addresses. The books starts with an overview of software architecture concepts and does a good job of explaining what software architecture is. It also includes a short case study. The second part of the book covers the Domain Model, Design Model, Code Model, Encapsulation and Partitioning, Model Elements, Model Relationships, and Architectural Styles. Each topic is given its own chapter, and there are a lot of great diagrams throughout the book. I really like that the author covered code and bridging the gap between models and code. I also like how he explains the relationship between models. The book referred to industry best practices and did not try to re-invent the wheel. The author has his PhD in software engineering from CMU, so there are a lot of references to SEI practices. The author also contributed to the new version of Documenting Software Architectures: Views and Beyond (2nd Edition). I also like the glossary. It does a great job of summing up architectural topics. All in all anyone interested in Software Architecture would benefit from reading this book. It contains a ton of great information from all the best resources on software architecture and does a great job of putting them into context.

CNN Money Ranks Software Architecture the #1 Job in America

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International Software Product Line Conference (SPLC) 2010 has posted its papers

The International Software Product Line Conference (SPLC) 2010 has posted its papers.

The meat of what is available on the site is found in this paper.

There are also other papers available here.

This is the main site URL:
http://splc2010.postech.ac.kr/index.html