One of the most commonplace dilemmas developers encounter when working with new technology is figuring out how to gain hands-on experience. It's a classic case of the chicken and egg paradox; without a sound understanding of the technology, how can one be expected to build a substantive project using it? On the other hand, if building something of substance isn't realistic, then how can progress be made towards becoming a knowledgeable developer? Often, the obvious solution is to simply bite the bullet and learn through trial-and-error. However, in an age where project turnaround time is often measured in days and not months, sometimes you just don't have the luxury to learn at a leisurely pace, not to mention conjure up an interesting idea for a practical project. So what's the best alternative? Looking at the source code of other more knowledgeable developers, of course! For years the open source community has learned in precisely this fashion, sharing a wealth of code through sites such as SourceForge and GitHub. While the Microsoft community has also for years shared code, albeit in a much more loosely organized fashion, it wasn't until the founding of CodePlex that these efforts began in earnest. In this article I'll introduce you to ten great CodePlex projects which can undoubtedly greatly reduce your learning curve when getting acquainted with ASP.NET MVC, the fantastic free MVC framework built atop ASP.NET. Some of these projects are shining examples of ASP.NET MVC's power, while others are still diamonds in the rough, however all of them undoubtedly offer useful, real-world implementation examples which will prove invaluable as you wade into the waters of this exciting technology.
NerdDinnerSuccess in the IT industry seems to be directly intertwined with the size of one's M&E expenses. Pre-conference dinners, post-conference drinks, user group pizza... it's almost like food is nerd flypaper. To help the programming community manage the logistical intricacies involving dinner plans, Microsoft luminaries Rob Conery, Scott Hanselman, and Scott Guthrie created NerdDinner. A companion project to their book, "Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0", the NerdDinner project includes many of the typical features you'll find in such a Website, including user registration and login, the ability to both add your own group dinner as well as find dinners occurring in various locations, and RSVP for upcoming dinners. Read more: codeguru
NerdDinnerSuccess in the IT industry seems to be directly intertwined with the size of one's M&E expenses. Pre-conference dinners, post-conference drinks, user group pizza... it's almost like food is nerd flypaper. To help the programming community manage the logistical intricacies involving dinner plans, Microsoft luminaries Rob Conery, Scott Hanselman, and Scott Guthrie created NerdDinner. A companion project to their book, "Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0", the NerdDinner project includes many of the typical features you'll find in such a Website, including user registration and login, the ability to both add your own group dinner as well as find dinners occurring in various locations, and RSVP for upcoming dinners. Read more: codeguru