1. Download NuGet package manager
Download Nuget
2. Go to Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows phone -> Tools -> Library Package Manager -> Manage NuGet Packages for Solution...
3. Search "Windows Phone Tookit"
4. You should see Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit pop up... Install it for the solution
5. To test that it is installed. Go to Expression Blend. Right click on your solution and choose Expression Blend.
6. Go to the last symbol on the toolbar (>>), click on it to expand it.
7. Type "wrap" into the search box and if you find it, then Windows Phone Toolkit has been installed properly.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Inspired at CodeMash
The CodeMash conference is a perfect way to start the new year. No one could fail to be inspired by this conference. Well, ok, I'm sure someone could, but I couldn't. I'm completely geeked about this conference. Choosing between the sessions is traumatic though, it is brutal. I want to attend them all.
Code Mash
I'm focusing on windows phone for my precompiler (workshop), Jeff Blankenburg
and I'm going to hit more windows phone talks by Jeff, and by Jesse Liberty. I'm going to An Intro to Expression Blend by Joel Cochran, and definitely the Windows 8 talk by James Bender.
Who doesn't love a great conference? Well, this is the best I've seen. You can really tell its run by and for developers. They handed out nice swag but no plastic bag filled with paper. It is just classy in ways that are hard to describe. It is day one and already its my favorite conference.
Code Mash
I'm focusing on windows phone for my precompiler (workshop), Jeff Blankenburg
and I'm going to hit more windows phone talks by Jeff, and by Jesse Liberty. I'm going to An Intro to Expression Blend by Joel Cochran, and definitely the Windows 8 talk by James Bender.
Who doesn't love a great conference? Well, this is the best I've seen. You can really tell its run by and for developers. They handed out nice swag but no plastic bag filled with paper. It is just classy in ways that are hard to describe. It is day one and already its my favorite conference.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Becoming An Expert
At work I heard a great talk on Thursday from Rob Garrison about how to focus on a technical track career. The talk was really great and since I want a technical track career, I was interested in what he said.
One important point me made was that he said, you must become an expert in something.
However, after the talk, I was left wondering more about exactly how one picks what to be an expert in that would result in a strong technical career. This is a moving target.
1. How broad should the topic be?
a. MVC
b. All topics related to web development with ASP.NET and C#
I guess the answer should be to become in expert in the widest amount of topics you can realistically cover because at some point there is a limit to what you can do, given there are 24 hours in a day.
2. What technology to choose?
a. MVC
b. F#
I think the answer should be something that is going to be relevant to your current job or a job you want to have soon because if you choose something that isn't going to be applied at work then you will learn it but never use it. Use it or loose it!
3. Should you focus on something internal or external.
I think the answer to this is both. I think you need to pick one thing that is proprietary and one thing that is industry wide. So, I guess that means we need to become an expert in at least two things to build our careers, at least.
4. Fundamentals and being good at your job as is comes first.
I think that becoming an expert is a bit out of a person's reach if they aren't rocking out their daily responsiblities and the fundamentals of what they are doing. I think one needs to be rocking this out before they take on more of a load.
One important point me made was that he said, you must become an expert in something.
However, after the talk, I was left wondering more about exactly how one picks what to be an expert in that would result in a strong technical career. This is a moving target.
1. How broad should the topic be?
a. MVC
b. All topics related to web development with ASP.NET and C#
I guess the answer should be to become in expert in the widest amount of topics you can realistically cover because at some point there is a limit to what you can do, given there are 24 hours in a day.
2. What technology to choose?
a. MVC
b. F#
I think the answer should be something that is going to be relevant to your current job or a job you want to have soon because if you choose something that isn't going to be applied at work then you will learn it but never use it. Use it or loose it!
3. Should you focus on something internal or external.
I think the answer to this is both. I think you need to pick one thing that is proprietary and one thing that is industry wide. So, I guess that means we need to become an expert in at least two things to build our careers, at least.
4. Fundamentals and being good at your job as is comes first.
I think that becoming an expert is a bit out of a person's reach if they aren't rocking out their daily responsiblities and the fundamentals of what they are doing. I think one needs to be rocking this out before they take on more of a load.
Monday, November 7, 2011
the times they are a changin'
C# programming is changing programming paradigms. When we switched from procedural programming to object oriented programming we received new languages. C++ morphed out of C and Java hit the schene.
I purchased this book today Programming RX and Linq and the introduction explains how we are increasingly at odds with our current Object Oriented Programming way of life.
However, we are still coding C#. We're not calling it some other name and the paradigms are co-existing in the same language.
The future seems to be about functional programming, LINQ, dynamic language runtime, lambda expressions, anonymous delgates, etc... and a lot of these things are just plain different from basic OOP or even in conflict with OOP.
In the intro it says that that locks, threads, and events are pretty much the assembly langauge tools for asynchronous coding. Our tools haven't kept up with the changes.
I wonder why we don't get a new name, like C#Async or something to kind of warn us that everything is different now?
I purchased this book today Programming RX and Linq and the introduction explains how we are increasingly at odds with our current Object Oriented Programming way of life.
However, we are still coding C#. We're not calling it some other name and the paradigms are co-existing in the same language.
The future seems to be about functional programming, LINQ, dynamic language runtime, lambda expressions, anonymous delgates, etc... and a lot of these things are just plain different from basic OOP or even in conflict with OOP.
In the intro it says that that locks, threads, and events are pretty much the assembly langauge tools for asynchronous coding. Our tools haven't kept up with the changes.
I wonder why we don't get a new name, like C#Async or something to kind of warn us that everything is different now?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
You have no talent! You aren't a natural!
A lot of software engineers have a desire to be great craftsman. I am no different. I work ticket by ticket. Each time I do a ticket there is a product {release notes, software changes, a new install of the software, and documentation placed in the ticket}. I want my tickets and code to be logical, concise, and correct. I want to be able to do this very quickly and use the latest technology and the best technique. I want to communicate between groups of people inside of my organization as well as the clients we serve so well that the finished product makes the client and the user happy and content. I want to spread happiness and cooperation through the entire experience. I want the software to be bug free even of edge cases. This is the life quest of a software engineer.
I don't feel I am a beginner at this, but if you look at it from a different angle, we are all beginning a new journey each day. Today, I am at the beginning of trying to be better than I was yesterday. Believe me, I have failed at all of the above many times.
I sometimes feel that my desire to be better technically is a sign of weakness. This is more true about technical skills than soft skills or sports. If I say I want to be a better soccer player, I often get pointers right away and I get a few things to practice that change my playing. If I say I want to be learn to be less brash in my communication style I'm often offered some advice, like take a walk before a heavy phone call. However, if I admit where I would like to improve technically then a sort of atmosphere is created where my natural abilities and talent seem to be up for discussion or a matter of question.
The worst thing, is that all this judgement hits my self-doubt and becomes a Molotov cocktail of paralysis. It can then be disastrous for both me and for the profession. Who knows how many people have dropped out of math, science, and technical fields because they lacked talent and weren't naturals?
I tutor mathematics to kids and I can't tell you how many times I hear the words "I'm not good at math". This is from very intelligent kids who aren't out of high school. Honestly, I want to say, you don't even know what math is yet. You don't know the first thing about it or your ability to do it or not do it. I want to tell them that no one is good at math who doesn't work at it.
I think that what separates math people from non-math people in our culture is that math people continue doing math and don't spend anytime thinking they aren't math people. They just keep going on the journey. The older I get, the more it is obvious that a lot of really capable people quit the journey. I admit, this journey isn't for everyone. Its hard work. It takes focus. You have to want to do it. The financial rewards aren't really there in proportion to the work. But what really hurts me is that there are people who want to do it and quit. They change majors, go home, seek other work all because they have it in their heads that they lack talent and aren't naturals. The profession looses when this happens.
Does it really matter how long it took Ernest Hemingway or Jack Kerouac to become great writers? Not to me. What matters is that they got there. They inspired and they lived and they created. How inspirational.
As a software engineer and a math tutor, my life's work will most likely not be worshiped by large audiences like great American novels but all the same, the people around me will notice a difference. My clients, the people I tutor, coworkers, managers and most importantly of course is myself. I will know that I did my best. I will know that I became as "talented" as I could. After years of hard work and refinement, I'll be called talented.
——————–
From Ira Glass . . .
“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
——————–
I don't feel I am a beginner at this, but if you look at it from a different angle, we are all beginning a new journey each day. Today, I am at the beginning of trying to be better than I was yesterday. Believe me, I have failed at all of the above many times.
I sometimes feel that my desire to be better technically is a sign of weakness. This is more true about technical skills than soft skills or sports. If I say I want to be a better soccer player, I often get pointers right away and I get a few things to practice that change my playing. If I say I want to be learn to be less brash in my communication style I'm often offered some advice, like take a walk before a heavy phone call. However, if I admit where I would like to improve technically then a sort of atmosphere is created where my natural abilities and talent seem to be up for discussion or a matter of question.
The worst thing, is that all this judgement hits my self-doubt and becomes a Molotov cocktail of paralysis. It can then be disastrous for both me and for the profession. Who knows how many people have dropped out of math, science, and technical fields because they lacked talent and weren't naturals?
I tutor mathematics to kids and I can't tell you how many times I hear the words "I'm not good at math". This is from very intelligent kids who aren't out of high school. Honestly, I want to say, you don't even know what math is yet. You don't know the first thing about it or your ability to do it or not do it. I want to tell them that no one is good at math who doesn't work at it.
I think that what separates math people from non-math people in our culture is that math people continue doing math and don't spend anytime thinking they aren't math people. They just keep going on the journey. The older I get, the more it is obvious that a lot of really capable people quit the journey. I admit, this journey isn't for everyone. Its hard work. It takes focus. You have to want to do it. The financial rewards aren't really there in proportion to the work. But what really hurts me is that there are people who want to do it and quit. They change majors, go home, seek other work all because they have it in their heads that they lack talent and aren't naturals. The profession looses when this happens.
Does it really matter how long it took Ernest Hemingway or Jack Kerouac to become great writers? Not to me. What matters is that they got there. They inspired and they lived and they created. How inspirational.
As a software engineer and a math tutor, my life's work will most likely not be worshiped by large audiences like great American novels but all the same, the people around me will notice a difference. My clients, the people I tutor, coworkers, managers and most importantly of course is myself. I will know that I did my best. I will know that I became as "talented" as I could. After years of hard work and refinement, I'll be called talented.
——————–
From Ira Glass . . .
“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
——————–
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The War of Art
I'm reading the War of Art by Steven Pressfield
War of Art
I just started reading and I’m not sure I have resistance to work, but rather too much work. Most of the “work” isn’t towards my personal goals but I’m buried in it.
Can anyone relate to that?
War of Art
I just started reading and I’m not sure I have resistance to work, but rather too much work. Most of the “work” isn’t towards my personal goals but I’m buried in it.
Can anyone relate to that?
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Math .NET Libraries - Bueller... Bueller... Bueller?
I've spent some time today trying to find .NET libraries and tools to explore mathematics and I have to report that it seems like slim pickings!
There are a few that cost money, but hey, I'm living off a developer's salary so I can't afford to buy software. Wish I could. But, this is 2011 and I'm afraid to spend money like everyone else.
As far as open source goes...
Math.NET I had a hard time finding documentation or samples using this project that helped me see how I could use it for exploration of calculus. I did figure out how to get up and running with some combinatorics examples but right now I'm reading calculus. Maybe its better for other topics other than calc?
Smart Math Library The documentation looks pretty extensive but I haven't made much time to explore.
Microsoft Graphics calculator sample
I think this sample is to teach WPF but I will take a look at it and see how they coded up a fairly basic graphics calculator.
Looks like there is a lot of work and opportunity in this area.
There are a few that cost money, but hey, I'm living off a developer's salary so I can't afford to buy software. Wish I could. But, this is 2011 and I'm afraid to spend money like everyone else.
As far as open source goes...
Math.NET I had a hard time finding documentation or samples using this project that helped me see how I could use it for exploration of calculus. I did figure out how to get up and running with some combinatorics examples but right now I'm reading calculus. Maybe its better for other topics other than calc?
Smart Math Library The documentation looks pretty extensive but I haven't made much time to explore.
Microsoft Graphics calculator sample
I think this sample is to teach WPF but I will take a look at it and see how they coded up a fairly basic graphics calculator.
Looks like there is a lot of work and opportunity in this area.
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